 |
Like with many things, the size of screen you choose will be at least
somewhat influenced by your personal taste. Having said that, using a
screen that is simply too large for the viewing room is one of the most
common and easy-to-make mistakes made in home theatre design.
We'd like to sell you the largest screen you need but we also want you
to be happy with it so please read on to see if we can help you choose
a screen size that will suit you best.
A very good starting point for screen size is a screen with a width roughly one half of the viewing distance.
Although this flies in the face of the "if some is good, more is better" philosophy - here are a number of reasons why it might be a good idea to buy less from us!
Sitting too close to an enlarged digital image is going to make visual artefacts look very obvious. e.g. the "screen door" effect on low resolution projectors, compression artefacts from poorly authored DVDs, "stair stepping" on strong diagonal lines etc... Putting a little distance between you and the image can put these minor blemishes back into perspective and keep you watching the show instead of concentrating on the visual distortions.
Too big a picture will simply be uncomfortable to watch over time. It might seem ok, even impressive for short periods but after a couple of hours of moving your eyes back and forth it can become very tiring. An appropriately-sized picture will still be visually impressive and yet you’ll be able to watch the whole show in comfort.
As image size increases, image brightness decreases rapidly. By controlling your screen size to an appropriate level, you can be assured that you’re not trading off too much of your projector’s brightness to achieve a good picture. Reducing your screen size to an appropriate level can let you use a lower lamp power setting (if your projector supports such a mode) and save you money.
Whilst we're on the subject of positioning screens, try to have their viewing height such that your viewers eyes have to look no more than 15 degrees from horizontal to gaze upon the centre of the screen. Forcing viewers to look upwards or downwards to focus on the centre of your screen will become tiresome over time and degrade the viewing experience.
It (possibly) goes without saying your screen should also be positioned to minimise ambient light falling upon it. This light will 'wash out' your picture rapidly as the supposedly 'dark' areas of the displayed image become inadvertently illuminated by your window/door/fishtank etc. Darker is better with projected images.
A very good starting point for screen size is a screen with a width roughly one half of the viewing distance.
Although this flies in the face of the "if some is good, more is better" philosophy - here are a number of reasons why it might be a good idea to buy less from us!
Your picture can look better
Sitting too close to an enlarged digital image is going to make visual artefacts look very obvious. e.g. the "screen door" effect on low resolution projectors, compression artefacts from poorly authored DVDs, "stair stepping" on strong diagonal lines etc... Putting a little distance between you and the image can put these minor blemishes back into perspective and keep you watching the show instead of concentrating on the visual distortions.
It’s easier to watch
Too big a picture will simply be uncomfortable to watch over time. It might seem ok, even impressive for short periods but after a couple of hours of moving your eyes back and forth it can become very tiring. An appropriately-sized picture will still be visually impressive and yet you’ll be able to watch the whole show in comfort.
It will help your projector
As image size increases, image brightness decreases rapidly. By controlling your screen size to an appropriate level, you can be assured that you’re not trading off too much of your projector’s brightness to achieve a good picture. Reducing your screen size to an appropriate level can let you use a lower lamp power setting (if your projector supports such a mode) and save you money.
Whilst we're on the subject of positioning screens, try to have their viewing height such that your viewers eyes have to look no more than 15 degrees from horizontal to gaze upon the centre of the screen. Forcing viewers to look upwards or downwards to focus on the centre of your screen will become tiresome over time and degrade the viewing experience.
It (possibly) goes without saying your screen should also be positioned to minimise ambient light falling upon it. This light will 'wash out' your picture rapidly as the supposedly 'dark' areas of the displayed image become inadvertently illuminated by your window/door/fishtank etc. Darker is better with projected images.
