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Time to Decide on Upgrade Screen Size (Considering 140" - 150")


Youthman

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Tonight I attached a huge sheet of Photography Paper to the doors of my false wall. I meant to bring home a spare 30' HDMI cable as I will need this to temporarily move the projector further back.

With the projector mounted in it's current position, it throws a 48" high 16:9 image. This equates to a 123" screen. My son loved the new size for gaming. I'm tempted to drive back to work tonight to pick up the HDMI cable so I can continue testing. I really am curious to see what a 140" vs 150" in 2.35:1 looks like. I have a feeling 140" is going to be PLENTY big enough for my room but if 150" doesn't feel strained, I'll go with that.

Paper Test Screen is 102" (8.5') from my eyes and is 48" (4') from the front wall.

The new screen will need to be at least 33" off the front wall to allow for proper toe in of the LaScalas so the paper test screen is quite a bit closer than the new screen will be.

screen-test-1.jpg

Edited by Youthman
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The screen is about 1' closer than the current wall which will represent about where the front of the new cabinet will extend to. The screen will be recessed maybe 8" or so but this gives me a close enough idea of what size screen I can comfortably go to.

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I figure the size will be slightly smaller then the whole sheet.

That would be 150"

Here is what 140" would look like.

My room is 13' wide.

140" screen would be 129" (10.75') wide so that would give me 1.125' on each side of the screen.

150" screen would be 138" (11.5') wide so that would give me 0.75' on each side of the screen.

140-inch-screen.jpg

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Are you looking at 150" with a 16x9 or a 2.40 aspect ration? If you go with the 2.40 aspect ratio you can always side mask for 16x9... This is called a scope screen setup where the height is always the same size in case you didn't know. :) Some people like to go the 16x9 screen and then do top and bottom masking when they watch the 2.40 movies. If you go with a 2.40 screen then when you watch a 16x9 movie it will be the same height, and when you watch a 2.40 movie the picture will grow to the width of the screen. When you get a 16x9 screen and watch a 2.40 movie the picture will shrink for a 2.40 movie. I like the idea of the picture getting larger for when I have a 2.40 movie so that is the route I am going. I just placed my order today for my screen from SeymourAv... They are out of stock for the XD AT screen but it will be in by the end of the month. I am expecting my screen around the first week of july. If you want to get your screen soon, you might want to place the order soon so you are at the top of the list. I was told it only takes a couple of days to make them to make the screen (including grommets). They also said some people just staple the material to the frame, but I would be worried about if it ever stretches you would not be able to adjust it. There is also another option where it is secured like a screen is in a screen door. The grommets are the expensive way.

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Are you looking at 150" with a 16x9 or a 2.40 aspect ration? If you go with the 2.40 aspect ratio you can always side mask for 16x9... This is called a scope screen setup where the height is always the same size in case you didn't know. :) Some people like to go the 16x9 screen and then do top and bottom masking when they watch the 2.40 movies. If you go with a 2.40 screen then when you watch a 16x9 movie it will be the same height, and when you watch a 2.40 movie the picture will grow to the width of the screen. When you get a 16x9 screen and watch a 2.40 movie the picture will shrink for a 2.40 movie. I like the idea of the picture getting larger for when I have a 2.40 movie so that is the route I am going. I just placed my order today for my screen from SeymourAv... They are out of stock for the XD AT screen but it will be in by the end of the month. I am expecting my screen around the first week of july. If you want to get your screen soon, you might want to place the order soon so you are at the top of the list. I was told it only takes a couple of days to make them to make the screen (including grommets). They also said some people just staple the material to the frame, but I would be worried about if it ever stretches you would not be able to adjust it. There is also another option where it is secured like a screen is in a screen door. The grommets are the expensive way.

Congrats on your new screen. What size did you get?

Edited by reference_head
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Are you looking at 150" with a 16x9 or a 2.40 aspect ration? If you go with the 2.40 aspect ratio you can always side mask for 16x9... This is called a scope screen setup where the height is always the same size in case you didn't know. :) Some people like to go the 16x9 screen and then do top and bottom masking when they watch the 2.40 movies. If you go with a 2.40 screen then when you watch a 16x9 movie it will be the same height, and when you watch a 2.40 movie the picture will grow to the width of the screen. When you get a 16x9 screen and watch a 2.40 movie the picture will shrink for a 2.40 movie. I like the idea of the picture getting larger for when I have a 2.40 movie so that is the route I am going. I just placed my order today for my screen from SeymourAv... They are out of stock for the XD AT screen but it will be in by the end of the month. I am expecting my screen around the first week of july. If you want to get your screen soon, you might want to place the order soon so you are at the top of the list. I was told it only takes a couple of days to make them to make the screen (including grommets). They also said some people just staple the material to the frame, but I would be worried about if it ever stretches you would not be able to adjust it. There is also another option where it is secured like a screen is in a screen door. The grommets are the expensive way.

Congrats on your new screen. What size did you get?

XD Grommet Screen - 180'' wide image - 2.40"1 Ratio (Base on the premier frame grommet placement)
Image Size: 180'' x 75''
Piece Size: 184.1'' x 79.1''-191 $351.20
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Are you looking at 150" with a 16x9 or a 2.40 aspect ration?

As shown in the sketchup, it will be 2.35:1 scope screen. Manual side masking will be added for 16:9 content.

This is called a scope screen setup where the height is always the same size in case you didn't know.

Yes, I have a CIH (Constant Image Height) setup now and will have the same setup with the next build.

I like the idea of the picture getting larger for when I have a 2.40 movie so that is the route I am going.

Me too, especially since 90% of what I watch is in scope format. It will still offer a huge 16:9 screen though.

They are out of stock for the XD AT screen but it will be in by the end of the month. I am expecting my screen around the first week of july. If you want to get your screen soon, you might want to place the order soon so you are at the top of the list.

Good to know. I'll finalize my decision likely today and give them a call.

The grommets are the expensive way.

WakeJunkie used some sort of track with his setup (can't remember now what it's called). I'm sure we will likely use the same track for my build. If not, Grommets would be preferred. Allows more flexibility in the future if I ever have to disassemble the frame to build a new one.

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I just measured....

Paper Test Screen is 102" (8.5') from my eyes and is 48" (4') from the front wall.

The new screen will need to be at least 33" off the front wall to allow for proper toe in of the LaScalas so the paper test screen is quite a bit closer than the new screen will be.

I'm headed to the HT to dismount the projector. I picked up the 30' HDMI cable from work this morning so I can easily move the projector to different throw distances.

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What is the viewing distance? It seems like it may be too big when you're sitting in the first row.

The temporary wall is 8.5" viewing distance which is about a foot closer than the permanent screen will be. It was difficult trying to hang the paper screen across a 13' room with no middle support for the screen.

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The front row seating distance can be an issue, my setup is adjusted for the second row to look great, the front row is a little close and it is only about 4 feet closer.

I am sure new projection equipment is going to be better but we get the screen door problem in the front row but not in the back. LCD 720 just to give a reference point. It was pretty darn good when it was bought but the market has moved on from then.

My screen is 120 16x9. At first I thought the letterboxing may be an issue but a long time ago we stopped thinking about it. The HT gets about 75/25 movies to TV, sports mostly, football to be specific. The sound image is also balanced around "my" seat in the second row. I am on a 12" riser which puts head level just at the lower 1/3 of the screen.

We would have gone bigger but this setup pretty much maxed out our space when you add in speakers (now we have Cornwalls, used to be Quartets)

Our viewing distance to the rear row is about 12 feet and it is comfortable. The front row is a little close for my comfort at 8 feet. It is very tempting to go as big as possible but really do pay attention to the charts for viewing distance VS screen size. From our setup anyway, they prove to be accurate.

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I think with 1080p you will be fine as the newer projectors don't seem to have the screendoor effect as much anymore. What I would do is make the 2nd row your MLP and let the kids or people that really want to be immersed in the movie sit in the front row. When we watch movies at 12 feet from our screen... We always have people that sit on the floor to watch the movie in front of us (this puts them at about 8' from a 134" 16x9 screen.

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I was asking your viewing distance, because I just decided to buy a 150" screen. I have plenty of room to move further back, but I'm currently about 13 - 14 feet from the screen where it is comfortable. I'm currently building out the basement as a space where I can continue to hold house concerts, so I built a stage and will probably have walls on each side where some acoustic fabric will hide the speakers. I built them around the University speakers, so I will have enough space for any speakers I may find down the road. I'm on a budget so I didn't get an acoustic transparent screen. I wish I bought the short throw projector, because it is now above the first row and you can hear the fan.

IMG_23791.jpg

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On Friday night, I set the projector on two chairs and a barstool so that the front of the lens was at the edge of my door along the back wall. This is the distance it would take to pretty much fill the entire 13' width of the front wall. I watched a variety of content in 2.35:1 and really enjoyed the immersion. At 1080p, I did not see any pixelation nor did I see any screen door effect. Image was plenty bright enough and looked absolutely fantastic. The screen will be about 8" further away once it is built but the paper gave me a worst case scenario and it seemed fine.

I will be making a call on Monday to place my order on the 150" screen. Once we get it installed, if we feel it is a little too large, we can always mask down to a slightly smaller size.

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