Would this size room work for media room? (1 Viewer)

[mroach003]

Building a house, having to change a gameroom space to make it larger. Without going into alot of detail, we are trying to decide if the additional space would be sufficent for a media room. Room would be 15 wide x 10'2" deep. I know it would be better to have it 15 deep, but that wouldn't work for us. The room will backup to a larger game room, separated by wide framed opening with a heavy curtain that could be pulled back so that if you are watching a football game, people from the rest of the game room could watch on the screen as well. The room would actually be 20 feet wide, but we are walling off 5 feet to create a small kitchenette space for media room and game room area. Our hope is that we could fit 1 row of 4 theater recliners at the back of the media space, so they would be 10 feet from screen. Was hoping to do maybe a screen size of around 90 inches. I know its not ideal, but would it be reasonable enjoyable?

 

[smithb]

Building a house, having to change a gameroom space to make it larger. Without going into alot of detail, we are trying to decide if the additional space would be sufficent for a media room. Room would be 15 wide x 10'2" deep. I know it would be better to have it 15 deep, but that wouldn't work for us. The room will backup to a larger game room, separated by wide framed opening with a heavy curtain that could be pulled back so that if you are watching a football game, people from the rest of the game room could watch on the screen as well. The room would actually be 20 feet wide, but we are walling off 5 feet to create a small kitchenette space for media room and game room area. Our hope is that we could fit 1 row of 4 theater recliners at the back of the media space, so they would be 10 feet from screen. Was hoping to do maybe a screen size of around 90 inches. I know its not ideal, but would it be reasonable enjoyable?

I think that can work. My room is 15' wide by 18' deep, and I have 4 theater recliners. I also have a 7.1 setup with 3' of space behind my row. You would basically be giving up the two back speakers and only going with a 5.1, which would be fine. I sit 14' back from a 92" screen. I built my room back in 2003. If done now I would probably go with 110" screen for my distance. So I think a 90" screen from 10' back is fine. Some might say go larger. I would think about the content you watch first to determine size. A better approach is to setup the room and project on the wall for a little while first to gauge which size screen works best, and then get the screen.

 

[mroach003]

Thank you for the reply. Unfortunately, we only have the foundation of the house so far so can't really lay it out. The framers are starting to frame the downstairs today, so I have to may a decision pretty quick on the upstairs (where this would be). I am attaching a copy of part of the architectural diagram (hopefully I did that right). The media room would be where it says "OPT DECK". Again, separated by a heavy curtain from the main game room. I saw something similar in a high end custom home and really like it. I believe the chairs will fit fine from what I have investigated. My only concern is will it feel to close to the screen if the chairs are only 10 feet back.

 

[smithb]

Thank you for the reply. Unfortunately, we only have the foundation of the house so far so can't really lay it out. The framers are starting to frame the downstairs today, so I have to may a decision pretty quick on the upstairs (where this would be). I am attaching a copy of part of the architectural diagram (hopefully I did that right). The media room would be where it says "OPT DECK". Again, separated by a heavy curtain from the main game room. I saw something similar in a high end custom home and really like it. I believe the chairs will fit fine from what I have investigated. My only concern is will it feel to close to the screen if the chairs are only 10 feet back.

I couldn't see the diagram, but if i understand correctly the heavy curtain will be behind the chairs, with the idea they can be opened up for viewing when preferred? If so, I have seen layouts like that before and they can be especially good for sporting events when some are seriously watching and others casually. Theater chairs can be pretty wide so you will want to make sure of their width's because I assume you will need an aisle on either one side or down the middle. I ended up going with Jaymar seats because they were a bit narrower then the more common Berkliners many get. Another potential issue is the projector will be hanging down from the ceiling. You prefer it to not be in front of or directly overhead of the seats, but you also don't want it in an open area behind the seats if when the curtain is open someone could bump their head into it. Just a thought to try and make sure it is protected. It sounds like you have plenty of time still before thinking of buying equipment. New projector models come out every year so wait until you are ready to use it before buying one. Then actually use it for a month before you get a screen so you know the optimal size to get. There really is nothing like a media room for movies and sports, so if it means having one in what is less then perfect, or not having one at all, I say go for less then perfect.

 

[Robert_J]

I sit about 13' from a 103" DIY screen. If people will be watching from the game room, then go as large as possible on the screen. Since mine was a $70 DIY model, I maxed out based on the width of blackout cloth. The only drawback of the heavy curtain is that is does not act like a wall. With a sealed room and a good sub, you get a tactile feel during explosions of action movies. To get that in an open room, you need to really need a sub that can reach low.