Hello.
I am a projector new guy. My current room is 12.5Lx9.5Wx8Hfeet. I sit about 12 feet from the front of the room. I have my equipment and 34in sony TV in the front of the room. My equipment rack plus gear is about 3 1/2feet up from the floor. So if a screen were to placed in the room, it would be that far up from the floor. Am I sitting far enough back to have the bottom of the screen that high? Does anyone think it would cause an issue for watching movies? I was thinking about a 72 inch screen. If needed, I can take some pictures so everyone can see what I mean. Plus, there is no riser in the room. My couch is just along the back wall.
Thanks

Hello.
I am a projector new guy. My current room is 12.5Lx9.5Wx8Hfeet. I sit about 12 feet from the front of the room. I have my equipment and 34in sony TV in the front of the room. My equipment rack plus gear is about 3 1/2feet up from the floor. So if a screen were to placed in the room, it would be that far up from the floor. Am I sitting far enough back to have the bottom of the screen that high? Does anyone think it would cause an issue for watching movies? I was thinking about a 72 inch screen. If needed, I can take some pictures so everyone can see what I mean. Plus, there is no riser in the room. My couch is just along the back wall.
Thanks

Shew, having the bottom of the screen 42" up is h i g h. General rule of thumb is the bottom third of the screen should be below eye level. Since it seems you would have to go that high to clear the other equipment you want to keep in the room, it would almost be better to put your couch up on a riser; of course then you'd be looking down to your 34" Sony.

Also, of lesser consequence I suppose, is the fact that with your couch pressed right up against the back wall, it's not ideal for surround. Are you planning to do 5-channel or 7? What PJ and where/how do you plan to mount it?

Your room size would definitely seem to have some challenges.

CD

Hello.
I am a projector new guy. My current room is 12.5Lx9.5Wx8Hfeet. I sit about 12 feet from the front of the room. I have my equipment and 34in sony TV in the front of the room. My equipment rack plus gear is about 3 1/2feet up from the floor. So if a screen were to placed in the room, it would be that far up from the floor. Am I sitting far enough back to have the bottom of the screen that high? Does anyone think it would cause an issue for watching movies? I was thinking about a 72 inch screen. If needed, I can take some pictures so everyone can see what I mean. Plus, there is no riser in the room. My couch is just along the back wall.
Thanks

12ft deep? Couch along back wall? Sounds a lot like my theater

Victor

Hello.
I am a projector new guy. My current room is 12.5Lx9.5Wx8Hfeet. I sit about 12 feet from the front of the room. I have my equipment and 34in sony TV in the front of the room. My equipment rack plus gear is about 3 1/2feet up from the floor. So if a screen were to placed in the room, it would be that far up from the floor. Am I sitting far enough back to have the bottom of the screen that high? Does anyone think it would cause an issue for watching movies? I was thinking about a 72 inch screen. If needed, I can take some pictures so everyone can see what I mean. Plus, there is no riser in the room. My couch is just along the back wall.
Thanks

With a tight space like you have, you really need to sit down with an paper, pencil, straight edge and ruler to make a scale drawing of your room. Make scale cutout of the furniture and push things around to see if everything will fit or what you have to do make the REQUIRED equipment fit.

You need to take in consideration where the door(s) is/are and the location of any closets in the room. You might want to lay out your proposed screen on the wall where you intend to place it with blue masking tape.

In other words, see if you can actually use this room and make it work as a home theater that you can be happy with. You might be surprised what you can do with that room after you spend twenty to forty hours of preliminary layout work to determine if you can arrive at a design that will meet your needs. Most home theaters are actually compromises that have been tailored to meet conflicting requirements.

Thanks guys. The room is actually done. I have had a theater for about 8 years. I am just floating the idea of getting a projector. The idea is to keep my TV in the room and have it setup that the screen would come down right to the top of the TV.
Here is a link where you can sort of see the front of my room
http://cgim.audiogon.com/i/vs/i/f/1218725422.jpg
I plan on taking some more pictures that show a better angle.
I was thinking about a riser myself. And Victor, I have looked at your room many times over the last few days. If you look at that picture, the screen would go right above the TV. It is actually more space than it looks width wise. Like I said, I will try and get better pictures.
Thanks again.

OK.
I took some more pictures
The first one is me stitting on my couch, with my head on a slight angle.
The second one is me looking strait at the TV. And the third is another one
at a slight up angle. You can see how much space I have to work with from the ceiling to the top of the TV.

Here are two more of me looking strait ahead. Thanks for the input. Now that you see the setup, does that make it any clearer on how my head would have to be angled up? Is that simply to high?
Thanks again.

Your best bet in this scenario is a pull down screen in front of the tv. The center is too low and as long as your keeping the tv of daytime viewing this is probably your best bet, unless you decide to mount the center above the tv. Then you can mount the screen above.

However, the ceiling looks pretty low- possibly 8ft, and figuring the tv and stand measure 3ft tops, you're looking at 5ft left and 5.5ft to the center of the screen at best. So after all of these observations you're probably better off with the pull down.

Victor

PS you're going to be much closer to the screen now- probably less than 10ft. You should consider may a 90" screen and 1080p for your best viewing. 720p should be good enough but some may be able to chime in on that setup.

Here are two more of me looking strait ahead. Thanks for the input. Now that you see the setup, does that make it any clearer on how my head would have to be angled up? Is that simply to high?
Thanks again.

Well, your pictures make it look awfuly tight...but, if you do the math: 96" high wall, minus 42" for clearing your existing equipment, that leaves, theoretically, ~54"...which is more than enough height for a 72" screen, or even bigger. Now I say theoretically because, just how close to the top of the ceiling, and just how close over your equipment you'll want to be will have to be your judgment calls, but it seems doable.

Many, at least in this thread of dedicated HTs, might say all that exposed equipment will be a bit distracting, especially the TV. So VE might be right about his suggestion of a pull-down, although, all things being equal, I would much rather have a fixed-frame screen. Again, a judgment call on your part.

BTW, nice gear; I can easily identify the Esoteric transport, Parasound Pre/Pro, and the Focal-JM Labs (Electra 1027s?), but can't quite make out your pair of amps?

CD

Thanks for the reply. Yea, I realized it would be an effort. My TV is about 2 feet deep. So if I put the screen in front of the TV, won’t that make it to close to the couch? It makes it about 10 feet then. Plus, I have another seat that is off to an angle to the left. It is a recliner that is a bit closer. Now I might be able to move it back a bit. If you recline when you watch a movie that might help a bit. I was also thinking about the center and how it would be too low. I am going to guess that you would say the best bet is to get the TV out of there all together.

Well, your pictures make it look awfuly tight...but, if you do the math: 96" high wall, minus 42" for clearing your existing equipment, that leaves, theoretically, ~54"...which is more than enough height for a 72" screen, or even bigger. Now I say theoretically because, just how close to the top of the ceiling, and just how close over your equipment you'll want to be will have to be your judgment calls, but it seems doable.

Many, at least in this thread of dedicated HTs, might say all that exposed equipment will be a bit distracting, especially the TV. So VE might be right about his suggestion of a pull-down, although, all things being equal, I would much rather have a fixed-frame screen. Again, a judgment call on your part.

BTW, nice gear; I can easily identify the Esoteric transport, Parasound Pre/Pro, and the Focal-JM Labs (Electra 1027s?), but can't quite make out your pair of amps?

CD

Thanks. I know it's pretty tight. I am just in the prelim stages. All this info is very good so thanks for the post. When you say fixed frame, do you mean a screen that does not pull down and is just mounted on the wall? You have a good eye. Yes, that is an Esoteric DV50s, Parasound Halo C2, and JM Labs 1027be's. The amps are Bryston. 4b-ST and 5b-ST.
Thanks again guys :).

Thanks for the reply. Yea, I realized it would be an effort. My TV is about 2 feet deep. So if I put the screen in front of the TV, won’t that make it to close to the couch? It makes it about 10 feet then.

MD, good rule of thumb to use is your viewing position should be back about 1.5x your screen width. So, 72" screen is ~63" (1.78) or ~67" (2.35), your viewing position should comfortably be as close as ~95" or ~8' or ~100" or ~8.5'. Either way, you'd be fine to do a pull-down in front of the TV, and 10' from your viewing position.

BTW, that 1.5x rule generally applies to a 1080p image; some 720p PJs are better off at more like 1.8.

Oh, and yes...fixed-frame, meaning permanently tensioned and fix-mounted to the wall.

CD

Thanks CD. That is some great info for me to digest. It gives me stuff to mull over. I am in no hurry so I can take my time and figure out the best road for me

Using the screen calculator at projectorcentral.com and a Panasonic 200U's zoom capability you could shelf mount your screen and allowing space for the PJ and rear cables your lens-to-screen would be just a bit more than 10 1/2 to 11 ft.

We have a similar sized setup and our Panasonic PJ is mounted on a shelf approx. 5 ft above the floor. Seating is along same wall and below the PJ shelf. In "econo" brightness mode the fan is so quiet you really don't notice it even sitting directly under it. Eyeballs-to-screen distance is about 11 ft. and the result is simply awesome!!

I suggest a more square than wide screen format which will allow you most flexibility with projecting different aspect ratio video content. We use a Da-lite gray fixed wall screen and we love it - for our tastes we found the gray far superior to white (we have a nice white screen - it is stored in our garage).

Based on our experience you can have a very cozy theater experience but you will have to move the little television out of the way. BTW - our screen top edge is against our ceiling edge and it works perfectly well with our shelf mounted projector - the viewing experience is great - suggest you look into LCD pjs as they seem to have the best horizontal and vertical lens shift capability which you will probably need.
goodluck - remember - NO television available to consumers today creates Home Theater - only a projector and screen can create in the home something similar to commercial Theater visual experience.

Ok guys, here is a very small room, the projector is wall mounted on the back wall and the equipment is also on the back. The screen size ended up being 77" diagonally and it works perfect for that size of room.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1077943&highlight=dream+house

Your drawback would be wanting to keep the tv for day viewing, then I agree a drop down screen would be your best bet, however you will be eating 2 fee or so to the room.

It can be done. Go for it!!

Thanks guys. I will rattle the options around my head.

What is your total budget for the project? Are you married to the 34" tube? Not knowing your budget and assuming you could get $400ish out of the 34" tube + stand, and could add another $1100ish, you could easily put together the following...

Panasonic AX200U Refurbished 2000 Lumen 6000:1 Contrast 720p Projector - $875
Elite 92" 16:9 Motorized Screen - $175
Vizio 37" VX37L LCD TV - $530
MonoPrice Tilt Wall Mount - $30
MonoPrice Projector Ceiling Bracket - $17

This would allow you to wall-mount an LCD and have a motorized screen drop down in front of it when necessary. It would also allow you to reposition your metal/glass shelves side-by-side with the center channel on top. You should end up with a cleaner looking install for both projection and daytime TV. There may be a minor performance drop in daytime viewing based on going from tube to LCD, but projection should become where your critical viewing is done and the impact will be major.

Thanks Stephen
I really had not put a budget together yet. This was a "can this be done" sort of thread. If I did this, the following projector was recomended to me, panasonic AE-3000. That is what I would go for. The picture from the sony looks great. Everyone who sees it complements me on the PQ. Now that I know it can be done, I feel like I can let it sit for awhile and see what happens in the future. I do appreciate your reply. The main issue is that I have been told that a room my size does not need a huge screen. And why would you move a perfectly good TV to another room when "you" know it will never get turned on again. Maybe some day I can do some mind changeing. But not now. Besides, I have other things that I would like to do. But thanks again. Who knows what will happen down the line.

I've done FP in a smaller room... the first year after my wife and I married we lived in a rental house and the only room for the theater gear I had aquired during college (including a Panasonic L300u projector, Pioneer 1014TX receiver, Swans speakers, DIY sub and 92" high-gain DaLite screen) was a small spare bedroom measuring 11x11. Since it was a temporary setup I did without a subwoofer, but decided I could shoe-horn my projector and screen in. The projector was only 1/4HD (960x540) but the image from HD sources was more than acceptable, even at around 10' viewing.

The main thing I didn't have to contend with that you do is the large tube display. I have a feeling that IF you go FP, the bulk of your critical viewing will go in that direction and looking back you likely won't feel the trouble of accomodating the tube set was worth it in the long run. If there's another location in the house you can focus your casual/daytime viewing, you might be better off doing so. If you feel the need to keep that viewing located in the same room, space will be at a premium and it seems like some give in the casual/daytime viewing would facilitate a much better experience for the critical viewing along with a much cleaner installation.

One other thing to consider is light control. How many windows are in the room, where are they located, and how large are they? With the extremely bright and high-contrast LCD projectors on the market (including the AE3000 on the slightly dimmer end) it's very possible to produce an image that is perfectly watchable in some ambient light, while being stunning in a darker room. Things like drapes and darker paint can make a room even more condusive to daytime viewing of front projection. This is an instance where a brighter 720p projector (like the AX200U) may offer better overall performance than a dimmer 1080p projector, as well as freeing up budget for an LCD or Plasma for daytime/casual viewing.

The room has a window. Not huge but nice size. It has blinds that close out the light pretty well. This is a second floor room and the window is on the left side of the room. If I kept the TV in the room, the screen would have to come down in front of the TV, or the center would be way to low. So you put a 92 inch screen in an 11x11 foot room? It must have looked pretty damn big. Well, again, at least I know that if I wanted to, other people have done this in a room that was similar to mine.
Thanks again :)

No problem. The 92" screen wasn't ideal for the room, but it was what I had. It was indeed dominating but it served me well in a temporary nature. My current room has a 100" screen at around 13', so not a huge difference, but viewing angle can play a big part as well. In my tiny temporary room I had two seats with the projector on an end-table in-between. The off-center seating seemed to magnify the size of the screen somewhat. Having on-center seating and the projector ceiling-mounted makes a big difference, making everything seem more at the appropriate scale.

In my room I have a one couch in the back of the room, one chair in the right side of the room that is a decent distance from the TV and another chair that is closer to the TV. That is the one I am worried about. I can move it back a bit and with the screen on the wall I would probably be OK. But that would be way to close if I had the screen come down in front of the TV. My friend has an 84 inch screen with a sim projector and that size looks great. I really don't think I would go bigger then that because my width is not that big. I think 84 or less would be fine for this room.

88" is the smallest screen I've ever had, and I personally wouldn't go any smaller. I helped my brother build his theater using a 120" screen, but at a 20' viewing distance, and it's about as big as I would go in any home installation. With the TV in play, 84" is probably a good size for your room. If you could move the tube TV, either doing without it in that room or replacing it with a wall-mounted display, 92"/96" would/could work very well. Good luck and keep us posted!

Thanks. If the time comes when I can do this, I certainly will let it be known. You guys have certainly given me some great ideas and stirred up the plan in my head :).