Where to start projectors curved screen project ?

[Guest]

Hi there,

I'm new registered on this forum, I found this adress with BHawthorne awesome projects. I used to have a 3*27" (1920*1080*3) configurations but I stopped because of deformation of objects on the side which was really unconfortable on planes sims and Battlefield. I have now a LG34UM95 which is really awesome.

I essentially play to Battlefield and DCS World and I started to think about this project seeing this video : , it's really awesome.

I have the luck to have a room for playing (and a nice wife for let me play ), but I would like to know where to start the project ? Budget is not the first point.

I can do the screen myself with wood or metal and isorel, I have a 3.6m (12feets) side room.

Do I have to make a circular or parabolic screen ? which radius ? 2 or 3 projectors ? 120/180° ? I don't know the beginning because possibilities are limitless.

Thanks for your help !

I would make a tutorial with this project for other people. I would probably post this on sims forum.

Dureiken

[BHawthorne]

Greetings, I should have time tomorrow to answer in a bit of detail. I should be able to give you most of the answers you're seeking though.

-Brad

[Guest]

Ok thanks a lot !

I think I will go with BenQ W1080ST which seems to be a really good choice, I started to draw on a CAD tool

waiting for your answer !

[The_Nephilim]

[BHawthorne]

Several helpful answers from The_Nephilim in the above post. I'll add a few things too.

Be mindful that projection setups still can have the side deformation issue on games that don't have special custom camera capability. Flight sims like DCS World, FSX and P3D are all ok with custom cameras, but games like Battlefield 3/4 are still going to have the barrel distortion because of how the game camera code is setup. Nthusim doesn't magically fix that sort of thing -- it's primary purpose is to calibrate the projection to the screen surface and seamlessly blend multiple projections together. It's still tied to a spanning mode such as AMD Eyefinity, Nvidia Surround or Matrox GXM. That being said I still have a lot of BF3 and ArmA II and III hours on my setup.

Half the battle with this sort of thing is having a room to build it up in. I lucked out with an unfinished basement in my case. I suppose the best place to start is the room size and work from there.

There is no exact science for the screen design. Of the 500 or so Nthusim screens out there, every single one of them is different and unique. Mostly it's dictated by the room size and the projectors used. There are however rough guidelines I go by on my personal builds. I would not go taller than 60" on the screen height. I also would not go with a radius tighter that 60". That pushes the limits of what can be done with 2 projectors.

Three projectors either forces a wider radius or a shorter screen height because of just how much a 16:9 projector is able to cover x 3. You actually get a taller projection with two projectors but three projectors are a more universally accepted spanning setup -- which makes three projectors a safer bet in design. Keep in mind that two projectors puts your edge blend right in the center of your FOV, while three projectors offsets those blends to each side. Dual projector is better suited for AMD Eyefinity builds. There are advantages and disadvantages to both configurations.

We're still working up content for the Nthusim 4.0 release. We actually have a Wordpress site that compliments the forums, but it's not public yet. Things like user made tutorials, videos and FAQs are things we'd like to add as content here but is also good to be spread around to other sites too. A lot of people learn about Nthusim from external sources like other forums or my YouTube videos.

I realize that didn't 100% cover everything but a lot about this sort of thing is more art than science. Every screen is unique and designed to the user's needs. Everyone is here to help though, so we're all available for questions anytime.

-Brad

[Guest]

First thanks a lot both for your answers ! I will try to do my best to answer you, I'm french people so my english is really bad

@The_Nephilim

1- I was thinking of BenQ W1080ST which seems to have a good quality/price ratio. Is there a VP with HDMI2 or Displayport for 60Hz 3D ? Budget would be about 2500$

2- I want a 1080P projector, no way for other choice. Short throw seems to be the better choice for this kind of setup.

3- I have 2 290x in crossfire and a 780Ti in my computer, maybe I will go with a 980 tomorrow.

4- No idea with the screen size because I've never seen one in real

@BHawthorne

About side deformation : I had it on BF3/4 and DCS too, planes were stretched on sides and it was really disturbing. I played in 5760*1080. Will I have the same problem with 2 or 3 projectors because it's only due to 16*3=48/9 screen ratio ?

That why I was thinking to 2 projectors design, to have "only" a 32/9 ratio. Why do you say that 3 projectors is more accepted ? for the game it's just one screen, either in 5760*1080 or 3840 ?

Thanks a lot for your help !

[Guest]

[BHawthorne]

[BHawthorne]

[Guest]

Thanks for your answer but according to you 2 projectors setup seems to be non usable for games ?

I don't understand this : "You account for edge blend and are accounting for the distance to a flat surface sets the minimum distance. Those are two concepts most people don't understand initially, so that is a good start."