Help with projector selection for Flightscope setup

[quattrodoc]

Happy Thanksgiving all - I have a room 16 wide by 32 long, 10' ceilings. I have a Flightscope X2 Elite and plan to put that against the back wall. Hitting area will be 11 feet in front of that , which means I'll have about 19' to the screen assuming it's 2' from the wall. I was planning on a 15 wide by essentially 9.5 - 10 foot tall screen. I was thinking of putting the projector about 16-17 feet from the screen, but it seems I won't have enough distance to cover this size of screen? Any input is greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!

[mthunt]

A BenQ1085st would be 14.5 feet away on that screen. You shouldnt need 2 feet behind the screen. Also, 19 feet to the screen is crazy. 7 irons will hit the ceiling. Go 10-12.

[bionicboogerboy]

I resell for both Optoma and Benq. They are the few companies the sell 1080 short throws.

I would use the Optoma EH200ST. That is what we package with all of our sims.

3000 lumens
.49 throw ratio
1080
2 HDMI ports.

Give us a call and we will hook you up.

golfsimulatorguys.com

[goatbarn]

Get a non short throw that fills your screen when mounted above your hitting area.

Save money and it'll be out of the way

[bionicboogerboy]

Goatbarn

That is bad advice. Standard short throws are very bad for sims unless you like seeing your shadow on the screen.

[Dax]

Why is a standard short throw bad for a sim?

[aja]

If you think that short throw projectors cause you to see your shadow on the impact screen, I am not sure that you know what short throw means. A short throw projector virtually eliminates the possibility of you seeing shadows since the projector is usually closer to the screen than you are.

[mthunt]

He must have meant non short throw. My buddy just put in a non St. His head casts a shadow when he's hitting.

[wbond]

I standard throw can work without shadows. It's all about matching your hitting position, throw distance, vertical positioning and vertical offset with the appropriate projector. Although a short throw will make this all that much easier, since it's usually above or even in front of the hitter.

[Ronsc1985]

First things first. You need to decide what is the highest number club you plan on hitting. It's maximum launch angle and the height of your screen really sets how far from the screen you want to be unless you enjoy dodging bouncing golf balls. Depending on how the upper screen support is constructed some may come back fast enough to challenge an NHL goalie.

After you figure that out, Lmax=H / tangent(max launch angle), you can decide what kind of projector you need. If you decide to try for a normal projector be sure that a straight line drawn from the bottom of the screen to the projector lens does not intersect your head or club when in the hitting position. If you have a reasonable distance from the screen, like 9 or 10 feet, this may be difficult to achieve.

[Dax]

I think if you go with 15 feet for tee to screen and have the screen 1 to 1.5 feet from wall you will be happy. This will allow the radar to be 9 feet from the ball and give you something like 6 feet for seating. You could build a bar table with stills that people can watch from and which can be used to house and protect the radar.

[goatbarn]

Please explain how any projector, short throw or non would cast a shadow when placed above your hitting area...like I said in my post....?

Example....I have a non short throw mounted right above my head from 13 feet away. Unless I'm 10 feet tall, there will never be a shadow.

[Gamble Gamble]

Avatars play golf too.

[Dax]

I asked the same question above, it does not make sense.

[bionicboogerboy]

At 13 feet away your projector is closer to a short throw lens than a standard throw. Even if you have a very narrow 10' wide screen, your diagonal is 12'6 on a 4:3 aspect ratio. Your throw ratio on that projector is approximately 1.04. That is of course assuming you have a small 10' wide screen. The definition of a short throw projector is a throw ratio less than 1. Standard throws can go to 2 or beyond. I do agree with you that hanging a projector above the hitting area and still filling the screen with image is fine. However, that rarely ends being a non short throw projector. I guess my problem with your statement is with the use non short throw because that might be impossible to do with a persons screen size and hitting area. He might have a larger screen than you have or he might want to be closer than you are. In either case, he couldn't use a non short throw or standard throw projector and still have the projector above the hitting area. The closer the projector is to the screen the better. You don't risk casting shadows and you don't stretch the pixels and lose picture quality.

However, to clear up any confusion for people buying projectors here is throw ratio math:

throw ratio of projector x diagonal measurement of screen = distance the projector must be away from the screen

or if you know your diagonal screen size and where you want to hang the projector here this is the formula you use to shop for a particular throw ratio

throw ratio = distance you want to place the projector / diagonal measurement of the screen

The diagonal measurement is found by using the formula for finding the hypotenuse of a triangle a2 + b2 = c2.

[bionicboogerboy]

Sorry guys

I meant standard throws are bad. I don't know what Ronsc is talking about. Highest # of club you planning on hitting??

I sell sims for a living and I have never heard anything like that.

Look don't overthink it. Just get a short throw. There is no reason at all to get a standard throw projector for golf simulation. Well except maybe for budget. Short throws are more expensive than standard throws.

Besides shadows, you lose picture quality with standard throws because you have to back the projector up further than short throws. When you do this, you stretch the pixels creating poor picture quality. Also the further away you move s projector, the more light you lose.

[Ronsc1985]

Sorry guys

I meant standard throws are bad. I don't know what Ronsc is talking about. Highest # of club you planning on hitting??

I sell sims for a living and I have never heard anything like that.

What part of launch angle don't you understand? The higher the launch angle the closer you have to be to the screen unless you enjoy hitting the top of the cage and/or ceiling and dodging bouncing golf balls.

[davray666]

I agree with goatbarn. If you can, get a standard throw projector. Definitely more bang for buck.
Me I had to go with a short throw because of the room dimensions and the screen size I wanted to end up with.