[dmo126]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this whole thing and am trying to design my media room. It is a dedicated media room (dark room, no ambient light, wired for 7.1 surround), but I could use some help to decide two things:

1. Projector placement
2. Screen size

The room dimensions are 17' 3'' x 12'9'' x 10' (LxWxH) and I will be using a Panasonic PT-AE3000U projector. Based on my room size and projector, I'm trying to figure out the best place to mount my projector and the best screen size to get. I will likely have two levels of seating (first row ~11' from the front wall and the second ~14' from the front wall).

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[jautor]

Read the instruction manual for your projector - it will show the best placement (throw range) for the unit. You'll probably want to position the PJ over the second row to keep it out of the way.

Screen size is based on seating distance and adjusted for personal preference. Best to test screen sizes on a blank wall, paper, or white sheet before settling on a final size.

 

[dreamer]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this whole thing and am trying to design my media room. It is a dedicated media room (dark room, no ambient light, wired for 7.1 surround), but I could use some help to decide two things:

1. Projector placement
2. Screen size

The room dimensions are 17' 3'' x 12'9'' x 10' (LxWxH) and I will be using a Panasonic PT-AE3000U projector. Based on my room size and projector, I'm trying to figure out the best place to mount my projector and the best screen size to get. I will likely have two levels of seating (first row ~11' from the front wall and the second ~14' from the front wall).

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

When calibrated to accurate color, the 3000 only puts out 450 lumens, so that means even a 120" screen is going to be pretty dim unless it is a screen with fairly high gain. Even a 1.5 gain screen will barely support 120". While 120" might be fine for the first row, a second row at 14' will not be very impressive. Whatever screen size you decide on, place it at the closest position the zoom lens allows to maximize brightness.

What is driving the choice of the Panny 3000 ? Was it a gift were you taken in by Panasonic's very misleading specs ?

 

[blazar]

For seating distance, I like approximately 1" of seating distance for 1" of screen diagonal. This gives a "bigscreen" view while not being too close and fatiguing. A short throw distance will help somewhat with the brightness issues.