[996911]

So I am finally getting around to finishing off the room where the HT will be going but I need some input from y'all that have experience in this:


1. My room is 24' deep and 10' wide with an 8' ceiling. It seems to be rather deep so would it be wise to decrease the length of the room by say 4 feet with the ability to get behind a "dummy" wall so I could install the subs behind there as well allow the center channel to sit flush with the screen?


2. There is a drop off about 9" from the doorway entering the room (opposite end from the where the screen would be so I was thinking of having the first "x" number of feet of distance out into the room be level with that and then have the next row of seats be 9" lower. The configuration I have in my head is seating for 4 people (2 seats on each of the two levels/rows).


3. Seating....with a combined 2 seater the width is roughly 65' so would it be rec'd to have the pair in the middle with about 2' on each side or have each seat separate near the side walls with roughly 3 feet between them? I was thinking the two together would be the best scenario for maximum sound and video experience.


4. Is there a rec'd screen size I should go with or a rule of thimb? I am guessing I need to find the screen size that is the sweet spot between the two rows? I can always manipulate the distance of the seating to fit the screen size.


Thanks so much for any input that you can offer!


Cheers.

 

[dwightp]



Quote:
would it be wise to decrease the length of the room by say 4 feet with the ability to get behind a "dummy" wall so I could install the subs behind there as well allow the center channel to sit flush with the screen?

This seems like a situation that just cries out for an acoustically transparent screen mounted on a false wall. If you start with a 10-foot wide screen wall and then have to leave space on either side for the LR speakers, you will end up with a fairly small screen in comparison to the length of your room. An acoustically transparent screen eliminates the need to leave space for the LR speakers, thereby maximizing the size of screen you can use. I don't know that the false wall needs to be 4 feet out into the room -- you ought to be able to save a foot off of that and still have plenty of space for a sub and the LCR speakers. The false wall also lets you put acoustical treatments on the front wall that would otherwise not be aesthetically acceptable.

Quote:
2. There is a drop off about 9" from the doorway entering the room (opposite end from the where the screen would be so I was thinking of having the first "x" number of feet of distance out into the room be level with that and then have the next row of seats be 9" lower. The configuration I have in my head is seating for 4 people (2 seats on each of the two levels/rows).

Sounds like a great way to use the space.

Quote:
3. Seating....with a combined 2 seater the width is roughly 65' so would it be rec'd to have the pair in the middle with about 2' on each side or have each seat separate near the side walls with roughly 3 feet between them? I was thinking the two together would be the best scenario for maximum sound and video experience.

Having the pairs of seats in the middle of the space would probably make for the best audio and video.

Quote:
4. Is there a rec'd screen size I should go with or a rule of thimb? I am guessing I need to find the screen size that is the sweet spot between the two rows? I can always manipulate the distance of the seating to fit the screen size.

If it were me, I would probably figure out where "my" seat would be and then plan an optimum screen size for that seat. Have at least one seat in the house for which the screen size is perfect, instead of having all seats represent a compromise.

 

[ScruffyHT]

You probably have space for 3 seats per row ... you can then optimize the audio/video for the front or rear center seat ( my vote would be for the front center seat )


The screenwall is a excellent idea with a AT screen ... maybe check the infinitely baffeled forum as a IB sub would also be awesome if you could swing it ... 2' for the screenwall and 3' behind that for the IB sub


for screen size I guess you will have to first determine aspect ratio ( 16:9 or 2.35:1 )

 

[996911]

Wow! Fantastic input so quickly. Thanks!!!!


Let me chew on that and I'll start thinking it out some more and post back later tomorrow. Have to feed the baby

 

[Cathan]

Or use some of that front section to build a custom IB sub chamber.

 

[996911]

I was thinking about the 16x9 vs. 2.35:1 point that was brought up. So my question is wouldn't you just build the 16x9 and any movies wider than 16x9 would just have black bars on top and bottom?

 

[Cathan]

Because the 2.35:1 movies would appear "small: to you.

 

[996911]

Then how does a 16x9 movie get projected on a 2.35 screen? With black bars on the side?

 

[In2Photos]



Quote:
Originally Posted by 996911 /forum/post/15472648


Then how does a 16x9 movie get projected on a 2.35 screen? With black bars on the side?

If you have a CIH (constant image height) setup then yes. Most people do some sort of masking for the sides when viewing 16:9 content on a 2.35:1 screen.

 

[996911]

Sorry for the ignorance.....but what exactly is CIH? Is it a feature you get on a projector? TIA!

 

[In2Photos]



Quote:
Originally Posted by 996911 /forum/post/15472753


Sorry for the ignorance.....but what exactly is CIH? Is it a feature you get on a projector? TIA!

CIH is a way to setup your screen. In a CIH setup the height if the image is constant (hence constant image height). The image only varies in width (and subsequently the diagonal) for different aspect ratios.


So for example let us say that you have 10' wide for your space and you choose a screen that is 2.35:1 and 110" wide, leaving 5" on each side. This means that your height is ~47" tall (110" / 2.35). Now when you watch 16:9 content (1.78:1) you still have an image that is ~47" tall, but it now becomes ~84" wide.


So what do you need for a CIH setup. Well you need a screen. A wide one! Once you decide what screen size you are going to use you need to find a projector and possibly a lens. Some newer projectors, like the Panasonic ae3000, have a zoom memory feature that allows you to forgo the additional lens.


To learn more about CIH head over to the dedicated section of the forum . There is LOTS to read and many examples to see!

 

[996911]

Thanks so much! That makes perfect sense. I'll start brushing up on that sub-forum as well.