3x4k Projectors - Possible in theory?

[TravelRunner404 596]

So BenQ has come out with this 4K projector:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/BenQ-HT2550.htm

Is it possible to do a 3 projector set up with this in P3Dv4 and get 30 FPS. I get that a 1080ti with 3 views probably won’t do it. Would SLI do the trick with 3 cards? Would you need to do multichannel set up? Would 2k be an option considering the specs of the projector? 

I am also talking standard addons like AS16, Skyforce, PMDG using VC, Orbx sceneries, UTL and adding airports. 

Let’s say using this:

http://www.simpit.co.nz/index.php/features-2/projection-display-solutions/simpit-270-centurion

For the sake of theory is it possible to pull this off with consumer products? I don’t know if the throw distance on the projector would work in that simpit but sooner than later a projector will get there. It’s getting close. 

Any ideas?

Cheers,

Brian

[fireone 7]

Brian , I 've just dipped my toe into the low end projector & simpit screen bath.

As you say, the projector is the weak link in the chain unless many thousands of dollars are spent on them and my reading of the tea leaves says this isn't going to change any time soon.

Recently I spent an hour in a commercial sim open to the public . Its a beautiful ,faithful 737 replica cockpit but the visuals were appalling. Dark, lacking in detail & slow . The operator on the day couldn't say what projectors were in use but they were definitely nowhere near 4k. At a guess they may have been 1080p PJs with the bulbs running in eco mode or coming to the end of their useful life.

My 2 projectors are two BenQ W1080 short throws . Adequate, often recommended ,  but again, nowhere near exceptional by today's standards. These projectors must be considered oldish technology now .  On the Simpit Avenger screen,  the image is big,  but you can see the pixels and for all its virtues the system  doesn't offer the kinds of experiences being described by users of Virtual Reality technology.

The screen is well conceived, designed and constructed but its the projectors that let the system down.  At 1920x1080 for each projector a single GTX980Ti has no trouble running them both to display a  vanilla XPlane 11 , Cessna 172 , on the ground at ChrisK's Sydney Kingsford Smith airport installation. The average FPS with this setup is above 60 FPS.

Prior to this system I was running three flat screen 40" 4k Philips BDM4065. Great monitors , no probs with input lag and beautiful detail but impossible to run on a single GTX980Ti at a reasonable FPS . So I have to use a network of Computers to make this work with GTX980Ti cards. This would be true of three  4K projectors too given the GPU is being asked to render the same number of pixels.

Though the pictures are magnificent even 3 , 40 inch 4K screens can't match the projector screen for sheer size and the absence of bezels. In other words what I gain with one system is lost in the other . And I've reached my spending limit to explore what are most likely incremental changes for both of these systems. Even if  forced, its hard to  choose between these two systems as described.

The next step is Virtual Reality for me, but given that interaction with the buttons , controls etc in the cockpit is not ideal  and  the instruments are difficult to read, I'll wait until this gets sorted out before investing.

[TravelRunner404 596]

Thanks for the response fireone.  Should have thanked you earlier for it.

I agree VR will be the future for full immersion.  I'll be curious what innovations happen for interacting with the cockpit but it's going to be a low process and without it getting into the mainstream it could be awhile.

I have toyed with the idea of doing 3 65 inch 4k OLED TVs :) - But I have no idea how to power 3 screens different 4k screens.  Don't you need a network of 4 PCs?  One for the sim, and 1 for each visual?  Or is it 3, one for the main sim/view and two for the remaining monitors?  It seems like performance and sync and all those issues are going to be just a wild pain.  Plus it's an expensive project to fail at.  I wonder if you could stitch 3 images together like Nvidia surround and use warping software for the TV angles.

I have never understood how the wider angle is such a strain since P3D is already processing like 95% of it in the main view.  The cockpit is fully rendered already and the outside is pretty close.  When I pan to any angle the autogen and terrain etc don't render again, sometimes textures go from black to appearing but overall it's already there....

Thanks,

Brian

[fireone 7]

The work of producing an image and whether a system can produce it without bringing itself to a standstill is largely done by the GPU. Of course the whole system plays a part but the heavy lifting is by the GPU

I can only speak for xplane at this point because I have no experience running P3D in a network.

If I was to run 3 4k oleds it would mean having to render 3X   3840 x 2160 pixels. Each screen being 3840 x 2160 pixels. With a  GTX 980Ti  (my card at the moment) , it is capable of rendering  3840 x 2160 using  Xplane 11 even in complex heavily populated sceneries using aircraft that come with the sim. ( see my earlier post )  But its running at its limits. I dont have the rendering details set to maximum for example. Stress this system just a little more and fps would drop , marring the visual experience.

So if I was planning for 3 UHD oleds , running Xplane I would be planning for  3 networked computers , all with cpus running high frequency single cores and   3 high end GTX cards. And a fair bit of time and patience to set it up if you are doing it all yourself . Xplane doesn't have provision for SLI so there is little point in placing two GPUs in one computer. And still there will be imponderables.

Such as should each computer and GPU be identical , which OS to use , and most importantly will it meet your expectations. I've found internet advice to be a reasonable guide but in the end there is no substitute for direct , personal experience, especially as it applies to the visual experience of flight simulation. Unfortunately there is nowhere you can go where you can road test these setups side by side.

If I do a thought experiment ,  and take  a tally of the last ten years experiences and assume today's technology had been available for the whole of that time I would:  by pass projectors, gaming monitors , hd tvs and lay my money down on oleds , spend as much as I could on the most recent GPUs and network good computers to run xplane. But that's just me and I haven't always made the wisest of choices e.g the projector experience.

SO  I  cannot emphasise enough the aphorism that says Your Mileage May Vary.

Its worth spending a little time on you tube to watch Michael Brown. He has a commercial interest in selling desktop flight sim systems but he has presented several ways to experience the visuals of a flight sim.

And he has used VR and gives a measured opinion of its virtues.

 

 

Edited April 1, 2018 by fireone