Audio Advice has developed a free interactive 3D projector throw distance calculator. The new tool provides consumers and home theater installers with the ideal projector placement to achieve optimal image brightness for varying screen sizes in their home theater designs.
The Projector Throw Distance Calculator allows a user to interactively change screen size, screen gain, and their chosen projector to calculate throw distance. Users can change any input and see the impact on the design. The tool uses projector-specific measurements from Audio Advice’s internal testing lab, thus providing a more accurate result than using marketing specifications that differ from brand to brand. The tool saves consumers and installers tremendous time by providing minimum, maximum, and ideal throw distance for any given room setup and projector. In addition, Audio Advice has tested the noise level of the projectors, which enables users of the tool to choose the right projector and find the right mounting location in their room to minimize noise to viewers.
“Consumers and installers know that brands use different standards for stating their lumens and other specifications, but most don’t have the resources to test so many projectors on their own,” says Scott Newnam, CEO of Audio Advice. “For instance, we’ve calculated the actual brightness of the projectors and measured the brightness drop as the projectors move farther away from the screen. What many people don’t know is that each projector has a different brightness loss as the projector moves farther away from the screen. By integrating this data into the tool and providing fan noise levels, consumers and installers can now rapidly find the ideal projector and projector location for their project.”
The tool even includes projector-specific horizontal and vertical offsets for situations where you need to place the projector off-center or potentially higher than normal. In real time, the tool produces a final brightness level that allows users to assess if their chosen projector works in their setup and is sufficient for HDR viewing.
For consumers and installers looking to design an entire theater, Audio Advice has simultaneously integrated the same projector data into its free patent-pending Home Theater Designer. Users can now quickly model an acoustically correct home theater system, including speaker, seating, and riser locations along with finding the ideal projector and projector position. Installers who have already designed a theater and just need to know the correct projector placement will use the Projector Throw Distance Calculator, whereas those designing a full system from scratch will use the Home Theater Designer.
Audio Advice offers an entire suite of free home theater design and education tools, including an extensive set of home theater buyer guides, how-to-videos, an inspiration gallery, videos of home theater installs, and more.
The Audio Advice Projector Throw Distance Calculator is live today and completely free to use.
For more information, visit www.AudioAdvice.com.