Projectors for Golf Simulators 101

[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

[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!

[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.

[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!

[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

[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.

[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

[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.

[Bastiaan]

Yes it is going to be tight but I have seen other people building a smaller room, so I guess it should be ok !

[wbond]

Will you be able to swing driver without hitting the wall behind you down the target line? Just over 4' seems pretty tight.

[Bastiaan]

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!

[ecarl97]

Thanks aja!!! I will do that!

[aja]

Any 16:9 projector can also project a 4:3 image (to the best of my knowledge). Most new projectors are geared to 16:9 but aren't limited to that ratio.

After checking the projector calculator this hardly fits the short throw category. I compared to my screen size and my Optoma is placed at 2.5 meters, whereas the Viewsonic ends up being 6 meters from the screen to give the same image size.

I would start at the "Search by Feature" page of projector central http://www.projectorcentral.com/projectors.cfm and see what you can find. It's intimidating at first, but trial and error should give you something worthwhile.

Remember to plug in your screen width or height as one of the parameters. (Screen diagonal is a useless piece of info since it is dependent on the image ratio...)

[ecarl97]

Hello Y'all,

After some research I found this link; http://www.projectorcentral.com/new-...projectors.htm

This states the following:
Short throw projectors are used in applications where the distance to the projection screen must be minimized. Models are able to project onto a screen from as little as 1.5 feet away. These projectors come in both 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios and may include support for networking.

I have observed some posts that state its difficult to find 4:3 projectors. Research for some of the projectors listed in the link above does not specifically state they have 4:3 aspect ratio. The reason this is important to me is because the screen size that I have discussed with par2pro and others is this : 7' - 6" h x 9' - 6" w (4:3 aspect ratio)

Would I be good with any of those projectors listed? I see alot of BenQ on here, any thoughts on Viewsonic? I was looking at this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A6UNGXQ?psc=1

Thank You!

[dborden0]

Did you pick a projector? If so, which did you get? I'm trying to decide which way to go.

Oops. Quoted the wrong message. Not sure how to fix from my phone...