Home Theater Layout.?

Question

What should be the ideal height of installing a LCD TV if the eye level is at 42"? What should be the minimum distance of the left and right front speakers from the screen in an 5.1 system steup?

Answer 1

The formula for a big screen (which your TV starts to qualify for) is that the eye should be at about 1/3 of the way up the screen from the bottom ... in your case about 28" above floor level (42" - 14").. BUT this can be adjusted up or down depending on HOW you sit. For example, if you lay back on a couch or recliner the height may be better somewhat higher. The aim is to have the eye naturally fall about 1/3 of the way up the screen so that there is minimal need to move your head to see any part of the picture. Obviously this is more important if there is a really big screen ... 100" or more.

Speaker placement is also guided by similar rules. The links below provide details, but basically the front speakers should be placed 22-30 degrees to either side of a line drawn to the centre of the screen. Another guideline is separate the speakers by a distance equal to 85% of the viewing distance. In your case -- assuming a 10' viewing distance (eye to screen) -- this would mean the centre of the speaker would be about 30" to either side of the TV.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

You can get proper installation help from the
THX website. Although, I can give you some
direct help here from my personal experience...

Your TV should be centered within (plus or
minus) 20º from the height of your vision.
Your viewing position should be within 2-4
times the horizontal length of your TV (e.g.
42" TV should sit between 7-14 feet).

Your front speakers should be equidistant
from the side walls and either side of the TV
(no matter how far or how close). Basically
an equilateral triangle between the center
seating position and the center seating
position. Their musical center (i.e. usually at
the tweeter's height) should be at the same
level as your ear's listening position.

All other speakers should be at or angled to
(in height and at or just outside of width-wise)
the ear level of the outside seating positions.

Crutchfield also has good set-up procedures.

H a p p y
H o m e
T h e a t e r i n g !

Answer 3

As long as your television is as close to eye level as possible you should be fine. As for the speakers, you just need to find your sweet spot. That's where the sound waves from both speakers intersect. Put your speakers enough distance apart to make sure the sound intersects where you will be watching.

Also, most stereo receivers nowadays will let you enter the distance between the speakers and the size of the room on the receiver to give you optimal sound.