EyeXO Build Advice - 16:10 or 16:9

[boozcruz33]

I am in the process of building an enclosure and getting ready to purchase a screen for my new setup. I have 13' ceilings and a window that I need to cover, so I am planning to build a custom wood (with padded panels) enclosure. The interior width of the enclosure will be about 15'4" and I was planning a 10' tall enclosure since the max height for pretty much every ceiling-mounted launch monitor. I have an Optoma 4K400STx projector, which has great picture quality and brightness, but is limited on flexibility with no lens shift or optical zoom capabilities. The enclosure will be 7' deep and the center of my hitting strip is 9'8" from the screen.

Enclosure facts:

• Enclosure Depth: 7'
• Distance from Center of Hitting Strip to Screen: 9'8"
• EyeXO Required Mounting Location: 6'2" from screen (3.5' in front of center of hitting strip)

My original plan was to use a 16:10 aspect ratio to maximize the screen height (15'4" wide and 9'7" tall). The issues that I have with this aspect ratio are:

1. Projector Central shows the throw distance as 8'6" with a vertical offset of 1'6" above the top of the screen. With the projector only 1.5' in front of the edge of the enclosure, I likely can't mount it at the required height of 11'1" without the enclosure cutting off the top of the picture (or even the EyeXO). I might be able to mount the projector lower and play around with keystone to make it fit.
2. The kids will likely watch movies or play games in the room as well at a 16:9 aspect ratio. If the project switches to a 16:9 ratio, the 15'4" width requires the throw distance to be reduced to 7'8", which would require some creative projector mount sliding to make it work.

Another option is to just plan for a 16:9 aspect ratio and keep the 10' enclosure height, which would give me a 15'4" wide screen that is 8'7" tall. I lose a foot of screen height, but I don't need to worry about moving the projector around for non-golf purposes. The lower screen height also means that I can mount the projector at 10' (center of lens) and meet the vertical offset requirements of the projector. The 7'8" throw distance only gives me 8" until the start of the enclosure and 1.5' until the EyeXO unit, but the vertical offset position should be close enough to accurate to really fill the screen well.

I always hear people say to go as large as you possibly can with the screen size, so I am trying to figure out how to make the 16:10 aspect ratio work. The last option is to ditch this projector for the LK936ST, but that doesn't completely solve the throw distance issue with 16:9 vs 16:10 even with the optical zoom capabilities.

Any recommendations from this group? Should I just settle for 16:9 and make my life easier or will I regret not going taller?

[COgolfengineer]

Sticking to a 16:9 aspect ratio is so much easier. You could set to 16:10 for golf and then 16:9 for movies but you'd have to slide the projector if you want it to fill the width for both cases, and then you might have to change focus every time you move it. Seems like a pain in the butt to me. I would just leave it in 16:9 all the time.

I don't know of any 16:10 4k projectors (3840x2400 pixels). You could stick with the 4k400stx and like you said, would have to lower the projector and tilt it upward and then have to use keystone. Downside of keystone is you can't get a uniform focus across the screen, so you will get some blurriness as you get further away from the center of the screen. And your 4k projector doesn't look as good as it should.

The LK936ST is a great projector. It's what I use and have used it in sim builds I've done and looks great. And you wouldn't have to use any keystone. For your screen width and 16:9, projector would be 12.4-13.6ft from screen to lens. Obviously it costs quite a bit more than the 4k400stx but would look great. Just need to think if it's worth it.

If you do want the LK936ST, I am a BenQ dealer and can get you a great price and get you free shipping and no sales tax. PM me if interested. I'm also on the GSpro discord and can reach out to me there as well (COgolf).

[boozcruz33]

Do you think I would have to worry about shadows with the projector 13’ from the screen? I assume it would likely be fine because I could mount the projector 12-13’ in the air.

[COgolfengineer]

I did a build with a slightly wider screen, 16:9 ratio and the projector was almost 14ft from the screen...no shadows. And tee was 9.5ft from screen. Could create a small shadow if you're super tall. The projector will want to sit slightly lower than the Eyexo to avoid clipping the top of the image. So if the Eyexo is at 10ft, then projector slightly lower than that. Exactly same setup with the build I'm referencing.

[COgolfengineer]

Having 10ft of "ceiling" height for your enclosure is perfect because the Eyexo can mount directly to that. Your viewable screen image height will be less than 10ft because you'll need to cover the bungees and possibly tarp clips. You'll lose roughly 4-7" per side. You can still plan to have your viewable image be a perfect 16:9 ratio if you're building an enclosure. The build I mentioned above was actually in a barn with 16ft tall ceilings. I did a similar thing where the sim went in the corner of the barn and I made a ceiling and side wall to enclose the sim. The ceiling was 10ft high and came out 16ft from the screen wall. So then the Eyexo, projector, and golf sim lighting could attach to the ceiling. And the width was setup to give a perfect 16:9 aspect ratio.

[Molibra]

Having 10ft of "ceiling" height for your enclosure is perfect because the Eyexo can mount directly to that. Your viewable screen image height will be less than 10ft because you'll need to cover the bungees and possibly tarp clips. You'll lose roughly 4-7" per side. You can still plan to have your viewable image be a perfect 16:9 ratio if you're building an enclosure. The build I mentioned above was actually in a barn with 16ft tall ceilings. I did a similar thing where the sim went in the corner of the barn and I made a ceiling and side wall to enclose the sim. The ceiling was 10ft high and came out 16ft from the screen wall. So then the Eyexo, projector, and golf sim lighting could attach to the ceiling. And the width was setup to give a perfect 16:9 aspect ratio.

Hi COgolfengineer, we are also jn the process of a new construction build. Leaning towards EYE XO as lm. Saw you had a couple of comments where you had builds with EYE XO and hitting line was less than 12’ from impact screen. Do/did you see any issues with this shorter distance? Is there a certain implant screen you would recommend if the hitting area is less than 12’ from screen or any feedback for that matter on closer layouts? We will likely have 10 6” from hitting spot to screen if there aren’t any drawbacks.

thanks

[COgolfengineer]

Molibra hitting at 12ft is pretty far. I think 10ft is ideal for most setups so your proposed 10.5ft is good. The hitting distance does depend on if you're hitting offset and projector placement, so need more info on projector and screen size. Outside of that, no issue with hitting at 10.5ft. I am a Uneekor dealer and can save you money on an Eyexo. The current Eyexo2 promo is pretty good where you get the Swing Optix and Balance Optix for free.

[Molibra]

COgolfengineer Thanks for the input. I am guessing the info you were talking about on the project/offset is what I am running into and discussed in this post.

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/golf-simulator-forum/simulator-builds/396398-benq-lk936st-with-uneekor-qed

Any thoughts on best path forward? If anything would like to move the hitting area up if it does not effect lm performance or impact screen issues.

Thanks

[COgolfengineer]

Molibra I just sent you a DM as I have a used XO for sale that could solve this problem for you.