Room height will play a roll in your home theater setup when you install a front projection setup in your home theater room. A front-projection system includes a projector unit (which is usually mounted on your ceiling but can also be on a lift, on a floor mount, or in the rear wall) and a separate screen. Video sources (such as DVDs, cable, and satellite TV) are routed into the projector, which then turns these signals into light. Then, the light is projected onto a separate screen that’s mounted on a wall at the front of your home theater. The required height would depend on the size of your screen. You would not come across concerns of room height with direct view . There are a number of guiding principle here that can help in the process of determining your room height with a front projection set up...
You Need a Very Dark Room For Front Projection
If you have a really big room and can keep it dark enough to use a front-projection system, front projection is the way to get that truly movie theater-sized picture. But the dark room is a major must to get the most out of a front-projection system. Also, don’t forget that you’ll need an unimpeded path between the projector and the screen in a front-projection system.
What Aspect Ratio Do You Want?
You will be making use of a video projection set-up for your big screen. A 4:3 aspect ratio means that for every 4 inches of width in an image, you will have 3 inches of height. A 16:9 aspect ratio means that for every 16 inches of width in an image, you will have 9 inches of height. Unlike the 4:3 aspect ratio, a 16:9 aspect ratio is 78% wider than high. When it all comes down to it, aspect ratio is really a personal preference. Some people do not like that newer movies have to be cropped to fit within a 4:3 screen, while others may not like the black bars that come with a 16:9 widescreen television. Most home theaters use a 16:9 aspect ratio.
The Ideal Screen Position
The eyes of the viewer should be level with the center of the screen. It is recommend that the bottom of the screen be between 24” and 36” inches off the floor. If you have multiple rows of seating, you may need to go a bit higher to keep clean sight-lines for people sitting behind the first row. In an area where this is impossible ensure that your vertical angle does not exceed the maximum of 35%. Beyond this angel the viewer would have neck strain.
Easy Visibility
Make sure the lower part of the screen is visible from all seats. You could raise the rear set of seats 6 to 12 inches for better viewing if there is a need. Based on the above guideline a 9 foot high home theater room should be able to accommodate a 120 inch diagonal for a 16:9 aspect ratio theater screen.
Designing & Building a Home Theater Series
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