Projector Lamp: Three Easy Steps to Getting the Right Projector Screen Size

We’re going to take a guess, and say that you haven’t spent a whole lot of time worrying about how to pick the right projector screen size. If you have -- well done. Our hats are off to you. Take a bow. You’re the few, the proud.

Now for the rest of you, when you’re putting together a home theater, outfitting a boardroom or training room for work with a projector system, you probably need to find the right screen size for the room.

Officials of RichterScale have offered a helpful, simple guide to follow to give you the optimal projection screen size:

Do you see something called “Projector Native Resolution?” That lets you know which aspect ratio to select for your screen. What is the native resolution of the projector that you have? Look at the native resolution of the projector being used in the room. Most projectors nowadays will do both 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios. Go by the native aspect ratio in order to get the biggest and best picture.

Ceiling height. Yes, of course this matters. It lets you determine the screen height that will fit gracefully into a room, so be sure you know it. A screen should be at least one foot down from the ceiling and three feet up from the floor.

By the way, on ceiling height, RichterScale officials say, “This rule of thumb is for a maximum screen size. It is OK to go smaller. People tend to focus on what they can see in the center of their field of vision.”

Distance from screen to audience. What you need to take into consideration here is not those who like having their noses on the screen, but the people sitting farthest away, to determine minimum screen width: “A screen should be at least as wide as 1/6 of the distance between the screen and the viewer farthest from the screen.” For example if the back row of an auditorium is 48 feet away, company officials say, “then the width of the screen should be at least eight feet wide.” Get a friend who’s good at math to help you with that one.