Rear Projection TV or Front Projector? (1 Viewer)

[SeanBurnley]

Building my own home theater has been a dream of mine for a long time. I've got lots of ideas on what I want in terms of laying it out but I'm in limbo over the question of what display device to go with. My basement room for the theater is somewhat small (12x16) and I've read the "rules of thumb" about sitting at least 1.5 times the screen length away. I really want the BIG screen feel and I just don't know if the 73" TV option is going to have that same appeal. I even lose about 3 feet of room to allow for the depth of the TV cabinet. Can I go with a projector or should I stick with the big TV? Thanks for any input.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Your room is big enough for a large FPTV setup of 100" 16x9. My current room is small by HT standards, 11'x15' with a 12' ceiling, and I have a 96" setup. I have read many posts of RPTV owners that have done FPTV setups and been blown away to the point of not wanting to go back.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Give up the RPTVV for FP?
Front Projectors
Sanyo PLV-70. Pulled the BIG TRIGGER!!
HD Projector Questions
FPTV vs RPTV
Front or Rear Projection?
I've got a totally honest question for everyone.....
RPTV, FPTV, Plasma - Which way to go?

These are some similar posts.

 

[SeanBurnley]

Thanks for all the links. Sounds like the FPTV is viable especially since it will be in a dedicated room with complete light control the lumens won't be of concern. Also My ceiling will end up about 8' to 8.5' so I'm sure that's plenty of room. My local home theater store and other electronic chain stores were all in agreement that RPTV was my best option. They all said FPTV would be overkill and too large to watch comfortably for my room size. However, if the FPTV is only for watching movies and not daily TV network stuff, then eye strain or whatever shouldn't be an issue, right? I would even rather give up some picture quality as opposed to the 'theater' experience. I calculate my first row seating to be at about 10' back and second row about 14'. Thanks again

 

[Neil Joseph]

Depending on your budget, you will not have to give up PQ either.

 

[Ron-P]

Sean, my HT room is small, 15'x9' with a ceiling height varying from 7' to 8'. I have a 46" 16:9 RPTV. I just ran with an X1 running it on an 85" screen (16:9). Due to certain rainbow issues with the X1 it was sent back today and I have a Panasonic PT-L200u showing up tomorrow. The Panny is LCD so the rainbow problem is not there, should work perfectly. My first row is at 9' and the second is at 13'. It worked perfectly for the 85" screen. I picked up the Panny for $1,099 and that included a free Da-Lite 37.5"x67" (16:9) screen.

If you do not mind a little less PQ, FP is the way to go. The large image is simply fantastic.


Peace Out~

 

[James Bergeron]

Second row will be the best seats, but I don't see an issue here. My first row is 13' back from a 100" screen with no issues, I have a CRT to PQ is awesome! My middle row is about 18' and my rear row 21'