Screen size with 4 metre projector throw?

[Visionist]

I've been measuring my allocated screening room and the maximum distance I can mount the projector once soundproofing is complete is 400cm from the screen; as in, the projector lens will sit at around that distance.

How big of a screen does this give me in general? I suppose it varies from projector to projector, and whether one uses an anamorphic lens. I won't be going for a constant image height as I love films with IMAX scenes which open up. I'm hoping for a 150" 16:9 screen although this might prove ambitious at that distance.

Also, at my seating distance of ten feet, would a 1080p resolution on a 150" screen look good? Or should I wait for 4K to become affordable?

[onyxbfly]

It's hard to help sans the facts But what I can do is help you this way.

Point your browser to this direction and input the make and model of your projector and you can use the calculator to figure out screen size and throw distance.....


http://www.projectorcentral.com/proj...ulator-pro.cfm

HTH Enjoy

[Visionist]

Thanks This should prove very useful not just now but also in the future.

[onyxbfly]

Glad I was able to be of assistance. Definitely appreciate it if you could hit the thanks button!!!!

[jautor]

Originally Posted by Visionist

How big of a screen does this give me in general? I suppose it varies from projector to projector, and whether one uses an anamorphic lens. I won't be going for a constant image height as I love films with IMAX scenes which open up.

There's less than 10 films that have the mixed-aspect IMAX presentation on BD - since The Dark Knight in 2008/2009 - that's about an average of one release a year. I'm biased because I have a CIH setup, but I wouldn't base my AV setup decisions on such a small amount of content.

I'm hoping for a 150" 16:9 screen although this might prove ambitious at that distance.

It may be possible depending on the PJ, but...

Also, at my seating distance of ten feet, would a 1080p resolution on a 150" screen look good? Or should I wait for 4K to become affordable?

1080p will be fine - but 150" would be huge for a 10' seating distance. My front row is at 9', and the 108" (in 1.85) screen is as big as I'd possibly want at that distance. Any larger would be uncomfortable. But it looks great from my second/third rows, which is why I made it that large.

Figure your screen size from your seating distances, not the other way 'round. And you should wait on the screen until after you're room is set up and you have the projector in hand, ready to use. Test various screen sizes for real (blank wall, photographer's backdrop, white sheet) to figure out your preference within the recommended range (THX view angles). Then order the screen...

Jeff

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by jautor

There's less than 10 films that have the mixed-aspect IMAX presentation on BD - since The Dark Knight in 2008/2009 - that's about an average of one release a year. I'm biased because I have a CIH setup, but I wouldn't base my AV setup decisions on such a small amount of content.



It may be possible depending on the PJ, but...



1080p will be fine - but 150" would be huge for a 10' seating distance. My front row is at 9', and the 108" (in 1.85) screen is as big as I'd possibly want at that distance. Any larger would be uncomfortable. But it looks great from my second/third rows, which is why I made it that large.

Figure your screen size from your seating distances, not the other way 'round. And you should wait on the screen until after you're room is set up and you have the projector in hand, ready to use. Test various screen sizes for real (blank wall, photographer's backdrop, white sheet) to figure out your preference within the recommended range (THX view angles). Then order the screen...

Jeff

I would also recommend going with a constant screen height and just sit closer for those IMAX films that periodically get taller to fill the 16x9 size but would overflow the top and bottom of the screen if using a 2.35/2.4 zoom setting. For me, if IMAX films were "protected" to be run entirely in the 2.4 "scope" ratio in normal theatres, I'd just as soon see the entire movie as wide as possible rather than as tall as possible. And yes, 1080p looks just fine projected 10 feet wide and viewed from about six to nine feet away.

I find the usual diagonal screen measurements to be meaningless. My screen is a constant four-foot height and the width varies from about five feet to ten feet, depending on the film, by zooming the picture out to fill the height (anything with a ratio of 1.78 and smaller will use the same zoom setting equivalent to a constant screen width, but I can pull my side black masking fabric in to fit the picture width so there is no blank screen). I need to crop off a few inches on the sides of 2.55 CinemaScope, but only the extreme 2.75:1 ratio needs to be letterboxed. The equivalent diagonal measure thus changes from film to film. My Panasonic projector has a convenient zoom memory that I can set and label for each aspect ratio (with 16x9 and less all using one setting).

My front row is roughly six feet from the screen, which is ideal for films in ratios from 1.18 through 1.85. For "scope" films and 70mm films in ratios of 2.0 through 2.5, I'll still sit in the front row, about six feet away, at least for older movies with lots of long shots and relatively long takes. For more recent films with lots of extreme close-ups and takes averaging a few seconds or less, I'll usually sit further back in the second or third rows, about nine or twelve feet away. Some friends insist on sitting in my back row, about fifteen feet from the screen for any movie, no matter what the aspect ratio, but even that is equivalent to about the middle of most modern multiplexes.