# Golf Simulator Projector



## Bullitt5094 (Mar 5, 2012)

Two of my passions have merged. HT and Golf. I've recently purchased an Optishot 2 golf simulator. I'm totally addicted and have a "range" set-up in my garage. I now wish to make the jump into projecting the course onto the golf net. This presents some unusual challenges. The net will be about 10ft wide and 8 ft high. The room needs to be decently lighted for the sensors in the simulator pad to pick-up the club path reliably. Unlike most games, some lag in the picture shouldn't really matter. The distance between the projector and the screen will be about 15ft. Picture quality isn't that important. It isn't a FPS game or a movie.

Has anyone tackled this scenario before? Any recommendations for a projector? I would think brightness would be a big factor. Just looking for some suggestions that won't break the bank. $500 or less would be good if that's doable.


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## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

I'm by no means an expert on projectors, so take my advice with a grain of salt. I don't think you're looking for a home theater projector. Something designed for a conference room or lecture hall might suit your needs best. A quick look at projector central turns up a few that might work. Hopefully others with more experience can offer additional advice. I'm honestly not sure what kind of brightness capability you'll need.

Take a look at these:
BenQ MX620ST
$510, 3000 Lumens, 4:3 aspec ratio

Optoma S316
$309, 3200 Lumens, 4:3 aspect ratio


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## Bullitt5094 (Mar 5, 2012)

I've actually been looking at some Office Projectors on Woot. I didn't know if they would be suitable for this application since this isn't PowerPoint. But they are bright, and I would think their motion capabilities would be good enough. That's a good suggestion. Hopefully others will chime-in with suggestions.


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## Alan Brown (Jun 7, 2006)

Bullitt5094 said:


> I've actually been looking at some Office Projectors on Woot. I didn't know if they would be suitable for this application since this isn't PowerPoint. But they are bright, and I would think their motion capabilities would be good enough. That's a good suggestion. Hopefully others will chime-in with suggestions.


 I went to the source and got this response:

_"Laura Judd (OptiShot Help & Support)

Aug 11, 3:59 PM

Hello,

The ideal type of projector for a hitting bay is a short throw projector. These are useful because the projector can be a very short distance from the impact screen and still throw a large image. This allows the projector to be mounted on the ceiling between the golfer and the impact screen, eliminating shadows of the golfer on the screen.

In addition to the projector being of the short throw type, it must be able to support a minimum resolution of 1024x768 pixels, which is the minimum required resolution for the OptiShot software to operate. By today's standards, this is not a hard feature to find in a projector.

The last thing you need in a projector is one that is quite bright, at least 2500 lumens. This way, you can practice in light rather than a dark theater type lit room.

We currently like the one below. If you shop around, you might find it for less than what is listed on the page below.
Viewsonic PJD 6683ws

The next thing to consider is an impact screen. Follow this link below to have a screen custom cut to your specifications.
Net Masters

And follow either of the two links below to trusted resellers of ours that sell complete systems and whom will be able to help you further.
The Golf Simulator Guys
All Sport Systems

If you have any further questions for us or need clarification, please do not hesitate to ask.

Kind regards,

Laura Judd
Manager | OptiShot Golf"_

They responded within an hour of submitting an inquiry on their web site.


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## Alan Brown (Jun 7, 2006)

Actually, it makes more sense to me to source a projector with a throw ratio that would allow it to be ceiling mounted, over the golfer. Using a short throw model near the screen would need to be in a shield of some kind to prevent being hit by balls.


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## Bullitt5094 (Mar 5, 2012)

That is also true. I'm trying to balance the throw ratio, the angle to the screen from a relatively close overhead mounting position, brightness and price. I don't think I've found all of those things in my research so far. Somehow it always seems the price is what I end up compromising on.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Bright projectors are going to be up around the $800- $1000 range for the use your looking for. Sadly anything less would be a compromise and lack the light output to be useful in a room that has a fair bit of light.
A multi media projector is what you want as it needs to be able to project in the correct aspect ratio.


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## rainorshinegolf (Aug 28, 2017)

There is a TON that goes into the perfect projector for your setup. Lumens...Aspect Ratio...Short Throw Capability...Affordability...HD vs Standard Def...Here are some key features to look out for.

Lumens determines the brightness of the image your projector displays. The brighter your room is, the more important it is to have a high lumens projector. As a general rule of thumb, you can get by in dark rooms with lumens of 1500-2000, rooms with reduced lighting you will need lumens above 2000+, and rooms with a reasonable amount of lighting you will need lumens above 3000+.

Throw ratio refers to the distance the projector is from the screen versus how wide the screen is. If you do not want your shadow showing up on your hitting screen, you will need what is called a short throw or ultra-short throw projector which range anywhere between 0.3:1 to 1:1.

To find the optimal throw ratio, you will divide the distance from your projector to your screen by the width of your screen. As an example, if your screen is 10 feet wide and your projector is 5 feet away from the screen, your optimal throw ratio is 0.5:1 (5 feet / 10 feet).

Aspect ratio and resolution tend to go hand-in-hand. To put it simply, aspect ratio refers to the shape the image will take on the screen or the ratio between the width and height of the image. Resolution refers to the number of pixels inside the image. The more pixels, the higher the image quality.

Most commonly, you will see the following aspect ratios & resolutions:

4:3 (XGA & SXGA)
Image will take more of a square shape
Lowest resolution: 1024 x 768 resolution
Lowest cost option
These projectors are also more lightweight and portable
16:10 (WXGA & WUXGA)
Image will be more rectangular
Higher resolution: 1280 x 800 resolution
Crisper picture but more expensive than XGA & SXGA
16:9 (standard HDTV, 1080p)
Image will be more rectangular
Highest resolution: 1920 x 1080p resolution
If you want to turn your golf simulator into a home theater, we highly recommend opting for this resolution


Important note: We would recommend trying to match the resolution of your computer with the resolution of your projector. Your projector will never be able to project a higher resolution image than your computer is capable of! 

For example, if your computer has a resolution of 1024 x 768, and you have a higher resolution projector such as 1280 x 800, the projector will only project an image in 1024 x 768.
HDMI Connectivity

A final feature to make sure your projector has is the necessary HDMI Input. Almost all new projectors have this, but it is necessary to work with any of our golf simulators.


Now I realize this is a lot to take in...to make things easier, feel free to browse our Projector Buyers Guide below:

https://rainorshinegolf.com/pages/golf-simulator-projector-buyer-guide

Cheers, 
Shawn :T


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## davidross (Nov 4, 2019)

Bright projectors are going to be up around the $800- $1000 range for the use your looking for. Sadly anything less would be a compromise and lack the light output to be useful in a room that has a fair bit of light.

A multimedia projector is what you want as it needs to be able to project in the correct aspect ratio.

If you need more details about best golf simulator projectors then check out latest review from projector finder.


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