your ideal room deminsions for a 42" plasma... (1 Viewer)

[DustinT]

Hey Folks, My wife and I are planning an addon, and the possiblity exists that...... I may be able to creat a movie-dedicated room, a... home theater... if you will.

I currently have a 42" plasma, and so I would obviously not but supporting a very large room. but if you were building a home theater around this screen size, what size room would you go with?

 

[Paul Padilla]

Starting with the optimum viewing distance: You'll find various thoughts but a happy medium seems to be 2.5 times the width of the screen. For a 42" that works out to 8.75 feet to the main viewing position. From there you should have about 3 feet open behind that position...primarily for sound reproduction (you are putting in surround sound, aren't you?

I'm not quite sure on the width of the room. I would estimate that you would want at least three feet on either side of the screen. That puts you in about a 12X10 room, but that's bare minimum. That doesn't leave a whole lot of room for seating. Of course, you can go as big as you like, within reason, keeping in mind the distance from the screen.

Of course, if you're going to the expense of building an addition, it may be worth it to roll the cost of a 50" plasma or a projector into the financing. C'mon honey...then the 42" plasma can go in the bedroom.

Good luck.

 

[Jim Mcc]

Dustin, your seating distance should be about 8'-9' from screen. What type of viewing will you use this room for? Will it be for ALL your TV viewing? If only for DVD's and occasional HDTV, you should consider a front projector. If you haven't seen one in person, you really should view one before ruling it out. There's nothing like movies and HD football on a 106" screen(that's what I've got). My room is 12'X17', sitting 15' back. But you will need a dark room for the best image. I think you'll find a 42" TV too small for a "HT room".