Shared setup · Projection · Multi-projector · LED · Geometry · Readability · Report
Estimated useful brightness after lens transmission, calibration, warp, blend and setup losses. This is a planning correction, not a manufacturer-certified value.
Zoom lens uses a min/max throw-ratio range. Fixed lens uses one fixed TR value.
Leave blank to let the tool choose a feasible midpoint distance.
Optional. Used in Side view to estimate vertical geometry before choosing overscan/warp reserve.
Total projectors = columns × stack per column.
Physical centre-to-centre distance between projector bodies/rigging points. It is separate from the projection-centre spacing on screen: changing it does not change optical overlap, but it estimates pan / lens shift / warp effort required to maintain the chosen projection layout.
Save scenarios to compare single projector, multi-projector and LED results.
Start with Project Setup. The planner will suggest Single / Multi-projector / LED once screen, audience and ambient light are entered.
Distance to screen divided by image width. It defines the lens range required for a given screen size and throw distance. With a zoom lens, the usable TR can vary inside the specified min/max range.
TR = distance / image widthField luminance for projection should use the useful screen area, effective lumens and screen gain. Gain increases on-axis luminance but can narrow the viewing cone.
nits = effective lumens × gain / (area × π)Theoretical projector lumens are rarely delivered fully on screen. Lens transmission, telephoto zoom position, calibration, blend, warp and onsite setup can reduce useful brightness. Use 100% for ideal/wide lens, 90% typical zoom, 80% telephoto/calibrated, 70% heavy warp/blend.
Practical event/corporate targets: blackout 45–90 nits, dim stage 60–130, low ambient 90–200, conference 130–320, bright room 220–500. Above this, reduce ambient light or consider LED.
Indoor corporate: 600–1500 nits. Bright indoor: 1000–2500. Semi-outdoor: 2500–5000. Outdoor shade/daylight: 3500–8500+. Adjust for audience comfort and cameras.
ANSI is a 9-point average. ISO 21118/IEC is stricter and may read lower. CLO/center measurements are not comparable. Keep the same measurement standard through the whole estimate.
White matte is typically 1.0. Semi-matte can be around 1.3. Rear projection often behaves lower. Walls, concrete and stone surfaces can be far below 1.0 and reduce contrast.
MAR is the theoretical pixel fusion distance based on about 1 arcminute. This tool uses the limiting pitch: the larger value between horizontal and vertical pitch after crop, overlap and geometry reserve.
D_MAR = max(pitch W, pitch H) × 3438 / 1000Retina is modeled as 2× the MAR distance. It is a comfort/quality target, not a hard pass/fail. It is useful for fine text, UI, museum content and close viewing.
D_retina = D_MAR × 2Useful screen resolution is the active pixel count actually used on the screen after aspect-ratio crop, multi-projector overlap and geometry/overscan reserve. It is more meaningful than native resolution alone.
PPD describes perceived image detail at a given viewing distance. Around 60 PPD is a common high-quality reference; lower values can still work for video but may be weak for text/data.
Comfortable text reading needs about 5 arcmin per character. The tool combines physical size at the back row with available useful screen resolution. For PowerPoint/Keynote, body text is often safer at 24pt+ for long viewing distances.
char height = distance × tan(5/60°)SMPTE minimum is around 30°. THX optimum is around 36°. Above 60° can be uncomfortable for corporate seating, but can be intentional for immersive, museum or experiential installations.
D_opt = (W/2) / tan(angle/2)Use 0% for exact theoretical fit. 5% light correction, 10% corporate safe, 15–25% heavy warp/mapping. Reserve reduces useful pixels and may affect MAR/Retina.
Optical lens shift physically moves the image with minimal pixel loss. Keystone is digital warping and can reduce resolution, sharpness and uniformity. Prefer optical alignment whenever possible.
Warp and corner correction consume useful raster and can reduce brightness uniformity. Avoid heavy warp for small text or data-heavy content. Always test with the real content before show day.
Projection centre spacing is the optical spacing of image centres on the screen. It affects the overlap and useful resolution model.
Rigging spacing is the physical centre-to-centre distance between projector bodies. It does not automatically change optical overlap because pan, shift and warp can maintain the chosen projection centres, but it increases geometry load.
Recommended manual range is often 10–25%. Too little overlap risks visible seams. Too much overlap reduces useful horizontal resolution. Brightness in overlap is not additive after blend gamma compensation.
Stacking projectors increases brightness, not resolution. A 2× stack per column doubles nominal lumens for that column but requires pixel-accurate alignment and careful calibration.
Columns increase horizontal coverage and useful horizontal resolution. Stack per column increases brightness. Total projectors = columns × stack per column.
total = columns × stackGood soft-edge needs gamma compensation, black-level matching, color matching and edge masks. Calibration can reduce usable brightness by 10–25% depending on projectors and content.
Pixel pitch is the center-to-center pixel distance in millimeters. Empirical viewing distance is often pitch × 3. MAR uses pitch × 3.438. Retina is roughly double MAR.
LED processor signal rate such as 50/60Hz is not the same as panel refresh/PWM rates like 1920/3840/7680Hz. High panel refresh helps cameras but does not guarantee zero banding.
If camera FPS and display refresh differ, try shutter speeds aligned to the display refresh or multiples. At 50fps, 1/50 is 360° and 1/100 is 180°. With a 60Hz display at 50fps, test 1/60 or 1/120 and use Clear Scan/Synchro Scan if available.
Cameras can show rolling bands, scan artifacts or moiré on LED walls and projected images. Test-record with the actual camera, shutter, lens, content and LED/projector settings.
For broadcast/XR or multi-camera, genlock and synchronized processors reduce timing issues. For corporate events, practical shutter matching and test recordings are often enough.
Use larger typography than desktop design. Prefer bold/medium weights, strong contrast and fewer lines. Avoid thin fonts and captions below the tool’s recommended minimum point size.
Keep critical text inside safe margins. Avoid placing small captions, logos or UI elements near blend zones, screen edges or areas with heavy warp.
Readable text depends on contrast as much as resolution. High ambient light reduces perceived contrast. For corporate screens, use strong foreground/background contrast and avoid low-contrast grey text.
3G-SDI supports up to 1080p60. 6G-SDI up to 4K30. 12G-SDI up to 4K60. SDI is robust over long distances and common in live event/broadcast workflows.
HDMI 1.4 supports up to 4K30. HDMI 2.0 supports 4K60. HDMI 2.1 supports higher bandwidth such as 4K120. For 4K over distance, use tested active or fiber HDMI.
DisplayPort 1.4 supports high-resolution workflows and USB-C Alt Mode. DVI is legacy and should be avoided for new event setups when possible.
RGB or YCbCr 4:4:4 is preferred for text, graphics and LED walls. 4:2:2 or 4:2:0 can soften colored edges and small text.
Use progressive formats for screens, LED and cameras. Interlaced sources should be deinterlaced before display to avoid combing artifacts.
HDCP can create black/grey screens when a scaler, splitter, matrix or display is not compliant. Verify the complete signal chain before the event.
EDID determines what resolution/rate the source outputs. Bad EDID handling can cause wrong refresh, scaling latency or unexpected color formats. Use reliable scalers/processors and lock the format.
Test the full chain. Label every cable. Carry spare converters/cables. Check bandwidth for every device. For LED walls, match content frame rate, processor settings and camera shutter.
Single-chip DLP can have rainbow artifacts on camera. 3-chip DLP is strong for events. LCD is often lower contrast. LCoS can offer strong color/contrast but varies by model.