Need help with Spandex screen size and projector placement among others

I'll tag along here since you're tagging along on my thread. Looks like you've got a sweet 70's basement going.

So you're saying that you don't care for the silver spandex as much as just the white?

I'm gonna "double post" this one time since memphisanid did as i feel that the information is relevant enough that if the two Threads get separated, it needs to be available.


I agree with your determination as far as the White over Silver looking better than the reverse in your specific instance. Having a Silver undercoating beneath a White surface was always the best of the DIY paint applications for a controlled to semi-controlled lighting situation produced Black levels that were superior to White alone, and that surely shows up in your images.

The problem back then was that what with most people Rolling on paint (2003-2005) that it was very difficult for people to get just the right amount of paint over the Silver to have it be thin enough to let a decent amount of light pass through to react to the Silver, and then be able to intermingle with the topmost image.
No issues in that regard using a far more porous Spandex.

It is obvious to me however that in fact, although the images on the White alone look "brighter", they are blown out as far as color saturation and a natural look of depth as opposed to the Silver/White combo. Bright isn't all it's cracked up to be, and obviously your White / Silver example shows that to be true as one can see that the darkened returned light beneath the White serves to curtail the overly bright, almost washed out appearance of the White Spandex alone. But there is a distinct difference in image quality in the first Silver over White example shown, where there is ambient light present. The White side is decidedly washed out.

Besides all that, since the Silver Spandex is not in fact a "reflective-oriented" material, the darker color serves to attenuate light a bit. Not much....but enough to be obvious in any direct comparison with a pure White material. Such is why .....for the most part, we resist the practice of making such obviously weighted comparisons between a White and a Gray, as the end results will always be slanted toward the White surface if sheer brightness is what is being considered as being most desirable.

And it's fur shur that brightness plays a strong part in self-determinations made by many, especially those who are new to the Front PJ genre. It's only when an obvious difference is shown that pre-set ideas and preferences tend to get reversed.

I think that if you had a more proficient PJ with at least 1800-2000+ lumens (...or the 8100 w/new Bulb) that the initial showing by the Silver over White combo would have been much more impressive. One thing that would have, or rather obviously did benefit the 8100's performance with Silver over White was the increased appearance of having deeper contrast. Fir those who have much newer PJs such as the Beamers from Epson / Optoma / Viewsonic and the like, I really do think that your results do not give enough emphasis as to the benefit of having the Silver on top.

But even so, for those with a dedicated and light controlled Theater, and who are especially are looking for a viable alternative to the far more expensive Acoustically Transparent Mfg Screen materials, what you've shown is of almost immeasurable value. The White over Silver does in fact look splendid.

I've taken the liberty of cut & pasting excerpts of the two identical scenes that are both shown with the varying Silver/ white combos.

The bottom image is of course White over Silver



As seen, the depth of shadows, and the richness in color saturation is very apparent in both the Silver over White and the White over Silver combos, but lacking in the "White only" representation. Brightness is the only real advantage the "White only" has over the other two. The White over Silver does show a slight uptick as far as brightness as compared to the Silver over White, but not a whole lot.. Really, it's the presence of enhanced contrast that spells the difference over "White only."

Memphisanid, we all owe you a well deserved thank you for the effort you put out! So now comes the caveat. Using the same chosen scene (...how about the Night shot of the Joker looking through the Armored Truck's windshield...) can you put up a shot of the Silver over White that shows the Silver completely covering the White, the reverse as far as White over Silver, and one each of both alone? And take at least one shot of each in ambient light? If you can do that, such a complete dossier of examples for comparison would be well nigh invaluable to those considering a Spandex solution, and it will most assuredly find it's way into the "Advanced DIY Screens" compilation I'm making for potential "Sticky Status".

No matter what else, ya dun gud.

You seem to be living on MMan's type of schedule.

As far as painting the Screen wall "Mouse Ears" Black, be advised that in a dark setting, the Front wall seldom if ever has any bearing whatsoever in the Screen's performance. The light reflecting off the Screen's surface cannot bend around to wash out the image, (...you'll note how much darker the Screen wall is behind the Screen than any other surface...? ) nor can any reflected light from the Walls or ceiling that hits and illuminates the screen wall do likewise. Only reflected / directed light that falls directly onto the Screen has any effect.

Of course, if your Front wall is Black, when the room's lights are up or ambient light is present, the additional Black reference provided by the Wall can only help you to perceive that the Blacks within the image are Blacker than they really are. Of course, that is a main proponent of the Black Velvet Trim most use.

In your instance, with such a deep Black wall, if you can make a shallow Frame and effectively get the Wrapped Spandex Corners looking really neat, you could effect a "Zero Edge" Screen of truly immense proportions, and that would be in almost every sense a "first" on this Forum.

All the Zero Edge Black Diamond Boys who spent $1000's will be spitting up bile...let me tell ya!

Also, to really make the ceiling's effect go away, you need to do at least 2 Rows of Ceiling Tiles. I have found that 4' to 5' of darkened ceiling coming off the Screen wall works best. To really do things right to a "T", you might consider matching the depth you paint the Mouse Ears on the ceiling tiles coming off the Screen wall onto the Side walls as well, as they are pretty darn close into the Screen size you show, and it certainly sounds like your larger size Screen will make the edges be even closer. At / in the least, consider doing one Row of Ceiling Tiles and extending the Black down the Side walls to match.

That's what I would do...and have done several times to the very best effect.

Go here:
http://www.avsforum.com/t/865218/wrapping-black-velvet-on-trim-with-mitered-or-butt-joined-ends

........to find the HD SKU# and a Tutorial


Why....Black Spandex, of course! Gotta be Acoustically Transparent...and the stretchy material will wrap oh so neatly around any Speaker shape.

Gotta Love 'dose O's

They have become my "Go To" Receivers for trimming out Home Theaters, be it as "Stand Alone" amplification, or as Pre-Amps.

That wasn't possible before they improved the Heat dissipation issues, as the O's used to get blazin' hot without any fan assisted airflow.

Ahh, the Onk love. I've got a TX-NR609 upstairs on the 50" plasma with Polt RTs across the front and Boston Acoustic surrounds with a 10" Infinity sub that I swear rattles the block when we're watching movies. I've contemplated putting all that stuff downstairs, but honestly, my theater is going to be mainly for me and the kids. Really looking forward to a pile of cold beers and Packers game this fall on the 124" screen. I have a friend who used to work for an electronics distributor and I got the 609 for like $320. Too bad he's moved on to another job as getting stuff at cost was always really nice.

Did you Roll the walls? If so, I'd advise you go back, lightly sand the surfaces, and then apply a sprayed coating of the Mouse Ears so you can get an even better finish. It looks good "as is" mind you...but a really smooth final finish will make the walls look almost like velvet.

(...but I won't blame you if you decline owing to all the time you've spent already... )

excellent set of pics. as MM pointed out i think the white over silver look great (and better than the other three setups you tried). if you have the inclination, time, and extra few bucks, i would highly suggest you try white over black. but even if you dont i think white over grey looks pretty solid there.

looking forward to more progress when you are back from vacation..

memphisanid, how do the spandex variations compare to your old BOC screen? What kind of loss of brightness do you see, if any? I'm considering a false wall and AT material and the price is definitely right with the spandex.

Thanks for the info, and any scenes would be fine. And thanks for sharing your project.

I always shoot on Auto from at least 15'-20' away and use Zoom to frame the image, always leaving about 20% if the surrounding screen wall viewable.

If the ISO causes the photo image to be too dark, I simply reduce Zoom and step forward until the result compares with my live visuals.

Hi Memphis, I too am interested in comparisons between the spandex and BOC. Did you end up deciding to stick with silver over white?

No problem. Looking forward to comparisons when you get around to it.