hanging blackout cloth (pvc, grommets) any problems?

Of course any white cloth would do something akin to what you describe. BOC however usually has quite a few wrinkles in it that while stretching it onto a Frame alleviates that, simply hanging it most likely will not suffice. It would take a mighty heavy weight to pull the Cloth with the same amount of tension that even a lightly "pulled and stretched" example would offer.

Instead, I'd suggest a tightly woven White piece of Spandex. That material works very good...you could even get some in a Silver that has no real sheen and get an even better image. It's very lightweight...and stretchy of course...so any wrinkles would come out with only a small amount of stretching from a suspended weight bar. better still, when storing, it would actually Fold up...where BOC would have to be rolled lest you re-introduce those damnable wrinkles all over again.

You don't mention screen size, so that might have a bit to do with any choice.

I have done nearly what you are describing in my dorm room as my projector screen, though even more ghetto being that it's a dorm room. I have the top of the cloth pushpinned to the wall above my window; trying to keep it tight accross the top edge. At the bottom edge I used a couple yard sticks and binder clips to add weight and keep the bottom edge flat and tight. This works great for me as I can fold it up when I'm not watching a movie using the binder clips to hang on the pushpins.

This works reasonably well but as MississippiMan said, wrinkles are a problem. You really need tension from the sides to pull them out properly with blackout cloth.

Spandex World is the "Go To" source, but by no means the only source.

http://spandexworld.com/c3/catalog/browse/30


Color......................................................Direction of Stretch

Matte White............................................ 4-way
http://spandexworld.com/c3/catalog/product/977
http://spandexworld.com/c3/catalog/product/6833

Matte Silver............................................ 4-way
http://spandexworld.com/c3/catalog/product/5954
http://spandexworld.com/c3/catalog/product/6409

Shiny Silver........................................... 4-way
http://spandexworld.com/c3/catalog/product/900

For those who think "BIG".

Bright White 120" wide.............................. 2-way
http://spandexworld.com/c3/catalog/product/7886

Matte White 120" wide.............................. 2-way
http://spandexworld.com/c3/catalog/product/2195

60" wide 4-way stretch Spandex will stretch to cover a very large frame.

2-way Spandex stretches further in any one of it's two directions than does 4-way

My 1st BOC screen was taped to the outside of the cardboard tube it came in then rolled up on the outside when not in use. For display I slid the tube onto a 2x2 that spanned a couple of speakers. Another time the tube was hung from a fireplace mantle with string from the many hooks placed under the mantle that held Xmas stockings. Works great for a portable small screen. Throw distance was abour 8'

Bob...how small is "small"? The OP/TS is thinking about up to a 120" diagonal size.

Small? It is 54" (width the BOC comes in) x 36"
The other screen was 96"x54"
The cardboard tube (free at fabric shop) is about 60"

Positively ittsy bittsy!

But I'm sure it showed bright and sharp though!

96" x 54" = 110". Now that's a decently sized screen for sure.
However, I'm sure the latter wasn't a "Tube Mounted" affair, right?

Ha ha, yes the small screen is "tiny" but not compared to a 24" monitor! Works great for travelling though, gaming on the go! Visiting friends for gaming and 3D movies.
Likewise the 96x54 can hang from a 2x2 with some clamps. I keep that screen inside the tube.
2 or 3-step ladder makes a quickie projector mount also indoors or out.

i DID A BOC SCREEN THREE YEARS AGO AND THE SCREEN IS BETTER THAN MOST i HAVE SEEN AT STORES I CREATED A FRAME AND USED VELVET AS BORDER SCREEN SIZE IS 106 I BELIEVE MY ORIGINAL POST IS STILL ON HERE

Does the light from the projector shine through the spandex? Also, how heavy is the spandex at 54"x96" compared to the BOC?

I'd like to implement something like this as well, but as my screen hangs in front of my tv, I wouldn't be able to do it if the projector shines through.

Heavy Spandex is quite opaque, but not completely. Not enough light would transmit through to light up a wall or objects. Lightweight Spandex (... for AT use...) is different and would require backing.

Be advised that any Spandex Screen on a identical frame would weigh 60% less...and actually could get by with a muck less bulky and rigid frame.

Thanks, I just received 9 yards of Moleskin White in the mail this week, and will be ordering a fixed frame on monday.

Now to un-hijack the thread :

I currently have a hanging BOC screen that I made with 1" sched. 40 PVC. The PVC is attached horizontally to the top and bottom of the screen so gravity does most of the work of keeping the screen flat. I needed to add a length of 1/2" galvanized pipe through the center of the top PVC to prevent sagging. I initially attached the BOC to the PVC with double-sided carpet tape, but the BOC didn't stick to the tape very well. I purchased some "snap clamps" from Amazon which seem sufficient to hold the material for now. The whole thing is hung from the ceiling using aluminum aircraft cable. The results are fairly decent, but the screen doesn't hang completely smooth, so I am currently planning on switching to a rigid frame with a spandex screen. If anybody is interested, I can post pics for others who might want to use it as a start for something similar.

please do. i'm sure several people have an interest in this.

Okay, I'll try to get some pictures up here later this week. It looks kind of rough, but might give people some ideas for improvement.

Sorry it took so long, but I finally got some pictures up. My post turned out to be longer than I thought and I didn't want to take over the thread, so I created a new one here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1402563

Hope it helps!