The theater room is starting!!!!

[William Lemmerhirt]

Hah hah my little bubba!!! Franco's great! Since the subs are put up until the theater is done he's loving life. He HATES my audio he will leave the room immeadietly once the subs go on. Poor guy I try to spoil him all day for when I'm jamming at night!

That’s too bad man. My cat loves to sit n listen with me. Is your pup young? Maybe he’ll come around?

 

[Danzilla31]

That’s too bad man. My cat loves to sit n listen with me. Is your pup young? Maybe he’ll come around?

Hah hah nah he's pretty set in his ways lol

 

[Danzilla31]

Always ask...
Why the Black Diamond screen? Have you seen this? Did you already buy it?
Also, just asking, why the Epson 6050 instead of a JVC RS540? They are both solid models, but the JVC is definitely a higher overall quality.

On the epson I had to compromise my family wanted an Epson I wanted a JVC I had to compromise on something lol
On the black diamond screen I just picked the best the installer was offering if you have better suggestions I'm totally open to ideas though I could always switch it out for something else

 

[BMXTRIX]

On the epson I had to compromise my family wanted an Epson I wanted a JVC I had to compromise on something

Not sure what you paid for the Epson, but I coulda hooked you up for a competitive price (maybe).

On the black diamond screen I just picked the best the installer was offering if you have better suggestions I'm totally open to ideas though I could always switch it out for something else

So, here's the deal...
All major manufacturers want you to use a white screen. Nobody wants you to use a ALR screen. Stewart, DaLite, and Draper all recommend their cinema grade white screens. My personal favorite may be the DaLite HD Progressive material in .9 or 1.1 gain. .9 if the room isn't properly treated and screen size supports it. 1.1 in a dark room.

ALR screens significantly impact image quality and are a band-aid for a VERY bad room. In a halfway decent room white screens should always be used. Always.

This is the screen surface page for DaLite...
https://www.legrandav.com/en/products/resultset?Da-Lite=Screen Surfaces

This surface was actually designed by Joe Kane who has some theater notoriety as a completely neutral screen and is extremely smooth with high dispersion for extremely high quality in the home theater environment. Since so few knew his name and maybe his 'rights' expired, they changed the name to HD Progressive.

That can be paired with their fixed frame screens of your choice.

 

[Danzilla31]

Not sure what you paid for the Epson, but I coulda hooked you up for a competitive price (maybe).


So, here's the deal...
All major manufacturers want you to use a white screen. Nobody wants you to use a ALR screen. Stewart, DaLite, and Draper all recommend their cinema grade white screens. My personal favorite may be the DaLite HD Progressive material in .9 or 1.1 gain. .9 if the room isn't properly treated and screen size supports it. 1.1 in a dark room.

ALR screens significantly impact image quality and are a band-aid for a VERY bad room. In a halfway decent room white screens should always be used. Always.

This is the screen surface page for DaLite...
https://www.legrandav.com/en/products/resultset?Da-Lite=Screen Surfaces

This surface was actually designed by Joe Kane who has some theater notoriety as a completely neutral screen and is extremely smooth with high dispersion for extremely high quality in the home theater environment. Since so few knew his name and maybe his 'rights' expired, they changed the name to HD Progressive.

That can be paired with their fixed frame screens of your choice.

Well shut I wished I would've none that about the epson! Lol

Okay the white screen is very very good to know since that room will have excellent light control. I'll have to get with the installer on that thanks for the heads up!

 

[BMXTRIX]

Be aware, that companies LOVE to sell ALR screens! There is high profit margin in it for them, and they talk a very good game, but it's BS. ALR screens are for sports bars, not for home theaters. That's probably my top recommendation for them, followed by board rooms with huge windows down one wall.

Home theaters, even ones setup in 'family room' locations, still should be using white, or maybe grey, screens. But, a good theater just demands a nice quality white screen. There is some argument to be made that even the cheap screens from SilverTicket are just fine for quality viewing, but I think that in a GOOD theater, the extra money spend on better material, like the HD Progressive, is certainly a worthwhile consideration.

Stewart is overkill in almost all setups in my experience. They pad pockets, but don't offer a huge jump in quality when you are starting with a standard screen in a normal home theater environment. Stewart has done very little with their materials in recent years, even with 4K pushing the market. It's just hit a point where good enough really is good enough.

 

[Danzilla31]

Be aware, that companies LOVE to sell ALR screens! There is high profit margin in it for them, and they talk a very good game, but it's BS. ALR screens are for sports bars, not for home theaters. That's probably my top recommendation for them, followed by board rooms with huge windows down one wall.

Home theaters, even ones setup in 'family room' locations, still should be using white, or maybe grey, screens. But, a good theater just demands a nice quality white screen. There is some argument to be made that even the cheap screens from SilverTicket are just fine for quality viewing, but I think that in a GOOD theater, the extra money spend on better material, like the HD Progressive, is certainly a worthwhile consideration.

Stewart is overkill in almost all setups in my experience. They pad pockets, but don't offer a huge jump in quality when you are starting with a standard screen in a normal home theater environment. Stewart has done very little with their materials in recent years, even with 4K pushing the market. It's just hit a point where good enough really is good enough.

So what would be your top 3 recommendations for me if I missed them earlier I apologize

 

[BMXTRIX]

So what would be your top 3 recommendations for me if I missed them earlier I apologize

If I were to recommend one screen, then it would be the DaLite Cinema Contour with the HD Progressive 1.1 material. Depending on seating distance, that would determine screen size. I would strongly recommend holding off on purchasing a screen until AFTER you have the projector. Then, sit down and watch a couple of movies and shows at different sizes then pick which screen size you like best.

Assuming a 133" diagonal, that's DaLite 39089V for the exact screen model that I'd recommend.
https://www.legrandav.com/products/da-lite/screens/fixed_frame_screens/cinema_contour?ScreenFormat=HDTV&Size=65 x 116&Surface={1AC5AE06-33D4-4055-9A33-45C8CE42155D}

That's not an inexpensive screen, but it's a very high quality design overall. The beveled frame is nice and robust, and the material is top shelf quality.

From Stewart, I would go with the Studio Tek 130 or 100 material depending on brightness needs and viewing angles. I lean towards screens with a bit of gain as it just helps images 'pop' more.

I think that is their Wallscreen Series with the STudio Tek 130 material:
https://www.stewartfilmscreen.com/en/screens/wallscreen-series
About $1,000 more than the DaLite...
https://www.abt.com/product/124999/Stewart-Filmscreen-White-StudioTek-130-G3-135-Standard-Solutions-Projection-Screen-007155135H.html

From there, I think we get into textured surfaces that aren't quite as good, but still look excellent. And you can drop pricing by $2,000 and get VERY good results from what is out there. The frame itself can be ridiculously inexpensive and the material just doesn't need to cost as much once the materials are more 'standard'.
So, going from an 'excellent' home theater to a 'very good' home theater, the screen is the biggest price drop, and I'm a fan of the Silver Ticket screens from Amazon.

Their standard white 135" screen rolls in for $340, shipped to your door. Will take a couple of hours to put together.
https://www.amazon.com/STR-16992-Silver-Ticket-Cinema-Projector/dp/B00DGW15NU/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=silver+ticket+screen&qid=1565715748&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFPMlBWQjZOQ0dJQ0cmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA1MTQwMzlPWVgzSjJBWEsxMUgmZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDI4MDY5OVZMOUpGMkUxT0dJJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1

That is the screen (smaller size) that I use for some of my projector testing. It hits a price point that is more in line with entry level setups but it still looks good enough for better projectors, especially in a good room.

 

[Danzilla31]

Day 4 all electrical has been done. They put in wiring for the sconces a subpanel is going in that will house 4 20 amp dedicated circuits each on their own line. Overkill I know but I'd rather have too much power then not enough

Plus next year I'm putting in 2 PC 4000's to go with my PB 4000's and all that extra power will come in handy for all 4 of those beasts!


The wiring on the floor is for the theater seats my pops had to get some buttshakers lol!

 

[Danzilla31]

Always ask...
Why the Black Diamond screen? Have you seen this? Did you already buy it?
Also, just asking, why the Epson 6050 instead of a JVC RS540? They are both solid models, but the JVC is definitely a higher overall quality.

Okay its gonna be tough talking my dad out of the black diamond screen he did a good job marketing that to us just the name sounds cool it's got .8 gain

One of his offers is the slate from screen innovations it also has .8 gain. I hear most customers prefer the slate over the diamond due to the issues you spoke off.

There both from screen innovations does screen innovations have a good white screen you'd recommend and what gain?

Thanks Dan

 

[Danzilla31]

The sub panels in


Sheetrocking should be next

 

[bigkrazy155]

Thanks for sharing Dan. This is a great thread!

 

[Danzilla31]

Thanks for sharing Dan. This is a great thread!

Thank all you guys for getting me this far. I'm hoping showing the day by day and step by step gives someone an idea of what it's gonna t9 take to convert a room prebuilt or give them better ideas from my learning process on how to do there's

 

[snakeeyes]

What are dimensions of the room?

 

[Danzilla31]

What are dimensions of the room?

18 ft wide 18 feet back until the wall begins to narrow on the right side I'd say 18 × 24 total even with the narrowing. Ceilings are 9ft high

 

[Danzilla31]

Day 5 sheetrocking and patching and mudding just about finished.

 

[Pogre]

Very cool. I'm stoked for you man. I love these threads.

 

[snakeeyes]

Day 5 sheetrocking and patching and mudding just about finished.
View attachment 30550View attachment 30551View attachment 30552View attachment 30553View attachment 30554

So those were the windows you sealed off? That’s a true man cave now!

 

[Danzilla31]

So those were the windows you sealed off? That’s a true man cave now!

Yes it is!!! Well it's getting there LOL

 

[BMXTRIX]

Okay its gonna be tough talking my dad out of the black diamond screen he did a good job marketing that to us just the name sounds cool it's got .8 gain

One of his offers is the slate from screen innovations it also has .8 gain. I hear most customers prefer the slate over the diamond due to the issues you spoke off.

There both from screen innovations does screen innovations have a good white screen you'd recommend and what gain?

I have seen both Slate and Black Diamond - NEITHER ARE FOR HOME THEATER! They are for sports bars. They can go into REALLY expensive family rooms where people must do something cool. But, neither should ever go into any respectable home theater.

The fact that a sales guy actually convinced you that these were a good purchase is an indicator that the sales guy doesn't actually have your best interest at heart and I would strongly look at every single other item he attempts to sell you with a critical eye. Likewise, if he sold you on the 6050 instead of the DLA790, then he sold you a higher profit margin over higher quality for a similar price.

SI offers only 6 front projection materials, compared to the dozen+ that DaLite and Stewart offer. But, their 'Unity' material sounds like the one which is the closest competitor to the ones I previously listed.
https://www.screeninnovations.com/materials/unity/

So, the Zero Edge Pro with the Unity material is listed at about $3,800...
https://www.projectorscreen.com/screen-innovations-zero-edge-pro-133-65x116-16-9-unity-zpt133ut.html

There is no doubt in my mind that I would go with DaLite over this model with the HD Progressive material.

One thing you can do is get screen samples from all the manufacturers to see which material produces the smoothest image you can hope for.

Be aware that typically if you get an ALR screen sample, you want to look for sparkling and an unevenness to the image. That's very hard to identify on a 6" square of material, but I see it every single time. Far worse when I go to shows or demo it live at full size. ALR screens have their place, the home theater is not that place.