Can this room be used for eyefinity pretty well?

[reuben.ahmed]

Hi,

I have a 13.5 x 13ft room. Typically we may say this might work well for a triple 720p short throw. The problem I have are the openings to other rooms in my house (they are not doors). They should probably remain open.

What is the best size fitting for this room for projectors? I realize this is a difficult question because it takes looking up throws of projectors/etc, but I'm still not certain on the radius of 180 degree screens, how wide they should be, etc. Someone with more experience could throw out their opinion.

I did PM this to BHawthorne, but I guess I'll start a thread too.

Thanks!
ELmO

Attached files

[BHawthorne]

Here are two options that might work. One is 180 degrees 6.5 foot radius. The second is 90 degree arc using 6.5 foot radius and two 5 foot straight sides. Given the door locations and room size my personal preference would be option #2. Option #1 really makes the room dysfunctional for anything else.

[reuben.ahmed]

Thanks!

I like #2 as well, but I have not seen either before. Can you tell me what the difference in what I will experience be, based on a 180degree "dome" type view vs 90 degree arc and straight sides?

This room basically won't be used for anything else, although it is my "dining" room - I have a morning room I use for eating (LOL). This room is also pretty dark even during the day, so I think it would work, as long as I can walk through it easily.

ELmO

[BHawthorne]

Option #1 will have a more uniform feel, but #2 will make the room significantly more functional. I see #2 as only minor tradeoffs for a significantly improve layout. Either setup will do just fine with 0.72:1 to 0.49:1 short-throw projectors.

[reuben.ahmed]

Thanks, I got paid today so I can go ahead with this.

Optoma GT750e is an obvious choice (although I know people have only really succeeded with the 720).

Know of any 1080p projectors that might be able to fulfill at this type of a throw distance? I heard the BenQ W6000 (discontinued) people thought could be used (relatively cheap, minimal lag, etc).

Thanks,
ELmO

[BHawthorne]

I think a number of people here actually have GT750 also. I recall at least 3 users in the last year.

[reuben.ahmed]

Good. My microcenter has 2 of them in stock. I will see if I can get some from Amazon then build a PC...

Hopefully this comes out well, considering I never played iRacing, HAWX, or any flight simulator in about 10 years.

[BHawthorne]

I play everything on my setup. I do like flight and racing sims, but find I play MMOs just as much on it. Many people setup their screens to be specific to one game. I guess I don't have that kind of attention span to specific game titles though for that to work for me. If the game works for Eyefinity, it works for this kind of setup. I always thought with how much time and effort I've invested into this type of setup I don't want it to be just specific to one game. It would be too much work on something just to get bored with the game title in the end. That way I make sure my setup works with most of the games I use. My Steam account is pretty absurd. I've been buying everything that interests me on the daily deals on Steam for about 3 years now.

These setups on YouTube where they setup elaborate racing and flight simpits look very cool, but what happens after it's all built and you've played 100 hours into the game? It's the difference between the romance and the reality of these types of setups. I really suggest when you design the screen to go general from the beginning so you don't get burnt out on the setup and it's as functional as possible. I haven't really talked much about that aspect of building in the 4 years I've been at it, but I think it's an important thing to account for.

[reuben.ahmed]

Thanks, that makes sense. I went back and read some posts I asked you earlier in the year, and you recomended 2 720ps for higher FOV. I think from my throw distances I may be able to still make the higher FOV with 3 720ps, thereby gaining me my resolution back. So I'll work towards 3 GT750s.

Microcenter went down to only 1 in stock, I'll call and see. I also have to build a PC.

I've seen yoru posts on other sites/etc. I think I might use an acoustically transparent screen (Seymourav.com) called CenterStage XD. It's pretty cheap if you build the screen yourself with his screen material. Then I will mount speakers and a sub behind the screen for a seamless install. The curved screen gives us a lot of room to work with behind it.

ELmO

[BHawthorne]

Let me know how the material works out. One constant that I've always experienced is the screen material is the most problematic part of the build. Some materials have driven me to swear like a sailor. I've never been truly happy with a screen material yet. I guess it's the difference between works and works well. I've never experienced works well. :bigsmile:

[reuben.ahmed]

We'll see, I haven't been super happy with the sample of CenterStage XD acoustic material I used with my home theater projector. My projector had trouble doing pixel focus on it, but everyone says you don't see the sharpness issues in movies..but I felt like I could.

They have 4K material out now, which basically is supposed to be sharper than some solid screens, but it's expensive as hell. 4K resolution (not necessary for eyefinity, but useful for home theater) screens are easily $8500+ in price.

I know the most difficult part will be to stretch the material over a custom frame. You could employ a professional (like SeymourAV) to make the screen for you and ship it off...they use tab tensioning, or other methods to help you easily assemble it.

So this project is again on hold maybe for a coupleof days, I seem to have an invasion of millipedes today! I somehow found and killed 30 of them inside. I read they can't last more than a few days (typically more than a few hours) inside, unless they find a dark, moist area (like a bathroom). ARGH!