What I wanted to do here was re post my original thread and then add my new train of thought, but I can't seem to upload more then one file at a time so I'll just start fresh. For anyone wanting to see my original designs and ideas, they are very easy to find over at WSGF (can post a link if it is ok with the mods?). In a nutshell, I was going to use 3 gt 720's or 750's on a massive curved screen with Nthusim and 3D vision surround.
I have since decided that I don't really want such an extreme curve on the screen as at the end of the day it is mostly going to be used for movies, with gaming coming second (not super high end new games, happy with slightly older titles). This now reduces the need for three projectors and now I can just go with two. Obviously 3D Vision Surround operates on 3 monitors and so I now need to go back to the drawing board and start all over again.
I'm going to destroy my kitchen to make my lounge big enough to do this and I'm moving the entrance of my house as well. I'm planning on making this a very professional install so I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and share my experience with others as I progress.
If I can I'd like to break this thread up into 4 parts. #1 the overall idea, #2 the screen and projectors, #3 the computer hardware, #4 glasses, transmitters, software and general options.
#1 To achieve a duel projector setup allowing for 3D viewing during movie playback and occasional gaming.
#2: Screen / Projectors - Limiting factors, screen height of 1.6 meters (may yet stretch to 1.7 meters), room width of 6 meters, no real throw distance restriction except for screen radius.
I know there is HEAPS of discussion on which projectors are appropriate for curved multi setups and the obvious choices are the 720's or 750's. I agree 100%, especially in a setup with a tight curve, limited space and a large FOV. However, my setup is in the largest room in my house and can take up as much room as needed, so I am looking at alternate options. I am planning on a FOV of only 54 degrees (I feel it will be better for movies? Let me know if I'm wrong), the radius of the screen is 5.5 meters (18 feet), giving an overall screen length of around 5.18 meters (17 feet). Looking at an Optoma HD33, to acquire a vertical screen height of 1.6 meters (5.2 feet) (my limit), the throw distance would be 4.7 meters (15.4 feet).
I've done a quick drawing and it looks as though it should work using those projectors (I may need to play with the final screen radius and projector overlap but the projection distance seems ok at these measurements). Can someone have a quick look to confirm? I have tried to show that the projectors do fit within the radius of the screen with only a 10.6% overlap (I'm aware this is a little low, I will increase the overlap and adjust the screen dimensions to suit if this is going to work). The obvious advantage of this setup is the possibility of longer throw (1080p) projectors.
- Setup 4.jpg (155 KiB) Viewed 12539 times
If I can use the longer throw projectors due to my setup, should I be looking at something other then Optoma and the HD33?
#3 Computer hardware. I know NVidia isn't going to work with dual screen 3D gaming on its own so, what are my options?
I have a 52" LCD TV (non 3D) that I watch all of my non-epic content on. I'd like to build a low power consumption, quiet HTPC that doubles as a NAS for everyday (24 hr) use. If it's possible to get the HTPC to run the dual projectors for 3D movies (no games) as well as run the TV and still keep it relatively low on the power consumption side then that is what is what I will do for now. I'm not asking anyone to design me a system, but I would like to know what the minimum GPU requirements and recommendations would be for that particular scenario.
I do plan on building two PC systems in the end, one high end (noisy system I call it) for gaming and one low power consumption (quiet system) for media and storage. I'd just like to start with one machine for now to get it working and experiment with. I'd prefer the first system to be the media pc as that is the primary use of the screen. I will probably end up purchasing a second copy of nthusim anyway as I dare say this won't be my only widescreen build so having an all in one is not really my final goal right now.
As far as games go, I was totally sold on 3D vision surround, I even have the GPU's ready to go, but it now looks like I need to go a different route due to dual screens. I've never played a 3D game before so I'm not totally sure that it will be something I will actually want to do or not. I may be totally happy with just having a massive high quality screen but I want to try 3D on a few different platforms to get a feel for it first. At the moment it's mostly titles like Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Skyrim, I may try out a few FPS's as well and then I want to try my hand at flight sims. I may not like playing on such a huge scale but if I decide that surround gaming (in 2D or 3D) is what I really want, then I will use this screen build for FPS style games and I'll build another system in the man cave using 3 projectors in more of a simpit style for flight sims, racing and general immersion.
To summarise, what I really want to be able to do for now is watch 3D movies and just try out a few different games on the dual projectors (at low settings) and then go from there.
#4 Glasses, emitters, software, compatibility etc.
I thought I had it all worked out with the 3D vision surround, but now as that has changed and my deadline for having a design finalised is getting closer, I need to be totally schooled on what I can do.
I know it's all going to come down to the final choice of projectors (2 or 3, brand, etc) final choice of hardware (NVidia or ATI), if I'll be using something like a matrox box to extend a single display across the projectors (not sure if they make one that will handle 2 x 1920 x 1080 @ 120hz) but regardless of what I end up with, I want the best possible overall experience so I thought I'd add this section to wrap it all up. If anyone can make suggestions in this area (how would you do it? what are your current experiences?) then please feel free to chime in as I need a little point in the right direction before I spend even more money.
It's all a bit overwhelming once you enter this realm and I don't know if I have enough knowledge or time to learn it all myself from scratch again, so thanks for any and all help.
Cheers.