FSX Project questions

[BHawthorne]

I apologize. I thought I had written up an answer but apparently did not.

Reading up on the BenQ W710ST it's native spec is 1280x720 16:9 aspect ratio with a variable lens throw ratio of between 0.719:1 and 0.79:1. My primary concern with your design is that it's important to use the projector at native resolution for the best results. You make mention of a 4:3 aspect ratio instead of 16:9.

Most of my initial delay in getting back with you was that I'm not used to working in metric numbers. The general rule of design i use is not to go over 60" projection height on the screen design with a 720p projector. Also not to exceed 110 degrees field of view (including blending area) per projector. That tends to work itself out to a screen area that is between 5 foot and 7.5 foot radius for a 0.72:1 dual projection setup.

You make mention of using an AMD 7750. The 7750 should be capable of Eyefinity 2x1, so no need for the Matrox DH2G box unless you need to run more than just the external view from that video card. I'm a bit weary of pushing 2560x720 from a 7750 for FSX, as FSX gets really bogged down fast without a top of the line video card. It'll work, but it won't be high FPS. You'll need to optimize the fsx.cfg file to offset the FPS rate.

The 7750 will work and the BenQ 710ST will also work, but they're not ideal. My personal preference would be to use at least 1280x800 capable projector and a bit more powerful video card. At least with the video card you can always pick up a more powerful card later on should the 7750 prove insufficient. My ideal pick of projector right now would be the BenQ W1080ST. There isn't anything else on the market in that has it's resolution and short throw lens combination. I'm uncertain as to what your current budget is and if you have any of the hardware already though. I really would suggest saving up for a more powerful video card and wait till you can afford the W1080ST's. There is no compromise that way in your build. As a project like this is something that is a large expenditure of time and money I know there is a want to cut costs somewhere, but I'd be weary on cutting it on the video card and the projectors. Either way we can still get you working with the BenQ 710ST's and the AMD 7750 if it's the budget limitation. Be mindful that all 7000-series AMD cards are capable of Eyefinity, so there is no need to puchase a Matrox DH2G box, so that'll save you some money.

[jangraafland]

We decided to purchase the BenQ W1080ST! Only this type is not yet available in The Netherlands. We can expect it at the end of this month. We ordered also the Nthusim Plus license. We will try to run our setup with the 7750 because we already have this installed in the pc. To optimize the fsx.cfg file for our pc setup we purchased the software “FSX booster V4” for just €8,- This software makes a scan of your pc hardware and automatically make changes in your fsx.cfg file. We read en heard of good experience from other users about this software.
When the projectors arrived the project can go on!!!

[BHawthorne]

Excellent, I'm excited to see details about the projector. It's the first real consumer 1080p short throw on the market. Even better about it has variable lens so you can fine tune the lens throw range. I'm excited to see details on the W1080ST.

For the longest time Nthusim users had the Optoma GT700/GT720/GT750 as the standard projector. My personal hope is that the BenQ W1080ST turns into the new build standard for Nthusim Plus users.

[jangraafland]

Hi Brad,
Last week we received the two BenQ W1080ST projectors. We installed them both, but we have a few questions about the setup/working.
• In A.jpg you can see the projection when the Windows is started, Is it right that the NTHUSIM software only works with FSX (and in Internet Explorer)?
• In B.jpg and C.jpg you can see the result after we did a ALT+ENTER (full screen) command in FSX. Why do we see this result, while the setup is good while not using te full screen feature?

[BHawthorne]

A.jpg is normal. Nthusim does not pre-warp the desktop pipeline. Nthusim only pre-warps DirectX and OpenGL rendering pipelines. The Windows desktop is neither true DirectX or OpenGL renderer. THe desktop is it's own third render pipeline that Nthusim does not work with.

I believe B.jpg is occurring in your case because you have not set for 3840x1080 within FSX. Once you do it'll fix things.

C.jpg is also normal for FSX in window maximized mode. Nthusim is designed to work in fullscreen mode where the render area is one span. That typically is in fullscreen mode, but also in certain cases it also works in maximized windowed mode with crop windows borders enabled. C.jpg will work if you select the crop windows borders options via the menu by selecting the tools button. Typically people setup their configurations to fullscreen mode though as it has better framerates than maximized windowed mode.

Option B will work properly once you set 3840x1080 in your FSX options for display. Option C will work properly after you have toggled on crop windows border mode within Nthusim Tools.

[BHawthorne]

I just snapped a few quick pics on my system.

Here is FSX when you haven't set the resolution to the same size in FSX display options as what you configured Nthusim as. Note this is occurring because Eyefinity mirrors single display resolutions to both displays. Once you've set the proper resolution it fixes the issue. In your case with two W1080ST, you should set to 3840x1080 for both the desktop and within FSX.


Here is B with your resolution in FSX set to the same resolution your configured the Nthusim pre-warp to.


Here is option C without crop windows border enabled. Make note the windows top bar is still visible in my picture.


Here is a picture of C after I have toggled on crop windows borders within the Nthusim Tools menu. Notice the Windows border user interface elements have been removed.

[Guest]

Hi Jan ,
Please could you post more pictures of your set up and cockpit,
I`m also building a Cessna (172M) from a real cockpit section using old and new simkits equipment
with a 2 dofmotion platform (wich is in experimental stage) .
Is it possible to visit your set up?

Regards Henk (Leiden)

[BHawthorne]