Looking for advice...

[thrillson12]

Hello All

First time poster. Getting ready to start my basement simulator but wanted to ask for advice. My basement has tray ceilings that are right at 9ft inside of the tray. Under the tray I have about 92 inches in height. Width is not an issue. The way I see it I have 2 options...

1) put enclosure "under" the tray as close to the wall possible. The screen would obviously be shorter but I could get a true 16:9 aspect ratio and I would then be hitting from 10ft away.

2) put enclosure in front of tray to get taller screen but I'd be hitting from about 8ft away and probably wouldn't want to go as wide because of how the bar is setup.

I'm planning on using Skytrak and buying a 5ft depth enclosure with premium screen from Carl's. Is there any downside to having a screen that's only about 90 inches tall? Any recommendations on a projector that can fill a 160 inch wide screen from 10ft away?

Any tips are greatly appreciated!!

[Supraracer]

Shouldn't be an issue with 90". The main problem I see is depending on the projector, the offset might force you to lower the projector to get picture aligned. Might need to floor mount it. The enclosures usually have a top protector screen and a short throw projector might be too close to get the image under the top screen. What is the depth of the bulkhead?

[andygg1986]

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but it looks like the distance between the end of the tray and the wall is only about a foot. You need to leave at least 6"-8" behind the screen because the ball will push it back. There are several posts on how to minimize this distance, but I don't think you can get below 6". So I don't think the placement would be that different whether you go under or inside the tray.

If it were me, I would keep the screen shorter to get the 16x9 ratio. Position the enclosure so that it goes up to the full 9 feet right at the inside edge of the tray. The screen would have a roughly 16" gap between the top of the screen and the top rail of the enclosure, so the top of the screen is in line with the edge of the tray. Then hang some baffles on the top to cover the difference in height between the 9 feet and the top of the screen. That would keep a ball from hitting the side of the tray. I also would make it less deep so that it doesn't block the bar. With that much width, you would need a pretty crazy toe shank to miss that far right. If you were really concerned, you could do a curtain that could be pulled towards the screen when the simulator is not in use to keep the room more open.

[Godfather]

Hard to tell the width, but if you can center it, I’d just do angle iron on the walls and across the underside of the tray. I wouldn’t be concerned about 8 or 10 feet from the screen. Not a big deal. A lower screen may just necessitate thorough protection for the face of the tray and the ceiling especially if hitting from 10 feet away.

[thrillson12]

Thanks for the responses. After taking some additional measurements the tray extends 2ft on all sides of the room. Because of this I think I would like to have the enclosure slide under as much as possible. This would give me just over 15 ft in width from the edge of the bar to the other wall. Some quick calculations would put my screen at approx 160x90 inches.

Now my biggest concern is the projector. I'm hoping to mount directly above the hitting area so it will be approx 9 ft away from the screen but it will be mounted about 14 inches higer than the screen because it's being mounted on the inside of the tray. Will this be a problem?

[FirGir]

It probably depends on what projector you go with but you definitely want to try and avoid using any type of keystone correction as it degrades the image. Below is a projectorcentral.com projector calculator link for the BenQ HT2150ST which I have. You'll notice when mounted from the ceiling, ideally the projector is one inch higher than where you want the top of your image. Other projectors may be better for your situation. Or, the solution may be to get a ceiling projector mount that has an extension pole to drop the projector down a foot or so. I dropped my projector down a foot in the garage using a flange and some plumbers piping but it's not pretty.

https://www.projectorcentral.com/BenQ-HT2150ST-projection-calculator-flash.htm

[FaultyClubs]

It probably depends on what projector you go with but you definitely want to try and avoid using any type of keystone correction as it degrades the image.

In theory yes, but in practice I can't see any difference when using reasonable amounts. Maybe some projectors do it better than others, I don't know.

[tron]

I recommend placing your hitting area a couple of feet behind the ceiling mount projector rather than directly below it.

[p3eps]

I had mine directly above my ball position for about 2 years and never had an issue.

[Golf Newb]

I'd also be interested in hearing why. I am researching a commercial build and one thing I can't get right it where exactly do I put the projector so that it is safe.

[tron]

Because of the arc of the swing, by placing the projector a couple of feet in front of the hitting area, you get more room for your swing especially if you have a more upright swing plane.

[thrillson12]

Thanks again for all of of your input. My preference is to build under the tray. After some more measuremnts and talking with Carl's this would give me a viewable screen that measures 81x144. Can anyone comment on what my "experience" might be with those dimensions? Will I feel like everything is crammed in from top to bottom? Will some software be better than others?

[vrpunk]

Very similar to my build, wall and ceiling. You can also get projectors that have a lens shift option which does not lose image quality, so you can move it horizontally, vertically off the center to avoid any chance of the swing plane ever hitting on a steep angle. E.g. Optoma wu515tst

I used angle iron and material baffles, I have a 4m x 2.25m screen (16:9) but it can be 4m x 2.5m (16:10) if I ever want a wig a projector.

[vrpunk]

My mats are made up of true strike mk6 and mk7, it’s a tight fit but they do go together.
Mk6 gel pad hitting area, will wear easily, I have two of them they will last 12 months each before replacing with a mk7 which is more artificial turf over the gel pad.

[Kenny Zawodny]

What is the Tablet for? I saw someone on youtube had the same thing right there and they used it for some things in the game but also walked to the PC to change clubs.

[vrpunk]

Tablet - I have Air Keyboard installed and have built a FSX2018 layout and also have a TGC layout, so I control all mouse/keyboard functions from it
I also experimented with voice commands, which was pretty cool. Other users have used foot pedals.

[thrillson12]

Vrpunk.....great pics. Can you give some more detail on your projector setup? From the pictures it looks to be mounted quite a bit higher than the screen.

[vrpunk]

I was limited because room length is 4.7m.
I want a Optoma wuxga515tst but price is ridiculous, for a 1920x1200 setup, but it allows the projector to sit 10% off centre horizontally and 15% higher vertically in regards to your image size, using lens shift, so no worry of steep swing plane hitting the projector.

I went for the Optoma 1080darbee, which allows 115% offset so my image is 225cm tall so projector lens centre is around 260cm from the floor.

Lumens is okay, bit grainy, will wait till 4K ones down in price or wuxga are
cheaper.

[Ykaar]

vrpunk hello ! Can I ask you for more details about your top and sides protection please ? Looks really good. Thank you

[vrpunk]

Grey sides are mdf panels with blue upholstery foam, covered in some old curtain material.
All the black matt material is a roll of strong suit material
I wanted maximum width, so I created a visual illusion.....the two side black scripts ( for framing the image) are actually on the side wall, they are made From the same upholstery foam and cover the angle iron, they are removable using Velcro so I can adjust the screen tension.
Baffles are made from the black material stapled to roof batons.