Here is a question I hope to get some help on from Home Theater mavens who are also good at math.
When I go to a movie theater, and I sit a "standard" distance(what is considered a "standard" distance - 60-75 feet perhaps?)from the screen, in the center of the theater, I perceive the screen to be a certain size. Now - here is the question: I have a 55-inch 16:9 TV in my home theater - at what distance must I sit from the TV to perceive the screen the same size as I perceive the screen in the movie theater?
Thanks for the help!
Bob

A common ratio is 3X, or a 55" TV says sitting 165" Away is not to bad, but then you have the crowd who must have an in home omnimax screen to feel like thaty have a big screen... 3X or 3:1 is not perfect, but it really works pretty well.. and that's To the eyeball not to the seat.. Not that eye would need to explain that.

I have a 51" in my Master Bed Room and I like to sit approx. 10 feet back. I hate to sit to close. I start to get the side to side eye fatigue trying to take in everything and get a headach also.

I have never heard of the 3X rule. Sounds good. I will have to try it.

Basically, you need to sit far enough away that you can't see the scan lines. If your RPTV is not an HDTV, you can easily see the scan lines from a couple feet. Back up til they smooth out.

With an HDTV in 1080 or progressive output, you can probably sit 4' away and not see lines. Distance matters much less for HD.

Thanks for the suggestions!
I do have an HD set, but probably use the HT for DVD's (480i resolution) more than anything else. I will try the "3x Rule" AND the "Lines of Resolution" technique.

All you need to do to figure out a viewing distance that gives you a theater view is a little math.

Next time you're at the theater, and a little early, walk up to the screen, counting the number of steps you took from your row to the screen. Let's pretend it took you 15 steps.

While you are at the screen, count the steps it takes you to walk from one side to the other. Lets pretend it took you 10 steps.

Now you've got a viewing ratio of 3/2. At home, measure your screen's width. Lets pretend it is 50 inches. 50 times 1.5 (3/2) is 75, and is the distance you should sit from your screen. 75 inches is 6'3", and not far from a TV. But you'll really have to sit that close to percieve the image as filling up your field of vision like it was at the movie theater.

It generally takes a projection system on a big screen to get close to movie-theater perception with a reasonable seated distance away. I'm cheap, so I just sit about 3 feet from my 29" TV when I want that feeling. ;-)

Dave

The 3x rule (as I understand it) is three times the picture HEIGHT, not the picture diagonal. I have an 85" digaonal screen and sit about 10 feet away. The height of that screen is about 40 inches. 3x40=120 (10 feet). 3x85=255 or about 21 feet, which would be way too far away!

Yes, and according to the current issue of The Perfect Vision magazine, the 3.2 x rule only applies to HD images. For Standard Def, the rule is 7.2 x the screen height!

Me, I like to watch as close as I feel comfortable with, which is a darn-site closer than the rules dictate. ... Mike

David B,
There's one problem with that. TVs are different technology than film. Perhaps if it's one of the new digital movie theaters it would work. Uh, that's digital picture, not sound. Film doesn't really have a lines of resolution problem, it just gets grainier the more you blow it up. With TVs you can see scan lines from the TV, not just artifacts from the picture itself.

Granted this is with standard television, but I've always used twice the width of the image.

If I use "twice the width of the image" as my guide, I wouldn't be able to put my La-Z-Boy chair in reclining position. My head would have to be less than 4 feet away from my 27" TV, and if you take the fact that I'm semi reclining, with my feet out, and that I'm 5'10" tall, it would be kind of difficult to get that close! I'd have to leave the foot rest part down and put my legs around the TV!!!

The proper viewing distance is no less than twice the diagonal of the screen. For you this would be 110" of no less than 9'.

Oh, Good... I did lousy at math, but I think even I can get this one: Sean: twice the diagonal of a 2&' screen 54", or 4.5 feet.... not "110 inches".

So a 21" set means you should sit about 3.5 feet away? Well, that would be nice, but I can't see it happening in most homes.

Gregorious....sounds kinky!!!

Larry

Hey, I know...

Sit as far back as you like!

Dave