How Far Should a Projector Be From the Screen? Throw Distance Chart

Place the projector at a distance equal to the throw ratio times the image width. For a 100" picture, that is roughly 9 to 10 feet (2.8 to 2.9 m) with the Zoomly Pro Elite or Pro Max. Bigger pictures need more distance, smaller ones less, so pick the screen size first and measure the room second.

What is throw ratio, and why does it decide distance?

Throw ratio describes how wide a picture a projector makes from a given distance. It is the distance from the lens to the screen divided by the width of the image.

A throw ratio of 1.25 means the projector sits 1.25 feet away for every foot of picture width. A lower ratio gives a bigger picture from the same spot. Projectors with a ratio of around 1.0 to 2.0 are called standard throw, and most home projectors fall in that range.

How do I calculate the distance?

The formula is short:

Distance = throw ratio x image width

Screens are described by their diagonal, so you first need the width. For a 16:9 picture, the width is the diagonal times 0.87. A 100" picture is therefore about 87" wide, or 7.3 ft.

With a throw ratio of 1.25, the distance is 1.25 x 7.3 ft, or about 9.1 ft (2.77 m). That matches the Pro Max figure in the table below.

What is the distance for each screen size?

Here are the official figures for both Zoomly models. The Pro Max has a throw ratio of exactly 1.25. The Pro Elite needs slightly less distance at 60" and 80", and slightly more from 100" up.

The 120" value for the Pro Elite is interpolated between the official 100" and 150" figures, so treat it as an approximation and leave a few inches of margin.

Worked example: a living room that is 12 feet deep

Say the projector sits on a shelf behind the sofa, 12 ft (3.7 m) from the screen wall. From the table, the Pro Max would give a picture of about 130" at that distance.

The Pro Elite at 12 ft gives about 125". If you want a smaller picture, you can move it closer. If the room is shorter than the table suggests, choose a smaller picture rather than forcing a fit.

Do zoom and keystone change the distance?

Zoom, on projectors that have it, lets you resize the picture a little without moving the projector. Check the model: not every projector has a zoom range, and a fixed lens means distance alone sets the size.

Keystone correction does not change how far away the projector needs to be. It only straightens the shape, and it can shrink the picture slightly. If you want to understand what it does, read What Is Auto Keystone?.

What if the room is small?

You have three options, and they can be combined.

• Choose a smaller picture. A 60" or 80" picture needs only 5 to 7 ft (1.6 to 2.2 m).
• Use a projector with a short minimum distance. The Pro Max works from 1 m (3.3 ft).
• Mount the projector on a shelf or bracket close to the wall opposite the screen, instead of behind the sofa. The distance is measured to the screen, not to where you sit.

The Pro Elite needs at least 1.5 to 2 m (5 to 6.5 ft) so its autofocus and auto keystone can calibrate. For a compact bedroom layout, see our bedroom projector setup guide.

Can a projector be too close or too far?

Too close, and the projector cannot focus or fit the picture. Too far, and the picture grows larger than your screen, and it also becomes dimmer, because the same light is spread over a bigger area.

Brightness drops as the picture grows, so a larger picture needs a darker room. If you plan a 120" picture, a 120" screen or a smooth wall in a dim room gives the best result.