I read that article with interest as well. I think the author was trying to put into layman's terms the concept of "how big is big enough" for front projector systems. Personally, I feel the answer is "it depends" - on many variables, including personal preference, which he alluded to in his article, but more importantly I think the choice of projector plays a crucial role in answering "how big"? the screen should be.
I have an Optoma H31, which is "only" a 480p DLP projector. Through research at projectorcentral.com and other reviews, I learned that for this model you need to sit back at least 1.75x the screen width for all pixellation and screendoor effect to disappear, so I based my decision to use a 92" diagonal 16x9 screen and it works great in my theater. At that screen size and sitting back about 12-13' it results in a seamless image that is truly compelling and you still get "3 1/2 fists" of immersion (hold you fist at arm's length and count how many widths you get across the screen) If you move up to 8 or 9', you the image is still watchable but it starts to look a little grainy. However, at the correct distance, in a darkened room, it looks like a giant plasma screen due to the excellent contrast ratio and deep black capability of the H31.
With the advent of 1080P projectors at real-world prices where pixelezation is much less of an issue, I suppose it's possible to sit "too close" where eyestrain could be an issue watching a feature length movie. I once sat too close to an IMAX movie screen and got a headache after 20 minutes -jz
I have an Optoma H31, which is "only" a 480p DLP projector. Through research at projectorcentral.com and other reviews, I learned that for this model you need to sit back at least 1.75x the screen width for all pixellation and screendoor effect to disappear, so I based my decision to use a 92" diagonal 16x9 screen and it works great in my theater. At that screen size and sitting back about 12-13' it results in a seamless image that is truly compelling and you still get "3 1/2 fists" of immersion (hold you fist at arm's length and count how many widths you get across the screen) If you move up to 8 or 9', you the image is still watchable but it starts to look a little grainy. However, at the correct distance, in a darkened room, it looks like a giant plasma screen due to the excellent contrast ratio and deep black capability of the H31.
With the advent of 1080P projectors at real-world prices where pixelezation is much less of an issue, I suppose it's possible to sit "too close" where eyestrain could be an issue watching a feature length movie. I once sat too close to an IMAX movie screen and got a headache after 20 minutes -jz