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Chart Distance x Screen Size - Standards SMPTE and THX

172K views 149 replies 43 participants last post by  bud16415 
#1 ·
Based on information obtained on the website:
http://myhometheater.homestead.com/v...alculator.html


I have made a graph with the distances and sizes of screens recommended by the standards SMPTE and THX.


The proportion of the following screen measures is 16:9. With 1080p content and the measures are the diagonal of the screen.


Differences between the standards:




SMPTE
http://www.smpte.org/


Maximum size recommended by standard SMPTE:





THX
http://www.thx.com/


Minimum size of screen recommended by THX:




Screen size recommended by THX:



Viewing Distance when Resolution becomes important:

Screen Size x Viewing Distance

480p

720p

1080p

1440p






Source: http://www.carltonbale.com/2006/11/1080p-does-matter/


Peter


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Gary Contribution:


Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary Lightfoot /forum/post/20695274


This often comes up here and other places, and this diagram is gives a good idea of what viewing angles seating distances will give:




Using image height and width is preferable to diagonal measurements since they're a lot easier to work with, and removes confusion with screen aspect ratio - many people here have 2.35 screens.


THXs recommended viewing angle for HD 16:9 screens is 40 degrees, or 2.4 image heights. That also works for people with 2.35 screens who use an anamorphic lens, and may work with some pjs that zoom for scope.


The film industry often recommends 3 x IH for seating distance based on the crossover point between immersion (closer is considered better) and where image artefacts like film grain and projector induced issues become visible. With digital and good HD content that limitation is reduced, and is probably why THX recommend 2.4 x IH rather than 3. Sitting anywhere between 2 to 4 times the Image Height puts you within the usual range of a commercial theatre, and with 1080 displays, we're pretty much there with regards to resolution and image quality.


As Darin has pointed out, THX often gets misquoted but this video may be of interest:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBdmG...embedded#at=50


I also think it[s worth pointing out that the graphs that say where certain resolutions become noticeable doesn't mean you should sit there. In fact you should probably sit closer because those distances are where the Human eye can start to resolve those resolutions, but when comparing something like a 720 pj to a 1080 pj you might not be able to tell the difference until you get much closer.


Gary
 
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#4 ·
hmm.. I basically 5 meters from 133" and have absolutely no problems with it nor anyone else. Even when playing games with mass movement like COD4
 
#10 ·
Very nice and concise info, thanks Peter. This is one of the first things I looked into when researching installing a projector (and have yet to find anything this easy to follow and all in one place), so I'd recommend it for a sticky personally (although I might suggest attempting to convert the units to the american standards, as I believe that is what the majority of people using these forums are used to).
 
#12 ·
Very nice! I had already done the conversion myself (and I'm glad to find out that I'm choosing right about the THX recommended screen size). I'm sure the conversion may help some others, I do hope that I was correct in assuming that many or most of the users here would prefer it in feet instead of meters.
 
#14 ·
Thank you Peter for creating that graph.


I am in the process of designing a 2.35:1 screen. Would you have any idea how the viewing distance would change going from 16:9 to 2.35:1?
 
#15 ·
To change the proportion of 16:9 to 2.35:1, simply multiply the value of the diagonal of the screen by 0.9472


For example, the graph shows that to 13.12 feet, the diagonal of the screen in 16:9 must be 97".


Then multiply 97 by 0.9472 which equals approximately 92" in proportion 2.35:1


Peter.
 
#16 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter_ /forum/post/13317713


Screen size recommended by THX:

Where did you get that from? If from the 36 degrees recommended by THX then that isn't a recommendation for the screen size you should have, it is a recommendation for the worst case viewing angle in a commercial theater. If a theater was built to that then almost every seat in the house would have a larger viewing angle and THX doesn't tell people where to sit in those theaters (at least from what I've seen). Also, when THX gave a recommendation at their booth at CEDIA last year they said it was based on testing to see where people see pixels with 1080p projectors. But, 1080p projectors vary and then the recommendation wouldn't apply when projectors go beyond 1080p or even to film now. So far I don't recall seeing or hearing anything about THX saying people shouldn't sitting closer than some viewing angle that wasn't based on limited pixel resolution, just stuff about not sitting further away than a certain viewing angle. Put another way, I haven't seen anything from THX limiting how close the closest seats can be in a commercial theater to get certified, only how far away the farthest seats can be.


Thanks for doing these graphs. I just know that the wording of the THX minimum and recommended specs for building a commercial theater have confused a lot of people and that even their later recommendation for home theater was based on limitations of current projectors. I also don't know if they tried using an anamorphic lens, which would generally make pixels less visible at the same viewing ratio.


--Darin
 
#18 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter_ /forum/post/13694419

http://www.cinemaequipmentsales.com/athx2.html

That supports just what I said:
Quote:
The angle subtended by the left and right edges of the Cinemascope image and the farthest seat in the auditorium is recommended to be 36 degrees. The minimum acceptable angle is 26 degrees for THX certified cinemas.

This gets paraphrased in other places and people often misconstrue this as THX recommending that people sit at a place where the viewing angle is 36 degrees. That is clearly not the case from what it says about the farthest seat in the theater (this is for commercial theaters with lots of seats). If a commercial theater is built to THX recommendations then the vast majority of people will be sitting in seats with viewing angles larger than 36 degrees.


It is misleading when people say "THX recommended viewing distance" since that 36 degree recommendation is to build a commercial theater so that the minimum viewing angle is 36 degrees, not a recommendation that people sit in the farthest seat if a theater was built to THX recommendations. However, they allow theaters to be THX certified if their minimum is 26 degrees. That is, a minimum for the minimum viewing angle instead of a recommended minimum viewing angle. In both cases it is for the minimum viewing angle in that theater (for multiple seats).


--Darin
 
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#20 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter_ /forum/post/13693445


To change the proportion of 16:9 to 2.35:1, simply multiply the value of the diagonal of the screen by 0.9472


For example, the graph shows that to 13.12 feet, the diagonal of the screen in 16:9 must be 97".


Then multiply 97 by 0.9472 which equals approximately 92" in proportion 2.35:1


Peter.

Appreciate the math. I'm planing a 130" diagonal so 130 x 0.9472=123" and I plan to sit at around 16' so I'm in the SMPTE maximum zone. I think I better do some testing just in case the screen is too big for the room.


Thanks for the info.


I'm sitting at roughly 180" so thats about x1.5 screen heights
 
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