Q: I have an auditorium that is 100′ long. How do I determine the maximum seating distance?

The maximum seating distance will depend on the content being displayed. See below for an explanation.

– Video: The maximum viewing/seating distance cannot exceed 8x the height of the screen viewing area and the minimum seating distance cannot be closer than the width of the screen viewing area. This is known as the 1w8h rule.
– Computer Data: The maximum viewing/seating distance cannot exceed 6x the height of the screen viewing area and the minimum seating distance cannot be closer than the width of the screen viewing area. This is known as the 1w6h rule.

For example, if a 200″ diagonal 16:9 format which has a viewing area of 98″h x 174″w was going to be considered for this installation for video content, the 1w8h rule would be applied to determine if the screen is withing range. 98″ Height x 8 = 784″ / 12 (convert back to feet) = 65 feet. The maximum seating distance in this case would be sufficient for a room that is 100′ long.