Hi,

I currently have a Mitsubishi HC3000U in a very small 11'x10'x8' bedroom setup projecting to a 73" diagonal Draper Luma matte white screen. Throw distance is about 9.5'. I like the projector but find the contrast and black levels lacking at times. The walls of the room are a light blue color and the ceiling and closet doors are white (I'm attaching a picture at the bottom so you can see what color blue the walls are). I have total control of ambient light, as the room is sealed and I have blackout drapes over the one window, and most of my viewing is done at night anyway.

I've heard that light colored walls/ceilings can hurt contrast by reflecting light. I'm just wondering how drastic the difference would be if I were to repaint my walls and ceiling a darker color. Ideally, I'd paint it black, but it's a bedroom and I can't be that extreme. However, I wouldn't mind picking a significantly darker shade of blue for the walls/ceiling. My main question is, "is it worth it?" Do you think I will achieve a much better viewing experience, or would the difference be negligible? I obviously don't want to go through the work of painting my room if I won't benefit from it, but I'm just curious to know the opinions of those who have gone from light to dark colored walls/ceilings.

Thanks in advance,

Stephen

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg64/lalakersfan34/DSC01399.jpg


Incidentally, the picture makes the walls look a bit lighter than they actually are (I'm a terrible photographer), but they are a pretty light color.

I just converted a small bedroom to a media room (small scale here, nothing like the threads you see on the dedicated rooms forum!!) and I went with "Noble Grey". Its a great color, not black, but nice and deep.

My photo's suck as well btw!

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y258/morencyj/DSC01979.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y258/morencyj/DSC01982.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y258/morencyj/DSC01977.jpg

The biggest improvement would come by painting the ceiling flat black. Then the walls second.

Screen wall and ceiling would help a lot.

The answer is a big yes. It will make a huge improvement.

I think your walls are fine but painting the ceiling will make a huge difference. You don't have to paint the entire ceiling if you don't want to. The first few feet away from the screen are the most important.

Having just painted home office/theater, I'll just toss in my opinion that there is a noticeable difference, but it was less dramatic than I thought. Went from white every thing to medium-to-dark gray on walls and ceiling. The biggest difference I notice is the room itself is darker, I can see less around my room, and that helps with immersion a bit I suppose. I can't honestly say I've observed more shadow detail or more contrasty 3d images on screen.

That said, I'm glad I did it, as I take HT as a serious hobby, aside from some acoustic floor treatment, this was the last thing I had left to do. I am not unhappy with my present blacks/contrast as it is, HD1000u with 500-600h on the lamp.

Thanks for the responses so far. Keep 'em coming :).

I just converted a small bedroom to a media room (small scale here, nothing like the threads you see on the dedicated rooms forum!!) and I went with "Noble Grey". Its a great color, not black, but nice and deep.

Nice room. I think I'm going to stay in the deep blue palate but I must say that color looks sharp!

The biggest improvement would come by painting the ceiling flat black. Then the walls second.

I figured as much. I don't think I'm going to go with black though - do you think a dark flat blue would be beneficial or would it not be worth it?

Screen wall and ceiling would help a lot.

My thoughts exactly. Though I figured I'd might as well do the whole room.

The answer is a big yes. It will make a huge improvement.

That's what I figured. So you think even dark blue will be good, or will I need to go all the way to black?

I think your walls are fine but painting the ceiling will make a huge difference. You don't have to paint the entire ceiling if you don't want to. The first few feet away from the screen are the most important.

Interesting idea. I think painting part of the ceiling will look weird, though, so I'll do the whole thing. And I also think having the ceiling darker than the walls is a big odd too, so I figure I'll paint the whole room. I agree though; the general consensus is that the ceiling is most important.

Having just painted home office/theater, I'll just toss in my opinion that there is a noticeable difference, but it was less dramatic than I thought. Went from white every thing to medium-to-dark gray on walls and ceiling. The biggest difference I notice is the room itself is darker, I can see less around my room, and that helps with immersion a bit I suppose. I can't honestly say I've observed more shadow detail or more contrasty 3d images on screen.

That said, I'm glad I did it, as I take HT as a serious hobby, aside from some acoustic floor treatment, this was the last thing I had left to do. I am not unhappy with my present blacks/contrast as it is, HD1000u with 500-600h on the lamp.

Interesting. I'm not expecting miracles, but I am hoping for a noticeable improvement.


Again, thanks everyone. Feel free to pitch in more :).

It makes a huge difference. Paint the the screen wall and ceiling black. Your choice on side walls as long as there dark. A must for contrast. Black is bueatifull in a theater.

It makes a huge difference. Paint the the screen wall and ceiling black. Your choice on side walls as long as there dark. A must for contrast. Black is bueatifull in a theater.

Yes.....black is beautiful...grey aint bad either :)

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f71/spectramr2/DSCN0209.jpg


http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f71/spectramr2/DSCN0123.jpg

lalakersfan34 ,

It does not have to be black, any flat dark color will help to decrease light reflections from bouncing around the room (much of which find their way back to the screen ... washout). We used a dark chocolate brown for our room and it made a dramatic difference. Keep in mind the degree that this helps also has a lot to do with the PJ and the screen material in use. A fun way to do it is to start with the front wall and look at the difference, then progress through the room and check it, with each wall you should see a difference.

Best of Luck,
Jason

lalakersfan34 ,

It does not have to be black, any flat dark color will help to decrease light reflections from bouncing around the room (much of which find their way back to the screen ... washout). We used a dark chocolate brown for our room and it made a dramatic difference. Keep in mind the degree that this helps also has a lot to do with the PJ and the screen material in use. A fun way to do it is to start with the front wall and look at the difference, then progress through the room and check it, with each wall you should see a difference.

Best of Luck,
Jason

I was hoping you'd jump in and make a suggestion. I've always enjoyed reading your posts here on the Projector forum, as you're very knowledgeable and willing to help those of us who are somewhat new to projectors. As an added bonus, you've actually owned the HC3000 and seemed to really like the PJ, so you can give a better idea of how things might turn out.

After thinking a bit more I'm now considering doing the ceiling and front wall black, with the other three walls a nice dark blue. I'm still not sure how that will look, but the idea is definitely growing on me. Thanks again.

A similar thread in the over $3k and up PJ forum. I posted some shots you might get some ideas to try. Post #27

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16215102&posted=1#post16215102

A similar thread in the over $3k and up PJ forum. I posted some shots you might get some ideas to try. Post #27

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16215102&posted=1#post16215102

Awesome...thanks a lot!

I have a 12S4 set up in a room with light gray (nearly white) walls and white ceiling. I have a Planar 7130 set up in a room with flat black walls and ceiling. The 12S4 is a better projector, but the contrast is better using the 7130 in the black room. The darker room makes the colors pop more also.

Painting the walls dark makes a HUGE difference.

For my Christmas gift, my wife let me paint the theater room front third all black, front, sides and ceiling. I used "mouse ears" flat black from the Home Depot Disney paint collection.

I wish I did it when I moved into the house 3 years ago! You feel like you are INSIDE THE MOVIE because you aren't distracted by the room walls being visible. I guess what I am trying to say is that you are sucked into the movie more easily.

Do it, you won't regret it.

Thanks guys, I'm sold. Not sure when I'll have time to get around to it, but it's a "when," not an "if" now. I'm looking forward to it!

I just paint my whole home theater room dark grey and the difference was worth it. I don't know if that's my mind playing tricks on me, but I see better shadow and contrast on my movies ( specially on high def ). I have only one question : Can I have more contrast if I paint my DIY screen ? My screen is white by the way but not full white ( if that makes sense ).

bump

Can I have more contrast if I paint my DIY screen ? My screen is white by the way but not full white ( if that makes sense ).


i havent done it, but there are many different paint formulas to try based on veiwing environment. best to ask this in the DIY screen section though.

As someone who has had a home theater in a regular white or beige room, as well as a medium brown & medium grey room, I say absolutely go with the darker colored walls. It's just a huge difference in the viewing experience.
Also get a large medium or dark colored throw rug for the area in front of the screen.

Also try to use as much black velvet on your screen wall as possible.

Don't go too dark on wall & ceilng colors though. You want to be able to see when the lights are on.

Just an update to anyone who might care. I just finished repainting my room today. Now, instead of white ceilings and very light blue walls, I have really dark blue walls and ceiling (the color is called "deep space") and black trim and woodwork. I haven't had time to do much, but I popped in Transformers on Blu-ray and the difference is absolutely huge. I always liked the large size of the image my Mitsubishi HC3000 threw but the picture itself never truly wowed me. Well, all that has changed. No more washed out, dull colors. No more weak contrast and gray blacks during bright scenes. There's so much more pop, the colors are more vivid, and blacks are much deeper now. Thanks everyone for your input. It truly has brought my PJ to life :).