More Home Theater Space Planning
This page builds upon the previous one and outlines the follow-up steps and design considerations for this DIY home theater design. The steps discussed here focus on determining the room's general layout and seating positions.
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Primary Seat and Screen Size
Last Updated: 10/10/2024
Setting up the seating arrangement in a home theater can be an iterative process involving decisions about row placement, fitting in one or preferably two rows, and optimizing the field of view for each row. In this design, the primary seating position is determined to be in the back row, while the front row may require some compromises.
When designing a seating plan for this 13-foot by 17-foot home theater, several trade-offs are considered:
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Distance and Screen Size: A necessary trade-off exists between the distance from the screen and the screen's size to achieve a reasonably immersive viewing experience.
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Space for Speakers: The screen size also needs to account for space on either side for speakers, leading to an assumed screen width of 8 to 9 feet for this theater. (Note: Rooms that place the speakers behind an acoustically transparent screen would not have this concern.)
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Acoustic Properties: The acoustic properties of the seating location in the room are important. Ideally, seats should be positioned where the room's frequency response is relatively even or flat; this typically means avoiding spots adjacent to walls or near the center of the room. A position one-third or two-thirds of the room's length from the screen is usually a good choice.
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Practical Access: Practicality dictates that the row's location should not obstruct access to other seats in the room, requiring 2- to 3-foot-wide walkways around the seats, including one near the door and to one or both sides of any rows.
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In this room design, if a single row of seating is preferred, it could have been placed so that the viewer's eyes are approximately 11 feet from the screen. However, the primary row is adjusted to 12 feet from the screen to "squeeze in" a second row.
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Figure 1. Proposed Primary Seating Location
Another consideration is the listening area, which is the area of the room where listeners are to be positioned and expect a good audio experience. The red seats in Figure 1 indicate the listening area. A seat against the sidewall is not likely to result in great audio due to boundary effects caused by the wall.
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​Next, it should be confirmed whether there is enough space to add a row in front of the primary row.
More Seating - Second Row
Last Updated: 10/10/2024
After setting the first row's location, the second row must be positioned far enough in front of the primary row to allow both rows to recline without interference. This can be accomplished by placing the front row approximately 6 feet ahead of the primary row.
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The diagram to the right indicates the viewer's seating distance. The back row is intended to be about 12 feet from the screen, while the front row is planned to be 6 feet away.
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There is sufficient physical space for this arrangement, but a question remains whether the seating distance for the front row will provide a satisfactory viewing experience. Sitting too close to the screen can be uncomfortable, yet sitting too far can diminish the immersive "theater experience."
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An aspect of adding a second row is that the listening area (assuming we want good sound for the front row) is now expanded to encompass both the front row and most of the back row.
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To reach a final decision on this setup, evaluating the field of view from each row is prudent to confirm that the positioning will provide a good experience.
Figure 2. Placing the Front Row in The Room