I recently completed a basement home theater (The Ninja Turtle Theater--photos to follow when it is cleaned up). I read all the posts that noted folks rarely return for a smaller screen, but often pine for the larger scree.

Anyway, after pluging in the numbers and reading posts, I went with a 120" cinescope (Carada--very nice). Front row is about 11' (with riser right behind it), second row is about 15.'

The Bluray of Superman Returns, when the plan is crashing was... immersive. Almost overwhelming. I worry that the 112" was the way to go. But that just can't be. I mean, I have longed for years for this kind of set-up... :)

I'm hoping that I'm just not used to such an involved viewing experience. And 1.85:1 movies, with the side bars, are nice.

Just some thoughts...

watch a few more movies.

Then zoom a smaller image on your screen and try it out. I doubt you will want to go smaller unless you used to like sitting in the very back row at the theater.

The only screen that is too big is the one that you cannot fit in your theater.

I agree with the advice of watching a few more movies. You made the right move getting the biggest screen you were comfortable with from the start.

I am using a 136" Carada 2.35:1 screen paired with a Panasonic ae3000u, with a front row about 9' away and second row about 15' away. It's the biggest screen I could fit in my room, and I love it. I've never had any complaints that it was too big from any guests, either.

In my evolution with projectors and to a dedicated room, I went from a 90" temporary screen, to a 106" manual screen, and finally to this 136" fixed screen. It's definitely natural to initially feel that a screen is "just right", or "too big", but believe me, you'll eventually want to go bigger. I've never known anyone who got a big screen and decided they needed to go smaller in a dedicated theater.

It took me a few weeks to make such a decision myself, there is a thread about it somewhere. The problem with testing sizes is you are conscientious of the size when looking at the bigger vs smaller.

I know you have the screen now, but my decision making process was based on what felt good. I was going 16:9 for HDTV content but briefly thought about 2.35CIH, but for me it wast worth it. I sit about 14' from screen and the biggest issue I had with the larger screen (126") was the height. Someone made a comment that this is usually the issue and I can say I agree. I found myself searching all over the screen and got small headaches while watching fast motion, Hockey.

I would leave it on one size a few days and then the other. this way I didnt think as much about it when watching. I eventually went with the smaller screen 118". It is huge and 126" was just too big. The wife liked that size too, so I just went with it. I was right at the border of distance to screen between the sizes, so I felt the smaller would be better in this case.

Now that i have it, I am super happy and it is plenty big. Sure, i will eventually say I should have gone bigger, but I really dont think that would have been the right choice. For a 2.35 screen, they are much wider vs high. I often think the super wide yet narrow screen would be sweet. I cant speak from experience on that size. Watch some 16:9 material as a test. see what you think there. If the image does not bother you like that, I would think the wider more immersive screen for movies should be OK too, but I really dont know, I guess I am rambling a bit about nothing.

I would say do as others have said and watch it some more. test with various content and aspect ratios before deciding if it is too big for you.

on a side note, I went with carada too and am super happy with the product. While many rant and rave about SMX, I just couldnt justify $1500 more. especially since my early design completely ignored AT, so it would be a waste anyway. May HT2.0 down the road.

The only screen that is too big is the one that you cannot fit in your theater.

That maybe quote of the week. Well said!


I'm about the same distance as you and my scope screen size is 125" diag. That is just the right size for either the front or back row. I couldn't see going smaller. Try living with it for a couple more weeks. I bet you'll be happy with your first decision to go big.

Ron

I actually used a projector first to shoot an image up on the wall where my screen would ultimately be and sat in temporary chairs placed where the permanent ones were going to go just so I could get a sense of the scale and impact from the various image sizes possible before building the screen.

Not surprisingly I went with the largest screen that my projector could fill.

;)

My front row is 11' from a 168" wide 2.35. My guest unanimously LOVE IT!

I agree, give it some more time.

I do indeed find that an image can be too big.

That's why I went with an extra big screen, using masking and zooming to choose the image size as I desire. Sometimes I enjoy bigger images, sometimes smaller.

I have the option of up to a 125" wide CinemaScope image from my 11 foot viewing distance, but I rarely use it. Sometimes it is truly awesome going that big. Other times, it just feels too much and not particularly comfortable, not to mention there is often a certain sacrifice in image quality as the image gets bigger, even with Hi-Def sources. A smaller image tends to look sharper, punchier and more dense.

In my case, doing experiments with various projectors in my room, I've found that 112" wide, for CinemaScope, is a sort of sweet spot where it seems really big and cinematic, yet retains good image density, sharpness and punch, without feeling overwhelming.

Sometimes going bigger is certainly the ticket. And then going back down to 112" or so can seem to lose impact, at least momentarily. But then the nice things about the smaller image become apparent so it feels like a good trade-off.

(BTW, tony123, if my wife were to sit in front of a 168" wide image at 11' I'd be cleaning up vomit from our sofa. Sometimes she doesn't even like the image as big as 112," so in my case I'm glad I can accommodate her tastes when I need to)

Rich, you remind me of a point I meant to make. We all have different tastes, and you will find your own. However, in most every case it would be wise to put in a screen larger than you anticipate wanting and then mask it down to suit. This gives you flexibility for the future. :)

Rich, you remind me of a point I meant to make. We all have different tastes, and you will find your own. However, in most every case it would be wise to put in a screen larger than you anticipate wanting and then mask it down to suit. This gives you flexibility for the future. :)

Obviously I'm sympathetic to that approach, since that is what I've done.

At the same time, while such an approach is more future proof, it's my impression most people, AVSers included, don't really want to bother with buying a bigger screen than they think they need and going to the trouble creating masking. Most just want to decide on a screen size, not bother masking and use as is, forgetting about the issue once they've decided on a screen.

I started off with a 92" screen @ 10ft away and it was overwhelming at first. The screen had a problem and it was replaced by a 100" screen. Then I wanted the HP DaLite screen and it's 106". Needless to say if I had the room I would be going 120" or larger. It won't take very long before you will get used to the screen size and you'll be glad you didn't go smaller!

Obviously I'm sympathetic to that approach, since that is what I've done.

At the same time, while such an approach is more future proof, it's my impression most people, AVSers included, don't really want to bother with buying a bigger screen than they think they need and going to the trouble creating masking. Most just want to decide on a screen size, not bother masking and use as is, forgetting about the issue once they've decided on a screen.

You are correct that most people don't want to bother, thus the reenforcement of your approach.

129" wide 2.35:1 screen... first row is 11 feet, second row is about 18'. We typically sit in the front row for everything.

You definately get used to it. :)

129" wide 2.35:1 screen... first row is 11 feet, second row is about 18'. We typically sit in the front row for everything.

You definately get used to it. :)

Not only do you get used to it, but....now I'm going to offend some people here....you end up feeling like 100" or thereabouts is similar to watching a television. :D

105" wide scope screen for me. Front row is 11' back. Could have fit a lot bigger screen (at least 120+), but didn't want to.

I originally spent a good deal of time projecting onto the wall to get a feel for the size we wanted. And to decide if we wanted to go CIH or CIA. After installing the screen, I at first thought that I preffered the back row as the front row was still too overpowering. After about 3 or 4 movies, I can say that I prefer the front row.

Based on my experience, I'd say that yes, you can get too big of a screen. But you will probably "grow into" the screen size you have if it wasn't completely out of line for your preferences in the first place.

As a random side note, I've noticed that when watching DVDs in the front row, not only is the relative lack of picture quality (compared to BRs) annoying but it tends to fatigue my eyes more. If I have to watch a DVD, I still prefer to sit in the back row.

-Suntan

Part of the problems was that I had spent about an hour tweaking the image before I watched the Superman scene. So my eyes were tired (dim light, bright light, reading, testing focus, etc)--not ideal to then watch a movie. But then that impression (screen too big) stuck in my head.

One easy fix was to put a different sofa in at the front row. It is a cushier, higher backed couch, so when I relax--looking up slightly at the screen), my head is supported. In the previous set-up, I had a sore neck from holding my head up. Sounds silly, but it helped. The back row, which is more level with the screen got the other couch.

Also, I had to temporarily switch projectors and the current one can't fill the screen. While the "I Love You Man" bluray I watched last night looked good, I feel heartened knowing I wished it was a little bigger.

So spending some time to get used to a big image is a good idea.