I understand why not having any external light into the room is important using a projector, but what about dark walls, is that really that important?
Let me present what I am thinking:
The eye has a good but not unlimited dynamic range, "external light" is most damaging when what is on the screen is dark, however with a dark screen, a lot less light will be reflected from the walls too? And if there is bright objects on the screen, those bright items will "Overwhelm" our vision much more than any light from the walls. Thinks like ambilight was reasonably popular, and that basically does the same as white walls, only much stronger. So is it really bad with white walls? (given that external light is controlled), what have I misunderstood?
Also for the spandex there are a number of threads discussing different ones in the DIY screen forums, regarding PQ, AT and so on.
I'm very pleased with mine so far and for $200 or so there really isn't any comparison. If I had loads of green I'd have just bought some top of the line 4k material but then I wouldn't have built a theater myself either.
I do have a question on this, right now my walls are a dark blue, painted with a semi-gloss paint. So no real reflection from the walls, however I do have a white suspended ceiling. It's not very reflective, it's that foam/cork material. The first couple rows of tiles, definitely light up white. Now, I've never really noticed light reflecting back onto the screen, but would it make much of a difference if I were to paint the first couple rows? If I were to paint them, how far out should I go, any tile with white on it while a movie is playing?
I have the Seymour Center Stage XD(AT) screen, and it's absolutely beautiful. I don't have any other screens, so I can't compare it, but what i can say, is my 120" screen, even from just 8-9 feet away, you can barely see the weave. Our seating is about 11-12 feet away, so you can't see the weave at all. And the sound is amazing through it. All I did was raise the db on the center/front left and front right channel by 2db.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cbo0485 /t/1475294/why-is-dark-walls-so-important/60#post_23466151
I do have a question on this, right now my walls are a dark blue, painted with a semi-gloss paint. So no real reflection from the walls, however I do have a white suspended ceiling. It's not very reflective, it's that foam/cork material. The first couple rows of black tile, definitely light up white. Now, I've never really noticed light reflecting back onto the screen, but would it make much of a difference if I were to paint the first couple rows? If I were to paint them, how far out should I go, any tile with white on it while a movie is playing?
For a cheap fast test, go to Bed Bath and Beyond and by a single twin size black flat sheet, about $10. Find a way to attach it to the ceiling in front of the screen and view what effect paint will have. When done use it in the spare bedroom!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cbo0485 /t/1475294/why-is-dark-walls-so-important/60#post_23466151
I do have a question on this, right now my walls are a dark blue, painted with a semi-gloss paint. So no real reflection from the walls, however I do have a white suspended ceiling. It's not very reflective, it's that foam/cork material. The first couple rows of tiles, definitely light up white. Now, I've never really noticed light reflecting back onto the screen, but would it make much of a difference if I were to paint the first couple rows? If I were to paint them, how far out should I go, any tile with white on it while a movie is playing?
I believe in the shootout thread in the 3k+ forum (one by zombie) he noticed a marked improvement when switching to black tiles. I can't remember what he bought though.
To be honest, I didn't read any responses after the first few. But a simple answer is, watch a movie at night with the lights on. Halfway through, turn ALL the lights off. Notice the difference in percieved picture quality as SOON as you turn the lights off? Now, as your eyes adjust you start to notice the walls and furniture more. All dark walls, floor, ceiling and furniture give the same effect as when you first turned the lights off. I think we get WAY too caught up in specs, unwritten "rules" and ideas ("you can't put anything on the internet that isn't true", right?). We forget the important things are what actually work in practice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JeffHurt /t/1475294/why-is-dark-walls-so-important/60#post_23666931
To be honest, I didn't read any responses after the first few. But a simple answer is, watch a movie at night with the lights on. Halfway through, turn ALL the lights off. Notice the difference in percieved picture quality as SOON as you turn the lights off? Now, as your eyes adjust you start to notice the walls and furniture more. All dark walls, floor, ceiling and furniture give the same effect as when you first turned the lights off. I think we get WAY too caught up in specs, unwritten "rules" and ideas ("you can't put anything on the internet that isn't true", right?). We forget the important things are what actually work in practice.
Even with dark surroundings, your eyes adjust. Someone upthread mentioned dark theaters for the last few decades or so. I went to one today and if you choose to be distracted you will be as your surroundings will soon be visible to you.
No they don't. If you've never had a matte dark grey walled theater, you're eyes CAN'T adjust as it turns into a visual hole. Like the screen is floating in the middle of nothing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JeffHurt /t/1475294/why-is-dark-walls-so-important/60#post_23668717
No they don't. If you've never had a matte dark grey walled theater, you're eyes CAN'T adjust as it turns into a visual hole. Like the screen is floating in the middle of nothing.
If the room is black enough you can not see the walls or ceiling or floor, it is just back. Just like the camera saw when it took the picture of the finished night time setup in my signature below. You can not tell where the ceiling and wall meet, it is just black. You may see other objects in the room that reflect light. The important thing is there is no light from close by surfaces to reflect back on the screen and you as the view can only see the screen floating in space which draws you in..
I have to wait for my next flick to observe the walls, but for those with such a case of ADD that they can't enjoy a projector without being encased in black, what happens to their minds when a bright scene appears that reflects light off all those other objects besides the walls?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonyad /t/1475294/why-is-dark-walls-so-important/90#post_23672086
I have to wait for my next flick to observe the walls, but for those with such a case of ADD that they can't enjoy a projector without being encased in black, what happens to their minds when a bright scene appears that reflects light off all those other objects besides the walls?
Usually if you building or planning out a theater you design and make choices so that bright light colored things don't reflect light into your screen but rather absorb it.
That's why my back area and bar are planned to be dark stained wood.
Having white ceiling or white trim or white back wall is ok in a living room but not ok in a theater.
No, it is not OK in a living, but unfortunately there is usually another non HT nut involved when dealing with a non dedicated room.. We do as much as we can without making life toooo painful!
Going to cover shutter windows with black velvet fabric. walls will be a dark flat color maybe dark grey. however I'm stuck with the white speakers. Will I need black or darker speakers? These are the boston a360 no space for a false wall. Room is 16x16. Projector is a epson5020 shelf mounted on the back wall. Screen is a jamestown white with 1.2 gain.
Cut fabric to fit, spray area of speaker with 3M 77, spray back of fabric, let sit 30 seconds and attache.
Did my screen case and it really turned out nice, as well as all the ceiling panels. You can pull up and reposition the velvet working it perfectly smooth with no wrinkles.
Quote:
Originally Posted by airscapes /t/1475294/why-is-dark-walls-so-important/90#post_23762575
Cover them with black velvet!
Cut fabric to fit, spray area of speaker with 3M 77, spray back of fabric, let sit 30 seconds and attache.
Did my screen case and it really turned out nice, as well as all the ceiling panels. You can pull up and reposition the velvet working it perfectly smooth with no wrinkles.
Only if you've darkened everything else around them... I had planned to use a set of speakers in my theater that had stained maple side rails. I didn't think that would be a big deal, but once placed with all the dark walls and black screen borders all around it, they stuck out like a sore thumb. I, too, was planning to cover the wood with black velvet (but use something non-permanent to attach), but got a deal on a speaker upgrade.
Funny part was, the upgrade pair had a dark cherry stain (no choice at this price!), which clashed with the room colors, so I ended up covering the base up with velvet anyway.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jautor /t/1475294/why-is-dark-walls-so-important/90#post_23763389
Only if you've darkened everything else around them... I had planned to use a set of speakers in my theater that had stained maple side rails. I didn't think that would be a big deal, but once placed with all the dark walls and black screen borders all around it, they stuck out like a sore thumb. I, too, was planning to cover the wood with black velvet (but use something non-permanent to attach), but got a deal on a speaker upgrade.
Funny part was, the upgrade pair had a dark cherry stain (no choice at this price!), which clashed with the room colors, so I ended up covering the base up with velvet anyway.
Would the KEF C7 be al good alternative to the A360's?
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