[amberson]

Hello everyone and thanks for all the post the many of you have contributed. I have been lurking around the forum for about a year or so. Dreaming of a theatre room and drooling from the mouth to build one. As many of you well know, after sitting here for a year reading periodically, i have very many questions to ask. I first want to start with the basic ones.


My room is 15'8" wide and 18'9" long. My ceiling height is 8'2" to the bottom of the floor joist (this is in a basement). I have had to install a laminated beam across the width of the room to do away with a poll. This beam extends down one foot and is approximately 7' from the front wall. This leaves the ceiling height at 7'2" and this point. The front wall is framed with 2x6 and sides are with 2x4. I understand that i need some sound barrier/dampening in the walls and that i might want to put risers, and that i need to know where to put the front row of seating. I have one window in the room so I also understand that i need to block all or as much light as possible while watching a movie.


Here is my questions.


What screen size do you recommend?


What projector do you recommend?


I haven't really placed a number on the budget for the equipment but i can tell you this, the wife is going to be watching closely to the bottom line. I want top of the line like most but can't afford that. I guess to sum it up the best bang for the buck.


Thanks again to all who have helped educate me over the past year or so.

Now i really need some help!

 

[bpape]

Welcome.


Screen size is personal preference. With a room that wide, you should have no problem with a 100" screen. Now, the question becomes, is that the right size for how many people you want to seat in order to get their seats in the right places. Is it the right size for the PJ that you can afford.


Everything is kind of tied together and to make good decisions, you need to consider everything together.

 

[amberson]

Thanks for you input! Its funny the comments you talked about as i was trying to see how many seats i could put in the room without it being cramped. I was hoping for maybe a set of three Berkline 088 on the front row and then a set of four on the back row, or maybe four and four. I was considering a 90x120 or a 72x96 for screen size. Just wasn't sure if one would be too big for the room or two small. Then my next question was where should the front row start? Thanks for the help!!

 

[johnson_sb]

The Sanyo PLV-Z2 is a good "bang for the buck" 16x9 projector. It can be bought now for around $1k. It also has a short throw, capable of throwing a 100" wide image from as little as 11.5 ft., according to projectorcentral.com.

 

[amberson]

I have the unit and the Z3 unit written down as well as a cpl others to consider. I am assuming that these two projectors will work well with the room demensions as well as the larger screen that i had in mind (90x120)? Also if i went with the z3 and the 90x120, how do you determine where to put the first row.


Another thing that i didn't mention is that this is also going to be used for xbox, playstation games, of course dvd, and tv occasionally.


Thanks for any help and I am not dead set on anysize screen or projector. Just looking for help!!

 

[jasplat88]

Here are a couple of questions for you.


1) The two screen sizes you posted are in a 4:3 format (standard definition)....is that what you want or would you be getting a 16:9 (i.e. 1.78:1) or one of the other popular widescreen sizes like 1.85:1 or 2.35:1? I would highly suggest going at least 1.78:1 since HD broadcast material will be shown in that format (eventually).


2) I have Berkline 086's (same size as the 088's--just slightly different style), and I have a row of 4 in a 11'4" room.....so you will have no trouble fitting four into your room. The question then become, what arrangement do you want. Do you want walkways on both sides of the seats (i.e. along both side walls) or do you want a single isle....or no isle? These are all questions which will come from the room design and layout.


BTW, I have a 100" screen in my room (1.78:1 format) and you have about 4' additional width....so I would say you might consider something up to say 130". If you do that, you may want to look for a projector that is considered bright especially if you are going to have any ambient light in the room. There's a lot to think about...just take your time and read and ask questions....you'll do fine. Good luck!


-Jason

 

[bpape]

IMO, 90x120 would be too big. To get proper viewing angles, your first row would be back a good bit pushing the second row pretty close to the rear wall. Also understand that the larger screen is going to:


- force the PJ back further into the room

- reduce the apparent brightness (same light over a larger area) - not a problem with most decent digital PJs but thought I would mention it.

- decrease the apparent resolution (same# of pixes over a larger area - bigger pixels)


Just out of curiosity, are you locked into a 4:3 screen? Just curious - most people do 16:9. I assume the heavy gaming is the reason.

 

[suffolk112000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by amberson Hello everyone and thanks for all the post the many of you have contributed. I have been lurking around the forum for about a year or so. Dreaming of a theatre room and drooling from the mouth to build one. As many of you well know, after sitting here for a year reading periodically, i have very many questions to ask. I first want to start with the basic ones. My room is 15'8" wide and 18'9" long. My ceiling height is 8'2" to the bottom of the floor joist (this is in a basement). I have had to install a laminated beam across the width of the room to do away with a poll. This beam extends down one foot and is approximately 7' from the front wall. This leaves the ceiling height at 7'2" and this point. The front wall is framed with 2x6 and sides are with 2x4. I understand that i need some sound barrier/dampening in the walls and that i might want to put risers, and that i need to know where to put the front row of seating. I have one window in the room so I also understand that i need to block all or as much light as possible while watching a movie. Here is my questions. What screen size do you recommend? What projector do you recommend? I haven't really placed a number on the budget for the equipment but i can tell you this, the wife is going to be watching closely to the bottom line. I want top of the line like most but can't afford that. I guess to sum it up the best bang for the buck. Thanks again to all who have helped educate me over the past year or so. Now i really need some help!

Have you been to any HT meets? Check out the home theater meets forum on this site to see if there are any in your area.

That would really help you decide on total room lay-out and give you plenty of ideas as to what other forum members on this site have done with their theaters.


Craig

 

[amberson]

I am not locked into a 4:3 screen and glad you brought that up. Like I said I have been researching for about a year and that screensize was in my notes. Which at the time I was into gaming pretty heavy. However, i want the room more for movies than anything else. So i am assuming that 1.78:1 is more what i would need. I haven't been able to attend any HT meets due to not any around. Would love to see some other setups. I have just gotten my thrills from magazine's which are usually way out of my budget. Thanks for all the help so far. Let me know what else to look for?

 

[bob md]

I'd have to say that the PJ you want may not be on the market right now. When I first started things, I had a PJ in mind, but when the time came to get one (about 8 months later), the market had changed. I'm happy I didn't run out and buy one right away, by waiting I was able to get a projector that fit the room much better than earlier ones did (in my price range). During construction I wanted to run conduit from where I thought the PJ was going to be (about 12' from the screen on the ceiling). However a nice long throw PJ came to market (Panny AE700) that allowed me to mount the PJ on the back wall - at 18'6" from the screen. This made running conduit much simpler, along with wiring. I am much happier with this setup than having a ceiling mounted PJ (granted, with 80" ceilings, I'm a bit more sensitive to PJ placement).


One thing you'll read here is that many people suggest not getting a screen and PJ until you are nearly done with construction. This makes sense, many people have put in a PJ and work stops as you start using the room. However I'd strongly recommend that this may be the perfect time to test a PJ to determine screen size, screen height and seating distances. I wish I had done this earlier as I would have changed how I set up mounting for the screen. What I'd recommend you do is:


1. Borrow a PJ (or get one from a company with a good return policy)

2. Hang a large white sheet at the front of the room

3. Just put the PJ on a little table and project an image.


Now comes the fun part. Move your seating position. Change your screen size. Change the height of the screen. Watch a DVD with alot of action. After doing this, I got a smaller screen and moved my seating a bit. For me, the calculators are nice, but I need to see things before I decide. My wife clearly saw a difference in clarity by adjusting size and seating distance.


Because I did this at the end of the build, I didn't have my mounting braces ideally placed. Because Linacoustics & GoM were already in place, I and to jury rig my mount (for a fixed screen) to get it where it was ideal.


Oh, I forgot step 4:


4. After determining size, distance & height, pack up the PJ & get it out of your HT before it is too late.


Bob

 

[amberson]

Thanks for all the input so far. The thing that i have determined so far is that i need to decide on how many seats i want in the room before i can pick a screen size and projector. I was thinking 8 seats orignially. Has anyone that has a room approximately this size, had any regrets from not doing more or less seats? I gather with less seats i could move the front row back and have a larger screen, but don't neccasarily want the largest screen out there. Just looking for a happy medium.

 

[DKaps]

My room size is very close to yours and I went with 7 seats (3 in front and two love seats in back). Also, 96" 1.78 screen with the front row viewing at about 11 foot away, which is perfect for my PJ (Z3). No regrets.


Dan

 

[Maggie Guy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DKaps My room size is very close to yours and I went with 7 seats (3 in front and two love seats in back). Also, 96" 1.78 screen with the front row viewing at about 11 foot away, which is perfect for my PJ (Z3). No regrets. Dan

Same here,

I went with a 106in diagonal 16:9 screen and I think that I would do the same again.