Just curious how much people use their 2nd row of seating, and what the circumstances are that lead to that usage pattern?

My wife and I had this discussion last night and came to the conclusion that we would only use it 10%-15% of the time, since we usually have 1 other couple over. Another thing we talked about is having 7 vs. 8 seats and how that would be socially awkward since we tend to socialize in multiples of 2. Anyway, I think I'll still go ahead and do it, but I'm interested in hearing others' thoughts and figured it would be an interesting topic for discussion.

Craig.

The way I would approach seven seats is that I would still only invite two other couples and just allow an empty seat. That way even the last person to pick a seat has an option.

Personally I'm looking at 6-7 seats for my theater so that we have room to host people (mostly it will just be my wife and I). If entertaining - 60% of the time it's just four of us, 35% it may be six.

Just curious how much people use their 2nd row of seating, and what the circumstances are that lead to that usage pattern?
Craig.
Interesting thread Craig.
My wife and I are the primary users of our HT.

That being said, a HT with just 2 real nice seats would be a bit odd.

We decided the "three cool theater seats" would take care of us and a friend.

The four (five?) "cheap seats-ie cinema style seating) would take care of the occasional other folks. We don't do alot of entertaining though, so it worked for us.

Of course, when people discover this cool HT experience, it MAY change... :)
Best,

Tom
Chinaclipper

I have a family of nine. I have nine theater seats.
As for the second row which is five of the nine, it is the PRIME seating. Front row is for those that prefer a less intense experience. and either is great for music only which we often have as well since the quality of our audio equipment is so good and some of the listening modes are fabulous.
Love to sit in the dark theater and listen to music.

The second Row gets used all the time in my home. When I finished my home theater I thought we would use the front row all the time, but my wife and I decided the 2nd row was the best since it was elevated a foot up. My kids also prefer the 2nd row when they are in there watching movies without us. In theaters I tend to sit mid way up in the middle and thats the stadium seating theaters where I live.

I guess its just feels the same...the screen seems as big in my room as it does from my viewpoint at the commercial theater.


Randy

I was surprised to find the the 2nd row was the sweat spot also.... The second row gets used equally as much as the first.....

I always sit in the front row. 99% of the time at least. When we do a family night my kids and my wife sit in the back row. We have a loveseat sandwiched between two individual seats and the kids like to cuddle with my wife. I do sit back there on occasion when the kids are sitting int he front row while playing 360.

Bud

Just wished I had a 2nd row :(

Thanks guys, great feedback, keep it coming!

Cathan, every time I see your sig it makes me laugh. A man after my own heart. Classic.

I was surprised to note that I used the 2nd row instead of 1st in my 8 seat theater.
2nd row is my preference.

I use the second row during every movie in my 6 / 8 seat theater. I say 6 / 8 because I have 2 beanbags for overflow seating.

We have 7 seats (3 in front, 4 in rear). 90% of the time, it's my wife and I and we sit in the front row. We only use the rear row when we have family visiting from out of town or the occasional guests. When it's the 2 of us and our son we use the 3 front row seats. In the 2+ years I've had the theater, I've never had more than 7 people use it and that's only happened twice.

Thanks guys. I'll add another element to the question - now that you have your theaters up and running, would you configure your seating any differently?

I ALWAYS sit in my 2nd row. Standard Def DVDs look better on my Sony Progressive Player and Panny 500 PJ from the 2nd row. If I ever go with the Oppo or another upconverting player, then maybe I'll start using the 1st row more.

Cathan, every time I see your sig it makes me laugh. A man after my own heart. Classic.

Thanks. :) I've been half tempted to design a Scotch themed room but She Who Must Be Obeyed has other ideas. ;)

I, for one would not configure my seating any differently.

I haven't finished my theater yet, but I am going with a sectional for the room. I need the floor space. I have one little one and one on the way. But the sectional is somewhat flexible as it is a love seat and a sofa with a wedge. Once the kids are out of the toddler stages, I am going to build a platform and put the love seat on it and the front row will be the sofa. So I will get to test 2 different seating arrangements.

Thanks guys. I'll add another element to the question - now that you have your theaters up and running, would you configure your seating any differently?

For my 2 rows of seats (4 in each row) I purchased them so I can re-configure them in multiple ways. Each seat is an individual seat, however 3 have left arms, 3 have right arms and 2 have both left and right arms.

With this configuration I can create 2 rows of all individual seats. 1 row of individual seats + 1 row with 2 individuals and 1 love seat. 1 row w/ 2 individuals and 1 love seat and a second row with 2 love seats, etc...

The options are almost endless. At first I liked having the 2 love seats in our front row, but when you have mostly guys over, they don't really enjoy having to share a love seat. :)

My current config has a single love seat in the front row (w/ 2 individuals, one on each side of the love seat) and the back row is all individuals.

Since my theater was just completed we have a lot more individuals coming over then couples so have the individual seats is nice. I think as time goes on and we will have more of our couple friends over the love seats will be good. Most people don't have any issues with all individual seats. Also with kids I can fit 3 kids in the love seat.

Also I will have a bar in the back with 4 more seats so when we do events like superbowl parties there will be some over flow seating. The seats aren't in a good location for movies, but for sporting events they will be fine.

Mike

When I watch a TV Show or a movie together with my wife we always sits in the rear row. She does not like to sit closer to the screen and against all my first expectations when I started to build the HT she likes to feel the strong low frequency vibes which are a bit more intense in the rear row. :eek:

When I watch a movie alone or when we have invited friends I prefer to sit in the front row - since there is also the sweet spot and I like to experience the large screen feeling. :D

Thanks guys. I'll add another element to the question - now that you have your theaters up and running, would you configure your seating any differently?


I have 3 sits in the front and 3 in the back. With my room size this is perfect, If I had a bigger room I would put 4 seats per row and would have a 3rd row. I will be doing that with my next home and theater build.



Randy

now that you have your theaters up and running, would you configure your seating any differently?

No. We have two sofas at 1.5x. We have two love seats perpendicular to the screen at, oh 0.5x. Finally we have bar stools at ~2x.

When it's just my wife and I we sit on the sofas. (We cuddle, too which is why we went with sofas instead of theater seats. Well, that and the price for good ones.)

When the whole family is over some people prefer the love seats, which I find WAY too close and quite off-angle, but they don't seem to mind. I'm usually on a bar stool then.

Our situation works out well for us.

If our room was a little deeper I would have gone for risers and a proper second row.

LOL at this thread because I was just reflecting that my second row has NEVER been used...
I used the riser calculator in this forum to calculate the height of the second row which turned out perfect, but the optimal viewing distance from the screen is actually at the front row. I only have 1 kid, but it's my wife and I who use the theater the most.

Still, it looks impressive with two rows!

I have a 100" screen btw...

I used the riser calculator in this forum to calculate the height of the second row which turned out perfect, but the optimal viewing distance from the screen is actually at the front row. I only have 1 kid, but it's my wife and I who use the theater the most.

Still, it looks impressive with two rows!

I have a 100" screen btw...


Same here, except I have 2 kids (2 and 4 yrs. old) and the screen is 126". Designed from the beginning to have the front seats optimal.


No, wouldn't change the seating at all.

My wife and I have 3 kids, low ceilings, and I really like seating with higher backs. So we'll have two rows. The front row will be at 11' and will be 4 Berkline 88's. The back row will be at 17' and will be 3 Berkline 187's which have taller backs. The kids will be in the front, and adults in the back. Since we have low ceilings, I couldn't build a super high riser so I got the 88's in the front because they have lower backs. Overflow seating will be video rockers or bean back chairs before the front row, and eventually bar stools with backs behind the second row. So our second row will be our primary seating.

Guy