Is it worth jumping to a 4K projector or go with standard 1080 p with higher lumens?

[GungHoGolf]

Ron,


I'm down to final details for my room. I'm torn between a BenQ LK953ST and the Epson L635SU for a GC Hawk set up.

Lens is set to be 149" from the screen - Image height - 98" Image Width - 131"


Thoughts?

btw, I ordered a custom holy grail mat from you that I'm hoping will be coming in a couple weeks!

Love the LK953ST, it's what we use for all our high-end installations. Don't have experience with the Epson, but the 4K resolution of the LK will be noticeably better than the WUXGA. One advantage of the Epson will be no flicker when doing slow-mo down the line swing video recording, if that's important to you - but it's just a flicker in the swing video background that's common with all the single LCD chip projectors.

Thanks for the Holy Grail mat order! Please let us know what you think of it.

[Blaker34]

Love the LK953ST, it's what we use for all our high-end installations. Don't have experience with the Epson, but the 4K resolution of the LK will be noticeably better than the WUXGA. One advantage of the Epson will be no flicker when doing slow-mo down the line swing video recording, if that's important to you - but it's just a flicker in the swing video background that's common with all the single LCD chip projectors.

Thanks for the Holy Grail mat order! Please let us know what you think of it.

Ron, I really appreciate the info! I'll be going with the BenQ then! Any issues with getting these right now?

[jdang307]

The TK700STi doesn't pixel shift - it has true 4K resolution. Much better image than 1080 HD.

The closest you could get a second retractable screen in front of an existing one would be 2-3 inches, and that would require a focus adjustment.

If it's just for occasional movies/sports viewing, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the image quality on a good quality impact screen in a darkened room.

Sorry to revive an old thread but I'm also looking at the TK700STi to upgrade my projector. The Benq apparently is a weird one. It is not "native" 4k as in, there aren't 8 million pixels. There are 2mil pixels (1080p/240hz chip) and with that 240hz, they produce a 2160P 60hz image (8 million pixels). Essentially the 240hz divided by 4. So at 60hz, there literally is 8 million pixels so it's all there. No pixels are missing.

At least that's what I gleaned over at AVS Forum. Something about a Texas Instrument DMD .47" XPR chip.

[Dax]

You are correct, my mistake this is not a pixel shifter!

[Dax]

Brettster I forgot to mention that you can find some very good YouTube ideas from about two or three years ago that compared images from a True 4K projector to a pixel shifting 4K projector in a home theatre setup and you will see that the differences are not huge, but for a audio video enthusiast these types of differences are things that they notice. For me, I can live with the differences and feel the image quality to be fantastic.

If I recall, there should be videos comparing Epson pixel shifting images against a JVC 4K (some of the videos might have been the Sony). I think the bigger challenge for projectors over the last couple of years is how well a projector can handle an HDR image.

For my golf sim, I am still very happy with my 16:10 Eki projector and don’t see myself replacing this for a few more years at least.

[Brettster]

Thanks Dax - I'll have a look... It's not a big deal for me, either, but then again I've not seen the difference - which if I did 'in person' - it might be a big deal! Really know way of knowing, other than visiting a AV store and asking for a demo, that's what I would do if I were serious about spending the money to go with an 8K projector, or one that mentioned it interpolated to 8K.

[GungHoGolf]

Sorry to revive an old thread but I'm also looking at the TK700STi to upgrade my projector. The Benq apparently is a weird one. It is not "native" 4k as in, there aren't 8 million pixels. There are 2mil pixels (1080p/240hz chip) and with that 240hz, they produce a 2160P 60hz image (8 million pixels). Essentially the 240hz divided by 4. So at 60hz, there literally is 8 million pixels so it's all there. No pixels are missing.

At least that's what I gleaned over at AVS Forum. Something about a Texas Instrument DMD .47" XPR chip.

Just posted a video that shows off the TK700STi at 16x9':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqbzCeNNTA4

[14MPH]

Just posted a video that shows off the TK700STi at 16x9':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqbzCeNNTA4

GungHoGolf Hi Ron, thanks for sharing that TK700STi overview - it does look pretty good.

Have you had an opportunity to review/compare that to the new Benq LK936ST? Curious about this one, especially in context of using the projector for both golf sim and home theatre. I presume, as per some of the previous responses in this thread, that installing 2 HDMI/Display port cables might allow to switch output between golf sim and home theatre from the PC?

I am at wiring stage so wondering what sort of cables to run wrt future multi-purpose use. My room is 21ft x 17ft x 10ft 6" and am interested in a 16:9 aspect ratio (LK936 supports 16:9 natively) and I can potentially achieve a 16ft x 9ft image size or smaller based on where the mounting sweet spot ends up being for this short throw projector.

[GungHoGolf]

GungHoGolf Hi Ron, thanks for sharing that TK700STi overview - it does look pretty good.

Have you had an opportunity to review/compare that to the new Benq LK936ST? Curious about this one, especially in context of using the projector for both golf sim and home theatre. I presume, as per some of the previous responses in this thread, that installing 2 HDMI/Display port cables might allow to switch output between golf sim and home theatre from the PC?

I am at wiring stage so wondering what sort of cables to run wrt future multi-purpose use. My room is 21ft x 17ft x 10ft 6" and am interested in a 16:9 aspect ratio (LK936 supports 16:9 natively) and I can potentially achieve a 16ft x 9ft image size or smaller based on where the mounting sweet spot ends up being for this short throw projector.

We have lots of experience with the LK953ST, which is basically the same as the LK936ST (and is replacing the 953). Both the TK700STi and the LK936ST have two HDMI inputs, if you want a to input a second source with home theater content. If you do that, make sure your screen is sized to the native 16:9 aspect ratio, or you won't be able to fill your screen for golf purposes.

The significantly more expensive LK models are brighter (5K vs 3K lumens) and use a 20,000 hr laser instead of a replaceable bulb, and also have true vertical and horizontal lens shift (vs digital keystone correction) to square up the image and allow a mount point that is not centered left/right in the room. In a room that is completely light controlled, the image quality between them and the TK will be very similar. The image from the TK in person from the video I linked above was truly stunning in the darkened room.

You have the room dimensions close to perfect for a 16:9 aspect ratio, so I'd definitely recommend that. If you custom-mount the screen to the ceiling and go nearly wall-to-wall, you'll end up with an image about 16'10" wide and 9'6" tall. You can protect the walls and ceiling with custom acoustic foam tiles and wedges, which we can supply.

At that size image, the lens to screen distance will be 13′-9″ - 15′-1″ with the LKs and 15′-2″ - 18′-3″ with the TK (of course you'll want to stay on the shorter side of these ranges with either, to best prevent shadows). You'll need 12-18" behind the screen to the wall, depending on the screen mounting technique you go with.

Regarding what cables you need run to a point near the projector mount point, you'll want an AC outlet and two HDMI cables, each running to their sources (computer and optional movie source). Note that if you're ok using your computer to stream the movies or TV (YouTube TV, Netflix app, etc), you can just use one HDMI cable to the computer.

If you're in the US, we'd be happy to help you with the design and equipment to fit your budget - https://gunghogolf.com.

[14MPH]

GungHoGolf thanks for the clarification. The LK936 isn’t available here so will hold out or default to TK700STi when I need the projector. I’ll see what premium price is given when available but I do like the LK model’s horizontal and vertical shift options, laser and 5k lumens etc.

Unfortunately I’m not in the US else would have reached out directly much sooner as I (and no doubt many others) find your posts informative and full of practical pointers, so it is very much appreciated. Thank you!

I am lucky to have that space to design a room that wide/long and opted for 16:9 to allow for ceiling baffle and will have side blockout curtains (and moving blankets) for light and acoustic aspects. I have one large stacker door and a smaller sliding window to cover up to control ambient lighting, as per attached pic. So hoping that all ambient light will be blocked out except when folks come in and out of the room, but curtains will still be drawn closed in that case.

And I’ve allowed for 12” behind the screen - I inadvertently ordered a 26’ baffle net instead of a 16’ one so will drape that with overlapping folds in the middle part of my 16’ screen, to give me effectively a 3-layer large hitting zone in the middle. Hopefully that and some moving blankets behind that should fit comfortably in the 12” space and dampen any golf shots without issue. I liked how you had tied your impact screen at the back to provide perfect stretch but still allow for dampening of golf shots with that method.

I aim to feed tv etc via the PC but for safe measure will see if a conduit can be used to thread cables in the future or just install an extra hdmi cable as a spare.