Newbie question about screen/room size (1 Viewer)

[Bobby]

Hi All!

After reading these forums for a few weeks I must say that I've been bitten pretty bad by the HT bug. So, I am now in the planning stages of my basement HT and have a few questions.

The room specs are 21' (deep) x 14' (wide) with a little less than 8' high ceiling. I plan on having a stage up front and recessed ceiling with diffused lighting coming from the soffit.

First, I've been reading about the staggered studding and wanted to know if it's worth the little bit of extra work or not. I plan on double insulating the ceiling and then sheetrock - 1 layer. I wondered if going through the staggered studding would be pointless if I don't actually beef up the ceiling more. (?) I'm not sure how much I care about sound proofing, as it's just my wife and I at home and we live in the middle of the woods so neighbors are not a problem. On the other hand, it's just some more studs so I kinda wanted to just do it for kicks to see (hear) the difference.

Second, given the room dimensions above, I'm not sure how to figure out the best screen size and seating distance from the screen. I'm steering towards the new Sony VPL-HS20 LCD projector and at roughly 17' throw distance it's between 100"-120" diagonal. That seems rather large unless you're sitting back a bit. (The 17' I get because of the 21' room depth minus some kind of soffit + stage. I would like to mount the projector within the rear soffit so it doesn't hang from the ceiling above the viewers). What's the best way to figure this stuff out? I would like to have a second row of seating on a platform but I'm thinking with a ~110" screen I may not have enough room assuming the seating will be back a bit farther. Does the projector have some kind of zoom settings and if so about how much?

Thanks, and just wanted to say these are great forums. I'm sure as I get closer to the building process I'll have many more questions.

 

[Ed O'Neill]

Second, given the room dimensions above, I'm not sure how to figure out the best screen size and seating distance from the screen.

Goto www.dolby.com or
Use this link it will calculate it for you
http://www.myhometheater.homestead.com/Index.html

Hope this helps,
Ed

 

[paul_r]

Bobby,
Wish you the best of luck with your new project. I know this can be a lot of work. As far as screen size goes there are really 2 important factors the projector you are using, and personal preference. A good rule of thumb is to start with 1.5 the width of your screen as the distance to the first row. If you can I would try and find a store that sells the projector you are interested in and visit. You should get them to play the media that you will use most at home and spend a good hour in front of the screen watching. This will let you know exactly what works for you. Remember there is no right answer to this question it is really just what you like. I used to like to sit in the middle of the theater when I used to go to the public movie theater(before mine was built ) and at home I tend to like to be at least 1.5 times away from my screen I am using a projector with a native res of 720p. This site along with AVS forum and alot of peoples home sites where key to my success when I built my theater.

 

[Bobby]

Ed, thanks for the links. The calculator is exactly what I need to get started.

Paul, thanks for the wishes. You have a beautiful HT setup there! Thanks for the advice!

I'm sure as I get along in this project that I'll have a million more questions.

Thanks again!