[shelly]

I did a search of Scraeen Height but couldn't really find an answer.


How high off the floor should the bottom of the screen (white part, not frame) be in a typical room sitting on a couch with ceiling mounted projector? I am 14 feet away from screen.


[This message has been edited by shelly (edited December 04, 1999).]

 

[dondavis]

In your planning, don't forget that ceiling mounted projectors have a maximum angle between lens and screen. This may affect how low you can place your screen.


Personally, I prefer a screen center that is level with my eyes, but I had to raise mine somewhat to permit back row viewing.

 

[shelly]

Well, the concensus here and from other sources is to keep my eyes at the center of the screen. This will mean that, in my case, the screen bottom will be about 26" from floor.


To achieve this, I will have to get 24" of extra black masking at the top of the screen (another $500 apprx). That's the price we pay for high ceilings, I guess. The room was planned for living, not home theater.


I plan to mount a box onto the ceiling to be able to hold the projector about 24"-30" down from the 9"6" ceiling height. The top of my screen (the white part) will be 30" down from ceiling.

 

[dondavis]

>I will have to get 24" of extra black masking at the top of the screen

>(another $500 apprx).


I've taken the advice of others in this forum and painted my HT room dark green. This gives a rich ambiance when the lights are on and gets very dark when the lights are out (and costs considerably less than $500 ;-)


The walls don't completely disappear, so I don't get the "floating screen" effect others seem to like, but the very dim presence of the walls doesn't distract me. I'm not even sure that a "floating screen" is the optimal configuration. Certainly, the walls don't completely disappear in a movie theater. Anyway, this gives you a less expensive and more esthetically pleasing alternative to consider.


I used the Ralph Lauren boxwood green available from Home Depot.

 

[Dennis Erskine]

The "guidelines" are from 24 to 36" above the floor.


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

D. Erskine

DEsign Cinema Privee
www.DEsignCinema.com

Imagine what you could do, if you could do all you imagine.

 

[shelly]

Thanks Dennis. Although I had planned to be within that parameter with the roll up screen, things have changed for me. I decided to get a fixed screen with the Draper M2500 fabric. If I am unhappy with it, I can change fabrics for a few hundred dollars, so the risk factor has been greatly diminished.


By switching from a rollup to a fixed screen now, I have no other option than to wall mount the screen with the bottom 50" from the floor, just above our wainscoting. (Well I do have an option of having the screen about 8" lower but it would mean not having any floor plants lining the entire front of the room, something that I would prefer to not happen)


I will be 17' away from the 106" diagonal 16"9 screen. BTW, the packet that Stewart Screens sent me about their 100" diagnal screen had the primary seat position 16"4" away from their 100" screen. (I would have been just 14' away had I ordered that screen.) From what I have read on this forum, many folks sit somewhat closer than that to their large or larger screens.


I feel confident that my extra screen height will work well because of the reclining loveseat we have ordered. It is the most comfortable my large frame has ever been in with both lower back and neck/lower head support, while not blocking the ears from the surround speakers. Our line of sight in a slightly reclined position is naturally shifted to the center of the screen space at this higher elevation of 50" off the floor. In fact, I would be looking down a bit to the lower part of the screeen if it were just 30" above the floor. The screen will be covered with a quilted curtain depicting the view from our home, a real artistic beauty that my wife has already made for that wall space. (It currently acts to dampen reflective sounds in this, my present music listening room, and soon to be ht, as well.)


Hopefully, there will not be any neck/eye strain at our drive in movie height screen. (And, although a hassle, I could unsnap, unscrew the frame from the wall and lower the screen 8" in the future if I become unhappy with the 50" height.)


As always, thanks to all on this forum who have helped educate me. Avscience is the site I most appreciate of all the av/ht sites I visit.


[This message has been edited by shelly (edited December 12, 1999).]

 

[Raymond]

I just want to make sure that there is not a problem which I can not see in the following combination.


I will be installing a 96 x 54 microperf screen. Since the tweeters of the speakers are 43 inches from the floor and should be placed on the horizontal center line of the screen, this puts the bottom of the viewing area of the screen at 16 inches from the floor.


My ceiling height is 94 inches. I will be using a Seleco HT250 projector with a Panamorph lens and have only one row of seating.


Can anyone see any problems which I can not envisage?


Thank you for your comments,


Raymond

 

[Iceman]

Raymond,

The Seleco HT250 is quite flexible when it comes to keystone adjustments so your setup should be OK. Note that the tweeters do not necessarily have to be placed exactly on the horizontal center line of the screen. It is my experience that you will not perceive any adverse effects from moving the acoustical center of the speakers, which btw is not identical to the tweeter position, slightly (up to a foot or so) relative to the horizontal center line.

 

[taylor]

If you properly center, converge, calibrate the projectors raster on the CRT and you mount your projector in it's permanent place, I would think it's very easy to determine with the bottom of the screen should go. And that's where the bottom of your calibrated image (16x9 for me) appears (minus an inch or 2).. at least that's what I've done. I'll be mounting my DIY screen tonight.. 92x52.. viewing area is about 9' from the screen, which I think is a couple feet too close, but we're constrained due to the fixed requirement of my elevated (but not celing mounted) GP-3000's throw without the need for spacers. Anyhow my screen bottom will go where the bottom of my image goes. Maybe I'm missing something but I don't think I have a heck of alot of say in the matter.


To me, I'd say set up the projector properly and according to the manuals instructions and in most cases (with ceiling mounted ones) I'd say the screen dimensions are fixed at the recommended/ideal throw.


[This message has been edited by taylor (edited 03-09-2001).]

 

[Raymond]

Iceman,


Thanks for the info. I did not think I would have a problem, but I wanted to make sure that I wasn´t so far in the trees that I did not see the forest.


Raymond

 

[yowzah]

The Da-Lite installation manual states the following (for the Model B):


"Mount the screen so that bottom of picture surface, when fully extended, will be above heads of viewers."


(Installation manual can be found at http://www.dalite.com/products/install_pdfs/228.pdf )


For my height (6'3") and seating, that means the bottom of the screen should be at least 4 feet off the ground. However, most in this thread are saying that the screen should be much lower (as low as 24" bottom height). Any thoughts on why there might be such a discrepancy?


I have 11' ceilings in my theater room, and I'll likely be using a 52" x 92" screen. I'll be using a DL450 clone (on its way!), which doesn't have any keystone correction. I am planning to "ceiling" mount it, but will likely drop down a mount from the ceiling somehow so it hangs down and isn't mounted at the full 11' height. The other consideration in this equation is the projector's noise; the farther away the projector is from my head the better.


Do you have any suggestions regarding the optimum screen height for my situation? Thanks.

 

[Reed W]

I think the very first consideration in placing a screen should be its height in relation to viewer eye level.


So let's say you have a sofa or couch or 1 row of theater chairs, you should try to locate the screen so the center is equal to your eye level at the viewing location.


This way you will not get a stiff neck from looking up to high or down to low. If you are taller the screen would be mounted higher, shorter lower.


My guess is that the recommendation of 24" - 36" off the floor would work for most people sitting 12' - 15' away.


Clearly many factors can effect where to place the screen - ceiling height, projector throw, seating size and style, screen ratio, speaker placement....


Try this, put some tape on your wall in the approximate size and location where you think your screen will go. Then sit at the viewing position and see if it seems comfortable to look at. If I had to make a compromise I would rather have my screen at a comfortable height and move my speakers for example, than feel like I was looking at the ceiling.


Just my thoughts, Reed.