AVS Forum banner

Custom Screen Idea

1K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  Craig Peer 
#1 ·
I have been planning to put a 150" wide 2.35 (or 2.4?):1 screen in my theater. I want movies to be immersive, so using black bars on a 16/9 screen is not my first choice. However, the 150" is arguably a little bigger than I should have -- I was trying to make it wider to create a bigger 16/9 screen inside of it for sports and cable. Plus, even with the full 150" wide, the 16/9 area of the screen doesn't seem that impressive. I was wondering whether it would work if I buy an even bigger scope screen (so that the 16/9 section is bigger), then mask it permanently so that the scope screen would be wider, but not as crazy wide as it would be if left unmasked. See the attached sketch. I could even use removable masking to cover the rest of the top and bottom of the 16/9 area when I watch a movie.

Is this a crazy idea? Would the zoom features (most likely I'll buy JVC e-shift) accommodate a screen with this approach? Does anyone make a screen shaped like my drawing, i.e., one that is cut to this odd shape?

Thanks for your help.
 

Attachments

#2 ·
How long is the room and how far back will the seats be from the screen?
Can the seating position be moved if you ultimately want them closer or farther for a good reason?
Do you have an empty wall that you could project upon to see what sizes you personally prefer?
Have you ever roughly measured/estimated the distance you like to sit at a commercial theatre..for example about as far back as the screen's width, or about 1.5X the screen's width back?
 
#3 · (Edited)
The room is about 22 feet long. The first row's eyes will be about 10 to 10.5 feet from the screen. The second row's eyes will be about 17 feet back.

I can't move seating. It will be two rows with a fixed riser.

I don't have a wall or a projector. We're building a new home. I have marked the various sizes with tape on the studs, which is the best I can do.

I typically sit close to the front in a commercial theater.
 
#4 ·
Your conclusions on size and different levels of immersion for different type viewing are very close to what I like as well.

I studied all the methods of presentation CIW, CIH, CIA are the three most common and what you are suggesting is more of a CIA constant image area presentation. These all lead me to a screen and presentation method called CIH+IMAX1.85. There is a prescribed method of using this size screen by the devoted in the CIH forum, but that method did not also suit my desires for sports and such. I went off the reservation and came up with my own system of presentation I called PIA personal image area and I have a thread in the CIH forum if you care to read more about that method.

It basically says people like you and I should size our screen for an IMAX 1.89 capability and then use the zoom to present the image to the proper size of our liking. If you then require masking you will need a method of 2way or 4way masking to suit your tastes.

Others have looked at this desire and solved it in other ways. A few member have more than one screen where they have multiple drop down screens or a drop down in front of a fixed. It is even possible now to buy one drop down screen unit that has two different screens inside it.

In the end Ftoast’s plan to paint a massive screen wall and play with it for a few months or a year is a great suggestion you may just find you will never want a screen and just live with a stealth screen.
 
#5 ·
I've thought about the two screen approach too, with a fixed screen for scope and a drop down for sports. My concern is then I'd have two sets of acoustically transparent screen material in front of the speakers. I assume that can't be good for sound. Thoughts?

Two drop down screens is possible too, but then the cost is getting really high.

By the way, if I go with two screens, I would want the 16/9 sports screen to be a better material for ambient light, and the scope screen to be ideal for when the room is pitch black. I'm far more likely to have a few lights on in the back of the room during sports viewing. What type of screen material will do better with some lights on, and vice versa? I know this is a basic question, so if you're answer is go read the forum, I'll understand.
 
#6 · (Edited)
If this is going to be a pretty dedicated theater space, decorating the room using dark colors/greys/blacks (including the ceiling, at least between the first row and the screen if possible) and using more aimable lighting with dimmable lightswitches can allow you to have an impressive amount of light on the viewers without much effect on most sports or television.

I didn't see you ention wanting an acoustic transparent screen earlier, which does complicate things a little..but you can still use a larger screen plus masking or even create a custom size/shape using something like the excellent materials from Seymour, carlofet or others.

Your room's length, coupled with leaving area behind a screen for speakers will likely limit your screen's width to roughly 12.5ft-13ft or less, while your room's ceiling-height and your riser's height and seating (please share these if you can) will limit the screen's height...I'm roughly guessing around 5.5ft of screen-height or less.

I think a roughly 155in X 66in or slightly smaller 2.35:1 screen with adjustable side-masking sounds like a good fit, but it wouldn't be terribly difficult to add adjustable top or top+bottom masking and/or use a slightly taller/narrower screen if you prefer it and can fit that height while keeping the bottom visible for the back row.


I don't think a 150"-wide 2.35:1 screen will be too large..it's pretty much right within recommended guidelines..and folks who like a farther seating-distance do have an entire second row if they prefer.
A 150"-wide 2.35:1 screen would still provide area for a 130"-diagonal 16:9 image which is larger than some prefer at 10.5ft back (although I personally think it sounds great).
 
#7 · (Edited)
I have lots of height. We're building the house from scratch, so I had the builder dig an extra 16 inches deep in the media room. The riser is 16" tall to bring the back of the room up to the level of the rest of the basement. You walk in the back of the room at the standard basement level and then step down two steps to get to the front row. The room will have about 9.5 feet ceilings in the back and 11 feet in the front. (Thus, I chose the "Spinal Tap Theater" name for my build thread -- this one goes to 11.)

The initial plan was to build speaker niches so that the speakers behind the screen would be set back flush with the wall. With the speakers flush with the wall, I would have just set up the A/T screen about 4 to six inches in front of the wall and called it a day. However, I've been toying with the idea of angling the speaker niches for the side speakers. This would cut off the corners of the room up front and I would need to push the screen forward another six inches or so. If I go this route, the screen will be about 10 to 12 inches from the front wall.

My only pause about what you've suggested (which in fact was my initial plan) is whether the 130" diagonal 16/9 portion of the screen would to feel too small. I take it from your comment that you probably don't think so.
 
#9 ·
Ooh, then you definitely have a ton more available height and second-row-vision (with that extra riser height) if you decide to use it..and about an extra 1ft throw distance (around 9in screen-width) too.

I think a 150inch wide scope screen with a 130inch diagonal 16:9 should look about perfect from your rows/distances, but getting a screen last after finishing the room and seeing up the projector will give you time to experiment on the wall or a simple sheet to see if you have different preferences.
It rarely hurts to be sure.
 
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