Cinema Sizer.
— Cinema · SMPTE EG-18 · THX immersive · Dolby Atmos
The room, measured for cinema.
Geometry per SMPTE EG-18 (30° rear-seat horizontal angle) and THX recommendations (36° immersive). Room acoustics are a separate design pass. Conservative — final design re-modelled in CAD against the actual architecture.
Screen
136″
3.18 × 1.33 m · 2.39:1
Seating
16
4 rows × 4 per row
Immersive format
7.1.4
12 channels
Projector throw
5.7 m
1.8× screen width lens
A planning link that reopens this exact configuration — not a quote.
- rear-seat angle
- 30° horizontal — premium tier
- rows
- front row 2.05 m · back row 5.5 m · pitch 1.15 m
- rear-seat angle
- 30°
- front row
- 2.05 m → screen
- back row
- 5.5 m → screen
- row pitch
- 1.15 m
- atmos ceiling
- 7.1.4 fits 3 m ceiling
- side absorption
- 0.4 m
+ Model assumptions (6)− Model assumptions
Indicative — viewing-angle model is conservative-correct, but final design re-models the room in CAD with measured-on-site acoustics, projector throw verified against actual lens curves, and Atmos layout in EASE / Dolby Atmos Designer.
What changes this estimate
- CAD re-model against the actual architecture
- Measured-on-site acoustics (RT60, noise floor)
- Projector throw verified against actual lens curves
- Atmos layout in EASE / Dolby Atmos Designer
Engineering notes
Front-row horizontal viewing angle is 76° — inside the ~80° auditorium comfort limit this tool enforces, but beyond the ~60° front-row target in CEDIA/CTA-RP22. In a room this size, the front row trades comfort for seat count.
A planning link that reopens this exact configuration — not a quote.
AV · Cinema · Atmos
Room dimensions in, recommended cinema-grade screen size, seating layout, Dolby Atmos format and projector throw out. Reference / Premium / Media-room tiers.
- Tiers
- 3
- Atmos formats
- 7.2.4 → 11.2.8
- Standard
- SMPTE · THX
- Calibration
- HAA L1
Operationally sensible ecosystem
Brands grouped by engineering role — not random logos.
Cinema processing
Atmos / DTS:X / Auro-3D processors
- Marantz AV10Reference Marantz processor
- Anthem AVMCalibration-first processor
Loudspeakers
LCR / surround / overhead arrays
- KEF ReferenceAudiophile-grade home cinema
- JBL SynthesisPro-cinema lineage for residential
- Sonance ReferenceArchitectural reference series
Projection
4K laser projectors + screens
- Sony VPL-XWNative 4K SXRD laser
- JVC DLANative 4K DLP laser, HDR-strong
- Stewart FilmscreenCustom-fit reference screen
· Starting configurations
Typology presets — pick a scenario, see the calculator.
Each preset opens a curated configuration page with the engineering reasoning behind the numbers. Then the calculator loads with the same inputs — change them and the URL stays shareable.
· Engineering advisory · Cinema Sizer
What the sizer tells you about the room.
Screen diagonal and Atmos format are the headline numbers, but the four notes below frame what the answer predicts about acoustic envelope, build coordination and lifecycle once the room is in regular use.
Deployment observations
- Reference tier rooms demand sealed room-in-room construction, full bass-trap and broadband acoustic treatment, and HAA Level 1 calibration on handover — the build cost premium over Premium tier is structural, not equipment-driven, and is set on day one of the architectural drawings.
- Premium tier rooms read as the same family on calibration but lighten the build envelope — single-skin partitions with acoustic damping rather than full room-in-room, and a tighter equipment stack. Specify against the surrounding programme: if the room is below a bedroom, the build envelope rises one tier regardless of audio budget.
- Media rooms accept daylight and surrounding programme noise, so the calibration target is recommended audience-position SPL rather than mastering-room neutrality. The Atmos format scales down to 7.2.4 or below; the speakers are chosen for sensitivity to compensate for the imperfect envelope.
Environmental considerations
- Subwoofer placement is dictated by room mode response, not aesthetic symmetry. Two corner-loaded subwoofers across the long wall typically beat four wall-distributed subs in a rectangular room; this is measurement-driven, not catalogue-driven. The sizer assumes a measurement step at calibration.
- Cross-aisle null cancellation kills bass response at specific seats — the sizer's recommended seat-to-screen ratio avoids the obvious offenders, but the actual measurement at commissioning is the source of truth, not the layout drawing.
Operational notes
- Calibration drifts over six to eight years as compression drivers fatigue and ceiling absorbers settle. The annual operations note is a five-minute pink-noise sweep against the original calibration file — anything beyond ±1.5 dB triggers a half-day recalibration before it becomes audible to the audience.
- Projector lamp / laser-light source hours are the day-two metric the operator must track; a 20,000-hour laser source is two cinema lifetimes at typical home use, and an HMI lamp is a 2,500-hour consumable. Specify the projector class against the operating schedule the household actually keeps.
Lifecycle implications
- Reference and Premium tier acoustic treatment is infrastructure-grade — twenty-plus year lifespan if humidity is controlled. The compression drivers, subwoofer amplifiers and projector are the consumables; budget the refresh at six to eight years for drivers and four to six for the projector light engine.
- Atmos format upgrades (7.2.4 → 9.2.6 → 11.2.8) ride the original ceiling and side-wall cable plant if Cat6A is pulled to every speaker position at first install. Cabling once is cheap; pulling ceiling tiles a second time to rewire is the avoidable scope creep.
Verification status: Conditional engineering model — assumptions stated · Adversarially verified and regression-guarded · reviewed 2026-08-30
· Engineering notes
How to read this tool’s output
Stage 1 (brief) or stage 2 (survey). Use during early-stage scoping to validate cinema room dimensions before the first treatment specification.
The assumptions, limits and reference architectures behind this
What an engineer should know
The assumptions behind the numbers this tool produces.
- Room dimensions in — recommended screen size, seat layout and Atmos format out, across Reference / Premium / Media-room tiers. It computes no budget; costing follows scope review.
- Sized from the room geometry: screen width follows the rear-row viewing angle, rows follow usable depth, and the Atmos format follows ceiling height and seat count.
When this tool is the right one
The project moments and room types this is built for.
- Reference home cinema for premium residence.
- Hospitality media room for luxury suite.
What changes the answer in practice
Field conditions that move the result away from the planning figure.
- Ceiling height limits speaker geometry — 9.1.6 needs minimum 3.0 m ceiling at the listening position.
- HVAC silencer paths are part of the cinema envelope.
Defensible starting architectures
Vendor-neutral reference points, not a recommendation to buy — the right answer is the one that survives your site survey.
- 9.1.6 Trinnov + JBL Synthesis reference room for ≥ 16' × 12' dedicated dark room; 5.1 media-room for smaller rooms with ambient light.
Common mistakes
Failure patterns we see on real projects.
- Sizing Atmos in a room that hasn't been acoustically isolated — the speaker count cannot fix a poor envelope.
- Treating the recommended screen as the maximum — viewing distance and screen height jointly govern.
How this lands against adjacent systems
What else has to be agreed before this output is safe to build to.
- Pairs with the RT60 calculator for acoustic-treatment area sizing and with the Cinema Scenes interactive for source-scene programming preview.
What this tool does not do
Deliberate limits — where the estimate stops and design begins.
- Does not commit to a screen brand — Sony, JVC, Barco and BenQ all serve the brief at different brightness and contrast points.
Where this tool fits
The building types this output is calibrated for — and, where we have said so, the ones it is not.
Best suited for
The standards and technologies this touches
Reference pages for the protocols, standards and systems behind this tool’s output.
Compare the options ·
Home theatre AVR vs separates — processing and amplification· Example use
A 22 by 16 by 11 foot basement room comfortably seats nine across two rows for a Premium tier — a 130-inch projection screen, 7.2.4 Dolby Atmos, calibrated subwoofers, blackout treatment and a discreet equipment rack next door. The Reference tier in the same volume drops the seat count to seven, doubles the budget and earns a HAA Level 1 calibration on handover.
· Frequently asked
Cinema rooms —
what people ask first.
What separates Reference, Premium and Media-room?
Reference rooms run two-piece projection, isolated room-in-room construction, full acoustic treatment and HAA-calibrated audio — they sound the same as a mastering room. Premium uses the same stack at a tighter budget. Media-rooms are mixed-use spaces with cinema-grade audio but daylight tolerance.
Do I need a dedicated room?
For Reference and Premium, yes — a sealed, lightproof room with proper HVAC and acoustic isolation. For Media-room, no — we work with living rooms, lounges and family rooms, and the budget reflects it.
What about screen size — bigger is better?
Up to a point. The sizer caps the front row at an 80° total horizontal viewing angle — the auditorium comfort limit — and warns when the front row exceeds the stricter ~60° CEDIA/CTA-RP22 front-row target or SMPTE EG-18's 35° vertical bound. The back-row angle sets the screen size, so the last seat is never staring at a postage stamp; in small rooms the front row still trades comfort for seat count, and the tool says so instead of hiding it.
Atmos 7.2.4, 9.2.6, 11.2.8 — which one?
Room volume decides. 7.2.4 is the floor for Atmos certification; 9.2.6 is the comfortable ceiling for most premium rooms; 11.2.8 is reserved for large halls where the height channels need extra coverage. The sizer recommends per room, not per budget.
Do you do the build, or only the design?
Both. We design, supply, install, calibrate and hand over with a calibration report. We work with the architect's contractor for civil works and own everything from acoustic treatment inwards.
Engineering toolkit
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· Begin
Building a cinema
that has to sound right?
Send the room dimensions, the intended use and any drawings. We will write back with a tier recommendation within two working days; pricing follows a written estimate after review.