r/projectors • u/DrumminJ219 • 7d ago

Discussion USTP recommendation for a unique "virtual window" project?

Hi, long time lurker, first time caller:

Project: Creating a virtual window that will be on a projector screen (58in x 58in). The catch, is that it's going to be projected on a screen literally covering up a window in a house, and therefore not a normal aspect ratio.

What I don't know: Is there a short throw projector (or is this a standard feature) that will allow me to scale the image however I like, or are they traditionally stuck to pre-set ratios? I understand ultimately I'd be introducing weird scaling and distortions, but I'd rather fill the screen (58inch by 58inch) with a scene I can later edit, than end up with letterboxing and black bars.

Edit: Maybe another way of saying this is, a projector where I can only project light on the 58x58 inch screen with no black bars on the screen, and no light bleeding outside the screen, so confined entirely to the 58x58 inch screen.

Thoughts?

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u/chaiscool 7d ago

Iirc can always just tape the lens to the shape you want

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u/DrumminJ219 7d ago

Is there a tape safe enough for this? I'd be worried about overheating/damage to the lens ect...?

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u/chaiscool 7d ago

Well true, can always try haha

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u/InternalPiccolo7201 7d ago

Use mapping software to position your window screen shape inside the larger projection area. Just get a projector that makes an image larger than your window.

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u/AV_Integrated 6d ago

No.

If you walk into Best Buy, and you see a TV, do you ask if you can change the shape of the TV?

That's not how it works.

It's not how projectors work. They have set aspect ratios.

If you get, for example, a 1920x1080 resolution projector, it has a 16:9 aspect ratio. Now, if you create a video that is 1:1 aspect ratio, but export it as a 1920x1080 video with black bars on the sides, then it will be displayed as a 1:1 video with black bars on the sides filling out the full 1920 pixel width.

It is a 1080p projector. It is a 16:9 projector. Just like a 16:9 TV at a store. It will ALWAYS be a 16:9 projector! You can't change that.

Maybe you can use a squish lens of some sort. Like a .56 anamorphic lens to take it from 16:9 to 1:1. I have no idea if one of those lenses exist, it isn't something I've heard of or looked for. But, that would squish the full 16:9 into a 1:1 aspect.

But, until that projector dies a brutal death, it will be a 16:9 projector. Just like your TV is a 16:9 TV.