What Size Home Projector Screen Should Be

Imagine buying and installing your projector and screen. You sit down and turn your projector on to enjoy your home theater but you are unable to find the right distance or angle to enjoy your home theater. You just might have chosen a screen size which is too small to enjoy your home theater to its fullest or you simply have too large of a screen to a point, that you start having headaches.

Selecting the right screen size can be a little tricky while setting up your home theater. You will find different calculations and calculators online to find the right size for your screen. It is not necessary they will work for you, as many of the screen size aspects vary from viewers to viewers. Also check out how to setup a home projector – Click Here.

There are many factors involved in choosing the right screen size. Like, how big is your wall, how far is your sitting arrangements, how many people will be viewing, etc. So for choosing the right screen size you should make sure you consider all these factors before finalizing your screen. The more knowledge on different aspects of visual experience will help you finalize your screen size.

Following are a few notes you should keep in mind while selecting the right screen size for your home theater setup:

Measuring Your Room

The first step while selecting the right screen size is by measuring the wall or the place where you are looking to install your projector screen. Make sure there is ample space for your desired screen to fit in. Measure the distance between your sitting position and where you will install your projector screen, this will give you a rough idea about how large your screen should be with accordance to your room.

Usually you will find around 100-120 inches diagonal screen sizes, which is popular and works well for 16:9 widescreen. But this can be subjective to your room size and sitting arrangements.

Check The Resolution And Aspect Ratio Of Your Projector

Your projector’s resolution plays an important part on your screen size. More resolutions mean more pixels on the screen. Choosing a large screen for a projector with low resolution will impact the quality and sharpness of your image. It will have to expand those limited pixels in a much larger screen which will reduce the quality of the image. So make sure you have the right combination of resolution and screen size. You will require high resolution projectors if you are planning for a big screen.

For choosing the right screen size you will also have to check your projectors native aspect ratio. Aspect ratio is ratio of the width to height of an image. Commonly, 16:10 widescreen, 16:9 widescreen and video format 4:3. 16:9 widescreen is the most common aspect ratio available for home theaters.

Different aspect ratios can bring a change in your experience and comfort levels; as it changes the height and width of the display on screen. You might not want a large screen for 4:3 as compared to 16:9 or 16:10.

Lumens And Its Effect On Screen Size

While selecting the screen size, you should also check the lumens of your projector. The brightness of a projector is measured in ANSI lumens. For home theaters you may require around 1000 to 3000 lumens projector, depending upon the ambient light and screen size. For every square-foot of screen surface you may require at least 80 lumens of projector intensity.

Vertical And Horizontal Viewing Angles

Let’s talk about vertical viewing angle first. Your screen size and placement should be arranged in a manner that the center of your screen should be placed in front of your eyes. Most of the action takes place in the center of your screen, this is the reason it is the starting point for calculating optimal height.

Most of the people find it comfortable when the optimal height is around 35 degrees. If you are trying to setup home theater for a larger audience make sure your screen size and position allows you to remain within the comfort level for all of your audience.

The other important factor to consider is the horizontal angles. Again, just like the vertical angles, make sure your size and position of screen is comfortable for viewers sitting on horizontal angles. The viewing angle or sweet spot is usually 40 degrees. Anyone sitting outside the 40 degree angle may feel discomfort. So your screen size and horizontal sitting arrangements should be balanced.

The Distance Between Your Sitting Arrangement And Your Screen

Although you can find many calculators online but you can never jump to a final or conclusive answer in this regard. The reason is because the perfect spot varies from person to person. You will need to find out the best possible solution which suits you or is generally comfortable for most of the viewers.

Your sitting arrangement will also give you an idea of how large your screen should be, you don’t want to install a small screen if your sitting arrangement is too far away from your screen or too big if your sitting arrangements is too close to your screen.

Make sure you are considering all viewers that would be on the farthest and closest seat to your screen if you have a bigger audience.

Finally

I hope the article helps you have a clearer picture on selecting the right size for your screen. Though many of the aspects are related to your own preferences and setup, but the idea is to give you an outline on the topic so it is much easier for you to buy the perfect screen size. You can also set an appointment with a professional if you are still uncertain about the right screen size. After spending money and time on your home theater you would want it to be as close to perfect as possible.