Projected image not perfectly filling your golf impact screen? Yes that can be a bit annoying.
So you've just set up your brand new Kaizen Golf Complete Golf Simulator Package (or one you have purchased elsewhere...we don't judge), you turn on your projector, fire up your sim software and notice that the image from the projector does not perfectly fill the screen...HELP!
Actually that's quite a common problem to have in the Golf Simulator world.
The reason that you may not be able to fill your impact screen is due to the fact that the dimensions of your impact screen does not match the aspect ratio of the projected image.
Let's use the example of our 3m x 2.6m impact screens, if you are projecting in 16:9 aspect ratio, to fit the 2.6m height with that ratio, you will need a screen that is 4.6m wide, which means you are going to have a large chunk of the image displayed outside the screen.
Similarly, if you are trying to fit the 3m width, then you will only get an image that is ~1.7m tall, which will be a big waste of real estate.
But if you have a Gaming PC with a dedicated graphics card, you can easily fill your screen by setting a custom display resolution that matches the dimensions of your screen. In this article, we will take you through the step by step process of how you can get it done with some simple maths and a few mouse clicks.
No PC? We also provide some tips at the end of this article on how you can fill as much of your screen as possible without a gaming PC.
Ok, let get that impact screen filled.
Filling your Golf Impact Screen through a Custom Resolution - Step-by-step Instructions
Follow the steps below to set up a custom resolution through the graphics card on your PC to fill your impact screen. We will be using our 3m x 2.6m Masters Enclosure as an example and we are assuming you are using a NVidia graphics card.
You can apply the same principles for different size impact screens or different graphics cards.
The general approach is to fill the entire height of the screen first and then bring in the "overflow" on the sides through setting up a custom resolution.
Note: we suggest doing this before you do the final mounting of your projector as you may have to change the distance from the screen. If you are looking for a how-to guide on mounting your projector, be sure to check out our guide on how to mount your projector here.
Step 1 - Measure the actual dimensions of your impact screen
Measure out as accurately as possible the actual size of the projectable area of the screen.
For our 3m x 2.6m enclosure, the "white" part of the screen excluding the border and pelmets came to be 282cm x 245cm.
Step 2 - Calculate the actual aspect ratio of your impact screen
Once you've measured out the dimensions of the screen, simply divide the width of the screen by the height of the screen to get the aspect ratio of the screen. This ratio will be used for calculating the custom resolution that will be required to fill your screen.
282cm / 245cm gives a ratio of 1.151.
Step 3 - Calculate the custom resolution
The screen resolution consists of 2 numbers, horizontal pixels x vertical pixels. E.g. 4K resolution is 3840 x 2160 and HD is 1920 x 1080.
As the purpose of this exercise is to bring the sides in, we don't need to change the vertical pixels. We just need to calculate what the custom horizontal pixel count is by using this simple formula:
Horizontal Pixel = Vertical Pixel x Custom Aspect Ratio
As an example, using a 4K projector with a native 2160 vertical, the horizontal number I need will be 2160 x 1.151 = 2486.
So the custom resolution I need to set for the screen is 2486 x 2160.
Step 4 - Position the impact screen until you fill the height
Next, position or adjust the projector to where the the height of the image is matching with the screen.
You should now see some "excess" that is displayed outside the left and right hand sides of the screen. Ideally you want the excess to be roughly the same width on both sides, this makes making the final adjustments a little bit easier.
Step 5 - Set the custom resolution
Now armed with the required resolution and with the vertical part of the image filling the screen, we can finally create a custom resolution to fill your impact screen. In the example below we will be using a PC with a NVIDIA graphics card.
1> First, open your NVIDIA Control Panel. This is not to be mistaken for the NVIDIA app, if you have trouble finding it, just search for 'NVIDIA Control Panel' in your Windows search bar.
2> Then under 'Display' on the left hand side, select 'Change Resolution'.
3> Click on the 'Customise' button.
4> Click 'Create Custom Resolution'.
5> Leaving the Vertical Lines unchanged, input the new custom Horizontal number. Which in our example is 2486. Then click 'Test'.
6> You will be shown a preview of what the new resolution looks like on your impact screen. If it's a perfect fit or very close to filling the screen then it means that you've done the correct calculations. If you are happy with the result then you can click 'Apply' and job is done!
If the fill on the screen is way off, then you may want to re-measure your screen and redo the calculation just to make sure there were no mistakes made in the previous steps.
Step 6 - Final adjustments if required
You can make some final adjustments if required if the image is not quite lining up with your screen, and you can do it via either projector adjustments or by updating your custom resolution or both.
- Projector adjustments - depending on the projector that you have, there are a few very useful features that will allow you to get that perfect fit. They include physically adjusting the pan & tilt of the projector, zoom and keystone. For projectors with a bit more adjustment capability, my personal favourites are corner fit adjustment and lens shift.
- You can also do some finer adjustments to the custom resolution by adding or taking away a few pixels horizontally as required.
What you should have the end is an image that perfectly fills your impact screen, and it will look GREAT!
What if I'm not using a PC?
If you are not using a PC or don't plan on using a PC for your golf simulator set up, here are some tips on how to fill the impact screen as much as possible.
- Use tablets/iPads instead of your phone. Most tablets and iPads have 4:3 aspect ratio whereas most phones natively display in 16:9 or even narrower.
-
Get a projector with corner adjustments. A number of projectors now offer corner fit or corner adjustment functionality where you can marginally 'drag' the corners of the displayed image. Just be careful with this method as while this will allow the image to occupy more of the impact screen, it will also slightly distort the image as well.
- Get an impact screen or enclosure that is 4:3 aspect ratio. If you are using an iPad or a tablet which displays in 4:3 aspect ratio and then get an impact screen or enclosure that is also 4:3 (e.g. our 3.5m x 2.6m or 4m x 3m enclosures), you will be able to fill the screen easily without having to create a custom resolution. See below for a photo with our 4m x 3m enclosure and an iPad which gets pretty close to filling the screen.
Final Thoughts
So if you have a Gaming PC, with a measuring tape and a few mouse clicks, you will be able to achieve a perfect fill of your impact screen regardless of its dimensions. This will give you a much more immersive golf simulation experience. We highly recommend that you give this a go if you haven't already done so and hope that this article will help you in that process.
If you have any further questions with the steps above or are looking for products such as projectors, gaming PCs or even full golf simulator packages, please feel free to contact us, we'd love to hear from you!