Or, probably just some optics, like a slanted $9 IR mirror [1] in front of it, to direct the lidar to the sky/absorption box. Then you can point at the high res HDR TV that's probably already in your living room.

[1] https://commonlands.com/products/ir-cut-filters-csp650?srslt...

Well, first, that's only expensive if you're poor. The world is absolutely full of people who can easily piss away your entire annual income throwing a house party.

But I really mean that if the lidar barely works outdoors anyway then actually you don't need to be 16 feet away at all.

Anyway, one may presume that they've thought about this.