Birth of a DIY Curved Screen (AT Grey)

Well after a bunch of research and deliberating I have decided to build a 2.37:1 curved screen. I researched and researched for grey acoustically transparent material to use but did not find anything that I could use but was set on a hi contrast grey screen with acoustically transparent properties. I went to the local fabric stores on a quest after a few tries and disappointments I have found something that would work perfectly so I went along with the build.

I plotted out a CAD designed top and bottom piece with a 40' curve with our company plotter, cut out the shape and then traced it onto wood pieces. I carefully cut the curve out with a jig saw and then attached a 2-1/4" casing to the pieces of wood. Then built a frame around it making sure it was all square. After that I painted the whole frame flat black. Then came stretching of the fabric and of course at the end, the build and attachment of the frame, which was covered with black velvet material. The frame is attached with brackets in such a way that it can be taken off if the material needs to be stretched or replaced. The mounting method of the black frame does not put holes in the material at all.

I have also utilized rare earth magnets fastened in the main frame at the 16:9 and 4:3 locations at the top and bottom so that easy and accurate masking is possible with a snap. I was not planning to go to motorized masking so this was a quick and simple solution. I did not take too many photos of the build process but here are some:

Some more photos:

The last few photos before the hanging. And before I hang it I need to relocate my in-wall speakers so a bit of drywall work will have to be done. Otherwise I think I'll be extremely happy with it. The picture quality on this material seems to be excellent to my eyes and the AT characteristics as well. Stay tuned for more photos of it hung and screen shots from my Optoma HD80 and a (custom designed HTB- Anamorphic Lens (thanks Randy!! ))

The material is a bit of a mystery. It was in the Bargain bin and did not have a model or manufacturer on it. It looks like cotton to me. It is stretchy in the vertical direction and looks like a weave similar to the Dazian CCC white stuff. You can see through it when you hold it up to the light but I could not see my speakers behind it when projecting an image which was a bonus. I'll see if I can pick up some more of it as a spare and find out if the people that work at the fabric shop can give me the exact brand and model # for it.

Thanks Mark. It means a lot to me to get a complement like that from one of the pros....

I must say that relocating the speakers and doing drywall, patch ups with taping and mudding really sucks. I hate drywall work with a passion and not its the only thing preventing me from handing my new screen on that wall... Wish me luck. I'm hoping to have it all completed this weekend so that I can watch some movies for a change....

Also lets just say that when the wife saw the holes for the speakers moved and the mess on the wall, she was insanely pissed off at me for poking holes in the brand new wall in our brand new house for a second time... Oh boy...it was not fun....

Oh... but I'm planning on back lighting them...just so that she can see them.... ha ha

It is 112.6" wide and 47.5" Tall... 122" diagonal

Here are some photos of the finished product, hung up. I have been successful in repositioning my in-wall speakers and patching up the drywall. The screen looks great and the sound is perfect. No degradation of sound quality at all from what I can tell. Of course Murphy's law prevails. My PS3 will no longer read any blu rays, games nor DVDs so therefore no hi def fun for me until Sony sends me a new unit under warranty. Its amazing that after all that work I need to wait even longer.

Here are some more pics. Screen shots will have to wait I guess.

I'm still fine tuning my HTB lens setup (just got the custom one today...Thanks Randy!)...and of course I have no HD source right now...PS3 is getting replaced under warranty so no blu ray. Here are some shots of Gladiator DVD... Of course it looks much better in real life than my little point and shoot camera can capture.

Here is a few more...

with flash....



without flash...



And Some more:

It sure is an immersive experience now. A lot more than with the 16:9 screen. I can't wait to get my blu-ray back.....

Mike.
Good luck with your project, make sure you show us your progress. As far as DW screen, that was the first screen I built but since my room has white ceilings and relatively light color scheme, I was not too happy with the performance of DW as the image looked a bit too washed out for my tastes. Thats why I was set on high contrast grey.

About the fabric.... The best I could find out about the fabric is that since it was in the bargain bin it was not labeled and they could not tell for sure. The cashier told me that she thinks that its something called poplin solid whatever that means.

I did not install enclosures for the inwalls, however I did stuff a whole bunch is insulation behind them. As far as the sound traveling upstairs I'd say that they are the same as my previous floor standing speakers. The biggest house shaking culprit is my Velodyne sub. Since the pics posted here I have installed curtains at each entrance way for upstairs, when closed, the sound traveling upstairs from the main (inwall speakers) is not too bad. However, all that is quite subjective. I'd say if you were considering inwalls I'd say go for it, they are no worse than standing speakers in my experience, just use a bunch of insulation behind them. As far as Waking someone up upstairs, hmm when I watch a movie full blast I'm sure I could wake up the neighbors....

Yes, I have installed magnets in the frame behind the screen material at the 4:3 and 16:9 locations. The vertical pieces have metal tabs on the top and bottom. When watching a 16:9 movie I just snap those pieces on for masking purposes. They work quite well. When not in use they snap into the side piece of the frame (that also has magnets) and are totally out of sight. The system is simple yet effective.

Honestly, the 16:9 masking works great, with no ambient light you can not see the edges of the screen that are not masked with some ambient light the unmasked sides of the screen do not really stand out. It alomost looks like two vertical speaker grilles and speakers to the side of the now 16:9 screen. I must confess that the 4:3 material is a bit problematic though because whit the masking panels set up in the 4:3 noticeable light spill from the native 16:9 projector can be seen to each side of the masking panels on the unused screen. So 4:3 material is not all the perfect, 16:9 material masking is great.

I used a 40' radius that was cut out of the boards with a jig saw. The width of the main frame was 112.5" and height was 47.5" .. Then the flat casing board was screwed to the main frame. If you need any other measurements PM me.

Here are some more screen shots this time from blu ray, I think this screen does a very nice job as does the HTB lens.