The couch will be on a wall that will be exactly 13 ft from the screen, so our heads will be about 11-12 ft from the screen.

I'm scared a 92inch screen might just be TOO overwhelming from this distance.....but the next size down is 84inches.

I currently have a 55inch sony RPLCD upstairs and sit about 12ft away and it doesn't seem big at all anymore...

What would should I do?

Sources being used: HDTV (cable) and upscaled DVDs (720p/1080i)

(I will eventually move up to HDDVD or BluRay, but not for a while)

No way. I am doing 106" at about 8' in my 1st row and I sit there often by choice. :)

I have a 92" at 13ft perfect size,my 40" samsung looks tiny now.

92" should be fine. I sit with my head about 10 feet from 92" and it is about as big as I can stand from that distance. I normally like to sit about 2/3rds of the way back in a theater. Some people are front row sitters but I can't do it.

I am sitting at about 11.5 feet back in my recliner and we had a 92" for several years. Its really not big enough and after a while you will want a little more.

Now we are doing 120" and its not overwhelming at all. I thought my eyes would be darting back and forth but it doesnt. I dont think I would want to go bigger than this, but who knows how I will feel in a couple years from now.

Get a projector and test it on your wall to decide how big you want your screen. If you make your own screen it can be any size you want.

If this is your first projector your tastes for screen size may well change over the next few months. I have been reading these forums for 2 years and by far most people want to go up in size as they get used to the new experience. I have two row seating and I’m always surprised how many people want to sit in the front row. That by all wisdom is to close.

From your seating distance I’m going to say you need 110” 54x96 screen. I have seen a lot of people paint out the front wall with one of the DIY solutions from the DIY screen forum to get started and also to try and get a feeling for what shade and gain they want to have before buying the screen. that will also let you play with screen size.

For example my screen is 72x96 and my second row is 13.5’ first row is 10’ and I was a diehard supporter of not going too big or too close a year ago. Also if you watch a lot of scope movies you will find yourself wanting to be closer.

I have an IN72 480p unit that I view form 14'. 92" screen and I can move up to a 12' seating distance and it still looks good. When I move to a hi-def unit I will defintely go bigger. Probably 106" to 120" range

The couch will be on a wall that will be exactly 13 ft from the screen, so our heads will be about 11-12 ft from the screen.

I'm scared a 92inch screen might just be TOO overwhelming from this distance.....but the next size down is 84inches.

I currently have a 55inch sony RPLCD upstairs and sit about 12ft away and it doesn't seem big at all anymore...

What would should I do?

Sources being used: HDTV (cable) and upscaled DVDs (720p/1080i)

(I will eventually move up to HDDVD or BluRay, but not for a while)


Don't be scared. I have a 114 inch screen and I sit exactly 10.5 feet (eyeballs) from the screen. And I wish I went with the 118 incher we had considered.

I watch HDTV and upscaled DVDs with a 720p projector. I do not yet have blu ray or HD DVD.

A larger screen will also help future proof you for when you do go HD DVD or Blu Ray.

You can see my screen in the pictures linked to my signature.

Go to the movie theater and sit where you like. Determine the viewing angle.

Go home and pick the screen size that gives you the same viewing angle.

(edit - remember that your projector might be kind of crappy compared to a modern theater; the same viewing angle might not look so good at home)

For me, 11-12 feet means 92". Maybe 100" or 106" if I only did movies, but I do more gaming than movies.

I sit at 11'. I bought a 106" screen thinking that it would be huge. It is a good size, but it definitely is not too big.

I'm doing 140" at 11 feet :D

Go big as you can bro!!!

I might be in the minority. my seating distance is about 11 feet, and we use an 84" diagonal screen. The traditional "formula" is you should sit back 1.5 times the width of the screen. Some great advise I got here is getting a white sheet and putting it up where the screen will be. You should mark on the screen the edge of a 92" screen, and what ever other size you are considering. Then, watch some stuff and see what you like better. For us, 92" sitting 11 feet was too big.
But, you could get a 92" screen, and if you find over time that it is too big you could zoom in the picture with the projector, and if you want mask off the part of the screen you do not use.

What Screen color? Grey or Matte White?

What Gain?


Very dark basement...basically pitch black!

You could definitely do 92." I think even 96" would work from that distance. The screen color/gain has a lot to do with what projector you pick. For ex. if you get a very bright projector like the Panasonic AX200, at that distance you would definitely create a great image on a 96" grey screen with zero visible pixel structure running the projector lamp in economy mode. However, if you go with a projector that can't produce as much light like the Sony VPL-AW15, you would probably want to go smaller than 92" and get a high gain white screen (which can introduce hot spotting).

13ft throw to a 100" 16:9 screen look's great with me

The couch will be on a wall that will be exactly 13 ft from the screen, so our heads will be about 11-12 ft from the screen.

I'm scared a 92inch screen might just be TOO overwhelming from this distance.....but the next size down is 84inches.

I currently have a 55inch sony RPLCD upstairs and sit about 12ft away and it doesn't seem big at all anymore...

What would should I do?

Sources being used: HDTV (cable) and upscaled DVDs (720p/1080i)

(I will eventually move up to HDDVD or BluRay, but not for a while)

As others have said 1.5 times the screen width. A 106" screen is 92" wide. 1.5 x 92" = 138" or 11.5 feet. I sit 11 feet from a 106" and it is no problem for me.

The Panasonic with a 92inch grey screen with .8 or 1.0 gain seems like a great combo that I have heard reccomended more than once...

That might be the winner for me! :)

101" at 12 feet looks great with my Epson 400!!!

Haven't got a screen yet, but I have the exact same viewing distance and am planning to go with 92", 96" or 100". If I were going with a 1080p projector, I'd definitely go with 100". But I'm most likely going to get a 720p projector, so I'm not totally decided on screen size. I bought a large piece of BOC and thumb-tacked it to my viewing wall. I will use it to experiment with until I decide exactly what screen size I like, then I'll pony up the $ for a real screen.

I'm sitting 12' away from a 8' wide anamorphic screen ,and it looks great.

I have a 92" at 13ft perfect size,my 40" samsung looks tiny now.

Me too, except I have a 50" Sony RPLCD. My TV seems so small after I got my projector setup. I have a hard time watching anything on away from my projector now. It's addictive:D

To the OP, go with 92" - 106". I would go with 92" it won't be too big, especially with a 1080p projector.

BTW, I'm a person that sits about 2/3's back in a theater......what's the viewing angle at that distance in an average commercial theater?

11-12 feet, 106 inch screen, looks good to my wife and I!

I have almost the same setup as you, sofa against the back wall n my head about 11-12ft. from the 92" screen.

Don't try to go too large, unless you have a very good projector n playing HD material all the time.

No idea what the dimensions are in a theater. Likely varies widely.

I made a little chart since math involving tangents isn't so easy to do in your head. For example, a co-worker bought a new 1080p Sony 60", but sits 20 feet back. That's 240", or 4 x 16:9 screen diagonal size. Which is about 12.5 degrees field of view, where a 20/20 person can make out about 750x420. And he wonders why Bluray and DVD via his PS3 look the same to him. But he does pull up some gaming chairs close for gaming, so it's not a total waste. And I told him to still buy the Bluray movies. He'll rearrange his setup at some time and why have a bunch of 480i DVDs then.

So if going for the THX spec 36 degrees FOV, at 12', that's a 107" screen (12*12/1.341). SMPTE rec would be 30 degrees FOV, or a 88" screen (ie, you'd get a 92"). I prefer a smaller FOV since I do a mostly gaming, and a really large FOV puts game info like movement radar and ammo count too far outside the central focal cone (~15 degrees FOV).

You also have to have a projector that will not look like a screen door at a larger FOV. My 480p 4805 was fine at ~29 degrees FOV, could just make out screen door on bright scenes. My 720p 7210 is much better, of course, and I can easily make out the improved resolution on HD sources like Fox NFL, etc.

What we did for a friend as take my projector over to his place, set it on a table and threw video up on the intended screen wall. Zoomed it in and out while he walked around and we settled on 92", though now we wishes he had gone 100" or 106" for video (viewing distance for the couch is 13', but held back to 92" due to concern over Wii players blocking the bottom and sides of the larger projection sizes, and viewing from closer side seating; every situation has their oddities).

1st column - field of view in degrees
2nd column - viewing distance as a multiple of image width
3rd column - viewing distance as a multiple of 16:9 image diagonal measurement
4th column - total horizontal pixels a 20/20 person should be able to resolve (ie, 60 pixels per degree)
5th column - comment

screw HTML tables, see attached text doc.

I agree with the group that says the bigger the better. Specially if you watch a lot of movies. A lot of them will be 2.35:1 or wider and they'll look better in a bigger screen.

IA lot of them will be 2.35:1 or wider and they'll look better in a bigger screen.

True dat. It seems in the last couple of years that the percentage of movies in 2.35 vs. 1.85 has really gone up. Or at least that's the way it is with most of the movies I want to watch. Even animation has started using 2.35 a lot.

go 92 inches. I sit from 11-13 feet depending upon what game I'm playing and I have a 92 inch screen. You don't notice the pixelation at this distance as much as you would if you decide to go larter.

I know a guy that has a 118 inch screen at 14 feet; that is overwhelming, and gives me screenis envy.

Lot of things to consider also. My screen wall is 13 feet wide (12 ft because of 6" columns on both side) I wanted to do at least 106" with 10' seating at the first row. However, when you consider how you will build you screen wall, size of the screen border, if you want some lighting around the screen and space for the speakers at the sides (assuming you don't have an AT screen), I am down to 100"-101" diag screen. Now, I can go bigger if I design the screen wall a little different but it would not look as nice, so obviously there are tradeoffs with factors such as aesthetics.

If you'd like to use a little science in your determination, this viewing distance calculator has been very helpful for me in determining my ideal screen size.

http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html

By THX standards, the recommended viewing distance for a 92" diagonal 16:9 screen is 10.3'. That creates a 36 degree viewing angle. I'd probably agree that the THX approach is a little "in your face", but it isn't close enough that you're going to break your neck looking around.

I've been doing all of my projector demoing on a 92" screen from exactly 10' and I don't feel it is an issue. I will say, however, that the screen is mounted so that the bottom edge is about 48" off the ground and with the seats in the demo room, I do find the image uncomfortably high. That, more than the left to right issue, will, I believe, be the key to your satisfaction.

I read a study that said that it becomes uncomfortable to view an image in which the center falls more than 15 degrees above level sight, or if the top edge of the image is more than 35 degrees above level sight. Of course, home theater seating is generally designed to recline so that level sight is aimed upwards, but regardless of comfort, I find that placing the screen too high affects perceived contrast at the top edge of the image, and that can be annoying as well.

If you start getting too much beyond 92" diagonal at your distance, I would simply recommend that you proportionately lower the position of the screen as you go up in size. You might have no problem with 110" if the screen is practically sitting on the floor because the vertical viewing angle won't be an issue

Looking left or right on occasion, I think, actually increases the sense of immersion because when something happens on screen you have to look at it, not simply have it appear in your field of vision. When watching a film that has been very deliberately and carefully framed and shot (2001: A Space Odyssey comes to mind), I would probably appreciate having the entire frame in view so that I can appreciate the aesthetic harmony, but something with lots of background-foreground transitions (new War of the Worlds or Jurassic Park), having to physically shift your sight to different areas of the screen is highly stimulating.

That's my $0.02.

96inches seems to be a happy medium since I'm thinking 92-100inches.

Not too big and not too small :)