To recreate the excitement and involvement of a real movie theater, what size screen will I need?

As a rule, screen sizes of 50" are required, but as they say, "bigger is better," up to a point. We recommend screen sizes based on viewing distance, that is, how far from the screen will people sit? Our rule of thumb is to never sit closer than 1.5 times the screen diagonal away from the screen. It's better is to sit between 2 and 3 times the diagonal away. For example, let's say you plan to sit 12' from your screen. Dividing by 1.5 to find the largest size yields 8'. Dividing by 2 and 3 yields 6' and 4'. So we would recommend a screen at least 50" but less than 96". A larger screen means you can sit further away and more people can watch comfortably.

Broadly speaking, there are three types of video displays that work well for Home Theater: Plasma and LCD panels, ceiling mounted projectors, and rear projection sets (though rear projection TVs are rapidly becoming the dinosaurs of our industry). Virtually all of our dedicated Home Theater installations use ceiling mounted projectors and screens in the 80'-120" range, while media rooms (family rooms, great rooms, dens) employ flat panels in the 50" to 70" range.