16' x 9' screen projector options

[Matt Dizel]

Hey all. Slowly moving along in my garage sim build. Have a 16' x 9.5' screen that I'd like to be able to use for sim in 16:10 which would be screen usage of 15' x 9.4' or 16:9 mode for the occasional movie or sporting event. Would like to keep the projector in front of or equal to the hitting area (10-12ft). Does anyone have a similar size screen and if so what projector did you use? Was going to get the InFocus138hdst due to the throw distance but saw a recent review on this site that talked of a slightly blurry image and I'd have to be able to move the projector due to no zoom ability. So now back to the drawing board. Would love to hear others suggestions on projectors for these specs...TIA

[mthunt]

I did and bought the BenQ1085st. If hangs 14 feet from the screen

[Matt Dizel]

Thanks mthunt...are you hitting from a similar distance of 10-12 ft? No shadow issues? I have 10'3" ceilings...any idea how far off the ceiling the projector is mounted?

[mthunt]

My ceiling is 10 feet and my ball is 10 from the screen. No shadows.

[dradequate]

My screen is 15x18.5 and I have an Optoma Darbee 1080 8-9
feet from the screen. This picture doesn’t show the full video size
but when the resolution is correct it fills the entire screen

[jc523]

I went with a sony large venue projector, vpl-fh36.


see this forum post for more info about them:

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/build-your-own/projectors/179321-fantastic-deals-on-sony-wuxga-native-16-10-projectors-w-5k-to-6k-lumens

they're natively 16:10 (1920 x 1200) and are much brighter than the other short throw projectors out there, as they're made for large conference rooms or auditoriums.


they have interchangeable lenses, so you can get a short-throw lens for simulator use. they make two different lenses, one that's a short-throw zoom(vpll-z2009), and the other that's a fixed short-throw (vpll-2007).


the user manual for these projectors gives you the formula to calculate throw distance based on lens and screen size.

it looks like your 16:10 setup (180" x 112.5") would be 212.25" diagonal, so

vpll-2007 lens (fixed) - 9.8' from the screen.

vpll-z2009 lens (zoom) - between 12.9' and 15.1' from the screen.


hope this helps.

[Cochise]

My screen is also 16x9 and i went with the Optoma Darbee. The image takes up the whole screen and its mounted about 8-9 feet away. I've used it for movies and xbox quite a bit and i am happy with my purchase.

[Kato]

I also have a darbee. I posted my final results a few months back. Been happy w it but it’s a pain to hang as you need to be very precise w location (height and distance) to get it to fill the screen perfectly.