The Choice of Screen

During the past months I have been playing with the ideas of what setup I would like in terms of producing a large picture. I am using a single 21" TFT monitor (slow 16ms with a native resolution of 1600x1200) so I think any of the options below will be a step up - it will just be a matter of choosing the best one =)

(1 SEK = US $7)

Option 1 --- Projector
I've been looking at the Sanyo PLV-Z5 projector that seems to be a great projector that costs around 10295 SEK. It has plenty of inputs and a 16x9 resolution of 1280x720 capable of providing me with a BIG 88" screen (2395 SEK).

Flat vs. arced (bent) projector screen -
I have already tried a projector with a bent screen setting the FOV (field of view) in Live for Speed appropriately and the result was quite promising. It definitely increased the sensation of speed and improved the ability to spot cars coming up next to you, however the HUD and text is also bent out of proportion and focus is lost somewhat on the sides.

Pro's
- Only one graphics card needed
- Good gaming resolution 1280x720 (faster FPS)
- Very large screen for a relatively low price
Con's
- Probably won't produce a larger FOV with bent screen without extra lenses and software correction

Sample video of a projector solution


Total cost for large picture: 12690 SEK

Option 2 --- 3 x 19" 2ms TFT monitors
Using three monitors you can achieve a wider FOV and you can set the side monitors on a slight angle providing you with a somewhat arced display. TFT-monitors have come down in price lately and they produce really cheap and responsive models nowdays.

I have looked at the Benq FP93GX+ monitors that cost 2094 SEK each. These have a resolution of 1280x1024 with a response time of only 2ms which should be excellent for gaming... sorry... I mean simulation :)

In order to display the game across three monitors you'll need either a hardware or software "triple head" solution. There are only a few hardware ones available, one of them is produced by Matrox called "Matrox Triple Head 2 GO" (see a review here). There is a software solution called "SoftTH".

The greatest disadvantage that (I think) I've found with this solution is that it puts a lot of stress on the multiple graphics cards you need to have installed in your system. If each monitor has a native resolution of 1280x1024, it means that your computer has to render the simulator scene at a whopping 3840x1024 pixels which probably would give you a virtually useless FPS.

Pro's
- Capable of a very close and wide FOV
- Cheaper than a projector
Con's
- Very high resolution = slow FPS
- Need for additional graphics card and possibly extra triple head hardware
- Monitor frames "cutting" the picture*

Sample of a 3-monitor solution


*You could remove the cutting effect that the 1-2cm edges of monitors cause by using fresnel lenses - here is a sample video of how this would look. These lenses are available from for example FREX - however, I believe that the image quality is reduced a fair amount so I will personally not pursuit this option.

Total cost for large picture: 6282 SEK + Extra Graphics card (3-4000 SEK?)

Option 3 --- 1 x 32" LCD TV
You can get these for 5995 SEK now. It would produce a decent sized image for a fairly low cost and and I'd only need one graphics card rendering the game graphics in 1366 x 768 which should increase game performance a lot (in comparison to using 3 monitors). Unfortunately the screen is now totally flat and it won't be possible to tilt the side monitors to simulate an arced field of view. The response time would be 8 ms instead which is sufficient for racing games.

A friend of mine is building "race frames" and he constructs these with a 32" LCD TV - have a look at this site for more information (along with pictures and videos).

Total cost for large picture: 5995 SEK

Option 4 --- 1 x 42" Plasma TV
This option would cost roughtly 10000 SEK for a cheaper plasma. Resolution is 1024 x 768 and it should speed up performance of game even more. I haven't verified if the different aspect ratio of 16x9 in a 1024x768 resolution for games would cause any issues yet.

Total cost for large picture: 10000 SEK

Conclusion ---

At the moment I am leaning towards a projector solution. It's the most expensive option but it will provide me with a huge screen and potentially the option of arcing the display screen for a better FOV and sense of speed. It enables the simulators to run at a fast FPS only requiring a resolution of 1280 x 720.
Category: Hardware [cat_hw]