Component Layout Feedback

[devildog1205]

Below is my current dimensional layout plan for the Screen, Projector, LM, Hitting Mat and Tee Location. And a snippet of the recommended throw settings for the Optoma GT1090HDR. Not too late to change projector if need be on this build.

Room Dims: 20' x 16' with 10.2' ceiling. The Projector (Optoma GT1090HDR) will need to hang down 24" from the ceiling (16" below top of image), at 8' 2" off the floor in this configuration.

Questions/Concerns:

1- Hitting location, is 9.5' enough distance away from a 15.5' wide image (16' Screen)?
2- I'd be hitting 18-19" behind the Projector, which would be mounted at 8' 2" off the floor. Is this safe?
3- Can the projector be mounted higher than the recommended height, and angled down to achieve the same size/quality image?

Thanks

[3on3putt]

So I think you might be misunderstanding the relationship between the projector lens and the edge of the image (vertical offset).

You said the projector will hang down 16 inches "below the top of the image." That is not correct. The image begins 16 inches below the middle of the projector lens. There is no image above the lens, so the projector can not be "below the top of the image." It will be above the top of the image.

You're going for an image that is 105 inches high (8 feet, 9 inches). The middle of the projector lens needs to be 16 inches above that, which puts the lens at 121 inches high (10 feet, 1 inch). With a ceiling height of only 10 feet, 2 inches, this won't be possible.

If you had the projector lens sitting at 8 feet, 2 inches like you're outlining here (98 inches), the top of the image would only be 82 inches high (6 feet, 10 inches) and the bottom of the image would be cut off.

You can mount this projector a little closer to the screen to achieve a smaller vertical offset. But you would have a smaller image.

Otherwise, you may want to look for a projector with a smaller vertical offset if you want to keep the 105 inch image height. Hope that all makes sense.

[devildog1205]

So I think you might be misunderstanding the relationship between the projector lens and the edge of the image (vertical offset).

You said the projector will hang down 16 inches "below the top of the image." That is not correct. The image begins 16 inches below the middle of the projector lens. There is no image above the lens, so the projector can not be "below the top of the image." It will be above the top of the image.

You're going for an image that is 105 inches high (8 feet, 9 inches). The middle of the projector lens needs to be 16 inches above that, which puts the lens at 121 inches high (10 feet, 1 inch). With a ceiling height of only 10 feet, 2 inches, this won't be possible.

If you had the projector lens sitting at 8 feet, 2 inches like you're outlining here (98 inches), the top of the image would only be 82 inches high (6 feet, 10 inches) and the bottom of the image would be cut off.

You can mount this projector a little closer to the screen to achieve a smaller vertical offset. But you would have a smaller image.

Otherwise, you may want to look for a projector with a smaller vertical offset if you want to keep the 105 inch image height. Hope that all makes sense.

It does! And thank you for the clarifications. You were right, I was misinterpreting the negative value that PC put for vertical offset. Thanks for catching that. Can you recommend projector for a 15.5’ x 10’ screen with around a 10’ throw?

[14MPH]

It does! And thank you for the clarifications. You were right, I was misinterpreting the negative value that PC put for vertical offset. Thanks for catching that. Can you recommend projector for a 15.5’ x 10’ screen with around a 10’ throw?

devildog1205 i haven’t built my sim so not speaking from experience but projectorcentral website has a calculator that shows you throw distance relative to image dimensions. Make sure to select the ceiling mount check box and it will also tell you mount height distance above your screen height. See if that helps.

[3on3putt]

It does! And thank you for the clarifications. You were right, I was misinterpreting the negative value that PC put for vertical offset. Thanks for catching that. Can you recommend projector for a 15.5’ x 10’ screen with around a 10’ throw?

Check out the BenQ TH671ST. You can mount it 11 feet 9 inches away for your screen size and it has a vertical offset of only 3 inches.

One thing to note is that you will not fill up your entire screen vertically as your screen dimensions are not a perfect 16:9, 16:10 or 4:3. Your screen is closest to a 16:10, but projectors with 16:10 options are more limited these days. A 16:9 aspect ratio (such as with the BenQ mentioned above) will give you an image height of 105 inches (while filling the screen completely horizontally) whereas your screen is 120 inches high. So you will have 15 inches of empty space to use on top, on bottom or a combination of the two.

The silver lining of not filling your screen completely from top to bottom is that it gives you some more wiggle room for the projector's vertical offset. For example, with an image of 105 inches, you have 17 inches between the top of your image and your ceiling (with the image starting at the bottom). But if you were to fill your screen entirely from top to bottom, you would only have 2 inches between the top of the image and the ceiling, which makes it impossible because there's no room for even a projector, let alone a mount.

The BenQ HT1085ST is another one that would work. You can get a 105 inch image from 11 feet 8 inches and the vertical offset is just 2 inches. It's a lower lumens projector, so you would need a totally dark room for it. But just another example of a projector that offers the throw distance and vertical offset you will need. Use the search filters on projector central using a throw ratio range of about 0.6 to 0.9 and explore your options. I think BenQ has a lot of projectors with short vertical offsets.

If you haven't purchased the screen yet, maybe consider getting one that is 16 feet by 9 feet (which is close to the 15.5 x 10 that you're planning). That way you can have a perfect 16:9 ratio and fill it up completely.

To address your other questions from the original post...

#1 = 9.5 feet is plenty. That's a big screen. You can easily go closer. I hit from just over 7 feet away.

#2 = Hitting from a foot or two behind the projector is no big deal. Especially since you now know that your projector will be mounted higher than you originally thought.

#3 = You can angle the projector down. It will skew the image a little and you can then use keystone to square it up. Using a lot of keystone can affect image quality, so I would try to minimize the use of it. Instead, just try to mount the projector as close to the proper height as possible.

[devildog1205]

Check out the BenQ TH671ST. You can mount it 11 feet 9 inches away for your screen size and it has a vertical offset of only 3 inches.

One thing to note is that you will not fill up your entire screen vertically as your screen dimensions are not a perfect 16:9, 16:10 or 4:3. Your screen is closest to a 16:10, but projectors with 16:10 options are more limited these days. A 16:9 aspect ratio (such as with the BenQ mentioned above) will give you an image height of 105 inches (while filling the screen completely horizontally) whereas your screen is 120 inches high. So you will have 15 inches of empty space to use on top, on bottom or a combination of the two.

The silver lining of not filling your screen completely from top to bottom is that it gives you some more wiggle room for the projector's vertical offset. For example, with an image of 105 inches, you have 17 inches between the top of your image and your ceiling (with the image starting at the bottom). But if you were to fill your screen entirely from top to bottom, you would only have 2 inches between the top of the image and the ceiling, which makes it impossible because there's no room for even a projector, let alone a mount.

The BenQ HT1085ST is another one that would work. You can get a 105 inch image from 11 feet 8 inches and the vertical offset is just 2 inches. It's a lower lumens projector, so you would need a totally dark room for it. But just another example of a projector that offers the throw distance and vertical offset you will need. Use the search filters on projector central using a throw ratio range of about 0.6 to 0.9 and explore your options. I think BenQ has a lot of projectors with short vertical offsets.

If you haven't purchased the screen yet, maybe consider getting one that is 16 feet by 9 feet (which is close to the 15.5 x 10 that you're planning). That way you can have a perfect 16:9 ratio and fill it up completely.

To address your other questions from the original post...

#1 = 9.5 feet is plenty. That's a big screen. You can easily go closer. I hit from just over 7 feet away.

#2 = Hitting from a foot or two behind the projector is no big deal. Especially since you now know that your projector will be mounted higher than you originally thought.

#3 = You can angle the projector down. It will skew the image a little and you can then use keystone to square it up. Using a lot of keystone can affect image quality, so I would try to minimize the use of it. Instead, just try to mount the projector as close to the proper height as possible.

Got it. More good info. Thank you. The majority of thew BENQ projectors I'm finding using the Throw Calculator on the PC website show an "Estimated Image Brightness" that is too low (numbers are in the red, 9fl). Is that something I should be concerned with? It wants me to reduce the image size to bring the Projector closer to the screen and brighten the image. For awareness, the room Im building will have no windows and all ceiling recessed lights will be on dimmer switches. So I do plan to keep it relatively dark in there when playing.

[3on3putt]

The 671ST is 3,000 lumens and in the middle of the brightness spectrum on projector central and recommended for rooms with low ambient light (the manufacturer's estimate is much better). I probably wouldn't go any lower than 3,000. But 3,000 in a dark room is fine in my opinion.

[devildog1205]

Got it. Thanks again.