Looking for some advise on my HT design (1 Viewer)

[Craig Forsythe]

Hi all,

I want to build a home theater in our new house and was hoping I could get a basic room design question answered I was unsure of before I even start to proceed. My plan is to purchase a 2k projector around the fall giving me lots of time to build this room.

plan

The double doors at the back are horrible french doors that never get closed, its our computer room and when in there we sit looking out at the current tv in the middle of the 'theater room', and in a few months out to the screen)
The couch really is that big..it just hasnt been delivered yet. Had I realized it was "that" big when I bought it...my floor design program sure brought it into reality for me.

My main question at this point is about the length of my room.

Is 23' from seating to screen too far for my price range of projector? I am assuming it will be good but my projector would need to be mounted between the screen a couch, a potential noise distraction?

The second measurement of 18' was based on if I build a wall across at the blue line, but since a door would need to be built into it as well, my screen width would also go down.

Any suggestions or advise would be wonderful. Since I'm only at the design stage it's really subject to complete change. This forum has become my new textbook the past month and everyone elses HT pages have really impressed me. Hope I can do half as good.

 

[scott>sau]

Installing thick drapes to cover the French doors would overcome light pollution problems and noise leakage.
I am not an expert on video, so I do not know if the pixel rate would be fine at 22'. If ambient light isn't a big problem and you use a $2000 DLP projector with 1000 lumen's you would be safe mounting the projector at that distance. The key is experimentation.

 

[Ken-Ha]

Do you really need that single door to go into the theater. If you can build the wall and keep that door then it will probable be better. Another thing is if you build the wall then all your equipments can go to the scree wall. Right now I think you would probably need to squeeze through between the sofa and the wall.
best regards
Ken

 

[sean_pecor]

For what its worth, here are some considerations and suggestions:

It looks like your screen will be a 16:9 110" diagonal. At 22 feet from eyeball to screen, your viewing angle is almost 21 degrees. This is comparable to sitting 9 feet from a 46" widescreen - something that I do at home. While this viewing angle is nice, if I were in your position I'd be looking to create a more immersive experience. So here are some suggestions with respect to screen / sofa position:

• Rotate your seating 90 degrees counter-clockwise and align it with a screen installed against the staircase.
• Or, keep you sofa in your currently proposed location, and install a ceiling mounted electric/manual pull-down screen about 11-13 feet from your main viewing position. This would give you about a 40 degree viewing angle. Depending on ceiling height, you could have it in a Da-Lite self-contained unit (Cosmopolitan Electrol - about $1,000-$1,500) hung from a support rod. Or you could have it totally recessed in the ceiling so it disappears completely when not in use.[/list=a]
  
  Also, some other construction-oriented suggestions:
  • If those french doors are always open, then consider having them removed. You will gain back real-estate, and would be able to push that sofa back a tiny bit more. That looks like a tight squeeze between the sofa and corner of the staircase.
  • If moving the giant sectional isn't an option, and niether is moving up the screen, consider building a 8-12" riser for the sectional, and buying a smaller love seat / recliners that would be placed closer to the screen.[/list=a]
    
    Sean.

 

[Craig Forsythe]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Thanks for mentioning the viewing angle Sean, I hadn't considered that at all. As soon as I started reading your post I couldn't believe I hadn't considered it

The french doors will definately be getting the heave-ho, will add some nice dark curtains to pull shut when not in the computer area as suggested Scott.

I had always intended on adding a front love seat or chairs for company eventually, so the riser suggestion is noted (it got a big roll of the eyes from the wife ).
I was thinking now maybe of having the screen on a track (I'm fairly sure I'm looking at a homebuilt screen for this year) so that it could be brought forward or set back against the wall as I see fit. That should resolve the viewing angle concern.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

 

[MikeWh]

Craig,

Here is the viewing distance calculator that a lot of us have been using:
http://www.myhometheater.homestead.c...alculator.html
(Thanks again, Chris; aka Christian C)

My 2 cents:

Personally, I'd prefer a distance of about 14-15 feet for that size screen. I'd seriously reconsider the huge sectional. You could fit a good number of theater seats or plush recliners in there.

Is 23' from seating to screen too far for my price range of projector?

Different projectors have different throws; it's really not simply a matter of price vs. distance. You really need to take a look at which projectors you like, then see how they would work in your room. Projectorcentral seems to have all the data you'll need on hundreds of projector models.

 

[darron Z]

hey im in the process of building my HT in my 20 x 20 garage. ive purchased a xd300u mitsubishi dlp proj HIGHLY recommend - you get 4000 hr lamp life , free 400 bulb until july30 ,2003 +faruodja , all for 3k from projector people.(ps -i made a 110 inch screen for 100.00 . tried silver colors , greys, but white mmatte is best. dazian.com sells screen material cheeeep , like under 20.00 a yd. ) the colors and blacks are excellent on the4 projector . it is a 2000 lumen unit, i wouldnt go with less... also i got a svs 25-39 pc + subwoofer. love it . i bought 4 ultrasuede recliners from HECHT co. (strawbridges) for 449. each on sale , with a matching sofa for the rear for 699. niiiice quality- no plastic cupholders or cheesy looking fringes .
those are my tips so far..... good luck

 

[Wes]

This is more on lines what I would do with your theater! Remember to wire for at least DD EX!
http://autographprod.8k.com/photo3.html
The gray areas are steps and risers! I'm assuming the orange boxes with the four dots in them are speakers? if not then where I placed them would be where your speakers could go for a 7.1 system.

Wes