Ideal Projector distance?

[Mavolous]

I have started a dedicated HT and have a few questions.

The dimensions of the room are 15Wx20L. The projector most likely will be placed 9 feet from the screen. I have the flexibility to go as big as I want with the screen.

Here are my questions

1. What can I expect to get out of a projector with that short of a distance.....or that distance not that short? Would I have to get a short throw lense?

2. What would be a nice screen size for that size room?

Help. Thanks

[Sonnie]

We can all toss you some suggestions as to what we like for screen size, but ultimately it will be your decision. I would suggest reading Your Projector Screen: How big should it be? from Projector Central. Generally I would suggest to be able to sit from the screen at least 1.5 times your screen width. Screen width is 84" (7')... you would want to be at least 10.5' from the screen.

Throw distance will be determined by which projector you choose. 9' should give you plenty of flexibility though. If you look at projectors at Projector Central... for instance the Panasonic PT-AE2000U ... notice down next the "Throw" you will see a small icon... ... Click on that icon and give it a few seconds to load the Throw Calculator. You can experiment with throw distance vs. screen size.

[Anthony]

2nd that on the ProjectorCentral calculator. I used it extensively.

Depending on seating distance and room obstacles, you should do fine with anything between 92" and 120" My room is 11' wide, 92" screen, seating distance or around 9' (front row). Even from the back row (15' back), the screen looks great.

[tonyvdb]

A general rule of thumb to remember is that the farther you have the projector away from the screen the less bright it will be. That calculator mentioned above is a must use when designing your placement of the projector.

[Prof.]

If this is your first projector and screen, my advice is not to go too small on the screen size..
I first started out with a 96" screen, thinking that would be plenty big enough..
Three months later I changed it to a 106" screen, and then further down the track to a 120" screen.
A big screen gives you that real theatre feeling and you feel very much a part of the action...

[Mavolous]

thanks a ton for the answers. I visited my theater guy today and he said I should seriousely consider moving the projector back to 12-15 feet.

This will be very difficult as a soffett runs right throught the theater at that point.....so rather then have the projector place in the soffett (nobody will see it), it would have to be on the other side (wouldnt make a pleasent site).

I went to projector central and it appears only ONE projector can truely accomadate the 9 foot throw with a 100+ screen size. This could be an issue

[Sonnie]

Well... again, this is what I meant by we can all toss you suggestions, but it will ultimately be up to you and what you will like and based on the projector you choose.

Many of the projector gods (so to speak) advised me not to use more than 110" screen with my new Panny PT-AE2000U and preferably stay at 100" or less. Supposedly, with my PJ, when I start to get larger, quality goes down... as is the case with some projectors. I'd say the Panny 2000 is one of the better projectors. However, that quality difference may not be noticeable to some as much as others.

Personally I cannot imagine going any bigger than my 97" screen in my room. I've actually considered making it a little smaller at around 92", just to squeeze out that extra tidbit of performance as well as make my screen a little more fitting to my room. 97" is just soooo big to me, it is sometimes more than we really need.

I would try to view various screen sizes in a room equivalent to yours.

You are right though... 9' doesn't appear to be as good as I originally thought. I would only be able to get a 91" screen with my 2000 and that is at full zoom.

[John Simpson]

I know how you feel Mavo... for me the projector is the "last great unknown". I'm still annoyed I can't get a native 2.35:1 projector!

One thing I can add: if you're thinking of adding an anamorphic lens at any point, a short-throw ratio may produce some unwanted keystoning (usually something only a curved screen can rectify). So long-throw is your best friend, in this case...

Just something to add to the mix

[Mavolous]

I measured today and it appears I can place the projector between 10-12 feet.....within the soffet. This to me might work but I need to research at projector central. I also determined that my max screen width can be 95" which would put the heigth at 53"......for a 16:9 ratio

I will attach pics tonight

[Mavolous]

theater1.bmp.jpg

theater2.bmp.jpg



the first photo is of the back wall where the screen will go, second pic is of the problem......soffet

[Sonnie]

How wide is the wall your screen is going on?

It looks like maybe your front wall there may not be all that wide... is there a closet or cabinet going on the left side?

[Mavolous]

I have two false walls in front of the screen wall. I have centered the screen between the two false walls allowing for 1ft inside of each false wall. Cabinets and control room for the house is on left, that is the smurf tubing you are seeing.

[<^..^>Smokey Joe]

In all reality short of the Projector limitations the choice of size is yours. However, SMPTE did alot of work on viewing angle to find the ideal viewing conditions in theatres. They found a field of view of between 25 and 35 degrees and a sweet spot of 30 degrees.

You can be too big for good viewing. This is dispite our natural wide field of vision, the issue is our focal area of view which is quite narrow.
Our area of attention is small.

Some rough figures to get the idea.
Seating is based on 10 feet from screen 16:9 ratio
(to the nearest inch)
25deg = 61in diagonal
30deg = 74in
35deg = 87in

Again personal choice and these are SMPTE guidelines.
The reason you can't find many projectors doing a short throw wide is because of the these guidelines.
Personally I would be thinking 90in max.

An issue with short wide throws is that the optical path will use the outer parts of the lens, quite often not perfect and you can have optical distortions. Especially if you have to use alot of lens shift.

regards
<^..^>

[Anthony]

A friend of mine who went to film school taught me a good trick:

Sit at your ideal seat location (usually picked due to room layout or acoustic considerations).

Hold your hands out in front of you as far as you can. Touch the thumbs together and spread your fingers.

The distance from pinky to pinky is close to the ideal screen size in terms of field of view.

I did this in my theater and came up with a 92" screen and 9' seating distance.

The reason it works is that hand size and arm length are usually proportional. If you have giant hands and stubby arms, it might throw off the calculations

It also works to try and find the best seat in a theater, not that I've been to one in years