Setup Your Home Golf Simulator Projector in 10 Sec: BenQ Auto Screen Fit

Setting up a golf simulator in your home has several challenges when setting up a projector: getting the image to properly fill your entire screen, changing aspect ratios, and focusing the image. These things often take far more time and energy than expected, and if not done right, limit the enjoyment of their golf simulator. Now, BenQ Ace Series projectors offer a revolutionary solution—the exclusive Auto Screen Fit technology that will configure the projector for your setup in just 10 seconds so you can start using your simulator right away.

Installing a traditional projector into a golf simulator can be a complicated process that includes placing the projector on the ground, projecting an image, calculating the correct position, mounting the projector, and then correcting the image to fit your screen shape and fix any mounting errors such as having the projector off center or too far back.

Learn How to Setup a Golf Simulator Projector in Small Spaces with traditional DIY installation steps.

Here are the most common problems people face when installing a golf simulator projector themselves:

First time projector installers often don’t know all the different things that can go wrong with an indoor golf simulator setup that can result in having to drill too many holes in your ceiling. Many projectors require that the projector be at an exact distance from the screen, which can create problems if there is no stud nearby. You’ll also have to consider how your mounting locations will fit with your launch monitor’s space requirements and detection zones.  You also need to keep the projector safely away from your swing, ideally 5.5-9 meters behind the hitting area. Finally, miscalculating your enclosure and impact screen frame sizes and may create the wrong sized picture when setup for your screen aspect ratio. Bottom line – there are a lot of ways to turn your ceiling drywall into Swiss cheese.

A squished image or a shadow on the screen ruins the illusion of playing on a championship course. For most projectors, you’ll need to ensure the projector’s mount is centered at the correct distance, then you’ll need to program the correct resolution on the computer to match your impact screen aspect ratio and size. This involves some mathematical calculations to make sure your image isn’t squished or stretched, or have black bars on the sides of the picture.

Nobody likes ladders, and in most cases, focusing a ceiling mounted projector with manual focus means getting up on a ladder to fine tune the image for maximum sharpness.  If the projector gets out of focus, you’ll need the ladder again.

BenQ Auto Screen Fit uses cameras, sensors, and an AI algorithm to make setting up your golf simulator projector a breeze. Here's a breakdown of how this innovative feature works:

The system starts by projecting a white screen and pattern. The projector will figures out how far the screen is from the projector, and determines the size of your golf simulator enclosure and screen.

Next, the captured image is analyzed. It determines what problems need to be fixed. Perhaps you had to mount the projector further back to connect to a stud or mounted the projector too high and to the left. The algorithm will identify these issues and how to correct them, so you don’t have to remount the projector.

The native resolution of the projector is 16:9, but most golf simulators use other aspect ratio impact screens. Using the information from the camera and sensors, the projector determines what aspect screen you have, then uses the motorized zoom lens and focus to adjust the image so that it will fill your impact screen. This takes a few seconds as the projector adjusts the image and sees the effect on the screen using the camera and sensors.  

Finally, the projector creates a custom formula for your projector to create the best image to fill your screen right to the edges. It corrects any mounting mistakes, properly formats the image to standard aspect ratios used in golf simulators like 16:9, 16:10, 4:3, and 1:1, then sends the information to your computer on the correct resolution and other information needed to have a perfect picture every time. 

This seamless process allows you to perfectly set up your golf simulator screen in just 10 seconds without having to remount your projector.

A typical golf simulator installations in a garage, media room, or basements will use an impact screen to absorb the energy of the golf ball and an enclosure for projection from shanks, pop ups and other mis-hits. These screens and enclosures have a black border around the white area where the image is projected.  The camera and sensors of the AH700ST Auto Screen Fit technology use these border areas to make the calculations needed to fill your screen.  You need to make sure that there’s at least 6cm of black or high contrast color border area around the white section of your screen.

Here are a few steps to guide you on how to use the BenQ AH700ST to simplify the installation process.  Before you start, you can use the BenQ 3D Golf Simulator planning tool to determine the important measurements for your room, configure the space needed for your launch monitor location, and make sure the projector is in the right spot to ensure you don’t hit it with your golf club or create a shadow on the screen.  You can get a print out of all the relevant distances using your email address.