Quote Originally Posted by Geoffcin
So, is it 30 degrees or 40.04? Perhaps I'm missing something but the most "immersive cinematic experience” seems a little vague to me. How was that defined, or did a bunch of THX engineers just sit in a screening room and say; That's what looks coolest to us"
For Hometheater it is 36 degrees, for the theater it is 40.04. 30 degrees for SMPTE is for smaller theaters with screens that are a more moderate size than what we currently see in theaters now. 30 degrees is their minimum, and 36 is their maximum for larger theaters we currently have. They actually conducted individual tests over a period of 5 years using a large sample of viewers, and they also based their tests on a white that Fujitsu submitted to SMPTE a while ago.

It's pretty telling that their recommendation turns out to exactly match the 1 arc-minute standard used for calcualting 20/20 vision on a static chart.

For me I like the 30 degree rule better, but it would matter on the subject material. If it's a romantic comedy 3 degrees would be too much for me.
LOL, I get that last statement! I admit, if you are not used to looking at a screen with a 36 degree viewing angle, it would probably make me uncomfortable as well. But after 25 years of working on sound for film, I have gotten so used to it, that nothing else works for me.

Oh, and off topic; PS is getting a PM from me about his sig. It will be changed.
Thank you much for the resolution.