Designing simulator to double as home theater

[Alan PC]

Does anyone have experience designing and/or using their simulator as a home theater when not being used for golf? I am considering do so but am skeptical it is as easy as the online sites that talk about it suggest. I would love to be proven wrong. Any advice from the members would be welcomed!

[COgolfengineer]

The golf simulator is most of the way there to a home theater. Only missing surround sound and seating which some people do just for their golf simulator anyway. The PC is already driving the projector and can add surround sound easily. You can stream movies or TV shows to the PC and can even add a bluray drive to your PC if needed.

Good luck! I would certainly doubly my sim as a theater if my sim wasn't in the garage.

[fortner28]

This can be done but there are a lot of things to consider. If you are wanting a high end viewing experience then you will want a 4K setup with a proper video screen. The best golf impact screens out there do not make great video screens. They can look good. It just depends on what you want. If you want great surround sound it is hard to do with an area made for hitting a golf ball 150 mph. One of the best solutions is having in ceiling speakers. These sound good but aren't the best for true theater sound. I watch movies on my simulator and it's not a bad experience. My point is that some sacrifices will probably be made to have this space used for both things.

[brymerica]

Not easy but it can be done. Agree with fortner28 - trade-offs between a sim and home theater will have to be made. Overall the golf sim screens are not going to give you the best quality theater screen, so that is one trade-off (unless you do two screens, one for the sim and one for the theater). Other things to consider - aspect ratio (will likely have to do 16:9 or 16:10 for it to also be used as a theater), projector (4k v 1080p), speakers. I have a Carl's premium screen that works well for TV/streaming but probably not as good as a true theater screen. For the sim, I am using mevo+ with an HDMI connection to a projector (ceiling mounted) which has a 16:10 output. My 16:9 sources are just zoomed in a bit more with the projector and fit the screen. I installed in-ceiling speakers -- they are good for movies but again probably not the "best" for a true home theater setup.

[JayBrd85]

Like others have said, it's fairly straight-forward. Get a surround sound receiver and speakers, decide on 4K vs 1080p compatibility for all devices (projector, receiver, PC's video card). Have the projector hooked up to the primary HDMI out of the receiver. Plug everything else into the receiver - PC, Xbox, Amazon firestick, etc. I have a 7.1 surround system in my sim room/home theater. The center speaker is above the screen, FL/FR to the sides of the screen, but they completely blend in with the black curtains. Then the middle and back speakers are in the back of the room by the couch. Works great so far. I'll probably upgrade the middle and back speakers at some point.

[SkeetShooter]

I love your setup man! If I had a setup like that, my wife would never see me. I'd probably end up sleeping and working in there as well! Well done!

[CarlSpackler]

Alan, a little thought on AV equipment and speakers and you are good to go. I just finished mine and we use it for both. The Chicago Canvas golf sim curtains give a nice movie theater feel. Big choices include projector ability to connect to soundbar and subwoofer or going with an AV receiver or a wired speaker system. I did the latter since I have a good Yamaha AV receiver.

[Keith]

Excellent room!

[linkkingx]

I plan on using my upcoming sim room as a theater as well. My room is 17'X36'. I was thinking about mounting the front speakers on the side walls in line with my hitting area, about 10' from the screen. The center channel will be mounted on the ceiling above the hitting area, as long as it's out of the way of the projector and whatever lighting i have up there. The surround speakers will be further back behind the seating area obviously. I think this will be a good start, but eventually I might put a retractable theater screen in the ceiling just in front of my impact screen, and have a separate 4K projector or just upgrade my golf sim projector. The problem with using the same projector for both will be matching the image size for the 2 different screens and finding a good short throw 4K projector that isn't too expensive. There are a lot more standard throw 4K projectors out there to choose from, but that will probably change in a few years anyway when it comes time for me to upgrade.

[Bmartin15]

I was looking at the same thing for a separate screen. I want a 16x9 screen and have found retractable ones at that size are really expensive.

[jerry3]

linkkingx Bmartin15 I've got a retractable screen in front of my impact screen as you guys mentioned. It's a much better viewing experience than even a premium impact screen. I bought a pretty cheap one around $300 and still way better image. Its true that the ratio isn't perfect, I can't fill both screens completely, but it's a very large image and looks good!

[Sixmudd]

For speakers, I have a set of inwall Martin Logan speaker. Front right, left and center. Then two rear surrounds in ceiling. I have it paired with a free standing Martin Logan sub, and sounds amazing. So there are some great sounding inwall options.

[pr4424]

For speakers, I have a set of inwall Martin Logan speaker. Front right, left and center. Then two rear surrounds in ceiling. I have it paired with a free standing Martin Logan sub, and sounds amazing. So there are some great sounding inwall options.

What screen do you have? I'd like to use in wall speakers too but I'm afraid the screen will muffle the sound to much for FL C FR.

[Dax]

An option could be to go with a retractable golf silkscreen. Something that rolls up like what Mr. Shortcake used from par2pro. You can then have a wall mounted theatre screen. This will be much cheaper than buying a retractable theatre screen of any size. Then depending on room size you could either keep your front speakers behind some screen (assuming enough distance that they don't get hit with a ball), get think wall mount speakers, or go with in wall speakers. I don't think ceiling mounting front speakers will sound great. As noted above, there are some great sounding in wall speakers.

You could consider looking for a projector that then has a memory function that allows you to change the zoom and lens shift to hopefully not have to buy two projectors. Not sure if this would work perfect, but I would give the numbers a try on projector central.

[Bmartin15]

Do you have pictures or details of Mr. Shortcakes setup? Hadn't really thought about doing the simulator screen in front of a theater screen. Guess if it had some clearance bet them it could be safe.

[Dax]

Bmartin15 about that, I meant to say Mr Shortgame. Must have been auto correct.

if you go on you tube and search for this name his videos should pop up. I am going to say he has had this set up now for about six months.

[jhmeg2]

So, Im building my sim/ theater now too. from scratch! room is 12x31, carls premium screen, epson projector, yamaha reciver, powered 12" front l/r powered 8" center. front stage will be behind the screen with an 18" sub. kenwood towers in the rear, and kenwood overhead for atmos, with a second 18" sub in the rear. Waiting to get floor carpet now. then I can mount all the equipment. had to frame building, run power and data cables. had building spray foamed for insulation. then drywall, drop celing..... yeah itas a lot of work, but I think it will be worth it.

[agent0024]

I went with a higher-quality in-ceiling speaker system. The front and center speaker are actually hidden above the enclosure. The top of the enclosure is a mesh material so it does not block the sound. The speakers also pivot to direct sound to the listening & hitting area. The rear speakers are in the ceiling behind the hitting/viewing area. The subwoofer is in the front corner out of view. Still lots of work to get the room done, but here is where we are at now...