Acer Predator Projector

[Mr_Burns]

I am just about to purchase an Acer Predator for the movie room and for the pit.

 

I know a few members are well educated on projectors so was wondering:

 

What sort of curved view (in terms of degrees) could you get from one projector,

 

it says it can project upto 300inches diagonal but suspect 120 is the sweet spot, do these things do wide screen like a letterbox or do they just scale equally in all directions

 

Any knowledge of this particular unit.

 

Is it the FOV settings that keep the Cockpit ‘normal’ sized when projecting bigger world area?

 

Appreciate any help.

[The_Nephilim]

Well I do believe it is a 16:9 Projector. so basically what you see on a regular 16:9 monitor is what you will see on the projector ONLY Bigger..

 

 

IF you used 2 or 3 then you can get a different aspect ratio... here is a screenshot and video of 3 projector on OLD DCS-1.5:

 

 

If you plan on putting the image on a curved screen you might need to look into a image warping program like SimPit Warp or similar..

 

 

Edited October 21, 2018 by The_Nephilim

[Kang]

Is it the FOV settings that keep the Cockpit ‘normal’ sized when projecting bigger world area?

That's correct.

[Mr_Burns]

So could I image warp one projector? I saw a racing sim:

 

 

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/diy-wraparound-screen-gt6-racing-simulator-its-like-youre-there-80474.html

 

 

and I think if i move it back a bit i could perhaps get a bit more of a curve?

[frogger]

i tried similar with a cheap projector a few years back and while it worked using warping software the edge of the image and the center of the image were at different focal points so u had to choose what u wanted to be clear or blury.

[The_Nephilim]

Yes Even with one Projector and a curved screen like that you need to have a Warping program..

 

 

Simpit warp works with up to I think it was 18 projectors all the way down to just one..

[Mr_Burns]

What did you end up with?

 

I’m not sure about a projector now!

[The_Nephilim]

I ended up using SimPit ward but for just the 1 projector I am not using any warping while it works fine this way a bit, the benefit if a warping software comes into play with 2 or more Projectors..

 

 

What are you not sure about?

[Mr_Burns]

Whether to get a projector or not!

[The_Nephilim]

Whether to get a projector or not!

 

 

 

Well what are your concerns or if you have any questions Please let me know.. I have been using a Projector setup for about 8 years now..

[Bob_Bushman]

Whether to get a projector or not!

 

Pro:

 

Huge image, increasing immersion and amazing gaming experience.

Also movies, can't beat a decent projector when it comes to movies.

 

Con:

Noise, those fans will blow ALL the time.

Contrast and light control, you will want to be able to completely black out your space.

Any light, any LED will impact the image.

And we aren't talking about a set of curtains, maybe just maybe two sets of black out curtains would be ok.

I had to cover my PS4 controller with electrical tape just to be able to stomach using the ps4. That LED on it's lowest setting was enough to begin washing out the image.

Of course it depends on how finicky one chooses to be, I am fairly 'out there' I admit.

 

Setup needs to be exact, practically 1mm one way or the other will change focus on one side of the screen or push image out of screen.

There is a reason why I have mine mounted with $300 ceiling mount, it was worth it.

If I was to compare, setting up a projector and screen is easily 3-4x times the work and effort of wall mounting a TV.

Granted the projector in question here is a short-throw unit, this could simplify the process a lot, but comes at other detriments.

 

Cost, not just for the unit. But in running.

Those lamps, and you won't find laser or LED equivalents under $5k still that performs well enough for gaming or movies.

And a lamp will easily cost $200-$400, yes you can find cheaper on ali-baba etc but these are often knock-offs that burn differently and at higher temps than the original.

First means colours will never be right, and the second kills your projector.

Many have lost a $1k trying to save $80.

 

Also a thing to note, all cheaper DLP's including this ACER are single-chip DLP based units using a spinning colour wheel that introduces artefacts many are sensitive too, for some that means the image is constantly flickering or they just simply get a massive headache watching the image.

This is not a small percentage either, I believe out of ten guys, three would get headaches and another two if not more would see the artefacts and flickering.

 

And I suspect gamers might even be more prone to this since they are trained to spot frame by frame differences.

 

Only way to know is to go test at a shop or a buddy who has one, and give it some time.

 

And as for Immersion imo, no large tv or projector will ever compete with VR.

 

I have at my personal disposal a 34" ultrawide monitor, a 65" UHD TV, and a 100" Sony HW50 projection setup.

Id pick my rift over all of them every time for simming.

And it was the cheapest of them all.

 

Still.

Projectors are awesome.

[Thadiun Okona]

I love projectors, but not for $5k! I have an Epson 8350 I bought as a refurbished unit from them and it's lasted years now.

It's also a 3lcd/3chip (no spinning wheel...) projector, so image is very nice and no flickering. 1080p, very bright and short throw,

though not ultra short. I gladly paid $950 for mine, but they have them for $675(!) now.

 

https://epson.com/Clearance-Center/Home-Entertainment/PowerLite-Home-Cinema-8350-1080p-3LCD-Projector---Refurbished/p/V11H373120-N

 

The 8350 is very low latency for a projector, under 20ms which may not be up to 'gamer' standards for a shooter, it's more than adequate

for normal people and sims. I use it hours every day since 2014 and am on the original bulb, which only costs like $50 to replace.

 

I too use my Rift for simming/playing though, but it's nice when friends are over they can see what's going on in-game and I like watching

others playing too. Bottom line it's a sweep projector, that seemed to outperform the units made to replace it as well.

[Mr_Burns]

Some great comments thank you all.

 

I don’t want VR just yet, I am a soft pomme in Australia and even padded headphones have me sweating like a Virgin in a brothel, I recon full on VR I would need a personal AC unit! Plus I get travel sick bad.

 

I thought projector because I am building a pit and frankly enjoy playing on a 27” 1080p so a projector should be better?

 

What I didn’t like was when I put a 60” plasma in just to test the big screen feel, but it just made everything big, I don’t want to just stretch the 32” screen to 100”, I want the cockpit the same size but with a bigger field of view.

 

My pit will be in a different room to my usual setup as I also play a lot of games like Rise of Industry or Company of Heroes and FPS so I thought I could use the projector when I am flying and donate it to the movie room when I am elsewhere.

 

I was also thinking I need a screen to replace the old 1080p perhaps I could get a decent monitor for the Other games and just move it to the front of the pit, but then is a 27” widescreen 4K better than a 1080p projector?

Edited October 31, 2018 by Mr_Burns

[frogger]

i live north west aus and i have my flight pc in the garage with no cooling. vr does get sweaty but a projector is basicly a small heater. when i ran 2 of them in a small room they would turn off after 10 mins due to overheating.

 

me personally if i was not using vr id got for 3 large screens in a 90degree setup ,

 

like this

 

probably cost about the same as 1 projector but gives u a better picture and in a dark room you wouldnt notice much else.

[Mr_Burns]

What 3 screens though for under $1500 Aussie?

[frogger]

the good guys normally have the cheaper brand tv's that are UHD 55inch for around $500, a place like that if u walked in and said you wanted to buy 3 tv's they would do you a good price, just depends how picky you are with brands.

[Mr_Burns]

Ah yes, I did see some at weekend! Thanks guys good discussion!

[sea2sky]

I'm wondering how big the distortion will be at the edges. I'm a long time VR user, but I miss that level of a comfort that traditional cockpit setup would give me. I hate trying to see the switches through the nose gap and other limitations VR has, not even saying that reading briefings for some complex missions is a pain.