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I Made DIY 2.40:1 Masking for My 1.85:1 Screen - Page 6

post #151 of 164
3/31/09 at 5:31pm
I made a set of these and they turned out GREAT! with 2.35:1 aspect ratio movies, my Sanyo plv-z700's contrast seems to be MUCH improved.

Easy to make, and super cheap, one of the best tweaks ever!
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post #152 of 164
6/29/09 at 8:25am
I concur with the last poster - this is one of the best tweaks ever. The use of rigid foam is an excellent choice, too. I initially tried it with some much thinner but much heavier pressboard, but they were a real pain to move around for different AR's.

The foam panels are extremely light and easy to move around, and are light enough that you don't have to use much velcro. With the heavier pressboard I started with it was a royal pain to move them because the velcro was very hard to detach, especially with the added weight. Handling those pressboard masks was a nightmare.

I used 3/4" foam from HD, along with some 3/4" vinyl siding j-channel . I set the masks up so that I did not need to tape or staple the felt along the top. I installed the j-channel over the felt just so that flipping the felt over and around the top of the channel and wrapping it around the bottom of the foam would tension it in place for a nice straight, even install. It took hardly any time at all, and my masks are now light as a feather, yet still quite sturdy.
Moving the masks to account for different AR's now only takes a few seconds without any struggle whatsoever, unlike my pressboard versions.

It took me three years to get around to this. Considering how easy making and using these foam masks is, and the outstanding difference in picture quality, I really regret not having done this sooner. This thread should be more prominently placed as a sticky perhaps as it is one of the most practical and useful tips for masking.

Thanks for the tip!
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post #153 of 164
9/24/09 at 6:47am
I am looking into masking for my 106" screen. The frame is an Elunevision screen. I replaced the fabric with Center Stage XD (AT screen) material. My frame has a 1/2" inside lip. While the foam board will work I have the following concerns:

1. Will the top mask stay in place? I run six subwoofers in my system. Three smaller subs up front and three larger subs in the back.

2. I use my projector a lot and I would be installing and removing the masks often. I am concerned with the spray on velvet on my frame getting worn off over time.

3. Marking up my screen. This is a real concern because my screen is a woven fabric. It is not a vinyl fabric that can easily be wiped down.

Should I be concerned with this? Because of these concerns I may look into using magnets. I would make a metal bracket that would hold the magnet flush with the back of the screen and then I would embed magnets in the foam. This way it would not hurt the velvet frame as easily, but it could damage the screen still. Has anybody used this system (foam boards) with a woven AT screen? If so how long have you been using this system and how often do you install and remove the panels?
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post #154 of 164
9/28/09 at 7:02pm
I think I have come up with my masking system design. It will be a combination of several things I have seen here and a couple of my own ideas. I am going to do top and bottom horizontal masking of my 106" 16/9 screen. The biggest problem that I had to over come was the depth from the face of my frame to the screen fabric since my top and bottom masking will be in front of my frame. The distance from the face of my frame to the screen is 1-1/8". After I allow 1/4" clearance between the screen frame and the masking I would have 1-3/8" gap between the masking and the screen and I knew I would not be happy with that size gap. Their in lies the problem. If I fill in the gap the masking will not be able to pass by the frame and I will loose part of the top and bottom of my 16/9 image.

Here is my solution. My masking will be 10" wide by 98-1/4" long 3/4" MDF. I will bend a piece of sheet metal into an angle. One leg of the angle will be 1-1/8" or 1-1/4". This will be screwed to the back of the MDF flush with the top of the bottom masking and flush with the bottom of the top masking. This way when the masking is slid to fully open (16/9) the sheet metal will be resting on the inside of my screen frame and I will only loose about 1/4" total of the image height when watching 16/9.

The next idea of mine is how the masking will be mounted. The masking will be attached to the backside of my screen frame rather than to the wall. I am going to use under shelf glides. I will attach a sheet metal angle on to the back of my screen frame about one inch in from each end. I will connect the glide to this piece of sheet metal. I will connect a couple of sheet metal angles to the ends of the MDF so that it is "U" shaped. The other half of the shelf glide will be connected to the sheet metal angles on the MDF. A wood spacer will be needed to fill in the gap between the sheet metal angle on the MDF and the glide. With this all connected up the masking will be free to move up and down the screen smoothly with the ball bearing glides.

Once both masks are in place I will rig a cable (on each side) connecting to both masks and going through a pulley located above the top mask. When you move one mask the other will move in the opposite direction. Once every thing is connected and working I will paint (flat black) the MDF and sheet metal angles and then cover with black velvet or the stick on masking made for telescopes.

I picked up a couple of shelf glides from Lowe's today. I will probably make the two 98-1/4" long pieces (biscuit joints) of 10" wide MDF tomorrow and all of the sheet metal brackets. Masking should look as good as any professional system, but I estimate it will cost less than $100 total for both top and bottom masks. Once I build this I will start a thread and take pictures showing how it is built.
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post #155 of 164
9/29/09 at 9:09pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mjg100 View Post

I think I have come up with my masking system design. It will be a combination of several things I have seen here and a couple of my own ideas. I am going to do top and bottom horizontal masking of my 106" 16/9 screen. The biggest problem that I had to over come was the depth from the face of my frame to the screen fabric since my top and bottom masking will be in front of my frame. The distance from the face of my frame to the screen is 1-1/8". After I allow 1/4" clearance between the screen frame and the masking I would have 1-3/8" gap between the masking and the screen and I knew I would not be happy with that size gap. Their in lies the problem. If I fill in the gap the masking will not be able to pass by the frame and I will loose part of the top and bottom of my 16/9 image.

Here is my solution. My masking will be 10" wide by 98-1/4" long 3/4" MDF. I will bend a piece of sheet metal into an angle. One leg of the angle will be 1-1/8" or 1-1/4". This will be screwed to the back of the MDF flush with the top of the bottom masking and flush with the bottom of the top masking. This way when the masking is slid to fully open (16/9) the sheet metal will be resting on the inside of my screen frame and I will only loose about 1/4" total of the image height when watching 16/9.

The next idea of mine is how the masking will be mounted. The masking will be attached to the backside of my screen frame rather than to the wall. I am going to use under shelf glides. I will attach a sheet metal angle on to the back of my screen frame about one inch in from each end. I will connect the glide to this piece of sheet metal. I will connect a couple of sheet metal angles to the ends of the MDF so that it is "U" shaped. The other half of the shelf glide will be connected to the sheet metal angles on the MDF. A wood spacer will be needed to fill in the gap between the sheet metal angle on the MDF and the glide. With this all connected up the masking will be free to move up and down the screen smoothly with the ball bearing glides.

Once both masks are in place I will rig a cable (on each side) connecting to both masks and going through a pulley located above the top mask. When you move one mask the other will move in the opposite direction. Once every thing is connected and working I will paint (flat black) the MDF and sheet metal angles and then cover with black velvet or the stick on masking made for telescopes.

I picked up a couple of shelf glides from Lowe's today. I will probably make the two 98-1/4" long pieces (biscuit joints) of 10" wide MDF tomorrow and all of the sheet metal brackets. Masking should look as good as any professional system, but I estimate it will cost less than $100 total for both top and bottom masks. Once I build this I will start a thread and take pictures showing how it is built.

Wow, glad to see this thread is still alive. I am still enjoying my masks immensely but recently and coincidentally have been thinking about creating a more automated system such as you describe. I will be very interested in the progress of your masks. Some ideas I had were to motorize the system and to have preset stops in the motorized system for different aspect ratios. I have no idea how to pull it off yet, but like most things I set out to do in the HT, when there's a will........
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post #156 of 164
10/1/09 at 11:35am
I have my horizontal masking system roughly configured. Hardware and cable is all in place. When you move one mask the other mask moves in the opposite direction. Currently I have a couple of pieces of 1x8 painted black in place for the masks. The final masks will be fiberglass faced plywood wrapped with triple black velvet. I will have a sheet metal angle (wrapped in triple black velvet) fastened to the plywood to extend the masking edge to the screen. Since the mask needs to be 98-1/4" long to match the width of my screen I have biscuit jointed two pieces of plywood together. When complete each mask will be 8" tall x the width of the screen and frame. Going on vacation tomorrow so I will order the velvet right before I head back from vacation.
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post #157 of 164
10/4/09 at 6:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by docprego View Post

Some ideas I had were to motorize the system and to have preset stops in the motorized system for different aspect ratios. I have no idea how to pull it off yet, but like most things I set out to do in the HT, when there's a will........

I'm not sure how easy it is to motorized masks coming from the top/bottem.
But doing automated masking for the sides, for a 2:35:1 screen masking system, is pretty easy. You can buy various automated curtain tracks to do that.

I ended up buying an automated roller panel track (it uses the same motor as an automated curtain track), which offers up to 5 pre-set stopping points on the remote control.
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post #158 of 164
10/4/09 at 6:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mjg100 View Post

I have my horizontal masking system roughly configured. Hardware and cable is all in place. When you move one mask the other mask moves in the opposite direction. Currently I have a couple of pieces of 1x8 painted black in place for the masks. The final masks will be fiberglass faced plywood wrapped with triple black velvet. I will have a sheet metal angle (wrapped in triple black velvet) fastened to the plywood to extend the masking edge to the screen. Since the mask needs to be 98-1/4" long to match the width of my screen I have biscuit jointed two pieces of plywood together. When complete each mask will be 8" tall x the width of the screen and frame. Going on vacation tomorrow so I will order the velvet right before I head back from vacation.

You've done manually what I've been planning in my automated system for the last 2 years. (It's taken that long for my home theater build to progress).

I designed an extra big screen with automated 4 way masking. Since I'm not a handy man and I didn't want to screw around trying to cobble motors and parts to work, I figured I'd put together 2 professional products: I bought the Carada Masquerade (remote controlled masking) for the top/bottom masking. For the side masking panels, I bought an automated roller panel system from a company named "Goelst." It offers 5 pre-set stopping points for various ARs. The side masking is about to be put up in a week or two.

But I had the same concerns about masking distance to the screen, since the frame of the Carada Masquerade is pretty thick. So I designed so the screen is extra wide. The sides of the screen would always sit behind the edges of the side masks. The inner side masking panel will be beveled/angled inward to get the mask edge riding right over the top/bottom masks, and thus as close to the screen as possible.

In my case I'll have to make that inner side mask out of something as thin as possible which can be bevelled...perhaps aluminum or something.
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post #159 of 164
10/4/09 at 11:16pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by R Harkness View Post

You've done manually what I've been planning in my automated system for the last 2 years. (It's taken that long for my home theater build to progress).

I designed an extra big screen with automated 4 way masking. Since I'm not a handy man and I didn't want to screw around trying to cobble motors and parts to work, I figured I'd put together 2 professional products: I bought the Carada Masquerade (remote controlled masking) for the top/bottom masking. For the side masking panels, I bought an automated roller panel system from a company named "Goelst." It offers 5 pre-set stopping points for various ARs. The side masking is about to be put up in a week or two.

But I had the same concerns about masking distance to the screen, since the frame of the Carada Masquerade is pretty thick. So I designed so the screen is extra wide. The sides of the screen would always sit behind the edges of the side masks. The inner side masking panel will be beveled/angled inward to get the mask edge riding right over the top/bottom masks, and thus as close to the screen as possible.

In my case I'll have to make that inner side mask out of something as thin as possible which can be bevelled...perhaps aluminum or something.

While I appreciate your ingenuity, the purpose of my system is to provide masking for a minimal cost. That Carada is beautiful but certainly not inexpensive.
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post #160 of 164
10/5/09 at 11:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by docprego View Post

While I appreciate your ingenuity, the purpose of my system is to provide masking for a minimal cost. That Carada is beautiful but certainly not inexpensive.

Same here. I am going to have right at $80 in my masking system, but I did not have to buy the sheet metal or the plywood. I would have used your system, but I had two concerns. Wearing the velvet off of my existing frame from the friction fit of the masking and I did not think the top mask would stay in place since I use six subwoofers.

I purchased:
two pairs of heavy weight draw glides from Lowes. www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=61081-130-8400PR 16&lpage=none
Two pulleys from TSC
Four 1/16" cable clamps from TSC.
12' of 1/16" cable from TSC.
Two small turn buckles from TSC.
Two "D" links from TSC.
Two screw hooks from TSC.
Will purchase three yards from SY Fabrics. (included in $80 price)

The draw glides were $24. The TSC hardware was $25 and the Velvet will be $29.50.
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post #161 of 164
10/5/09 at 5:11pm
If you don't count the first set of masks I built (Triple Black Velvet), which have been retired, and only the second (Protostar), my masking setup cost about $235. That would include $60 I paid a signmaker to apply the Protostar fabric to the masking panels, and I'm glad I did.

Other than the Protostar fabric and the labor I paid on that, the only other big expense was the tension rods. They came in a storage pole kit from Bed, Bath, to Infinity and Beyond, and each of the two kits cost $30.

I spent some money to drape my three Dunlavy front speakers with Triple Black Velvet (hemmed by an alterations shop) to knock out any reflections from the screen, but that was seperate, and much needed, of the masking.

Just as when I turn out the lights and my wife can imagine I'm George Clooney (she has a vivid imagination), I cut them off in the viewing room and I feel just like I'm watching in a room that performs like it cost a hell of a lot more than it did. DIY can go a long way for the Workin' Man.
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post #162 of 164
10/14/09 at 5:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jive Turkey View Post


Other than the Protostar fabric and the labor I paid on that, the only other big expense was the tension rods. They came in a storage pole kit from Bed, Bath, to Infinity and Beyond, and each of the two kits cost $30.

...and of course I walk into BB&B on Saturday for some ideas, and the tension rod kits are half priced for clearance now. I thought about buying a spare set, but really the only thing that could go wrong with them somehow is the springs. They can be bought at most Hardware stores (I Manage one), but I really can't fathom a spring issue.
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post #163 of 164
11/28/09 at 5:49am
docprego, your masking system looks great. It inspired me to make my own.:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...9#post17615579

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post #164 of 164
11/28/09 at 12:15pm
Looks great.

Mike
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