I'm looking at this from a long term project standpoint because my goals might make it a multi-projector system(thus a bunch of money), but right now I want to learn what I can about it.
I'm primarily doing this for PC gaming though movies and other stuff are important as well.
1. For playing most games, and yes, I'm basing this only on what I saw on YouTube, but it seems like a flat wall projection would be OK. How essential is a curved screen?
2. I've seen some videos of racing games played on both curved screens, and on screens that are sharply angled toward the viewer. For that particular purpose I think the angled is better...and so the questions under this topic are :
a. The videos I've seen of these racing games, they run 3 projectors, one per angled third of the screen. Someone said that this is necessary for that setup because angled screens would ruin a single or dual projector setup?
b. How do movies and non-racing games deal with an angled screen?
3. Just in general about resolution, and disregarding the racing game specific case, 1920 X 1080 seems like it would be good enough. However, I'm likely to only have up to a 6-7 foot throw distance, which for many projectors would only be a 40-50" screen, so if I wanted a 80-100" screen at that short throw distance, I'd need two and would end up with something like 90" wide by 25" high. Let's say I used 3, if it projected 45" wide at my throw distance, that'd be 11.25 feet wide and the wall is about 13.5 feet wide, would that be workable? Pretty sure there won't be obstructions. But is 135" X 25" going to look good? I know, btw, that there are short throw projectors, but they are 720p only. Would 2 720p projectors end up looking nice? For that matter, does one 720p look good enough? They seem to from youtube videos though I know that's not reliable.
b. Back to the racing example, if I did build a 3 projector setup for my throw distance, but also built an angled screen for racing games, how much work is it to reposition from flat wall projection to project exactly onto the angled screen and back?
4. Out of curiosity, can consoles(xbawks, PS3 etc) output to multiple projectors?
I've done a bit of research and seen some of the details, like you need image blending software that's several hundred dollars to blend multiple projection images. Just trying to learn a bit more so I know what I need/can do.
5. Just for reference, the room I'm likely to be in as of next month, and for at least a couple of years, would be like 13.5 feet X 11 feet. I was assuming a 6 foot throw distance because my desk and me sitting would be right in the middle of the room somewhere and that would put the projectors directly overhead where I can't be in the way. How exactly do the angles on these work? If I placed projectors back near the other wall at 12-13 feet away from the receiving wall, and me sitting in a chair right in the middle of the room, would I block part of it?
Hi. I can share my thoughts in this matter, as I am building a multi-pj setup too.
I went for a three pj setup, using Dell S300, on a circular 180 deg. screen with a diameter of about 3 meter. My chair is in the center of this "Circle". I run eyefinity with the resolution of 3840 by 800, which is the native resolution of the Dells. I also use Immersive Display pro to warp desktop and fullscreen apps correctly onto the screen. I have spent about two years on this project now.
1) For me, a curved screen was essential. Because: It places me in the center of the action, instead of just giving me a windows into the game world. The feeling when the game covers your entire field of view, is just fantastic. But there are a few downsides to a curved screen, which I will talk about later.
2a) You need to use on pj for each "angled screen", otherwise the projected image would get distorted/warped when projecting on screens with different angles. This can be rectified with warping software, though. IMO: The whole point of using angled screens instead of curved, is to not having to deal with warping and an "out of focus" projected image, and therefore I would not recommend angled screens with only one or two pjs.
2b) As I only have tried flat screens and curved, I cannot say.
3) In general, I would say that the more pixels, the better. Even if it takes a powerful gpu. When stretching an image across several meters, you need a lot of pixels, especially as you are so close to the screen. Instrument panels also need quite a few pixels to render nicely.
b) I have spent quite a lot of hours perfecting the placement of my pjs, and I would never make a setup where I would have to reposition them regularly.
4) Don't think so.
5) Not sure, But this has been one of my concerns as well, but this can be checked by putting up some rope between the "virtual pj" and the screen, just to check if the head gets in the way.
Summary:
1) Flat screen. 1 pj:
Pros: Perfect focus. No warping software needed, no need to adjust fov settings.
Cons: less immersion. No increase in FOV without getting a strange image.
Bottom line: Works with movies, otherwise I'd go for a good monitor instead.
2) Flat screen multi pjs:
Pros: Perfect focus, better resolution, no need to adjust fov settings.
Cons: Edge blending recommended (thus software needed), less immersion, no increase in fov without getting a strange image.
Bottom line: Just don't see the point with such a setup for gaming or movies at home.
3) Angled screen, one pj per angle (3 (or 5) pjs is probably the best setup)
Pros: Perfect focus, no warping software needed, immersion, increase in fov possible. Easy to build.
Cons: Things happening in the "corners" of the angled screens will look strange. Getting a full 180 degree fov might be difficult.
4) Circular screen, 1 pj:
Pros: No edge blending needed. Immersion, increased fov possible.
cons:Aspect ratio would prevent to much horizontal fov. Focus would be a problem with a large screen, warping software needed.
5) circular screen 2 pjs:
pros: Immersion, increased fov possible, focus is better than with 1 pj.
cons: focus is not perfect. Warping software needed, edge blending recommended, the edge between the pjs is in the middle of the screen, so you might have problems with the image quality (blurry) unless the edge blending is perfectly configured.
6) circular screen 3 pjs
pros: Immersion, increased fov possible, focus better than with 2 pjs, no problem with blurry screen in the center of the image.
cons: Takes some time to configure, less vertical pixels when using 720p/800p.
My experience:
I miss more vertical pixels. The warping spends quite a few pixels, and I will probably go for a two projector setup the next time.
I think a 3840 by 1080 (2 x 1920 by 1080) is better than 3840 by 800 (3 x 1280 bu 800), in spite of the cons listed above. As there an not many 1080 pjs with short throw, one would have to experiment with the placement of them.
But it also might turn out that the focus problem might be to big for me as well, I don't reallt know as I haven't tried it. (I need 180 degrees :-) )
When talking about warping software, I must say that my experience with immersive display pro is very positive. When a game doesn't warp as it should, I send an email about it, and it gets rectified very soon. When thinking about the overall cost, 150 Euro isn't too bad. But of course, if you can get away without using warping software, it is better. Because, when warping the image, the clarity of the image drops significantly. You don't see it so much inside the game, but you see it clearly in the windows desktop.
Regards,
Oyvind
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