Projector Screen Size

[kinda]

Hello,

I'd be grateful for any advice on this.

I've been watching the video on this site on recommended distances / screen sizes for TVs and thought the logic should also apply to projectors.

However, based on the video advice you'd only go bigger than 60 inches at a distance of 4m plus. I was pretty impressed in a recent demo sitting closer than that to a screen that must have been about 120" plus.

Are projectors really best at higher viewing distances or is there something about projectors that makes them suitable for closer viewing than TVs?

Any comments from someone knowledgeable or with experience would be much appreciated.

 

[Anonymous]

What size screen and what native aspect ratio are you considering?

A rough rule of thumb is 1.5 times the screen width for a 1.78:1 screen (16/9) and around 1.7 times the screen width for a 2.35:1 screen.

If you want to be more exact, you're looking for a 36ø subtended angle from the viewing position for HD sources.

For example: You have a 100" screen, your ideal viewing distance would be around 3.9m for a 1.78:1 screen.
hth

 

[kinda]

Hello,

Thanks for the reply.

I'm about 2.8 metres away, and have thought about a projector. Howwever, I don't see a lot of point in a projector if I'm limited to around 40" size before seeing motion and other artefacts as suggested in the video.

The sizes in the video are given for a mixture of SD / HD, and seem to focus on TVs. I'm wondering is there something different about projectors or am I just setting myself up for disappointing picture by going larger than 40" in my current room?

 

[Anonymous]

A viewing distance of 2.8m would give you a screen of around 70" image width for HD.
Technically, you should have a smaller image for SD but, this will also depend on the projector and quality of the screen, as well as your sensibility to any artifacts and the quality of any upscaling etc..

It really depends what your mix of HD/SD viewing is going to be. If you're going to be using the system to watch Blu-ray films for the majority of the time, then you might feel able to make more of a compromise on the SD image.

My advice would be to get along to a dealer who can demonstrate the size of screen you're looking at on a variety of sources, so you can judge for yourself where your limits lie.

IME, there's no subsitute for seeing a projection set-up in action. It's a very different experience to TV and you might find you want a slighlt bigger image than the maths suggest.