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Motorized curtains

post #1 of 103
4/27/08 at 11:54pm
Thread Starter 
I am looking for a motorized curtain system for the front of my theater. I want to use some black curtains and I would like them to be able to completely close and cover the whole screen as well as do side masking for my soon to be 2.35:1 set-up. I am looking for the best bang for my buck. I am going to use very lightweight material, so I don't think the motor would have to be too powerful. They need to be remote controlled in some way, and ideally some way to do pre-set stops would be great, otherwise can be worked around with macros in my pronto remote as long as they have the ability to stop with a stop button or something. I have poked around the internet and the site some, but I wanted to see if anyone had any other recommendations.... and what has worked well for you.

Any and all suggestions would be appreciated!!
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post #2 of 103
4/28/08 at 4:41am
http://www.htiq.com/motorizeddrapery.php
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post #3 of 103
4/28/08 at 5:35am
http://www.remotecontrolcurtain.com/
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post #4 of 103
4/28/08 at 6:33am
The guys at HTIQ never responded to my email inquiry. I will try the phone next time but why have a contact me, if you never get back?
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post #5 of 103
4/28/08 at 8:53am
Thread Starter 
Anyone have any experiance with this one? http://0063da9.netsolhost.com/product1_800.html

Especially with getting it to stop at different points accurately, like with macros in a remote?

I guess I could also put some kind of marks on the ceiling or something marking the stop points for different screen sizes....

Anyone who has used this system, would love to hear how it worked out.

It seems the best bang for the buck...

THANKS!
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post #6 of 103
4/28/08 at 7:59pm
I just bought one off Ebay, it seems like it will do OK. The directions are terrible, I can not for the life of me figure out how the wall brackets work. It is made by Kallox.
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post #7 of 103
4/29/08 at 9:14am
YT74;
Please let us know how it works. I am in particularly interested in how exact one can stop at defined positions, e.g. 4:3 or 16:9. I want to use such masking/curtain system as masking for my CIH setup. I have done quite a bit of research over the past 1/2 year and the results have been very disappointing thus far. They are either
- pure DIY projects (bear a high risk for me of not getting it to work they way I want it after spending lots of time and effort),
- top of the line custom installer solutions (very expensive) or
- turn out to be nothing more than vaporware (you can find a few examples here in the forum).

So I am still looking.... If this system could be up-fitted with pre-sets, not just full open/close, I would be all over it....
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Axel
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post #8 of 103
4/29/08 at 9:21am
The unit in the link I posted above is able to stop in any position you would like it to. I don't have a link but another user had used one and said it was accarute and responsive enough to be added to a macro start and stop on most remotes.
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post #9 of 103
4/29/08 at 9:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by oman321 View Post

The unit in the link I posted above is able to stop in any position you would like it to. I don't have a link but another user had used one and said it was accarute and responsive enough to be added to a macro start and stop on most remotes.

I would love to be proven wrong but I doubt that one can get the desired positioning accuracy of let's say << 1/2 inch with a time based macro, unless this screen moves extremely slow, which I doubt it does. Again, I would love to be proven wrong here. Maybe someone who has tried it could chime in.
____
Axel
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post #10 of 103
4/29/08 at 5:09pm
Axel,
I don't think one can get that precise either. Mine are like an inch or so. Quite good for accent but not for masking.

Art
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post #11 of 103
4/30/08 at 4:49am
There is a company called Park Wylie in Baltimore that sells them. They can get the BTX Motordrape System or Makita Automatic Drapery Control which both seem nice.

Here's the e-mail:
parkwylie@att.net
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post #12 of 103
4/30/08 at 11:05pm
Thread Starter 
Has anyone used the add-a-motor system: http://www.add-a-motor.com/Add-a-Mot...ry%20Track.htm

It says it can stop at different positions, is this a stop button like the other or some other pre-set system?

Any other ideas? I would love full control, but I don't want to pay $900 for it....
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post #13 of 103
5/1/08 at 4:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian D View Post

Has anyone used the add-a-motor system: http://www.add-a-motor.com/Add-a-Mot...ry%20Track.htm

It says it can stop at different positions, is this a stop button like the other or some other pre-set system?

Any other ideas? I would love full control, but I don't want to pay $900 for it....

Unfortunately, from what I understand it's only a stop button.

What is really missing for this market a 'simple' motorized, IR controllable curtain system like the one above, but with a few additional presets for different aspect ratios.

Brian, please let me know where one can find a system for $900 that is actually available for immediate purchase and delivery?

Thanks!
____
Axel
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post #14 of 103
5/1/08 at 9:55pm
Thread Starter 
http://www.htiq.com/motorizeddrapery.php

the one with the pre-sets is $900....

I think $300 is close to the top of what I want to pay for curtain control....

Thanks!
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post #15 of 103
5/24/08 at 10:41pm
I contacted hTIQ again and they failed to respond again after a 2nd reply email.

Nice professional website, seems to be run by "this is my 2nd or 3rd job" folk. Too bad, looks like a quality product,
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post #16 of 103
5/25/08 at 1:31pm
I talked to the HTIQ guy the other day. He said they are coming out with a new system with presets sometime in July that is much more robust than the current one. It will cost more money too. I think he said that it would start at $1000.00.
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post #17 of 103
5/25/08 at 3:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian D View Post

http://www.htiq.com/motorizeddrapery.php

the one with the pre-sets is $900....

I think $300 is close to the top of what I want to pay for curtain control....

Thanks!

Whoops, I was just about to mention Goelst. After lots of searching their motorized curtain system seems the best I've seen - fine control, up to 5 pre-sets for curtain positions (or is it 6?), remote controlled/IR or RF...very customizable and they've been very helpful with me concerning how I will use their system. Unfortunately for you they are likely more than you wanted to spend. But just in case, here is their web-site:

http://www.goelstamerica.com/products-mot.htm
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post #18 of 103
5/25/08 at 10:22pm
Those look good. How much do they cost though? I couldn't find pricing on the site.
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post #19 of 103
5/26/08 at 4:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cameron View Post

Those look good. How much do they cost though? I couldn't find pricing on the site.

I would also like to know. Maybe someone can post some guideline or MSRP pricing..
____
Axel
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post #20 of 103
5/26/08 at 5:07am
Ditto. I wouldn't be having this conversation though is HTIQ was responsive...!
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post #21 of 103
5/26/08 at 3:38pm
elmalloc,

So what is your budget for curtain control?
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post #22 of 103
5/26/08 at 4:05pm
Under $1500 for horizontal masking of 1.78 to 2.35.

I have not decided a budget for curtains yet but that will come later this year.
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post #23 of 103
5/26/08 at 4:32pm
I was hoping much cheaper than that, but if there is something that works for me I will go for it. I already have my 1st prototype (possible production release) masking panels finished. The are wood frames with black GOM AT FR701 black. If it doesn't mask well enough at the main edge, I will put Fidelio Black triple velvet on the edge too. So far it has looked dang good just holding it up at the screen though. I guess I will just have to see. I have thought about buying a standard traverse rod and making my own motor controller for it. I have some high torque slow moving car window motors that could do the trick.

Now if I could get the $375 add-a-motor job to work for me, that would save alot of hassle. It doesn't look like it will have the exact control that I want though.
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post #24 of 103
5/26/08 at 4:34pm
I was quoted something around $1,500 for a 160" motorized panel system. Decent price, actually, considering what you get and considering prices of competitors. I'll let people know how it turns out.

Too
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post #25 of 103
5/26/08 at 5:31pm
So that comes with the panels too? Not bad really. Yeah let us know.

Ummm when will you know? I thought you were months off.
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post #26 of 103
5/27/08 at 5:34am
It's been brutal simply trying to get locked designs on my room and all the items needed to be built...and pinning down any tradesmen to do it is very tough these days. I've already had one guy who was supposed to do my project go AWOL on me, so I'm on to getting quotes from the next contractor.
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post #27 of 103
5/27/08 at 8:09am
Wow. Around here since the new housing marked crashed, the contractors are a desparate to get work. Their prices didn't really go down, but now you can at least get them to come over and do the work. Give it another 6 months here going the same and prices will start dropping.
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post #28 of 103
6/1/08 at 9:41pm
I started messing around with my cheap o Kallox from Ebay today. There are no presets. It is in the Harmony database, so there may be hope yet. I just got it for curtains anyway, but it is pretty cheaply made and the directions are even worse than I thought, the English reads like a Chinese take out menu.
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post #29 of 103
6/2/08 at 2:15pm
Thread Starter 
YT74 - Keep us updated on how it works out. I still haven't purchased anything yet and am anxious to see how these cheaper systems work out....
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post #30 of 103
6/2/08 at 3:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian D View Post

YT74 - Keep us updated on how it works out. .........

Yes please!
____
Axel
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