# The light issue



## cupton (Mar 23, 2011)

Hi,
I'm new to the game of setting up a projector style home theatre – I don't have any components except a Yamaha RX-V663 receiver and PS3.

I have a question about the ability to use a room as multi-functional with a projector. My projector budget would be $<1500 and I would paint my own screen on new dry wall.

The room is about to be finished… It's approx 32' x 13' 6" and 8' high. 
The screen would go on one of the 13' 6" end walls.
There are only 2 small windows in the room which will have curtains/blinds.
There are no plans for fancy seats – mostly only 2 of us using the room.

Uses of the room:
1. Home theatre – see no problem here. Plan to locate projector on ceiling. Need to figure out size of screen and distance for projector and seats. Room can be made dark.

2. Gym. It would be nice to watch TV while plodding on the elliptical for an hour. Can exercise in lowish light. So that seems ok.

3. Here's the $1M question. My wife wants a "sewing room" at the opposite end of the room. She'll need good light there (several pot-lights or spot halogens), but won't really be watching TV while sewing. However, it would be nice for me to hang out in the room and watch some TV while she does her stuff – not serious movie watching. So since we haven't done the wiring yet, we can arrange to have switches to keep lighting only in sewing area (12' at opposite end of 32' room). Is this feasible with a projector? Like I said, there wouldn't be an awful lot of TV watching while sewing, so the question is whether it would be awful, or just not great. We don't need to max out the screen size, so perhaps that would accomodate a little more light.

Appreciate the help!
Chris


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## Alan Brown (Jun 7, 2006)

Like this? http://www.cinemaquestinc.com/project7.htm
My company's showroom also has the ceiling painted black only from the projector forward in a long room. It works very well but the walls are dark walnut paneling. I can have moderate light in the area opposite the theater area and still maintain a watchable image on the .9 gain screen. Down firing overhead canister lights would still be the best in the area opposite the screen.

Best regards and beautiful pictures,
Alan Brown, President
CinemaQuest, Inc.
A Lion AV Consultants Affiliate

"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"


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## cupton (Mar 23, 2011)

Ah, that's a good idea... break up the room with 2 colour schemes. We weren't going with light paint... but can see advantage of going even darker. Also going to have shelving at the screen end of the room which will help.

Thanks,
Chris


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

The problem I see is when it comes to serious movie watching..
If that length is not partitioned off, you will probably have some real acoustic problems..It will be like playing music in a hallway..
You're going to need some serious acoustic treatment..

Also projectors don't like ambient light of any kind and If there's going to be enough light in your wife's area at the back of the room for her to work in, then you will most likely have a bit of a washed out image..A grey screen will help to some degree..


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## cupton (Mar 23, 2011)

Hmm.. hadn't thought of acoustic problems. But it's got to be a lot better than what we have now - little steps.

I was thinking of the Epson 8350.... but haven't figured out yet if I can reduce picture size to increase brightness - when have higher ambient light. 

Thanks again!.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

In the room width you're looking at, I wouldn't want to have a screen any smaller than a 90", otherwise it's going to look too small..and if you catch the bug..you're probably going to want bigger further down the track!!


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## Alan Brown (Jun 7, 2006)

Prof. said:


> In the room width you're looking at, I wouldn't want to have a screen any smaller than a 90", otherwise it's going to look too small..and if you catch the bug..you're probably going to want bigger further down the track!!


Screen size is fundamentally a function of the primary seating distance. The standard professional imaging industry recommendation for a 1920 x 1080 resolution is a 30 degree viewing angle (3 screen heights or 1.5 times the diagonal for a 16 x 9 screen) for average 20/20 vision. Closer will reveal pixels in the image and start to reduce overall sharpness, farther away will reduce the sense of envelopment. How the screen appears to fit in a given size of room has no relation to actual image quality while using the system. Critical viewing should be performed with no ambient light in the room.


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

Alan Brown said:


> Screen size is fundamentally a function of the primary seating distance. The standard professional imaging industry recommendation for a 1920 x 1080 resolution is a 30 degree viewing angle (3 screen heights or 1.5 times the diagonal for a 16 x 9 screen) for average 20/20 vision. Closer will reveal pixels in the image and start to reduce overall sharpness, farther away will reduce the sense of envelopment. How the screen appears to fit in a given size of room has no relation to actual image quality while using the system. Critical viewing should be performed with no ambient light in the room.


Normally I would agree with this, but this situation is a bit different..
If his wife is at the back of a 32' long room and wants to watch the movie as well, then a standard size screen (given the parameters that would normally apply to the room) is going to look very small from that distance!


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## Alan Brown (Jun 7, 2006)

Prof. said:


> Normally I would agree with this, but this situation is a bit different..
> If his wife is at the back of a 32' long room and wants to watch the movie as well, then a standard size screen (given the parameters that would normally apply to the room) is going to look very small from that distance!


Good front projection system design cannot provide ideal imaging to every seat in the room. Priorities must be set intelligently and be optimized for the seating location most frequently occupied when desiring the best performance. The same goes for the sound. All factors must be balanced in a home theater to favor where the system owner intends to sit for serious movie watching. This is only common sense.

If the wife wants to sew and watch the screen, she should plan to have plenty of band aids ready. The art of system design is in careful appraisal of priorities, performance capabilities/limitations of the technology, and a judicious juggling of compromises.

Best regards and beautiful pictures,
Alan Brown, President
CinemaQuest, Inc.
A Lion AV Consultants Affiliate

"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"


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