I would like advice on a big screen TV for church
We are making some updates to our small church. We have used a projector in the past, but it is a cheap one and it is not really clear and it does not always work reliably. Because of some changes we made, we would need a new screen in a new location. Thus, we are considering updating to a big screen TV since it has so many options for linking technology etc. We expect that the maintenance will be easier and that it will be much more user friendly.
We are looking at an 85-86" screen. Most of the people will be within about 35 ft or less of the screen (all of them could be closer if they did not sit or stand way in back). For those that have went this route, do you think we would be happy with that size in that distance? Are there any other concerns we should think about? Thank you for any advice.
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At my previous small church, we used a 90” TV in our fellowship hall. The usual crowd we had in there was around 60-80 people, and 35 feet sounds very close to the distance we had to the back (I didn’t measure it). Our fellowship hall was usually set up with long tables, placed horizontally to the front, with chairs on both sides. The people facing the table away from the podium would turn their chairs around when we weren’t specifically using the tables for eating, writing, etc. That size seems large on paper but didn’t really look that huge unless you were standing directly under it. Those in the back could easily read Powerpoint presentations on the screen.
We ran a long, shielded (in -wall rated), 8K compatible HDMI cable inside the wall to come out in the front of the room, with extra length. That wasn’t particularly cheap, but we never had any HDMI issues, so it was worth the expense, IMHO. It could be used with any computer, BD player, etc. We could also connect to the TV wirelessly for video. This was a few years ago, but for audio, we didn’t normally use the speakers in the TV. We set up a mini sound system, and we had an adapter cable that allowed connection to audio sources that would go from the source to our sound system and out to the room speakers, rather than the TV speakers. However, in a pinch, the TV speakers did work if for some reason the video source couldn’t go through our sound system.
Overall, compared to buying a high-quality 4K or even 1080p projector that was bright enough to be used in daylight conditions with good contrast, we thought the TV was a good solution for the room. In the sanctuary we did use a nice projector, but we decided the TV was a better solution for the fellowship hall, and we didn’t regret it whatsoever.
Dave Barnhart
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