Screen size and suggestion on audio

[Mayurg]

Hi all.

I finally convinced my wife for a Home Theater in our basement. We have a small basement (Height is 6.5 ft) (Length is 22 ft) and (width is 18.5). I have attached the outline.
Since we have the entrance and a beam/column, we cannot do screen length wise. So we have use the 18.5 ft width for our screen /seating arrangement.

Can you guys suggest
#1. Can I put a 100 in screen for an 18 ft distance? or is it too big?
#2. Which screen would you recommend?
#3. Given my ceiling height, can I install dolby atmos or is it not recommended?
#4. Which speakers would you recommend?

I live in north NJ and have a total budget of $8K

Thx

 

[VonMagnum]

1> Yes. No it's not too big.
2> A fixed screen might work best for you. If not, I'd get a tensioned electric if you can fit it into your budget. I'm still kicking myself for not getting one when they were on ale last year.
3> I imagine most would say no dice, but my personal opinion is some Atmos height separation is still better than no Atmos at all. In ceiling would probably be best (one risks hitting your head with only a 6.5' height.). There's also the DTS Virtual X mode on many new receivers. It's quite effective, IMO without any height speakers, but sadly doesn't work with Atmos signals, limiting its usefulness (still definitely better than nothing, IMO as it upmixes DTS signals quite well in combination with Neural X and to be honest, Neural X upmixes often sound better than less aggressive Atmos mixes, IMO.
4> Speakers are a pretty subjective thing. I like PSB here, but Klipsch is pretty popular for home theater and reasonably priced.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Hi all.

..and hi to you!

#1. Can I put a 100 in screen for an 18 ft distance? or is it too big?

Typical screen size is about 10" to 12" of diagonal for each foot of viewing distance, with people tending to go larger (12") per foot of viewing distance. Screen size should be determined by viewing distance or space constraints. So, 100" is small (IMO), but with your limited ceiling height, you will have to roll with what works. I have links below to help you visualize your setup!

#2. Which screen would you recommend?

I would strongly recommend the Silver Ticket fixed frame screens in white, and I would strongly recommend a good coat of dark paint on the walls and ceiling to help make the image look really good. Maybe some dark carpet if you can.

#3. Given my ceiling height, can I install dolby atmos or is it not recommended?

I'm going to defer to others on this. In theory, most people think Atmos sounds good. If you are running cabling yourself, or need cabling run, then adding it isn't that much money. Don't go crazy on these effects speakers in terms of cost.

#4. Which speakers would you recommend?

You will have a lot of shopping to do here and a lot of research. Decent speakers and a very good subwoofer would always be the way to go. But, there are a 1,000 good models.

Video and audio are very different beasts, so I will stick with the projection answers.

For a projector, you will need one with lens shift so you can place it at the proper height and get the screen hit. You will want to consider the screen size and the lens to screen distance. If your projector is 18' wall to wall, then it's about 16.5' lens to screen. That's the throw distance. So, you need to use a calculator to determine what screen size you can hit from that distance. Projector Central has a good (the best) database to just search by.

Going up to 120" diagonal instead of 100", we get this as our search result with a 16.5' lens to screen throw distance and a price point under $3,000.
https://www.projectorcentral.com/projectors.cfm?g=1&hide=0&st=1&r=&br=&c=&w=&ar=16:9&db=&zr=&wt=&ltg=&ll=&mfg=&p=800&p=3000&wr=&dt=&t=&exp=1&hls=1&pjl=0&pjw=0&pjh=0&td=16.5&is=120&i=d&tr=&tr2=&oop=1&sort=pop&sz=15

On that list, the Epson 5040 or the Sony HW45ES may be the best looking models. I would also look for a JVC RS440/X590 projector as an option if you can find it at a good price. It will look better than anything on the list.

You can modify the search parameters to add/remove items, and if you have a question about a specific model, just ask. I know all the answers (ha ha).

Now, for the best projection calculator on the face of the earth...
http://www.reviewtranslations.com/projection_calculator_en.html

Select a make and model of projector, set your room size (or your theater space size) and drag and drop and move things around. Play with it! It's not perfect, but it works very well and can give you a very good idea of what placement will look like in your room.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I’ll agree with VonMagnum. Any atmos is better than none. But, be careful with the distances/angles, as I think with that low of a ceiling you could suffer from hot spotting if the speakers are too far apart. also, speakers with wide dispersion will help a lot with that. I used rsl c34e’s in my system but have seen tannoy IC with the concentric drivers recommended a lot too. I have never found amiable tweeters to be of much use, so IMO I would also consider moving the couch ahead some too. The bass in that cubby between the wall, and room will be crazy. And probably not in a good way. Moving the couch ahead would also leave some room behind the couch for 7/5.x.4. However going from 5 to 7ch bed isn’t as significant as going from x.x.2 to x.x.4.(IOW from 2 tops to 4).

Here’s some reading. Lol

https://www.dolby.com/us/en/technologies/dolby-atmos/dolby-atmos-home-theater-installation-guidelines.pdf

 

[mtrycrafts]

Welcome to AH.
Tough room with that low ceiling and going on the short side. I have a 114" screen at 13 ft sitting. But then I have a 10 ft ceiling.
Your projector will also come into the play how well it can project a good image that far. I would not like a projector on the ceiling in front of the sitting chair.
Also, with that low ceiling, screen height, your center speaker may be an issue as well.

 

[VonMagnum]

Do what I do; put three identical speakers under the screen. You can get an active mixer and raise the effective dialog height by feeding back some L/C/R into the height speakers along with the actual height output. My dialog now comes from just below the center-line of the screen. Height sounds are at the ceiling in the front. It might lose even more separation in the very front, but as long as it lines up with the screen, I personally think that's more important. He'd probably have to use shorter towers or bookshelf speakers than the ones I'm using, though (my ceiling is 8.5' and my screen is only a 92").