[smokey8]

I'm looking for some opinions from people with similar seating arrangements. I was originally going with 106-110" but now I'm thinking 120". But I'm worried it is simply too big and won't be enjoyable with my eyes and my children's eyes focusing all over the place.
Thoughts?

 

[keeper]

I'm about 13 ft away from 104" and would love to jump up to 120". My personal opinion is that you will be okay. The issue is that a lot of movies are 2:35 and appear small on a 1:78 screen. You could always test on a wall before purchasing.

 

[dovercat]

It comes down to personal preference.
12ft from 120" diagonal 16:9 is 39.9 degrees
That is the THX recommendation of 40 degrees for 16:9.
With a cinemascope image it is just a bit more than the 36 degree recommended minimum for the back row in a cinema.
So should be fine.

THX recommend 40 degrees for 16:9, 52 degrees for cinemascope using constant image height. For the back row in a cinemascope cinema THX minimum is 36 degrees recommended 26 degree minimum.

Typical commercial cinema average 54 degrees with a cinemascope image.

20th Century Fox when developing cinemascope in 1953 came up with 45 degrees as optimal best seat due to the limitations of film at the time (film grain, film unsteadiness jump and weave, soft focus). With original cinemascope 2.55:1 that would be 3.08 screen heights which is almost the same as the SMPTE reference of 3 screen heights. As film projection has improved people can now sit closer without the limitations becoming obvious.

Personally I am about 9ft10in away from a 125.375 inch diagonal 16:9 screen. So the screen occupies about 49.7 degrees of my field of view. Seating distance to screen is however very dependent on personal preference.

 

[airscapes]

At 14' I would go to 120 if the room contents would allow it.. but alas 110" it is! At 12' might be a bit too big for me..
When fixing my gaze at the center of the 110 screen, I have some room on either side of the image within my peripheral vision so I do not have to move my eyes with action. Field of veiw almost filled.. 120 from 14 would fill it.. not sure I would like it but as long as I don't have content moving out of view i think it would work .. at 12' not sure..
Go to the movie theater to see an action movie, and move your seating until your field of view is full and them go closer .. see how you like it.

 

[bud16415]

If this is your first go at front projection and immersive viewing at home and you are buying a quality 1080 projector and will be watching premium quality BD content, and you are like the majority of the people doing the same your tastes will change over the first few months of watching at home. If you are like most people you went to a commercial movie theater a few times per year and most your movie watching was done at home on a flat panel TV at a less than immersive level. Once you are set up at home you will be watching 10 times or more movies in a theater like setting and most people not all end up liking more immersion than they first thought.

The other side to it if you are like most people you will start using your theater for more than just high impact high quality movies. Many people watch regular TV and sports and DVD as well and they sometimes are not as enhanced by over immersion. You then will find a compromise needs to be made in screen size or seating distance. As mentioned above with a 16:9 screen or a CIW method of presentation you will always feel slighted when watching a scope movie that is supposed to be the most immersive with the exception of Imax and when you watch a scope blockbuster it will be less immersive than a TV show. Some member here move their seating closer some Do some form of zooming with the projector. To do that you need a screen area of course large enough to let that happen.

I personally found I like to be able to control immersion so much based around content and quality and starting off with a bare wall as a screen trying to figure out what I wanted I never did select a screen size. I smoothed and painted my whole wall to be a screen and always view at the size that seems right for the moment and what I’m watching.

People say they watch with a fixed gaze but no one does. Our eyes are constantly scanning the image and strain is based on how much we are trying to scan. I always tell people start off with a flat painted white wall or gray and the projector sitting on a low table watching from some lawn chairs that are easy to move around. Within 2 weeks of viewing you will have figured it out what works best for you and your family.

 

[audacious nick]

I watch 120" at a similar distance, I'd do larger if I could.

 

[chadsmith013]

If this is your first go at front projection and immersive viewing at home and you are buying a quality 1080 projector and will be watching premium quality BD content, and you are like the majority of the people doing the same your tastes will change over the first few months of watching at home. If you are like most people you went to a commercial movie theater a few times per year and most your movie watching was done at home on a flat panel TV at a less than immersive level. Once you are set up at home you will be watching 10 times or more movies in a theater like setting and most people not all end up liking more immersion than they first thought.

The other side to it if you are like most people you will start using your theater for more than just high impact high quality movies. Many people watch regular TV and sports and DVD as well and they sometimes are not as enhanced by over immersion. You then will find a compromise needs to be made in screen size or seating distance. As mentioned above with a 16:9 screen or a CIW method of presentation you will always feel slighted when watching a scope movie that is supposed to be the most immersive with the exception of Imax and when you watch a scope blockbuster it will be less immersive than a TV show. Some member here move their seating closer some Do some form of zooming with the projector. To do that you need a screen area of course large enough to let that happen.

I personally found I like to be able to control immersion so much based around content and quality and starting off with a bare wall as a screen trying to figure out what I wanted I never did select a screen size. I smoothed and painted my whole wall to be a screen and always view at the size that seems right for the moment and what I’m watching.

People say they watch with a fixed gaze but no one does. Our eyes are constantly scanning the image and strain is based on how much we are trying to scan. I always tell people start off with a flat painted white wall or gray and the projector sitting on a low table watching from some lawn chairs that are easy to move around. Within 2 weeks of viewing you will have figured it out what works best for you and your family.

Bud is absolutely correct...at first we only watched movies in our room...we have slowly transitioned to now almost nightly TV watching in there as well.

 

[Patriot666]

Definitely shoot onto a wall for a while if possible. I went through a few screens because I went too big. That said, I think you'd be fine with this screen size. My eyes are 11 ft from a 120" wide scope screen, wider than the screen you're looking at.

 

[jsgrise]

I have a 128" @ 11' and love it and would go 135" if I could. Never too big!

 

[smokey8]

Thanks for the opinions! We're going to be using it for movies and regular TV watching. My last projector was 106" I believe and we also sat further, but we really enjoyed it. We just enjoy the big screen we're not huge 'movie theater experience' people, which is why I was a bit worried it might be too big, though some people love the overly big movie theater screen style.

 

[HTMatrix]

I'm going to be 13-14 feet away and I'm going with 133". When I go the theater, I sit about 1/3 of the way back.

 

[Fabricator]

119" @ 12'. just fine for me. though, a lil bigger would not be bad.
this is for movies only. if i were to watch a sitcom or whatever, i think that would be a bit overwhelming .

but. if its too big for you, you could just zoom to make the image smaller.

 

[drunkpenguin]

Ask yourself this question...

Have you ever walked into a commercial movie theater and thought "that screen is just too big!"

no

But I'll bet you've walked into a few that were too small!

 

[smokey8]

119" @ 12'. just fine for me. though, a lil bigger would not be bad.
this is for movies only. if i were to watch a sitcom or whatever, i think that would be a bit overwhelming .

but. if its too big for you, you could just zoom to make the image smaller.

Yeah I'm worried about regular shows and possibly sports being overwhelming. Almost seems like something around 115" would be perfect!

Ask yourself this question...

Have you ever walked into a commercial movie theater and thought "that screen is just too big!"

no

But I'll bet you've walked into a few that were too small!

Good point!

 

[Dave in Green]

... We just enjoy the big screen we're not huge 'movie theater experience' people, which is why I was a bit worried it might be too big, though some people love the overly big movie theater screen style.

Congratulations. You know yourself better than a lot of folks posting similar screen size questions here. We're all a little different. While some are looking for total IMAX-style immersion in their home theater others are just looking for a bigger TV-style image.

A 120" image from 12' is about average with some preferring larger (closer) and some smaller (further). At 10" diagonal per 1' viewing distance you will likely see a significant difference in image quality between Blu-ray movies and cable TV. I view a 100" screen from 10' and find the best Blu-ray images to be stunning and a lot of cable TV to appear a little ragged.

So if you're watching a lot of TV you will find that the bigger the screen and/or the closer you sit the more you might be bothered by image quality. As has already been mentioned, the best way to know what will work best for you is to experiment with different image sizes on a plain painted wall before spending your money on a screen that may end up being either too big or too small for your personal viewing habits and preferences.

 

[smokey8]

Congratulations. You know yourself better than a lot of folks posting similar screen size questions here. We're all a little different. While some are looking for total IMAX-style immersion in their home theater others are just looking for a bigger TV-style image.

A 120" image from 12' is about average with some preferring larger (closer) and some smaller (further). At 10" diagonal per 1' viewing distance you will likely see a significant difference in image quality between Blu-ray movies and cable TV. I view a 100" screen from 10' and find the best Blu-ray images to be stunning and a lot of cable TV to appear a little ragged.

So if you're watching a lot of TV you will find that the bigger the screen and/or the closer you sit the more you might be bothered by image quality. As has already been mentioned, the best way to know what will work best for you is to experiment with different image sizes on a plain painted wall before spending your money on a screen that may end up being either too big or too small for your personal viewing habits and preferences.

I think I'll do that, set it up and see. Just too impatient, want this ordered, done and set up lol. I think at my old house it was 106" and we must have sat about 14-16' away and found that enjoyable. LIke I said more like just a big TV rather than movie theater experience. So we'll be sitting even closer, so I wonder if 106' will be more than adequate. But then I'm worried about second guessing if I should have went bigger!

 

[drunkpenguin]

@Dave in Green probably gave you the best advice here. Better to wait a little bit longer than get stuck with something that bothers you for the next 25 years.

 

[smokey8]

@Dave in Green probably gave you the best advice here. Better to wait a little bit longer than get stuck with something that bothers you for the next 25 years.

I'm trying to pre-wire my speakers. I guess I could wire them for hte bigger size and they'll be okay if screen is a few inches in on each side.

 

[drunkpenguin]

Ok, fwiw my room is 22x17 and I sit 12' away from a 120" CIH screen and I consider it perfect. I could probably go bigger and be fine, but I don't because I need room under the screen for tall speakers and I don't want the screen too high.

But, go with your gut. Just do it and don't look back. Even a small screen is WAY bigger than a TV!

 

[tractng]

I'm looking for some opinions from people with similar seating arrangements. I was originally going with 106-110" but now I'm thinking 120". But I'm worried it is simply too big and won't be enjoyable with my eyes and my children's eyes focusing all over the place.
Thoughts?

Perfect distance. I was about 14 ft for many years until recently where we moved the recliners to around 12 ft.