Positioning your projector

Obtaining a preferred projected image size

The distance from the projector lens to the screen, the zoom setting (if available), and the video format each factors in the projected image size.

4:3 is the native aspect ratio of this projector. To be able to project a complete 16:9 (widescreen) aspect ratio image, the projector can resize and scale a widescreen image to the projector's native aspect width. This will result in a proportionally smaller height equivalent to 75% of the projector's native aspect height.

4:3 aspect image in a 4:3	16:9 aspect image scaled to a 4:3 aspect
aspect display area	display area

Thus, a 16:9 aspect image will not utilize 25% of the height of a 4:3 aspect image displayed by this projector. This will be seen as darkened (unlit) bars along the top and bottom (vertical 12.5% height respectively) of the 4:3 projection display area whenever displaying a scaled 16:9 aspect image in the vertical center of the 4:3 projection display area.

The projector should always be placed horizontally level (like flat on a table), and positioned directly perpendicular (90° right-angle square) to the horizontal center of the screen. This prevents image distortion caused by angled projections (or projecting onto angled surfaces).

The modern digital projector does not project directly forward (like older style reel-to-reel film projectors did). Instead, digital projectors are designed to project at a slightly upward angle above the horizontal plane of the projector. This is so that they can be readily placed on a table and will project forward and upwards onto a screen positioned so that the bottom edge of the screen is above the level of the table (and everyone in the room can see the screen).

If the projector is mounted on a ceiling, it must be mounted upside-down so that it projects at a slightly downward angle.

You can see from the diagram on page 14, that this type of projection causes the bottom edge of the projected image to be vertically offset from the horizontal plane of the projector. When ceiling mounted, this refers to the top edge of the projected image.

If the projector is positioned further away from the screen, the projected image size increases, and the vertical offset also increases proportionately.

When determining the position of the screen and projector, you will need to account for both the projected image size and the vertical offset dimension, which are directly proportional to the projection distance.

BenQ has provided a table of 4:3-aspect-ratio screen sizes to assist you in determining the ideal location for your projector. Refer to "Projection dimensions" on page 14 depending on the projector you are using. There are two dimensions to consider, the perpendicular horizontal distance from the center of the screen (projection distance), and the vertical offset height of the projector from the horizontal edge of the screen (offset).

Positioning your projector