Advice Please. Do I paint HT wall for screen or buy fixed screen?? Help....

[HDTVFREAK]

I am going to put up a 135" screen, but I don't want to pay the 700.00 price for a good fixed screen. Is there a specific Home Theatre Screen paint that will produce the quality for HD pictures as a HT fixed screen fabric??

I don't mind spending the 700.00 if it is truely that much better than screen paint. Just need to know from "more informed" people.

If so what is it? How much would it cost to paint a 135" sized screen.

How many coats?? Thanks!!

 

[jostenmeat]

135" at 16:9 is not exactly a tiny screen. Just how good is your light control, both ambient and reflected? Can your PJ really crank the lumens, especially if there is poor light control?

My area is half-bat-cave, and I still opted for high power screen, however, mine is bigger than 135".

I would definitely consider higher gain screens, aided by optical coating.

133" dalite HP is definitely obtainable at $700. Some say the cheapest way to have a fixed screen out of the material is to buy the pull down and then fix it. They say ordering only the material is more expensive. IIRC, I'm not sure they even offer a fixed version because they believe the fabric itself is rigid enough as it is. It can be very heavy; took three people to mount mine.

OTOH, I know someone who is a vendor of DaLite products, and he once offered to tell me what he gets the stuff for. He was saying something to the effect that most people don't have access to more accurate pricing.

Mine is a pulldown that never gets pulled up. I'm happy for now. Pic is pretty freakin' sweet.

 

[HDTVFREAK]

Ok

My HT room is in the basement with no windows. I have complete control of ambient light.

Room is 35 X 16.

Thanks

 

[jostenmeat]

How did you arrive at 135"? Is it because there's stuff in the way, and that's the largest you can fit? Or is because you actually were prudent enough to fire the pic at the blank wall in order to assess the situation?

Well, to start playing around with acoustics, you can try 38% room length. So, let's say that's from the back wall, that gives you 21.7 ft from the front wall. At said distance, 135" gives you 25.5 degrees, which is below SMPTE rec of 30, or THX rec of 36, and definitely below my preference at 42.

Just throwing that out there to see if you really are sure about your tastes as far as viewing angle.

What color is your floor? What color is your ceiling? What color are your sidewalls? What color is your back wall?

Where is the PJ to be placed? Ceiling mounted? How high is the ceiling?

What is your projector?

 

[Sherardp]

@135" screen I dont think paint is going to do the trick. Have you decided on the PJ yet? With that size screen youre going to need some screen gain to give that picture some depth and pop. I would also recommend the HP, Carada BW screen or Silverstar from Vutec. The HP and the Vutec will you well over 700 bucks and so will the Carada in that size screen. I suggest you shop around and look into those brands mentioned. Also perhaps you can use some of that space in the back for snack area etc. You have the room to go big, however you need to really up that budget for the screen size youre shooting for.

 

[HDTVFREAK]

Ok

I arrived at 135" because at my last house we used a Panny 1000U for outside viewing at night on the back covered patio and 135" was a good size.

We are building now and my HT room will be a dedicated room. The sidewalls are floor will be a dark maroon color or chocalate brown, back wall will be black, Ceiling will be black.

PJ will most likely be the new Panny 3000 that sells for 2,499.00

PJ will be ceiling mounted.

Ceiling will be 10ft on the Screen wall for about 16 ft and then I have a 15 inch riser for the remaining 20 ft to the back wall. The back area ceiling height will be apprx 8.5 ft.

Is 135" too big? I just want the biggest screen size of course that I can "appropriately" put in that room.

Thanks

 

[jostenmeat]

Great to hear that the light control is to be so excellent. I personally think 135" is too small in that room. There are even a lot of flat panel owners who have a more immersive viewing angle than say 25 degrees, however, you never stated what your seated distances might be. Are you thinking one row at 16ft, another say about 23 ft?

If you do two rows, make sure that the back row is not too close to the back wall where muddy bass will collect. In a room that long, there is no excuse not to give the back row at least several feet from the back wall.

I sit closer than 16' and I still went with 159".

Fire the pic at the blank wall first. This is always my best advice, IMO.

I'm not sure where Sherardp picked up that a 135" is to be well over $700. Mine was just a tad more, even with the unnecessary additions of CSR and custom ordered in black. HP is so affordable. However, if you use it, you really have to do your best in getting the PJ closer to viewers' heads. If you ceiling mount, please consider a longer pipe to be able to do so. A cool tip I picked up is using less extension of pipe when bulb is new, and extending the pipe as the bulb ages to create a more direct angle, and thereby increasing the retro-reflective gain to the viewers' eyes.

Its all been discussed, please use the search function for basic questions for starters. Cheers.

 

[BMXTRIX]

PJ will most likely be the new Panny 3000 that sells for 2,499.00

Please take some time to read reviews and check out the new Epson 6500UB which is reviewed most recently and compared directly to the Panny at ProjectorReviews.com I love my Panny, but the Epson seems to be a better/brighter model for the $$$.

Is 135" too big? I just want the biggest screen size of course that I can "appropriately" put in that room.

General THX specifications call for a screen WIDTH to be equal to .66x your 'middle seat' seating distance. So, if your 'middle seats' are at 15' then a 120" wide screen is to THX spec. That's about the diagonal you have stated you want (137").

But, if you have two rows - or three - and want something more immersive, you may want to go bigger. This is by far and away a homeowner decision, but it's good to start with a baseline understanding of how theaters do things.

For screen, I would not recommend that you paint the wall if you want best results. You can paint a solid surface which is less likely to crack, warp, or be uneven... but walls are rarely truly flat and can crack. It isn't a bad way to start off if you are on a budget and are doing the work yourself, but over the long term I would recommend that you look for a decent screen at the size you want.

Not only do they look great, if you do move, or happen to damage the material, you can pull the material off and replace it, or pack it up for shipping.