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Last moment checks re: screen size and bass traps

post #1 of 10
10/5/09 at 2:36pm
Thread Starter 
Just making last moment sanity checks.

My theater will have one row of seats about 8.5 - 9 feet from the screen. I cannot decide between 106" or 100" diagonal 16:9 screen. The room is pitch black everything, and projector power is not a factor - my only concern is viewing comfort. I am leaning towards 106", but do not want the screen to be too big.

Another question is regarding bass traps. My plan was to put 2 floor-to-ceiling corner absorbers in the back corners, but it's not going to happen. What I can do is put a corner absorber (superchunk) between floor and front wall under the screen (does it make sense?) and/or put 3.5' tall corner absorbers in back corners and/or put rectangular absorbers vertically along the sides of the screen, floor to top of the screen (but I'd rather not do that). Which of those placements make more sense, if any?

Please weigh in
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post #2 of 10
10/5/09 at 10:02pm
My front row is approx. 10.5' from a 112" diagonal 16:9 screen and I sometimes feel that it is too close (usually only during high action scenes like car chases, etc.). Ideally, I would be another 6" back or so. Hope that helps.
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post #3 of 10
10/5/09 at 10:54pm
I had similar concerns, as it was my first PJ theater. I went with a 106" 16x9 screen, with the front row 10' away. For wide "Cinemascope" movies, 2.40:1 aspect ratio, I luv the full width image. For 16x9 images, I feel it's a little overkill to fill the entire screen, so I leave it lowered to the widescreen position, and zoom the image down to fill that height. A CIH effect, if you will. I think that works great for most SD and TV content, even DVDs, as it also keeps the image looking sharp. On some occasions with clean BD videos I use the whole screen, like for concerts, as the image is not making me dizzy from fast cuts or that ersatz hand-held camera shake nonsense. Anyway, I like having the option to adjust as may best serve the content or the audience.

Have you taken a position on how you prefer to handle 2.4 vs 1.78 images? CIH or CIW?
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post #4 of 10
10/6/09 at 11:00am
Thread Starter 
I am leaning towards CIW because it is easier to implement.

I found a way to increase the viewing distance to 10' (from eyeballs to the screen). The room is 12.5' deep. I will use the screen for blu-ray content only (have another smaller screen set up for TV and DVDs), so my gut tells me to go with 106", but I know I tend to do things over the top...
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post #5 of 10
10/6/09 at 11:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by maxl View Post

my gut tells me to go with 106", but I know I tend to do things over the top...

You probably already have read this, but the most common "mistake" people make when deciding on screen size is to error on the side of too small. Once they get the screen in place, they wish they had gone larger. One way to proper screen size is to project an image on a sheet or bare wall (before buying a screen) to determine what size is best for your room and seating postion.
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post #6 of 10
10/6/09 at 11:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rboster View Post

Once they get the screen in place, they wish they had gone larger.

No kidding. I'm just under 10 feet away from a 110" screen, and I wish I'd gotten 125". Most of the "guides" you see were figured before Blu-ray and HD television were common. Now, with good source material, you have to walk right up to the screen before you can see the pixels.

--Ethan
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post #7 of 10
10/6/09 at 11:59am
ditto ditto on the larger screen.

I've been in the hobby for 10 years and am on theater build 2.0 or 3.0 (living room to dedicated room over garage to dedicated room in outbuilding)

I'm 'settling' on a 132" wide screen with the first row eyes 120" from the screen.

when I blow up the picture in my excercise room to 14' wide it almost makes me consider going bigger in the nice theater...


go big dude!
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post #8 of 10
10/6/09 at 12:56pm
Thread Starter 
Got it - I'll go with 106" and if it is too small, I'll just move seats 1-2' forward. With just one row there is plenty of flexibility.

Any thoughts on bass traps?
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post #9 of 10
10/6/09 at 1:12pm
In case you were shying away from floor to ceiling bass traps because of footprint or the look of the wedges, take a look at these acoustic foam options.

http://www.thefoamfactory.com/acoust...bassbroad.html

They would nice IMO in an open environment and they recommend 1 pack for a 4 corner room unless you have bad bass issues. In any even you can try it out and if need be add more later.
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post #10 of 10
10/7/09 at 9:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by maxl View Post

Any thoughts on bass traps?

Yes, you need them.

Foam is not good for that unless the traps are huge. Good bass traps are made from rigid fiberglass, and the best ones use other techniques such as membranes to increase absorption further.

--Ethan
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