You have decided: no Smart TV. What you need at home is a projector to watch movies and series or play video games in a big way. You even already know the model you want to buy, which is the most appropriate in relation to the benefits you are looking for and the money you want to spend. But the moment of truth arrives. It's not as easy to get a projector up and running as you would a TV. You have to make calculations, estimates and do a little math so that the projector can perform correctly and the investment is worth it. If you don't know where to start, and you're about to throw in the towel, don't worry and keep reading.
A projector has its advantages, but also its difficulty when installing it at home
Projectors have become quite interesting alternatives to traditional televisions in recent years. If we have room at home to place one of these devices and we can also control the darkness level of the room, without a doubt, a good projector will give us a great audiovisual experience for much less than what a large television would cost us.
Having a home theater, or a huge screen to play PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X is going to be very worthwhile. We will get a much more absorbing and immersive setup than with a television. However, the projectors have their negative point, and that is that installing them can be a somewhat tedious process. The final result is worth it, but we will have to do a few calculations with some calm so that our nerves do not win.
Starting with the preparations
Where are you going to place the device? Where is the image going to be projected onto? In general, the projection is usually done on a white wall or a fabric screen specifically designed for this purpose, this last option being the most recommended of all. The larger the space to project, the better.
Most of the projectors that you will find on the market can project a surface that goes from 50 to 300 inches. However, you should not obsess over size. The bigger the image, the less sharp it will look. In some cases, if we take the projector to the extreme, the pixels can be seen separately, completely ruining the experience. Therefore, it is advisable to stay in a middle term. If your projector goes up to 300 inches, a 100-inch image may be more than enough to cover all your needs.
Also, you should keep in mind that the larger the projection, the more you will have to retard the projector relative to the surface. This will force you yes or yes to mount the projector on the ceiling, since, otherwise, you will interfere yes or yes in the path of the beam. When you have the projector in your hands, take a good look at the instruction manual. Typically, you'll see a table—or a web address—where you can see the relationship between the projector's screen size and distance from the wall.
Placing the screen
You can use a white wall, yes. But, as we have mentioned before, it is best to use a White screen. With one of these products you will obtain a brighter image, you will get rid of the small irregularities of your wall.
Before fixing the screen to the wall, try to place the projector at the distance that you have thought in the previous step and make a Quick test. Ask another person for help if possible. With this quick test, you will be able to see if the size you have thought of is suitable for the room and if the position of the projector is comfortable.
Let's calculate the height of the screen
You can place the projector both on a table and on a ceiling mount. The first option is the most common, simple, and the one that all manufacturers take for granted that you are going to use. However, it has its problems. For example, you risk moving the table and missing the correct point.
Regardless of whether you use one method or the other, the projector will function correctly as long as you hit the right correct height from the screen. If you don't, you'll be dealing with an image in the form of trapeze and with really blurred edges.
The height of the screen will depend entirely on the layout of the room. If you want to have several rows of seats, the screen will have to be a little higher. If your room is much simpler one height between 60 and 92 centimeters from the ground it would be more than adequate.
time to do numbers
Image: BenQ
We come to the tricky point. It's time to get paper, pencil and a calculator if you don't really want to get into math. In this step you will have to calculate projection distance, that is, the space from the projector to the wall or screen.
To do this calculation we need the throw ratio, which is a parameter that has to come in the device's instruction manual. It will be expressed with a single value or with several in the event that our projector has an optical zoom.
The formula you must follow is:
Throw Distance = Throw Ratio * Screen Height
Example: Suppose you have a height of 254 centimeters and a throw ratio of 1,4:1 to 2,8:1. Doing the calculation, you can place the projector at a distance between 355,6 and 711,2 centimeters, obtaining as a result a 140-inch screen.
Image: blog.router-switch.com
The formula works for any measure. You can too Solve the formula to find the screen width you are looking for. It is a matter of taste. For example, suppose you want to put the projector 4 meters from the screen. In this case, it would be time to divide. As a result, we would obtain a screen between 68,5 and 137 inches, being able to scale up to the 100 inches that we were looking for simply by adjusting the zoom to the point that interests us.
Time to test before fixing
We haven't fixed anything permanently yet, but it's time to check that everything works correctly. If you are going to fix the projector, you will have had to run cable through the ceiling, either for the eating of the device to give the HDMI input from a more accessible point.
You should also test in this point the sound system. You shouldn't rely on the speakers built into the projector, it's the right thing to do with a set of speakers. Once you have everything connected, do the relevant tests. Check that everything sounds good, that you can enter fonts without problems, that the projection is centered and that the resolution is set correctly. Once this is done, we can fix the projector in a permanent position and proceed to align it.
To correct projector alignment, we will use a alignment Image, that we attach to you in that link so that you have it at hand when you need it. comes from the web spearsandmunsil. We can project it by connecting a computer or searching for the image on the Internet in case we have a projector with an integrated Smart TV. Sometimes the manufacturer's own software may also include one of these images.
Be sure to turn off the lights in the room and correctly measure the edges of the projection. If your image is not completely rectangular, it is because the projection is not being made perpendicular to the screen —that is, we have failed in one of the previous steps. In this case, the correct thing to do would be to recalculate the height to find the correct parameter.
Many projectors have keystone adjustment to correct this effect. Use it only in case you get desperate. In general, these adjustments work, but they do so by manipulating the image, resulting in a loss of resolution. On the other hand, you can also move the lens. In moderation, this can fix the problem.
Once you have the correct configuration, adjust focus to make sure you're getting as sharp as possible. If you're not sure if you're doing it correctly, get closer to the projection and see if it looks right. If you notice that the center of the image is in focus, but the corners look washed out, again, it means that the projector and the screen are not positioned perfectly perpendicular.
Secure installation
Now yes. Time to close the gaps where you have passed the cables and to finish installing the screen if you have not already done so. If you are going to place the projector on a table or shelf and you are going to run cables across the floor, be sure to use a conduit so that no one can trip over it.
To the image modes
At this point, everything should be working. Our mission now is to make sure everything is performing at its best. Like televisions, projectors come with preset picture modes. They serve to get the most out of the team in various situations.
As with televisions, the 'Cinema' mode' of your projector is the one with which calibrated. In other words, it is the mode in which it will give you a higher level of contrast. However, you will need to change this value in many circumstances. For example, if there is ambient light in your room, you will have to remove this mode, because you will not see anything. In this case, it is usually more appropriate to use the 'Dynamic' mode, which will measure the ambient light level to adjust the brightness. Of course, keep in mind that, in these cases, color precision will be conspicuous by its absence —pun intended.
Lastly, most projectors have a game mode. It serves to reduce the input lag, that is, it eliminates all kinds of image processing so that you do not suffer a delay between what is happening in the image and the projection.
If you already know how these modes work on a regular TV, you're pretty much all set. The only extra thing you should know is that how much more shine you demand of the projector, the faster the fan and, therefore, the higher the noise level of the equipment will be. In many projectors there is a setting that will vary the intensity of the lamp to ensure better noise levels.