For me to meet the THX recommended distance, my maximum viewing distance would be 15.7 feet, with a THX recommended viewing distance of 11.2 feet.
For THX standards the back row of the theater must have at least a 26 degree viewing angle but they recommend a 36 degree viewing angle.Īs an example my screen is 87″ wide in order for me to meet the SMPTE standard, my maximum viewing distance would be 13.6 feet.
Pojection screen fl calculator movie#
THX also has their own set of standards for movie theaters to attain a THX certification. The SMPTE standard recommends a minimum viewing angle of 30 degrees for movie theaters this standard also translates well for home theaters. There are several different schools of thought here. One thing to take into consideration when you are figuring out the size of your screen is to figure out how close you will be sitting to it. And if your projector is rear mounted you will need to use a rear projection style screen. If your projector is ceiling mounted, for instance, you will want to use a diffusion style screen or a reflective style screen but not a retroreflective style screen. There are a few different places that you can place your projector and all of them can benefit from a certain type of screen. If your room needs a wider viewing angle than this look for a screen material with a wide viewing angle.
Ideally everyone in your theater will be within a viewing angle of 30 degrees from either side of the center of the screen. Of course screens that are good at ambient light rejection have some tradeoffs as well. Some screens are excellent at rejecting ambient light while others are not.
Different screen materials have different properties when it comes to ambient light, especially ambient light that falls directly on the screen. Your best room will have complete and total light control of course this isn’t always possible. For instance, if you have a dim projector, you may not want to make your screen too large otherwise the resulting image would not be bright enough.Īmbient Light Considerations. Depending on how bright your projector is, measured in ANSI lumens, will determine the size of your screen and the material choice for your screen. Screen manufacturers have developed specially formulated screen materials that best compliment the type of projector that you use whether it be CRT, DLP, LCD, etc. Your choice of screen material will be dependent on the type of projector that you are using. The main criteria that will help you determine the type of screen you should look for are the projector type, the brightness of your projector, the ambient light of your viewing room, the size and shape of your room, where you have your projector mounted, and your viewing distance. The focus of this guide is going to be on getting you to understand what criteria you should look for in a screen material depending on the type of your projector and how you have it mounted, the lingo when it comes to screens, and to understand the pros and cons of different types of screens. There is also a lot of strange terminology that goes along with buying a screen that confuses a lot of people new to home theater I know it confused me. You can sometimes get screen samples from screen manufacturers but these are often so small that it is hard to accurately assess the screen materials from them. It is often hard to view the actual screen that you are interested in so you have to rely on manufacturer claims and the opinion of other users. Choosing the right screen for your home theater can be a major ordeal.