I'm back and looking for a new screen

Hi all,

It's been awhile since I was here, last helping to develop some of the early MM Mudd, etc, formulations of lore. I moved recently and the old screen is going to be in the kids area with the old projector. So I need something new for my new purpose-built theater. I will be using a Panasonic AE8000 for both 2D and 3D in a 14'x19' room, with a screen somewhere between 120" and 144" diagonal.

The Panny puts out a fair amount of light, even at 19', and the contrast ratio is very good, so I don't need a gray screen. I'm thinking a 1.2 or 1.3 gain formulation would work for Eco mode in 2D. I was tempted to just buy some DIY Theater goo and call it a day, but I can't forsake MMan that way. There's bound to be something as good or better for cheaper;). No hotspots, please.

Theater construction is getting started this week, so i need to come up with a good solution in the next few weeks. And i can guarantee that the wall where it's going will be very smooth and prepped for whatever gets put on there, before anyone mentions that.

Thanks,
Scoob

MM, I'm in Kingsport now, so still an 8 hr drive from Memphis. Closer than NJ for sure.

I'll give the Silver Fire a look. I still have the HVLP sprayer from my first set of adventures and a big compressor, so I might be able to get it done myself before the carpet gets laid. 10' wide and 11.5' diagonal sounds like a good size. And with a little gain from the screen I should be somewhere around 13-16 L. With no ambient light I think that will be sufficient.

Thanks for the advice.

Just an update: the room is about done and ready for paint. I decided to go with the silver fire v2.5 with a 3.0 pigment orientation. Last night I prepped the wall and primed with the sprayer. The logistics of the room have the top of the screen approx 10' off the floor so getting my short arms high enough to spray that high has been my main challenge. Luckily I have access to the contractor's portable moveable scaffolds to get up that high. But they are only 5 1/2' wide so I can't easily reach the first and last few feet of the screen (10' wide). Putting the two scaffolds end to end gets me the width but there's a tall barrier in the middle so I can't easily spray side to side. It's always something.

I will be trying a few things tonight and focusing on dustings however possible. It may not be perfect but I want to try a few layers to get something on the wall before the rest of the theater gets painted tomorrow. Then maybe I'll shift focus to build a platform I can use to spray correctly.

More updates as I progress and as I add the equipment to make it all functional.

Both screens are complete and look perfect, so far. I'll qualify that by saying no projector has yet shone on either screen since racing season has again begun and my priorities are shifting away from the theater (again). The only problem I had with the screen painting was around the logistics of spraying such a huge area. Luckily the contractor's two portable moveable scaffolds were available for use and I adapted them so I could spray the top 60% of the main screen, then I had to jump down, move them back from the wall, and spray the lower 40% while standing on the ground-level. That gets tiresome after the first 5 times of doing it, but it also was the only way to "git 'er done!" I looked at the end result last night (after finishing on Saturday) and was very happy with how it looks. It dried perfectly and smoothly and I can't wait to shine the Panny on it that first time.

The kids' screen was really easy and I did coats on it at the same time as the main screen. I just propped it against the middle riser and when I finished with the main screen coat, I just walked up and sprayed that one. Same shade as the main to make my life a lot easier. I assured myself that I would have enough paint by focusing main effort on the main screen and having the other one there to get up to current standards with the remaining paint. As it turns out I upped the formulation enough that I still have some left over paint, just in case.

The theater should be finishing up construction in the next few weeks, with paint and carpet hopefully by this weekend. The new Panny 8000U will be arriving today or tomorrow. I just ordered the new receiver (Onkyo 717) and next week may be the premiere depending on when the final electrical gets completed.

Just a quick update: I received the projector yesterday. Holy cow! It's monstrously big! Like we're heading back into the old CRT projector territory big. I can't wait to see it in action!

The new receiver is arriving today. Paint and trim being finished today. Carpet tomorrow or early next week. HVAC and electric should be finished next week, too.

Another update: delays are the norm, but everything is painted and we're waiting on the special order carpet to be installed Monday. The whole room will be done Monday, so I'm really excited to have our first showing Monday night. Finding Nemo will be the first show. If the other two 3D glasses show up, then it'll be in 3D.

Meanwhile I shone the projector on the new screen today for the first time. First impressions are very favorable. No hot-spots, no shimmers, no sparklies, and, most importantly, no areas where I screwed up the spray job... I looked at The Fifth Element and the Matrix and was impressed more with Fifth Element with the spectacular colors. I was just looking at the parameters of the screen so I could mount the screen surround. I need the black velvet from Hobby Lobby and I'll be ready.