The Size of the Audience should dictate the size of the screen.

Viewing Distances

4x / 6x / 8x rule: The Farthest viewer (FV) should be no more than four, six or eight times the screen height (SH) away from the screen. Selecting which multiplier to use is based on the media being shown.

• Four times is for material with fine details like CAD or other detailed graphics
• Six times is for detailed reading (spreadsheets or text with images)
• Eight times is for watching a movie or images

Regardless of screen size the nearest viewer (NV) should be at least 2 times the width of the image size.

This works for all video aspect ratios:

Equations:

• FV=xSH
• NV=2SH

The bottom of the screen should be at least 40" to 48" above the audience floor, allowing those seated in the rear of the audience to see the screen. Also it is preferable to keep the center of the screen no more than 20° above the eye level of any viewer.

Viewing Angle:

The maximum viewing angle typically is 45 degrees. Beyond that characters and image elements become dificult to read. Ideally, all viewers should be seated within 30° of the projection axis, and never more than 45° off axis.

Please note however that these are simply rules of thumb and in certain situations the application will demand that these rules be bent or broken. Riverview will work with you on your project to find out what the ideal set up should be for your event.