Question NW - Theatre Family Room - QUESTIONS

[nick w]

Hi

My wife is pushing me on to finish the Theatre Family Room.
So here i am and i come with questions...

The room is 2.3m wide, 4m long and just over 3m high.

We are going with a fixed frame 81" screen.
We also have a unit which is 40" high from the floor which we would like to sit under the screen.

Is 40" too high for the bottom of the screen?
I have attached a quick little MS paint sketch.

Thanks
N

 

[kbfern]

Don't see a problem with 40" to the bottom of the screen depending on how close you are to the screen and if your seating position is slightly reclined.

If you are sitting upright and looking straight ahead it will probably be too high and uncomfortable to view over long periods.

If your seats have a slopped or reclining back so that when you look at the centre of the screen without having to look up that will be fine. My screen is pretty high off the floor (50" to the bottom) and I sit on stressless recliners and with the chairs slightly reclined and only 8ft from the screen the angle of seat and height of screen is perfect.

 

[nick w]

Thanks for the reply. Good shout on the reclining chairs

Ok, updates to follow with a shopping list and some more photos tonight!

N

 

[nick w]

KBFern,

What Ratio should i be looking at?
1.85:1 or a 2.35:1?

Also with the room being 2.3m wide. what size screen should i go to?
I was looking at a 81" fixed frame Celexon screen. 180cm x 102cm

Any recommended manufacturers?

Thanks
N

 

[kbfern]

Depends what you watch and at what distance, what pj do you have or plan on getting.

If sitting 10-12ft from screen I would get the biggest you can fit in. If you watch mainly movies there are a lot (50% min) in scope (2.35:1) if it's tv stuff/games they are mainly 16:9.

I have a 2.0:1 home made screen and have a masking bar I use for 2.35 movies to remove horizontal black bars. It's 100"+ diagonal and I sit at 8-9ft and it is not too big in fact I would go a bit bigger if I could fit it in but the shape of the room prevents me from doing it.

If I were you I would put the pj up and point it at the screen wall and experiment with screen size to see what you like best and then get a screen to match.

The image will look fine thrown onto your grey wall.

You could also make your own from a sheet of 3mm thick 2.4m x 1.2m mdf it's very easy with almost no diy skill and cost of £40 max.

See my thread below to see how.

Screen or no screen

 

[nick w]

Ahh super reply! Thanks. Looking now!

 

[porscheman]

Oh no.......the old 1.78:1 vs 2.35:1 decision !! I totally agree with what kbfern has said. Do some test screenings before buying/building a screen. I built a 2.35:1 screen and stretched blackout cloth over it. Image is very good, and with scope movies it is very cinematic. However, with other ratios it is not ideal, because the image overshoots the screen top and bottom, and because my PJ is ceiling mounted it is a pain to adjust zoom and focus. I think I will build (test screening first) a 2:1 ratio screen to lesser the effect of 1.78 and 1.85 problems. I need to see if I can live with 2.35:1 black bars or whether I need to build a masking system. Oh dear !!

 

[nick w]

Oh no.......the old 1.78:1 vs 2.35:1 decision !! I totally agree with what kbfern has said. Do some test screenings before buying/building a screen. I built a 2.35:1 screen and stretched blackout cloth over it. Image is very good, and with scope movies it is very cinematic. However, with other ratios it is not ideal, because the image overshoots the screen top and bottom, and because my PJ is ceiling mounted it is a pain to adjust zoom and focus. I think I will build (test screening first) a 2:1 ratio screen to lesser the effect of 1.78 and 1.85 problems. I need to see if I can live with 2.35:1 black bars or whether I need to build a masking system. Oh dear !!

Oh no, mines going to be ceiling mounted....

Ok, projector purchase first then..

Thanks!
N

 

[porscheman]

Nick, your home cinema room is almost the same size as mine. My cinema used to be the internal single garage to my property, and my room is 2.5m by 5m, with a standard height ceiling. Probably the smallest home cinema on these forums. I converted the garage over ten years ago, and my current project is home cinema part 2 (newly decorated with grey walls and ceiling, new light switch for wall lights, new electrical power sockets, all new HDMI pair and 2 x cat6 cables in ceilng (luckily I have access to ceiling void from the room above) plus new projector, AVR and Blu ray player, plus some 'art' at some point and new sofa is on the cards. Only thing after that a few years down the line will be a new dark grey carpet or large rug.

Definately buy the projector first, and screen last. Luckily, my screen only cost about £29 to make, and £7 of that was the screen material so I don't really mind building another one in the future. Plus, second time around is always easier !

 

[hati]

My humble opinion about aspect ratio is that the room is so narrow that a 16:9 screen is only choice. For movies you can then consider some sort of movable/removable mask.

 

[nick w]

Awesome thanks chaps