couple questions regarding room setup

I am going to build a riser to have an extra row of seating in my home theater room and read that it should be 12" high. Now I only have a 47" rear projection t.v.(hope to upgrade within a year to much larger) And it needs to be raised also. I was told that the picture quality will change if I raise it because it was made to be viewed at the same level as the main viewer-but, I've seen them raised in several magazines etc...
How high should I raise it? I was thinking 6 inches to split the difference between the front and second row of seating (I'll check to see if I can see over the front seating). I figure I could re-calibrate the t.v. with my setup disk.
Also, my center channel speaker would then be about 18" higher than my left and right speakers. Would this be a big deal if it's tilted down? I also read it should be within 12" of the left and right. I just want to do it right the first time.
Thanks for the help.

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Originally Posted by hmmmm

I am going to build a riser to have an extra row of seating in my home theater room and read that it should be 12" high. Now I only have a 47" rear projection t.v.(hope to upgrade within a year to much larger) And it needs to be raised also. I was told that the picture quality will change if I raise it because it was made to be viewed at the same level as the main viewer-but, I've seen them raised in several magazines etc...
How high should I raise it? I was thinking 6 inches to split the difference between the front and second row of seating (I'll check to see if I can see over the front seating). I figure I could re-calibrate the t.v. with my setup disk.
Also, my center channel speaker would then be about 18" higher than my left and right speakers. Would this be a big deal if it's tilted down? I also read it should be within 12" of the left and right. I just want to do it right the first time.
Thanks for the help.

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Twelve inches is a lot of height to add. I haven't seen heights over 8" typically recommended, unless the front row chairs have very high backs or headrests, as it requires the addition of a stair that'll reduce usable seating space. The extra height (and height of high seats if used) can also be a problem because of the lack of ceiling height in most typical rooms and the blocking effect the extra height can have on rear channel sound to the front row viewers. Too much disparity in height can also, as you've noted, reduce the quality of the viewing by front and rear row viewers. I'd measure the height of your front row seating first (if you already have it). You may find a shorter riser to be fine.

A shorter riser would also help with your TV's viewing as there wouldn't be quite the height difference between your front and rear rows. How much you need may need to raise the TV will depend on two factors: how it looks at different heights and how often you'll have rear row viewers (you might want to skew the better viewing to the front if you can't get a good universal position). I'd put the seating in first then test your viewing by shimming your TV to different heights with plywood or 2x4s to see how things look.

Though it's better to have the fronts and centers aligned horizontally, it's by no means the norm. Again, a shorter riser height will help. It's best to have the tweeters aimed at your ears, so tilting the center down could help - as long as there's not something partially blocking the front baffle of the speaker like the shelf or TV it's on. If so, it's better to aim the speaker straight out even if it's higher.

"A shorter riser would also help with your TV's viewing as there wouldn't be quite the height difference between your front and rear rows. How much you need may need to raise the TV will depend on two factors: how it looks at different heights and how often you'll have rear row viewers (you might want to skew the better viewing to the front if you can't get a good universal position). I'd put the seating in first then test your viewing by shimming your TV to different heights with plywood or 2x4s to see how things look."

Thanks for the reply. I thought that 12" seemed pretty high. The seating is just a lazy boy reclining sofa and we were going to put another one behind it sometime soon. The back of the sofa is average height. Do you think a 6" riser would do or should I stick with 8? I'll definately use the 2 x 4's to adjust the t.v. after the riser is built.
Thanks again for the great advice.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hmmmm

I am going to build a riser to have an extra row of seating in my home theater room and read that it should be 12" high. Now I only have a 47" rear projection t.v.(hope to upgrade within a year to much larger) And it needs to be raised also. I was told that the picture quality will change if I raise it because it was made to be viewed at the same level as the main viewer-but, I've seen them raised in several magazines etc...
How high should I raise it? I was thinking 6 inches to split the difference between the front and second row of seating (I'll check to see if I can see over the front seating). I figure I could re-calibrate the t.v. with my setup disk.
Also, my center channel speaker would then be about 18" higher than my left and right speakers. Would this be a big deal if it's tilted down? I also read it should be within 12" of the left and right. I just want to do it right the first time.
Thanks for the help.

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But more a matter of angle. CRT rear projection TVs have big issues about off axis performance. If you raise it just a few inches it will change the angle, and reduce the brightness and contrast. The newer DLP technology has much better off axis performance.
When you decide to upgrade this is what I would recommend.

That's my main complaint about this t.v. Even more so than the size. We excersize in front of it and anytime you move, the picture gets brighter, darker, etc... It's annoying. It does look great in Hi Def when you're sitting still.
On a side note about DLP and size... Would a 60 or 65" TV be to large if the front seats are about 13' away?

My television sits on a twelve inch riser, so I can place my center speaker vertically like my L/R mains, and within inches of the same height(2" difference). One of the benefits of being on this riser is that I no longer have hot spots that are viewable from the sitting position. Brightness is seemingly even from top to bottom. I also have heard compliements that it make viewing more theatrical like. It also makes it easier if I wanted to add an extra row, to do so without having heads block the view of the t.v. I cannot see where is have been a detrimate to viewing at all raising the television this high.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hmmmm

Thanks for the reply. I thought that 12" seemed pretty high. The seating is just a lazy boy reclining sofa and we were going to put another one behind it sometime soon. The back of the sofa is average height. Do you think a 6" riser would do or should I stick with 8? I'll definately use the 2 x 4's to adjust the t.v. after the riser is built.
Thanks again for the great advice.

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Forgot to check back on your thread. My apologies. Given the problems with your TV, I'd try to stay with 6" if possible. If your sofa doesn't have a high back, it'll probably be fine (though you should measure the sofa's back and seat height). If you built the frame and bracing with 2x6 lumber and topped it with 1/2" plywood, you'd have one exactly 6" high. For a tad more height, you could use two layers of plywood. Be sure to use screws instead of nails to prevent the riser from creaking due to nails getting loose and backing out. Size the riser to leave you at least 3, but preferrably 4 feet of width for an access way.

As far as TV viewing distance is concerned, a typical rule of thumb fis to multiply the diaganol screen size by 2.5. With a 60" TV, that would work out to 12.5 feet. So your desired distance should be fine.