Hey I'm newly registered here but I've been reading around for a couple days soaking in information. Anyways heres my deal.

I'm converting an unfinished (completely cement) basement into a multi-purpose theater/band room. I've got the layout how I like it and based off what I've read in the forums it will sound good.

Being a theater and band room, my first question is about acoustics. I hope to do some amateur sound recording, which paired with the theater will require some decent acoustic materials to cut down echo and such. I plan on using single insulation with a 2x4-based frame for the walls. So I assume I will need some sort of fabric pads like I've seen in other peoples theaters.

My next question is what to use for screen paint. I plan on painting the walls with a matte black paint to eliminate light reflection. I'm trying to save money wherever I can so I plan on painting on my screen instead of buying a fabric or other material. The projector I have is a Mitsubishi HD1000U. I plan to set it up with a 14.5' throw distance to create a 100" screen. I'm just wondering if a plain old non-reflective white paint will work? Or do I need a fancy kind of paint? Like I said I'm trying to pinch pennies wherever I can so the best quality for the least money is what I hope for.

I appreciate the help in advanced, if you need any more info just let me know THANKS! :)

*EDIT* Just on a side note I'm not looking to make the top-of-the-line home theater, just a nice budget theater that makes my HD-DVD's look awesome.

*Edit* Heres my crappy MS Word render of my basement. The only walled off area is the storage area, everywhere else is all open, thus acoustics may be an issue. The light blue line on the right is my screen, the red squares are the speaker placements, and the purple square is the AV rack.

Also just on another note the theater area will have a black sealing (I look forward to painting that, it sounds like fun haha) and either black walls or a dark-crimson. For the rest of the basement I have no ideas for paint so any suggestions would be super.

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s112/marclaliberte/Basementmodel.jpg

Try the do it yourself screen section for paint formulas
You really need to spend a fair amount of time reading here before you do too much else.

Ok thank you, i must have missed the DIY Screen forum when searching through them hahaha :p .

If a 100" screen is what you're looking for, try getting a DoAble board from Home Depot if they stock it in your area. They cost about $15 and apparently make awesome screens.

I'm going with a Designer White laminate screen cause they let you do up to a 128" (or something like that) screen.

As Mccall said, though, it would be well worth your time to spend some good quality time in the DIY screen section. I bounce back and forth between here and there.

You also might be able to find a used drop down screen off ebay or craigslist. The paint option isnt bad, but you have to be careful to apply it correctly or you will notice it when you watch movies.

I'd also recommend getting the pj setup and projecting an image onto the blank wall. You might decide that you want to go bigger/smaller after seeing it. If you dont have the pj yet, always go bigger. Its easier to mask something down than to try and expand it.

I have an unused dropdown screen sitting in my basement if you're interested in going that route...

-drin

You couldalso look do research on this site for Wilsonart laminate screen info (countertop laminate) for your screen and OC703 for the acoustic panels.

Ya I slept on it last night and I was thinking about going the inexpensive-board route instead of painting. I hear Poly-wall is good and I know my local Home Depot as that. I don't know about Do-able but according to the F.A.Q. topic in the DIY screen forum it should be available in washington. As for acoustic panels I've been looking around and OC-703 is sounding expensive. "Mineral Wool" has been used as a replacement by many people I wonder If that would be usable by me. I'll see what I can do about posting a floor plan of the room.

I am not sure where you are located but in many cases real mineral wool is as expensive or close to the cost of the 703 or Linacoustic.

Updated the original post with my render of my basement. I apologize if it's to confusing I did the best I can haha.

Will there be any seating in the yellow section of your diagram? If so, I think the 100" screen is going to be too big. I had a 100" screen in a 11'6" wide room and my 1st row of seating was ~12' back (in your diagram the Home Theater section is only 12' deep). Also, where were you planning on having your speakers, and what type were you going for (inwall, floor standing)? If your mains are towers they will be forced to the side walls which is not ideal. Also where will your projector be and what is the throw on it? Can it throw a 100" image in under 12'? Or will it be in the "Band area" section? Just some things to think about. Here are a couple of pictures of my old theater to give you an idea of what a 100" screen looks in a similar sized (width) room. Good luck!

-Jason

http://img1.putfile.com/thumb/2/5620212732.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=4868115) http://img1.putfile.com/thumb/2/5620212672.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=4868114)

Thanks for the pictures. My PJ is a Mitsubishi HD1000U. I used an online calculator I found that told me to get a 100" diagonal screen my throw distance is 14.5 feet. It's going to be ceiling mounted so I honestly dont give a dang wherever I end up putting it. I wanted to put my seating 10-12 feet from the screen with room for people to sit on the floor in front. That being the case, is a 100" screen excessive? Since I have not even started framing the walls in my basement (its just solid concrete right now) I have no way of testing this.

Also the speakers are going to be wall mounted with the two front ones 3' high ad the center speaker directly under the screen at around 2.5' high. The rear speakers can either be wall or ceiling mounted depending on their location.

As stated before I'm not trying to get the absolute perfect looking and sounding HT. I just want something that doesn't look or sound like crap. I'm trying to keep my budget for all the various components, such as the projector, receaver/amp, screen, any acoustic panneling, and speakers, under $3,000. The lower the cost the better but if need be I'll go over.

*edit* Also if worst comes to worst I can always extend the north wall of the "theater area" into the "band area" for better speaker placement. I plan on using IR repeaters too so I don't need my AV rack to be in line of sight.

*second edit* after researching "optimum seating distances" for various sized screens I'm considering reducing my desired screen size to 80 inches. This would also account for such a narrow room. The throw distance will also be reduced to 11.5 feet for an 80 inch screen.

I am not sure where you are located but in many cases real mineral wool is as expensive or close to the cost of the 703 or Linacoustic.

Considering the cost being the same, what would be the better material to use? I know the OC will have the itchiness, so that may be a con in terms of working with it.

First I have to say that 100" screen looks small to me. I have a 120"wide 2.35:1 aspect screen and seating 9.5 and 12.5' back and it is NOT too big by any means.

as to the question of rock wool vs OC, I believe you would be OK with either one all things being equal. Rock wool is not without itchiness by the way.
use it in Hydroponics.

I just want to throw in my 2 cents as far as screen material is concerned. I did a lot of research in the DIY screen building section, and I was really leaning towards doing one of the laminate screens. What steered me away from that or the painted wall route had to do more with acoustics rather than video. I was worried about having a rather large highly reflective surface make up the majority of my front wall. I ended up building a screen using simple black out cloth, and plan on putting OC 703 behind it for some extra absorption.

The black out cloth is really inexpensive. I think it was $15 or $20 to cover a 106" wide screen. Where it gets a bit more expensive is in building the frame. But I was still able to have an entire screen for under $150.