AVS Forum banner

Size Question - Opinions Wanted

3K views 42 replies 6 participants last post by  merkaba 
#1 · (Edited)
I'm planning on doing something like the photo below on a DYI screen. I plan on making some masking for all 3 spots that need it depending on what's being watched (no idea what i'm doing yet for masking). I'm trying to figure out the best sizing for the screen(s) for my room. What sizes would YOU do if this was your wall?

Wall Size: 147" x 93"
Seating Distance: 10'6" - 12' (somewhere in that range)
PJ: Sony HW40ES
Screen: Silver Fire 2.0/3.0

 
See less See more
1
#9 ·
I debated for a long time actually. Figured I would just be fine buying a fixed white screen like everyone else has. They are fairly cheap, seem to perform fine...and it's just the 'usual'. But after reading through these forums over and over...and the fact that my basement is currently being finish now. I figured it was a perfect time to go with a DIY. Then after searching more about SF, seemed like a no brainer.

A. Price
B. The fact that I can watch with some lights on around the area
C. Lots of positive reviews
D. Photos like the ones below impress me







 
#13 · (Edited)
I think I've changed my mind about doing this. I might just go with a normal 112" 16:9 screen, and deal with black bars for most movies. What do you think of the sizing? The photo below should be to scale with speakers on my tv wall.



This is the look i'm going for (except my LED lights would be a lot less bright)


This is how i plan on making the frame...hopefully MM can help me out with getting some sintra pvc for it to spray SilverFire v2.1 2.0 on it


Not 100% sure how i'm going to hang it yet...
 
#15 ·
I think I would still go 120", 59x105 -- the largest you can get from a 60x120 piece of sintra after allowing 1/2" on the edges for that piano black narrow bezel. With a narrow bezel or zero edge (which you can do with a frame wrapped in Flexiwhite and painted), your screen measurements and construction must be EXACT because there is no black velvet area for the projection to spill onto.

That backlit and narrow bezel look is cool looking. It's just that it makes it look like a big TV, which I personally don't care for. It also makes any masking system look strange. I might still do masking by having clip-on top and bottom panels that didn't interfere with the backlit look, but then they need to be stored when not in use as opposed to just pushed out of the way.

MM's thread shows screwing the sintra onto a frame attached to the wall allowing space for the backlighting led rope. If you want a narrow bezel, then screws won't work. If you want a piano black shiny bezel, then you might hide staples 1/4" from the edges. I'm not sure where you would find a shiny black aluminum or plastic moulding like they use on picture frames in the lengths you'd need. Getting a glass-like smooth shiny black finish on wood is tough. If you go zero-edge with sintra, then I think adhesive to the frame is your only option, unless puttying over screws and priming prior to painting with SF would work. I've never seen sintra, so I can't say if it would allow for countersunk screws. There are screws for attaching concrete backer board when tiling that have ridges under the head of the screw to carve out the surface and allow countersinking flush to the surface, so I might try those on sintra to see if that worked on some scrap. Zero-edge would just be easier with flexiwhite stretched over a frame like you show above.

Hanging the frame with backlighting behind it means standoff blocks attached to the wall or a complete second frame attached to the wall and then your frame hung on it with L brackets. Or a standoff block along the top edge large enough to attach half of a french cleat to it and the other half to the screen frame.
 
#24 ·
If your to envision doing the above, the selecting a PJ with at minimum "Vertical Lens Shift" and Zoom is an absolute prerequisite.

Using the newest Silver Fire formula, whatever Black Bars that remain in either Format will actually look Black.
 
#28 ·
Getting a 5'x10' sheet of anything delivered flat seems like it would be expensive, and sintra is already expensive.

Will it really provide that much better a substrate than a flexi-white wrapped wood frame ?
 
#30 ·
$120 shipping is what I call "expensive". The shipping cost alone is more than 71x126 flexiwhite and 2 sheets of sanded 1/4" plywood. Cut each piece to 60x48, rip the leftovers down to 24x30, screw onto the wooden frame with uprights at 48 and 72, wrapped with the flexiwhite onto the back and staple. It would also reflect the LED rope lights back onto the wall just like the sintra.

You can usually get the nice folks at Home Depot to do a couple of rip cuts to plywood without charge.

So ... sintra would have to be a much better substrate for me to justify it. But I'm a cheapskate these days.:D
 
#39 ·
I have one other question about my frame idea for the LED backlighting. How much of an overlap should the sintra have? I got myself a 60x120 piece on the way! Is a 2" overlap enough? I want to start building my frame. I was thinking 58x118 or something similar.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top