I am going to be painting the theater room this weekend and need to know how important is a black walls and ceiling. I will have dark burgandy carpet and black absorption panels throughout. I just know that it will not be a favorite place for my wife If I paint it all black, but the standard for the best contrast is that type of room. I just wonder if that really pertains to CRT and LCOS more so than DLP. I was thinking either gray or burgandy as a substitute for black. All suggestion swelcome.

Thanks Joey

How about having black curtains that can be drawn to cover light walls?

How about that material they use for prescrip glasses that turn into sun glasses in daylight. Prob not available in a non gloss and cost a fortune. :p j/k I vote for a textured wall and a dark color. Curtains sound nice also.

...I just wonder if that really pertains to CRT and LCOS more so than DLP...

Thanks Joey
What leads you to believe that LCoS and CRT require different room colors and treatments than DLP? :confused:

"I just know that it will not be a favorite place for my wife If I paint it all black.." - I'm thinking all black.:)

Dark colors and 'flat' will look 'black' in a typical theater room when the lights at viewing levels. Keeps the wife happy and gives you the 'contrasty look' you crave. :)

Dark colors and 'flat' will look 'black' in a typical theater room when the lights at viewing levels.

Can we see an example of this for the thread?

Dark colors and 'flat' will look 'black' in a typical theater room when the lights at viewing levels. Keeps the wife happy and gives you the 'contrasty look' you crave. :)

If black is not an option (highly recommended for the ceiling especially near the screen, especially if the projector is ceiling mounted) a dark gray is better than a dark color, in terms of impact on the projected image. Color can impact the color balance of the image. But a dark color is still loads better than, say, a white ceiling, so you may have to choose the best compromise for your household.

Remember: The darkest black on the screen will be a combination of the darkest black the projector can produce PLUS all light reflected onto the screen from the walls, ceiling, etc. The darker the rest of the room (walls, floor, ceiling, furniture) the less light get's reflected onto the screen. It may not sound like much but it ca be quite substantial.

So if you have paid for a nice high contrast projector with good ANSI contrast, but the walls and floor and ceiling are not dark, it's like buying a great audio system and listening to it with a vacuum cleaner running in the room and making lots of noise that covers up the quality of the music you are listening too -- well,it's not that extreme, but that's the idea. You are effectively reducing the contrast and black level of the image by increasing the amount of light bouncing around in the room.

A different option, if you cannot get the room decorated in dark enough, is a directional gray screen -- ideally a Steward Firehawk, which can very effectively mitigate a less-than-ideal room.

I independently enhanced each of these as best I could.

http://home.mchsi.com/~author29/S4022504.JPG

http://home.mchsi.com/~author29/S4022506.JPG

Yes deffinitly do the ceiling dark. High Power screen helps also.

High Power screen helps also.

A High Power screen helps for a reason similar to a Firehawk -- due to its directionality.

However, they are differently directional: The High Power is retroreflective (aims it's light back to the light source, no matter what the angle) so it's best for a table mounted projector -- though many people use it other ways and like it.

The Firehawk is angularreflective (light bounces off it like a ball on a pool table bank shot) and is ideal for a projector mounted on the ceiling and people sitting on chairs.

Both focus rather than scatter their light -- with the High Power doing this even more. This helps keep the light from bouncing around the room off of light walls and objects, somewhat.

For me, a High Power was too bright for my room/projector but many people love that brightness. The upside to the High Power is that it is 1/5th the price of the Firehawk, and can be a pull-down screen, which can be helpful in getting spousal acceptance.

I am one to talk as my room is black and orange.:D The ceiling above the all black screenwall is a much lighter shade than what is on the orange and black acoustic treated walls. I will be posting pictures soon of the finished room which the colour combinations and the designs worked out amazingly. Of course the fellow forum members will be the best critics.:)

The projector definetly does iluminate the ceiling area more than I like but the 'wife' got her way in the end.

Dark grey would be a fantastic alternative to 'black' on the ceiling.