Anyone have a home theater?

[Jesse]

I been wanting a theater room for 15 years. So my wife let me convert the garage into a room. So now it looks like a large room with some lighting on a dimmer switch. That took me a couple years by myself. Now i finally bout a projector and will be here today! The screen size i want is about 150" however screens that large are out of my budget. Does any here have a projector and ever used it on a painted surface? I heard a flat white with a small about of grey mixed in will look as good as a screen.

[peejman]

I been wanting a theater room for 15 years. So my wife let me convert the garage into a room. So now it looks like a large room with some lighting on a dimmer switch. That took me a couple years by myself. Now i finally bout a projector and will be here today! The screen size i want is about 150" however screens that large are out of my budget. Does any here have a projector and ever used it on a painted surface? I heard a flat white with a small about of grey mixed in will look as good as a screen.

 

 

My sister and b-i-l have a theater room similar to yours, projector with 90" screen.  The trouble you'll have with a painted wall is that it's neither flat nor smooth.  The smooth can be fixed with lots of sanding.  The waviness of sheet rock will distort the image a bit. 

[MarkInNashville]

We have a projector on a wall at work - its about a 7' screen. We used Screen Goo (http://www.goosystemsglobal.com/) and around the edges it has a black felt border. They have a lot of information on their site. You can also google it: http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=projector+paint

 

Remember to use a UPS for the projector, you don't want to loose power while that bub is hot or you may destroy it!

[pitt2magic]

We painted the wall with screen paint and it turned out great. You can also buy border tape to outline the painted are that both makes the room look better and it also stopped any overbleed of light on the wall.  The paint is not cheap but cheaper than a big screen.  One thing to note is that the finish on your wall needs to me smooth.  Any imperfections in the finish(nail pops, dents or chips) will show up.   Wall prep is the vital step.

[2.ooohhh]

I used my projector on a painted surface at the last house since I didn't have a dedicated room at the time. At the new house I decided to try a screen from monoprice. It's a 110" 2.35:1 was under $500 shipped to my door. I can tell the difference in it and a much nicer nicer screen but I've yet to have a guest that can. (I used to install high end home theaters and home automation)  I'll get back in here and post more details after lunch for both the screen and the paint I mixed up to use at the last house.

 

 

[Jesse]

Thanks guys.2.ooohhh that would be great!

[NoBanStan]

I'd set up the projector first at the desired distance. then mark off the viewing area on the wall. Paint that marked area with projector paint and then construct yourself a border using something like a really nice black trim.

 

That would keep it looking nice and on a budget.

[RinTN]

IIRC, I went with the Parkland board and MUD paint discussed here...

 

http://www.avsforum.com/t/646534/diy-screen-faq-reference

[2.ooohhh]

You want to set the projector up for a screen, not the other way around.(nothing's worse than having to move the projector to make a small screen change) I would find a screen that I would want to be able to run in the future, get the size of it's viewable area and calculate my throw for the projector making sure I could produce the desired size image without overworking the projector.(projectors' lamps get dimmer over time so if you start out needing all your projector's brightness you may soon find yourself dissapointed in it's performance.)

 

You likely already have a good idea what you could run if you were to purchase a screen, I.E. don't paint based on a $3k Stewart screen if it won't ever be in the budget, choose a more affordable model from Elite screens, monoprice, ect. A screen is NOT the best place to spend large chunks of your budget for a theater. You may be happier with a painted screen than I was, but if I have a dedicated room I purchase a screen even if it's a just a cheap one.

 

If your ambient light is not under control or your projector is on the bright side for your space, I would go with a grey screen, if you have excellent light control(no windows) or need a little more from your projector then go with a white screen.

 

Here's my freshly assembled grey screen when I was doing my initial measurements for my room.

 

Edited February 27, 2013 by 2.ooohhh

[Jesse]

Thanks. I bought a short throw projector. Its gonna be about 7- 8 feet from wall. The room will be pitch dark once i block over the window.

Amazon has a blackout screen 125" for 40 bucks. But i have to build my own frame.

[2.ooohhh]

Thanks. I bought a short throw projector. Its gonna be about 7- 8 feet from wall. The room will be pitch dark once i block over the window.

Amazon has a blackout screen 125" for 40 bucks. But i have to build my own frame.

 

That is an excellent option if you're capable of building a frame! When we moved I looked back at all the hours I spent sanding/blocking/painting at the old house and figured out that even at $20 an hour I'd do better to just buy the $500 screen at the new house.  :surrender: