# How big is too big for a screen?



## taylor310 (Jul 30, 2013)

I am closing on a house that's already built 8/30/2013. The upstairs has a beautiful space that i'm already planning on using for a home theater. It is 22 1/2 x 13 x 8. 

I would like to go as big as I could in this room. I have been going back and forth between originally thinking I could put a 110" screen to doing some calculations and thinking of a 133" or maybe even 150". One thing though is at the back of the room is a sink/counter top(approximately 2 feet deep by 4 feet wide). Would it be possible to squeeze 3 rows of seating in this setup? I'm thinking 90% of the time there will be 2 rows of seating, but then for sporting events I could throw some bar stools at the back of the room. How much of a hassle would it be to have 2 rows of seating most of the time with a 133"-150" screen, and then for football games etc shrink the screen down to 110-120" and keep the larger screen? Would that look weird/bad? I guess this would only work if I didn't put in any risers for the 2nd/3rd row. Another thing that makes it a bit difficult is there are doors on both of the sides of the seating. The closet where I plan on putting all my HT equipment is right around 14-15". As of now these open outwards, but I could eventually put in a sliding door or something if necessary.

What do you guys think? I'm completely new to the home theater scene so I have no perception of what's too big etc, but it's fun thinking about!


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

120-133 is about the max I'd go with a room of that width. 13 feet makes it REALLY tight with speakers on the sides AND a 120 inch screen. I have a nearly identical sized room and lets say it gets REALLY cramped to fit that big a screen in there AND accommodate speakers. especially if you have towers


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## pddufrene (Mar 14, 2013)

You can always mount the projector from the ceiling, that way you can incorporate risers on your seats. The counter top can be a good place to put a popcorn machine and a keg for when your watching sports! That would be cool, and you can always remove the doors all together to the closets and not even worry about them so u have full access to all of your equipment. Just a thought are two!


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Two things to keep in mind, do not place the front speakers in the corners of the room. so if your not going with an AT screen you will need to keep them at least 2 ft away from a side wall. Also the screen should not be larger than whats comfortable when your sitting in the front row so you do not need to turn your head to see the entire image comfortably.


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## taylor310 (Jul 30, 2013)

The wall the projector is going on has 3 windows so I am already planning on a ceiling mount with blackout shades behind it(or possibly plugs if the wifey will allow lol)

I have infinity primus standing speakers so I may want to look at an acoustic screen. That or just go with 120 inch screen. This way I can sit about 12 or 13 ft from the screen and still have space to have 2 rows behind me.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

taylor310 said:


> The wall the projector is going on has 3 windows so I am already planning on a ceiling mount with blackout shades behind it(or possibly plugs if the wifey will allow lol)
> 
> I have infinity primus standing speakers so I may want to look at an acoustic screen. That or just go with 120 inch screen. This way I can sit about 12 or 13 ft from the screen and still have space to have 2 rows behind me.


I have my screen directly in front of a large window... AIR we got a piece of plywood and covered it with black velvet. Once the wood was covered in velvet we inserted it in the window area with the velvet facing the outside. We did this so it looked like there were black curtains from the outside. We have absolutely zero light leakage in that area now.


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## taylor310 (Jul 30, 2013)

I would honestly like to have a fixed screen. It will be cheaper and IMO look better. The thing is the total length of the 3 windows is about 124 inches. I don't think I can get a screen that's wide enough to fully cover this. Do you guys think it would work out better to just have a tab tensioned screen from the ceiling? They are a lot more than a fixed screen, but the money I could end up spending to cover the windows may end up evening it out in the long run. Another advantage to a fixes screen is its easier to get one with a little screen gain if my projector isn't beefy enough to power a 120 inch screen.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

If you don't mind blocking the windows all the time... You could run a smaller screen and maybe hange some artwork over the covered windows (beyond the screen edges). If you did this then you would not have to put the speakers in the corners. The other option would be a AT screen and put your speakers behind the screen (you would still have to block the windows though). In my last house I had shutters installed on my windows and had the screen go from one window to the next... How wide of a screen could you go if the screen went to the inside edge of the 2 outer windows? If you went that route you could just have some room darkening curtains on those windows and just make a block for the center window.


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## taylor310 (Jul 30, 2013)

There are 3 windows and each of them are about 38x60 inches. the windows are about 2 feet off the ground as well. The majority of the wall is window sadly. At this point I'm thinking the best option(and most expensive) with a ceiling mounted tab tension. The ones that are 1k do not seem to offer higher gain screens sadly.


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## pddufrene (Mar 14, 2013)

taylor310 said:


> There are 3 windows and each of them are about 38x60 inches. the windows are about 2 feet off the ground as well. The majority of the wall is window sadly. At this point I'm thinking the best option(and most expensive) with a ceiling mounted tab tension. The ones that are 1k do not seem to offer higher gain screens sadly.


You should look into the black diamond screens those are very nice and will work good even with the lights on.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

What projector are you going to use?


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## taylor310 (Jul 30, 2013)

This is still undetermined yet. I would like to get the Mitsubishi hc5 or the Sony hw50. The 3.2k I'll end up paying for the Sony may be a little too rich for my blood. This room will be completely light controlled. 

After giving it some thought my plan is to put honeycomb blackout over the 3 windows. Then out a giant curtain over that to give the movie theater experience. With this method there is still a possibility I could get a cheaper fixed screen with higher gain.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

You wont really need a high gain screen with either of those projectors. Particularly if you are able to make the room dark.


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## taylor310 (Jul 30, 2013)

Yeah with the Sony definitely not! I'm leaning partially towards the Mitsubishi though. Looking at projectorcentral they list for the mitsu with max zoom @ 120 inches being 13 ftL. That seems a bit low. Especially if I plan on using this area for football game watch parties. With a 1.2 gain screen its up to 15. The Sony does much better in this regard though...


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Understandable if your going to have lights on as well.


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## taylor310 (Jul 30, 2013)

I ended up pulling the trigger on a JVC rs45 I got a good deal on. I was hesitant on the JVC do to gaming but then I thought about it and I RARELY have these days. I think I've figured out the wall situation with putting shades over the windows and the covering the whole wall with a curtain. I am unsure how I will mount the screen though. Maybe a hanging fixed screen. I could also try for some kind of floating wall mount on the wall with the curtains. Now I just need to figure out what brand of screen to get. I am open budget wise. A $250 dollar Jamestown screen is attractive due to the price. I could go as high as 500 to 750 though.


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

using 90 degree brackets you could mount the screen out a fair distance from the wall if you're doing a fixed screen. wouldn't be hard at all. 

with 90 degree brackets you could mount a fixed frame screen out from the wall with ease.


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## RossoDiamante (Aug 12, 2013)

Seems like your room may be a bit narrow for a big, wide screen. I guess it also depends on whether you are planning on a HDTV vs. 2.35 aspect ratio. With your great depth, I'd definitely consider bringing your screen forward into the room and putting the speakers behind the screen. This will allow you to go further out towards the sides of the room with the width of the screen. Also, keep in mind that you are going to want to treat the sides of the room with either a flat black paint or a light-absorbing fabric of some sort as the side of the screen gets closer and closer to the side wall.


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## taylor310 (Jul 30, 2013)

I'm going 16:9. I'm thinking I'll put the speakers on the side of a 118 inch carada and have the front row 12 to 14 feet in front of he screen. 2nd row at 16 to 18 and then for game day weekends I can throw some bar stools at the back of the room. How close would be too close to sit from a 135ish inch screen?


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

taylor310 said:


> I'm going 16:9. I'm thinking I'll put the speakers on the side of a 118 inch carada and have the front row 12 to 14 feet in front of he screen. 2nd row at 16 to 18 and then for game day weekends I can throw some bar stools at the back of the room. How close would be too close to sit from a 135ish inch screen?


probably 13-14 feet is the close end. mask off a 135 inch screen area on the wall and start moving the chair back. if everything on the "screen" is within your field of vision and you don't have to turn your head to the right or left to see things then you're good.


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## RossoDiamante (Aug 12, 2013)

I think it depends on what that 135" measures. Since you talked about HDTV aspect ratio, I am going to assume that it is diagonal and that you are looking at a 118" x 66" image area. I'll preface my thoughts with the caveat that I designed my room around a 2.35 screen but was very concerned about how close I could comfortably get because my room was depth constrained. I will also say that everyone has a different limit on what is "too close". 

According to THX, the maximum recommended horizontal viewing angle for HDTV aspect ratios is 40 degrees. For 2.35 source material, it is 50 degrees. For me on the width, based on empirical self-testing, I felt that a viewing angle of 50 degrees was the limit of where I wanted to be so that jived with THX's recommendation. On a 2.35 screen, that left me with a 22 degree vertical viewing angle which was likewise comfortable. 

So for your HDTV screen, with a 118" wide image, you are looking at about 141" or just about 12' as the closest you'd want your eyeballs. That 118" wide screen image will leave you with a 66" image height and at that 141" distance about a 25 degree viewing angle which should be doable. 

So I think that your guesstimate of 12-14 feet from the screen is spot on. You might even be able to go a touch larger on the screen (assuming adequate projector light) if you're leaning more towards the 14 ft. dimension rather than the 12 ft. dimension.

The next thing you have to figure out is how high to mount the screen! 

Good luck with the project. A lot of the fun is in getting it "figured out".


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## qx56 (Mar 6, 2012)

I have a 135 inch diag. 16:9 screen. My first row is 12 feet from the screen back row 17 feet and the bar seating behind that. It looks good at all rows. I've never had someone say it is too big.


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