My name is Mit. I am lazy. I am a procrastinator. I hope my foolish story will help others.

Exhibit 1:

I purchased a gallon of flat black latex paint from Home Depot on March 2004. I know this because I have the receipt in the bag with the roller and brush I bought. Over the years I have read numerous posts from the wise members on this forum on the benefits of dark walls and masking. I am lazy. I am a procrastinator. Faced with the choice of spending quality time with my in-laws visiting for the Thanksgiving Holiday, or finally getting a task started - I reluctantly grabbed the brush.

The results are in the enclosed picture. The improvement is nothing less than dramatic. The preceived contrast between the dark black walls and the screen is simply amazing. When watching a movie the projected picture seems to float in air on the middle of the wall. There is nothing to distract you from watching the screen. It is like watching a 106" plasma.

Without a doubt the best "tweak" I have done to my theater. Total cost about $25.

Exhibit 2:

I purchased a Sony PS3 for the kids last Christmas. I promised my son he could play Madden on the big screen in HD. I know this because he reminds me all the time. My excuse was that I was too busy to run an HDMI cable from the equipment closet to the ceiling mounted projector. I am lazy. I am a procrastinator. Faced with the choice of spending quality time with my wife and family visiting for the Thanksgiving Holiday, or running off alone to get a task done - I sprinted off to the closest Best Buy.

$129 later for an overpriced 16' Monster HDMI cable (this thread isn't about cables) I was back in my theater room with a ladder, drill and determination. The results are nothing less than dramatic.

I spent hours downloading Blu-Ray movie trailers from the online Sony store and watching them in full 1080p glory. I can't believe how many times I uttered "wow" silently to myself. Why did I wait almost a year to hook this thing up? Why was I watching up-converted 480p content when a world of high-def movies was right in my theater room a cable away from reality?

I am lazy. I am a procrastinator.

The preceived contrast between the dark black walls and the screen is simply amazing.Not sure what works best for ceiling tiles, but you'll want to do some of those next.

Looks like a nice setup. We have dark walls (kind of dark grey-green) and decorative rugs as wall hangings. You might consider painting the rest of your (now white) walls a darker color too--it works.

The improvement is nothing less than dramatic. The preceived contrast between the dark black walls and the screen is simply amazing. When watching a movie the projected picture seems to float in air on the middle of the wall. There is nothing to distract you from watching the screen. It is like watching a 106" plasma.


Exactly why I plan on fully masking my projector screen, with dark surrounding the image. I also plan on making my L/C/R speakers (tastefully) wrapped in black velvet. I want all other visual cues to "disapper" once the lights are down , leaving only the image. It's killer once you get that effect.

Black surround is the best ever. It shuts down the pupil boosting the vissual dynamic contrast
of the picture. Warning: like eating ice cream very fast, you may end up with a head ache
during bright scenes:)

Looks great!

Exhibit 2:

I purchased a Sony PS3 for the kids last Christmas. I promised my son he could play Madden on the big screen in HD. I know this because he reminds me all the time. My excuse was that I was too busy to run an HDMI cable from the equipment closet to the ceiling mounted projector. I am lazy. I am a procrastinator. Faced with the choice of spending quality time with my wife and family visiting for the Thanksgiving Holiday, or running off alone to get a task done - I sprinted off to the closest Best Buy.

$129 later for an overpriced 16' Monster HDMI cable (this thread isn't about cables) I was back in my theater room with a ladder, drill and determination. The results are nothing less than dramatic.

I spent hours downloading Blu-Ray movie trailers from the online Sony store and watching them in full 1080p glory. I can't believe how many times I uttered "wow" silently to myself. Why did I wait almost a year to hook this thing up? Why was I watching up-converted 480p content when a world of high-def movies was right in my theater room a cable away from reality?

I am lazy. I am a procrastinator.


You paid WHAT for that overpriced piece of "s#@t" cable???! Blue Jeans or Monoprice would have saved you $$$$$$!!

I forgot to add regarding your home, I like how that entire reset is perfectly symmetrical. It lends itself perfect for the intended use.

Mit, one upgrade I did that didn't cost much was buying good quality black velvet fabric and draping it over the shiney black speakers.

The speakers always used to distract from the pic but now they are totally invisible.

ed

I might also suggest painting black the first 1/3 size row of ceiling tiles that are directly adjacent to the screen wall. I used to get a lot of screen reflection from the first couple of rows of tiles. In your setup, this first row is almost a quasi-border with the screen anyway.

Regards,
Brian

(P.S. I also agree with Ed. You can clearly see the refection off of the speaker sides in the photo, especially the upper 1/4 of the speakers.

now paint the rest of the room

Mit, you lazy procrastinating fool! Thanks for the info and entertaining post! :)

one of the most hilarious posts in a while in here!

This is how it starts, the front wall goes black and everything looks great, well worth it. Then you see the light reflections in the ceiling and sidewalls and decide that 3 or 4 feet of black all the way around the image might be a good thing. That works out well, so you take the plunge and go black everywhere walls, ceiling, carpet, seating. Finally, you require all guests to wear matte black jumpsuits and hoods.

Don't forget to paint the top and bottom part of your screen,Then you can have a 2.35 screen and really be wowed.

Not sure what works best for ceiling tiles, but you'll want to do some of those next.


black star light tiles OH YEAH!:)

Nice room Mits, good post as well. Pretty funny.

Exhibit 2:

I am lazy. I am a procrastinator. Faced with the choice of spending quality time with my wife and family visiting for the Thanksgiving Holiday, or running off alone to get a task done - I sprinted off to the closest Best Buy.


I am lazy. I am a procrastinator.

That made me chuckle. Thanks for the great post. I am now thinking about turning my Farmhouse Red Walls to Black. Ugh, maybe on Christmas...

[QUOTE=Mit07;12316261]Exhibit 2:

Faced with the choice of spending quality time with my wife and family visiting for the Thanksgiving Holiday, or running off alone to get a task done - I sprinted off to the closest Best Buy.

QUOTE]

Ah! the joys of the holidays!
Feel the burn brother!
What better time to convive the wife that an upgrade is needed......for her sake.......
(bahhhh hahhhhh hahhhhh hahhhhh!!!!!!!!)

Thanks for the laugh. :)

Now what ya going to do about that ceiling! :D

now paint the rest of the room

Agreed. Now I just need to find the right color and time.

Enclosed is a pic of the back of the room showing the Berklines, ceiling mounted Pearl, and the Red Sox World Series mural I had purchased after a moment of sports euphoria.

Finally, you require all guests to wear matte black jumpsuits and hoods.

What's the ultimate step into black hole insanity...screening visitors and only allowing guests with dark eyes into your theater for fear that blue eyes may reflect some light.:eek:

My wife is incredibly flexible and accepting of my hobby. The family room is decked out with movie posters, Dolby signs, electronic boxes, speakers...wires and such.

But...when I brought up the subject of painting the walls and the ceiling black.....well ah...........I gotta live with light walls :(


Oh....great mural!

...when I brought up the subject of painting the walls and the ceiling black.....well ahI got my wife involved and she did curtains and the paint, a kind of gray-green. Not black, but a lot better than "light"...

What's the ultimate step into black hole insanity...screening visitors and only allowing guests with dark eyes into your theater for fear that blue eyes may reflect some light.:eek:

Colored contact lenses - black. Seriously, I went bat cave for the front 15 feet of my theater and black carpet. There is only one downside to this. The black paint and curtains still reflect some light. For HT 2.0 I will get serious about the bat cave thing and go with black velveteen everywhere, just need to confirm the fire resistance of materials. Finding good carpet that soaks up light appears to be the toughest thing so far, they all have a sheen. There must be a solution to the carpet situation, just have not found it yet.

Mits your setup is real nice. :)

My wife is incredibly flexible and accepting of my hobby. The family room is decked out with movie posters, Dolby signs, electronic boxes, speakers...wires and such.

But...when I brought up the subject of painting the walls and the ceiling black.....well ah...........I gotta live with light walls :(


Oh....great mural!

Have you thought of doing a two tone color? I did deep pour blue from benjamin moore with celery white i was able deal with it haha. It looks during the day and at night 1000x better.

Still have aways to go with the drapes and rest to be finished

Everyone that comes over actually comments on how awesome the blue looks too. And yes they're women in there too :)

now paint the rest of the room

Just the ceiling panels would do wonders.

Mits your setup is real nice. :)



Have you thought of doing a two tone color? I did deep pour blue from benjamin moore with celery white i was able deal with it haha. It looks during the day and at night 1000x better.

Still have aways to go with the drapes and rest to be finished

Everyone that comes over actually comments on how awesome the blue looks too. And yes they're women in there too :)

Aw shiiii. I was going to do maroon before I saw that.

I do have dark gray carpet that tints purple in light for some reason (argh-a-thon)...

Thanks for the pics.
ELmO

What's the ultimate step into black hole insanity...screening visitors and only allowing guests with dark eyes into your theater for fear that blue eyes may reflect some light.:eek:

Just make sure that all your visitors wear dark sunglasses. That should take care of it :D

Colored contact lenses - black. Seriously, I went bat cave for the front 15 feet of my theater and black carpet. There is only one downside to this. The black paint and curtains still reflect some light. For HT 2.0 I will get serious about the bat cave thing and go with black velveteen everywhere, just need to confirm the fire resistance of materials. Finding good carpet that soaks up light appears to be the toughest thing so far, they all have a sheen. There must be a solution to the carpet situation, just have not found it yet.

I used black indoor/outdoor carpeting on the walls in front of my screen, it really soaks up the stray light. Probably not the most attractive solution from an aesthetics point of view, tho.

My name is Mit. I am lazy. I am a procrastinator. I hope my foolish story will help others.

I WONDER IF THEY HAVE A 12-STEP PROGRAM FOR YOU..."Hi, I'm Mit, and I am a lazy, procrastinating fool." :D