Projectors for Golf Simulators 101

[Maverick]

Great site to compare projectors and check throw distances.

https://Www.projectorcentral.com

[daffonseca]

Hello, I am building my very first Golf Simulator room using the Optishot 2 simulator. I am trying to find a decent projector and screen at this time. I have included pics of my room and looking for help from the forum! The throw distance will be approximately 6' and the screen will be approximately 10' diagonal distance.

[John Andrews]

If you are looking for information on projectors, take a look at the link below for an excellent Golf Simulator Projector Buyer's Guide:
https://rainorshinegolf.com/pages/go...rojector-guide

[WalksAus]

Hi,

Despite reading this entire thread, I still find it difficult to find the optimal projector (for a ST/TGC setup). To make it a bit easier I made a simple sketch of the room and the dimensions. I was hoping to receive some ideas on possible projectors that might be suitable.

What I learned thus far:
- Should probably be a ST projector given the size of the room
- 4:3
- HD is a must (to properly enjoy TGC) - so 1920-1080 ?
- Room only has 1 small window, so high lumens is not that important
- Most projectors have the ability to zoom in/out so you have some wiggle room with respect to the ideal spot
- Projectors can be titled and the mount will also help achieve the ideal position (thanks Aja)

Would be great if people could recommend a projector that would allow for a bit adjustability to make sure it will work. Budget: 600-900 ? It seems the most named projectors are the Benq 1085ST and Optoma GT 1080, would these work?

I guess most projectors in this budget range offer features such as vertical keystone correction?

thank you very much!

This is pretty close to the specs for my room that i am looking for a projector for except i will be hitting from 3-4m away, normally at 3.5m though. Pretty interested to hear what we should go for. My ceiling is only 9 feet though so this is the main difference.

[Shawn Foley]

Selecting projectors for your simulator can be really difficult so I wanted to share some information to provide a bit of a shortcut in the research process.
Lumens

Lumens determines the brightness of the image your projector displays. The brighter your room is, the more important it is to have a high lumens projector. As a general rule of thumb, you can get by in dark rooms with lumens of 1500-2000, rooms with reduced lighting you will need lumens above 2000+, and rooms with a reasonable amount of lighting you will need lumens above 3000+. Throw Ratio

Throw ratio refers to the distance the projector is from the screen versus how wide the screen is. If you do not want your shadow showing up on your hitting screen, you will need what is called a short throw or ultra-short throw projector which range anywhere between 0.3:1 to 1:1.

To find the optimal throw ratio, you will divide the distance from your projector to your screen by the width of your screen. As an example, if your screen is 10 feet wide and your projector is 5 feet away from the screen, your optimal throw ratio is 0.5:1 (5 feet / 10 feet). Aspect Ratio and Resolution


Aspect ratio and resolution tend to go hand-in-hand. To put it simply, aspect ratio refers to the shape the image will take on the screen or the ratio between the width and height of the image. Resolution refers to the number of pixels inside the image. The more pixels, the higher the image quality.

Most commonly, you will see the following aspect ratios & resolutions:

• • 4:3 (XGA & SXGA)
    • Image will take more of a square shape
    • Lowest resolution: 1024 x 768 resolution
    • Lowest cost option
    • These projectors are also more lightweight and portable
  • 16:10 (WXGA & WUXGA)
    • Image will be more rectangular
    • Higher resolution: 1280 x 800 resolution
    • Crisper picture but more expensive than XGA & SXGA
  • 16:9 (standard HDTV, 1080p)
    • Image will be more rectangular
    • Highest resolution: 1920 x 1080p resolution
    • If you want to turn your golf simulator into a home theater, we highly recommend opting for this resolution

There is an overwhelming amount of information needed. Here is the link to our full article that includes some recommendations and I hope this helps!

https://rainorshinegolf.com/pages/golf-simulator-projector-buyer-guide

Cheers

[Calypso]

I got a couple enclosure/screen size recommendations for a room 10 feet high X 13.5 Feet wide X 20 feet deep. One was a 16:10 ratio with an 7'10" high X 12' wide image. The other thought was a 4:3 ratio with 9 feet high and 12' wide image. I am an amateur here. I would like the most immersive experience possible. What advice do you all have to make it feel this way? The first one feels really short for the 10' ceilings I have, but I have heard the 16:10 image could allow better image quality from the projector. Help please!

[wbond]

Go big or go home. Don't think i recall anyone saying they wished they had gone smaller. You could also start your image off the ground.

[prose53]

Looking for projector for 16:10 screen to be used for golf but also movies. Unfortunately the newest post is 2018 so technology has changed in the last 2 years. Would like opinions on best bang for the buck, which projectors have better lifespan w/o repairs, etc.

Here are what I think is important after reading a bunch of info on recommended site:

Projector to be ceiling mounted and brought down to around 10' (or whatever is best)

• Aspect Ration: 16:9
• Resolution: 1920x1080 (1080P)
• Brightness: assuming over 3k lumens but this is the ANSI which is not the best way to calculate (from reading)
• Contrast Ratio: On/Off or variable (what numbers?).
• Dynamic Iris: Do I need this?
• Zoom Range: Do I need zoom? Understand that zoom starts cutting into your brightness and I most likely will use a short throw to keep projector from hitting golfer)
• Lens Shift (vertical,horizontal or both): Worthwhile? I can locate projector pretty much anywhere with some work. Also prefer not to use Keystoning as this reduces the pixels and therefore contrast.
• LCD or DLP?
• Bulb replacement timeframe?
• Is it worth getting 4K?
• Best type of lamp (LED, Laser, Halide, etc.)?
• Input lag: what should this be?

Anything else you may have that helps will be greatly appreciated. I am just now studying on the technical aspects but am ready to purchase.

Thanks!

[northshoremb]

Is there any new theories or info seeing as this is over 10 years old and projectors, simulators, computers and screens have changed light years in that time