Gaming on a theater screen

[voltz]

Now I have a budget cinema next to me and one of the guys I was chatting with mentioned he tried using an xbone on of the projectors.  It wasn't as great just because the size alone made it so hard to keep track of all the action going on, but I keep thinking to myself this would be a pretty neat thing to try out if given the opportunity.  Now has anyone experienced doing this and does anyone know if it's possible to set something of a scheduled game session without having to rent a screen for it?

[Howard_Casto]

Get 3-5 inches from your tv screen.  There, you've just experienced it.  That is, unless you sit in the back, but at that point the relative size of the screen is about the same to your eye as if you were sitting at home watching tv. 

Galaxian theatre might work though.... but good luck finding a hi-res port of it. 

[voltz]

Get 3-5 inches from your tv screen.  There, you've just experienced it.

lol!

I've tried that with my 42in and honestly I didn't think I enjoyed seeing all the pixels so up close. 

[Howard_Casto]

You've got to remember a movie theatre has a huge screen and you can only output, at best, 1080p on a game console.

[shponglefan]

I haven't ever gamed in a proper theater, but I used to on my old HT setup (projector + ~100 inch screen).  It's admittedly pretty awesome to have a giant wall's worth of video game in front of you.

And despite what Howard may say, there is a perceptible difference between using a large HT screen versus merely sitting closer to one's TV (unless one has zero depth perception).

[ark_ader]

I have two projectors and the results are mixed.  Most of the time the consoles tend to display a good image, and you do incur some motion sickness especially with FPS.

Cinema screens are moot now as we can get the same results in the VR headsets.  I can play most PC games on my Samsung VR via Sideload VR and it looks like a cinema screen. 

Hope it doesn't make me cross eyed.   

[dkersten]

VR has correction for your eye's inability to focus on super near objects, and can give you the perception of more depth, where just getting close to a screen will NOT do.

With my glasses or contacts, I have 20/20 vision, and sitting 12.2 feet back from a 100" wide screen, I cannot see individual pixels in a 2k (1080p) on a still image, and when in motion, it is perfectly crisp and clear to me.  I could argue that almost 100% of people couldn't tell in a blind test (not blinded, lol, blind) the difference between 1080p and 4k in the same room with the same movie on a 100" screen, but that horse is already beat up pretty good.  Suffice it to say that if your eyes can pick out the difference between 80 pixels per inch and 160 pixels per inch on a moving screen 3 feet away, your vision is extraordinary and bordering on superhero status. 

HDR (high dynamic range) combined with 4k is another story, and by the end of the year HDR 4k screens will be in abundance even though it will still take a few years for content to catch up.  Personally, I am contemplating upping my screen to a 120" or maybe even a 2.35:1 screen at about 120" (which is a couple feet wider) while still using 1080p because I know I won't miss out on anything.

As for gaming, it isn't much different to game with a 32" at 2 feet than with a 100" at 12 feet or a 100 foot cinema screen at 80 feet back.  Get closer and you have to move your head too much to see the extent of the screen.  Get way too close and you have to focus differently from one point to another, and after a few minutes you will be dizzy, nauseous, your eyes will hurt, and you will probably be miserable. 

Now, plug in to a very well set up home theater sitting in the "sweet spot" with a 7,000 watt system powering the audio, and you will have an experience.  Playing an FPS might still get you sick after a little while, but it is so worth it... lol.  Anyone in Montana is welcome to come over and try it out for themselves...

[voltz]

I like the idea of taking the control stand off from one of those showcase cabinets and using that as a base for your setup in front of the big screen.  Get sum SF/MK action and call it the ultimate arcade experience!  (Coin op or free play, whichever you prefer.)