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Why is dark walls so important?

13K views 128 replies 29 participants last post by  design1stcode2nd 
#1 ·
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?
 
#102 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by alamez  /t/1475294/why-is-dark-walls-so-important/90#post_23763493


can you show us a pic of the speakers?

The "old" speakers with the oak rails, sitting in the room before the screen went up:




Contrast that with the speakers that replaced them, now with the screen and everything else in place. You can barely make out the black speakers - whereas the oak rails would have been obvious. Note that these two photos were taken with very similar light levels...

 
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#103 ·
Go with a flat or satin paint as well.


On the general topic of this thread, yes, dark walls matter, but the further the side walls are from your screen, the less they matter. In my current condo, I am size-constrained on the screen to about 100" have a 12 foot ceiling that starts 4 to 6 feet above the screen, one wall is 8 feet to the left, and the other goes away from the screen at a 45 degree angle. Them being white has a lot less effect than other problems, such as ambient spill-in light from the loft windows. I keep thinking about having shades made for those, but they would have to be remote controlled at the bottom of the windows are 14' above the floor.



BTW, jautor - that is a very nice room.
 
#106 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by lespurgeon  /t/1475294/why-is-dark-walls-so-important/90#post_23765246


BTW, jautor - that is a very nice room.
Thanks! The walls are dark, too...
 
#108 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by alamez  /t/1475294/why-is-dark-walls-so-important/90#post_23765893


They have the a360 in a glossy black. Will the gloss be an issue?

Yes, you don't want glossy finish - satin or flat (flat can be difficult to work with).
 
#115 ·
I don't mean to hijack the thread, but do these room darkening and reflection control techniques apply only to rooms with projectors?


Will they will also help improve the performance of a room with a plasma display?


Due to life changes I have had to scale back my planned HT project quite a bit, or at least do it in stages. My desired end state is still a light and sound controlled room with a nice projector and fabric frame walls, but it will be a while before that is possible.


In the short term I will be using a TC-P65GT50 Panasonic 65" plasma. The room does have several windows, but these can be blocked with blackout curtains for now.


I've been using this display in a converted master bedroom, which we expected to use for a year or two while my "man cave" space served as a dormitory for long term house guests. Before mounting the display we painted the "screen wall" and a few feet up the side walls flat ""Cracked Pepper" black. The rest of the walls are a medium grey, and the ceiling and carpeting are off white. I love the look of the black screen wall. I don't know whether I can do that color throughout the room, though.


The house guests are leaving this week (!), many months earlier than I had feared, and I will be getting my man cave back. The question is, will I get a significant a benefit from painting the walls dark, or will this not provide as significant improvement using a plasma display compared to a projector?


I love the look of the black "screen wall" in my temporary set up. It seems ot me that the other walls, ceiling, and floor may be just as important than the screen wall, since those surfaces seem like they will reflect more light onto the display. Is that correct?


And will this even matter until I get my projector?


ETA: clarification


Kevin
 
#116 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by M.T.Nest  /t/1475294/why-is-dark-walls-so-important/100_100#post_23787608


I


I love the look of the black "screen wall" in my temporary set up. It seems ot me that the other walls, ceiling, and floor may be just as important than the screen wall, since those surfaces seem like they will reflect more light onto the display. Is that correct?


And will this even matter until I get my projector?


ETA: clarification


Kevin

Yes the walls, ceiling and floor are the surfaces that will reflect back on the screen, the screen wall will not. So yes and Yes it can matter.

Your TV will float in the blackness of the screen wall and reducing reflections in your field of view will always help. Black walls will not pollute the image and colors coming from the TV. This is what a light controlled viewing room is be it projector or active screen display.
 
#119 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonyad  /t/1475294/why-is-dark-walls-so-important/100_100#post_23794113


Seriously, tv has always been watched in well lit rooms. I wouldn't shine a beacon on it but there's no need to treat a room just for tv viewing unless one has some OCD tendencies.

We are not talking about a watching the news in the kitchen while eating dinner. This is about home theater, be it Projection or direct view. For projection, room treatment is as important if not more so than the projector you select. The person asked if it matter BEFORE he got his projector and yes it does, not to the same extent but it does have an effect.

When content is master for TV and movies it is done in a light contorted dark room with no reflections and if you want to get that same experience you recreated the environment.

This dark room also requires your TV is set up correctly for low light viewing or you will end up with eye strain if you do not have the light output set correctly.

Call it OCD or call it Home Theater.. but we are not talking about watching TV.. you do that with the lights on!


Take a look at these article I just googled "THX light controlled room"
http://gizmodo.com/5882855/set-up-your-home-theater-like-a-thx-master
http://www.cinemaquestinc.com/ive.htm
 
#120 ·
I actually prefer watching tv in the dark (and some folks in my household think that is weird). However the poster was asking about the light ceiling and I truly don't think it's that crucial in the case of a plasma. However I'm a pretty laid back person and AVS is OCD/High Maintenance Central
 
#121 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonyad  /t/1475294/why-is-dark-walls-so-important/90#post_23795489


... AVS is OCD/High Maintenance Central

That's why OC users like me know they can come here and get good information about their OC questions. I'd rather ask now before I set up the room than to later regret NOT painting the walls darker colors, etc.


On the other hand, if it's not going to provide a benefit, I might not go to the trouble and expense.


Unfortunately for me, airscapes' point about this being HT is exactly right. This is the only HT I'm going to have for a while because the $$ I had put aside for a HT remodel is going to help a family member in financial need. So if I can enjoy my viewing experience better for a year or two while I'm saving up (again) for my remodel, then it's worth it to me to do some painting.


Thanks,


Kevin
 
#122 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by M.T.Nest  /t/1475294/why-is-dark-walls-so-important/100_100#post_23797122


That's why OC users like me know they can come here and get good information about their OC questions. I'd rather ask now before I set up the room than to later regret NOT painting the walls darker colors, etc.


On the other hand, if it's not going to provide a benefit, I might not go to the trouble and expense.


Unfortunately for me, airscapes' point about this being HT is exactly right. This is the only HT I'm going to have for a while because the $$ I had put aside for a HT remodel is going to help a family member in financial need. So if I can enjoy my viewing experience better for a year or two while I'm saving up (again) for my remodel, then it's worth it to me to do some painting.


Thanks,


Kevin

Kevin, I did not mention expressly but you want to eliminate reflection so if using paint, you want flat paint. Problem with paint is the more pigment that is added to make it dark the more reflective it can become. Not to the point of damaging the image the screen but you can still see the light bouncing off the wall (more a projection thing than direct veiw for sure). Black velvet it the cats meow for projection but more expensive and harder to use, a darker neutral color of paint is way better than light colors.
 
#123 ·
+1 On the flat finish. We used flat Valspar premium flat in Cracked Pepper, which is a very nice, dark black. We choose a satin finish for the other three walls, which are painted grey. I see reflections off the one side wall that are fairly annoying. I'll use flat next time for sure.
 
#124 ·
P
Quote:
Originally Posted by M.T.Nest  /t/1475294/why-is-dark-walls-so-important/120#post_23800362


+1 On the flat finish. We used flat Valspar premium flat in Cracked Pepper, which is a very nice, dark black. We choose a satin finish for the other three walls, which are painted grey. I see reflections off the one side wall that are fairly annoying. I'll use flat next time for sure.
pictures ?
 
#126 ·
Please excuse the crappy smartphone pics.


In the first pic you can see that there's very little reflection off of the black walls even when using the flash. Color is Valspar Cracked Pepper, flat finish.




This second pic shows both colors. The greenish tint I was complaining about in the grey isn't apparent here. Maybe it's my imagination? This is a satin finish. I'm going to use flat in the next room.



The display really does seem to float in space in the darkened room.



I'll be moving the system back to the basement man cave sometime in the next few weeks. I have been cleared by the home design chief to use the same black paint throughout, but I get the impression she might prefer something a little lighter--which is why I'm looking at greys for some of the walls.
 
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