Headache because of too big screen?

peterbund

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I really love the idea to have a giant screen at home so I bought projector PF1000U. At first I watched it very close. 90" picture from 2 meters most of the time and picture was very high so I needed to have head turned up. But it gives me headache for 2-3 days in a row after watching. When headache stoped I watch it one day from 3,3 meters and 90" picture was just a little bit higher than me so I didn't have to turn head up. I felt better this and next day but still not perfect (I didn't sleep enough this days so maybe I wasnt in perfect mood because of lack of sleep).
And then yesterday I tested a very good projector Epson EH-TW7300 in a shop. Picture was again giant and high up. It was around 120" and I watch it for a half an hour from a distance 2-3 meters. And then I again got headache.

Anyone knows did I get headaches because of the too close distance and because I needed to turn my head up to watch and not to have it straight? At first I tought that the problem was DLP but Epson's projector is LCD. So DLP is not a problem.

I also have sickness If I drive in a car with someone in a not so straight road. But I never feel sick when I watch my 27" monitor and 55" TV (I watch TV from 2 meters). And i also never got headache when i watchet a projector in a bar where it was more light.
 
I really love the idea to have a giant screen at home so I bought projector PF1000U. At first I watched it very close. 90" picture from 2 meters most of the time and picture was very high so I needed to have head turned up. But it gives me headache for 2-3 days in a row after watching. When headache stoped I watch it one day from 3,3 meters and 90" picture was just a little bit higher than me so I didn't have to turn head up. I felt better this and next day but still not perfect (I didn't sleep enough this days so maybe I wasnt in perfect mood because of lack of sleep).
And then yesterday I tested a very good projector Epson EH-TW7300 in a shop. Picture was again giant and high up. It was around 120" and I watch it for a half an hour from a distance 2-3 meters. And then I again got headache.

Anyone knows did I get headaches because of the too close distance and because I needed to turn my head up to watch and not to have it straight? At first I tought that the problem was DLP but Epson's projector is LCD. So DLP is not a problem.

I also have sickness If I drive in a car with someone in a not so straight road. But I never feel sick when I watch my 27" monitor and 55" TV (I watch TV from 2 meters). And i also never got headache when i watchet a projector in a bar where it was more light.

You answered your own question, looking up for long periods of time can cause neck strain which can lead to headaches.

There are studies that recommend eyeline at rest should be looking at the top third of the screen. There was an EBU paper and the British Health and safety guys have recommendations for computer screens that say much the same thing. I'd post some links but I'm about to catch a flight.

I never understand all those people who put tvs above fireplaces, do they watch tv standing up?
 
As you've found, it's often not so much the size as the vertical viewing angle - vertical viewing angles can cause discomfort if they're over 15 degrees, so try and keep it less, say around 10 to 12 degrees.

That could mean having a 2.35 screen rather than 16:9, which will reduce the image height if you run a Constant Image Height system using the zoom method (if you have a pj tha can do that).

To have a vertical viewing angle of around 12 degrees, make sure the top of your 90" (I assume diagonal) screen isn't more than 17 inches above eye level when seated and then see if you get a headache. 2.35 movies should be more comfortable to watch if it's the height and not the size.

I sometimes suffer from car sickness too if I'm a passenger and not looking at the road when it's going round corners so it's not unusual.
 
Andre Newman ..are this studies that recommend eyeline at the top third of the screen talks specificaly about projectors?
This really could be the case for my headaches because when I watch a monitor or a TV my eyes are at the top half of the screen but when I watched the projector my eyes were way bellow the screen.

Gary Lightfoot..What do you mean exactly with 12 degrees? I guess If I watch 90" secreen from a 2 meters I get around 35 degrees viewing angle. 12 degrees looks very low. This don't give you good cinema experience I guess.
And the problem
 
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Gary Lightfoot..What do you mean exactly with 12 degrees? I guess If I watch 90" secreen from a 2 meters I get around 35 degrees viewing angle. 12 degrees looks very low. This don't give you good cinema experience I guess.
And PF1000U don't automaticaly turn off projection above and under the screen if you play a movie with a 1:2.35 ratio. So if I play a 2.35 movie I still get some light above the movie. So I need to get my eyes 17" bellow the top of this unactive picture above movie?
 
Yes, 17 inches from the top of the screen down to where your eyes are. If a 2.35 movie feels more comfortable than 16:9 that tends to suggest the height is the problem because the top of the 2.35 image is lower than the 16:9 image

SMPTE, Dolby THX etc all recommend up to 15 degrees as discomfort can set in after that:

Vertical Viewing Angle

Hope that helps

.
 
Aa you are talking about vertical viewing angle. Ok.
But this picture that you showed me looks like the person from the first sit have eyes at the bottom of the screen. You said that this is not ok.
 
a guide and quite a good one is to sit so your eye level is 1/3rd up from the bottom of the viewing height

another guide is to sit at 1.5 times your screen width

Allan ;)
 
I personally also got the lowest tv stand I could find for my panel tv. Ive even been places where the large TV is on the floor, and it was quite good actually. Your head should be looking slightly downwards if anything.

When I got a projector screen, I adjusted it such that the screen could roll down so far that it was very low i.e. there was a larger border at the top so the screen area was at a low height. Does your screen not do this?

Also make sure the image is not too bright compared to the ambient light of the room. That also tends to gives me a headache.
 
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i don't think i'd like to be looking down personally, seated eye height at 1/3rd into the viewing area for me is perfect
 
Vertical viewing angle is relative to seating distance - the closer you get to a screen the greater the vertical viewing angle can become, so you have to take that into account - it's possible that even with the eyes falling around a third to half way up the screen that the vertical viewing angle can still be too much.

Peter - the image I linked to has the eyes of the front row falling just above the bottom of the screen, though it doesn't matter where the eyes are on the screen as long as you don't exceed 15 degrees.

Find a right angle triangle calculator and use the distance of your eyes to the screen and the distance of where your eyes fall on the screen to the top of the screen as the two numbers to calculate with. You can work out the eyes to top of the screen distance by deducting your eye height when seated from the height of the top of the screen to the floor.
 
Uh..so many different answers :).

kc5189w no I actually don't have a screen now. I projecto on a wall above my TV.
Gary Lightfood it is hard to calculate this 15 degrees. But I guess If i watch 90" screen from 3 meters away with aspect ratio 16:10 there is not over 15 degrees.
 
I can work it out for you.

How far from the floor are your eyes when seated? If I guess at 44 inches, with your eyes 2m from a 90" diagonal screen, the top of your screen should be no more than 65 inches from the floor. Lower (less than 65 ins) may be better.

Can you try projecting onto the wall like that or does the tv force you to project it higher?
 
When I was 2 meters (78 inches) away from a 90" picture the top of the picture was 83 inches from the floor and my eyes were 45 inches from the floor.

Later I also watched 90" picture from 3.3 meters (130 inches)..my eyes were then at 27 inch from the floor and 70 inch from the floor. The top of the screen was again 83 inches from the floor.

I guess all types of sitting that I mention are bad except the last one when my eyes were 70 inch from the floor.
 
When I was 2 meters (78 inches) away from a 90" picture the top of the picture was 83 inches from the floor and my eyes were 45 inches from the floor.

That's a 25 degree vertical viewing angle, which is too much.

Later I also watched 90" picture from 3.3 meters (130 inches)..my eyes were then at 27 inch from the floor and 70 inch from the floor. The top of the screen was again 83 inches from the floor.

27" - that's almost 36 degrees and exceeds the max of 35 degrees.

70" - that's 9.4 degrees and much better. But I guess that was from standing up?

I guess all types of sitting that I mention are bad except the last one when my eyes were 70 inch from the floor.

It does look that way unless you can reline which will cause your eyes to naturally look higher?
 
What happen when you watch an ultra wide movie ie. when in effect the top of the image is quite a bit lower?

Regards, Dave
 
I think you calculated 36 degrees wrong. It should be smaller number than 25 degree. Because Everthing was the same like on the first sitting I was just sitting little more away from the picture and little more low.

When my eyes were 70" from the floor I was not standing. I have one very high chair (bar chair). So this example of sitting was good? I guess you suggest that I could be even more closer to the screen.
 
cooperda.. all the movies that I watched were 2.35. And measurments for that kind of pictures I written before.
I also play for a short period of time also movies/games with 16:10 aspect ratio so picture was even higher.
 
Oops yes I did calculate it wrong - from 130ins and 27ins eye height it will be 23.3 degrees which is too much.

130 ins and 70ins eye height is 5.7 degrees which is fine.

I've been calculating for a 90" diag 16:9 screen and assumed the height was for the top of the 16:9 image - I've a feeling I've been doing that wrong then? Or were you giving me the actual image height on the screen?
 
The top of the screen/picture was always 83 inches from the floor when I was watching 2.35 movies. As I said for a short period of time I watched 16:10 picture too (movie, playstation 4)
 
Ahhh... I watched today a movie on a PF1000U projector after one week and after movie I get dizziness. It is not very bad dizziness but it still bothering me. I was watching 90" picture from 130" distance. My eyes were at somewhere in the middle of the picture (horizontaly and vertically). I really don't know why this is happening. When I watch in a bar sport match on a projector everything is fine. When I watch my 55" TV from 60"-80" distance everything is again fine. When I watch my 27" monitor everything is again fine. Just home projectors giving me problems. Both DLP and LCD (PF1000 and EH-TW7300). I really have a wish to have a cinema at home..But it looks like this will stay only a wish :/ ...TV's which are over 85" are unfortunatly way too expensive to me. My budged allows me to buy maximum 75" TV but picture of this size don't give me real cinema experience. Even if I watch it from 60" distance. For good cinema experience I need at least 85" screen.
 
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In the last third of the seats. But I don't go often to the cinema actually. Once in a year or even less. I am watching movies on a TV at home.
 
I ask because I thought maybe you may sit near the back which might be OK if you sat at the same equivalent seating distance at home.

Have you experimented to see what the smallest size you can watch without getting a headache?
 
No. I always tried to watch a movie at 90". But as I mention before in my posts I tried to sit at different positions. But I never watched 90" picture further than 130" away.
I didn't tried to watching smaller size because then I would not have a cinema experience..
The problem is that this dizziness/headache then don't go away for the next few days. I guess it would go away sooner if I would not use other displays after watching a movie but I work a lot in my computer almost every day.
 

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