AVS › AVS Forum › Display Devices › 2.35:1 Constant Image Height Chat › DIY Constant Height › Finished my DIY curved screen set-up with pics
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Finished my DIY curved screen set-up with pics

post #1 of 78
11/4/07 at 8:59am
Thread Starter 
First of all I would like to thank everyone on this thread who helped answer all of my questions to make my set-up possible. My main concern was would 2:35 work on my short throw set-up ( just under 10 ft from screen to lens, 45" height with a throw ratio of 1.47) and in my case, yes it will work. I wound up buying the Panamorph 380 lens and the Sony vpl vw60. After talking to Panamorph they said the lens will work with my short throw however I will get some pincushioning which is why I built the curved screen. I also built a manual sled from ideas I also got from you guys. I wound up covering the screen with black velvet material with self adhesive that I got from Mcmaster-Carr Supply, the stuff works great. Enclosed are some pics. Anyone thinking of going 2:35, GO FOR IT !!! the effect is unbeliveble. In the future I want to add remote control curtains for masking and maybe build a remote control transport for the lens, I used to hate 2:35 movies, now it's all I want to watch. Thanks again for all your help,
George
LL
LL
LL
LL
Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #2 of 78
11/4/07 at 9:16am
Thread Starter 
A few more pics I could not fit, The screen shots don't do it justice, it looks alot better in person,
George
LL
LL
LL
LL
LL
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 78
11/4/07 at 9:34am
nice job
i am very envious
may i ask where you purchased the material from (maker, cost, etc...)?
I am planning on trying to do the same but was curious as to the cost savings this represents.
how did you do the radius?
again- kudos on a job well done.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 78
11/4/07 at 10:21am
Thread Starter 
Hello Dipak, I bought the screen material from the AVS forum which they got from Vutec. The material is a Vutec bright white with a 1.3 gain, the material measures 47" by 112" outer size which includes a 1" border with Velcro for easy installation. Viewing surface is 45" by 110" which is a 2.44 screen ratio ( thats the picture size that I got when I installed the lens, so I went with it).The Vutec material was $209.00, the black Velvet was $57.00 and the wood from Home Depot was about another $60.00. Total cost was about $326.00. After figuring out how many inches difference between the center of the screen pincushion and the edge using the broomstick method that I got from CAVX (in my case it was 3.5") I nailed 2 long nails 3.5" from a starting point on both ends of the 2 by 6 board that I used for the curve and nailed 1 long nail in the center of the starting point ( the starting point was 1.5" from the edge of the wood for strengh) the I simply put a long 1 by 3 piece of wood on the center nail and bent it over the other the 2 nails on both corners to get my radius. Then I used a marker to trace the curve which I then cut for the curve. Hope that helps, George
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 78
11/4/07 at 2:43pm
Tr6,

Looks like a bought one after the flocking went on - well done I really like the way you taken the screen lit up first, then the actual screen shots from the same angle. Very cool. Send you photos to Alan and be added to the long official 235 thread...

Mark
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 78
11/4/07 at 2:54pm
Looks great tr6,

What did the edges of the curved 2x6 end up being? If your starting point was 1.5" and you went out 3.5" did it end up being 5" thick at the edges, thus shaving off about .5" off the vertical pieces as well?

The pic looks excellent, you should be proud and I'll probably be borrowing your design. Thanks for posting.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 78
11/4/07 at 5:36pm
Thread Starter 
Hello oman321, yes the edges of the curve are 5" thick and so are the vertical pieces, I also had to cut the front part of the vertical pieces at an angle to meet the curve of the screen border.
George
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 78
11/4/07 at 5:42pm
Very nice! I like the design for getting the smooth curve and rigidity from the L-shape wood support. But I am still unclear on how you attached the screen material to the frame. Velcro? Does that mean you had to purchase the screen material already pre-cut to your dimensions? Hmmm, that might be the way to go anyways since I am all thumbs when it comes to sewing material.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 78
11/4/07 at 6:36pm
Thread Starter 
Hello Riblet, Yes I ordered pre-cut, the Velcro came already sewn on the viewing side of the screen in a 1" border, that's the way I ordered it from Vutec and then you simply attach it to the inside border from the back of the screen.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 78
11/5/07 at 4:58am
Ahhhhh.... I like that even better than what I was envisioning, since it gives you a very sharp edge border. I am leaning towards a curved screen for my next setup, so that I can place the projector fairly close to the screen.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 78
11/5/07 at 9:35am
Looks nice!
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 78
11/6/07 at 6:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JDLIVE View Post

Looks nice!

And short throw to boot. excellent.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 78
11/6/07 at 6:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tr6 View Post

First of all I would like to thank everyone on this thread who helped answer all of my questions to make my set-up possible. My main concern was would 2:35 work on my short throw set-up ( just under 10 ft from screen to lens, 45" height with a throw ratio of 1.47) and in my case, yes it will work. I wound up buying the Panamorph 380 lens and the Sony vpl vw60. After talking to Panamorph they said the lens will work with my short throw however I will get some pincushioning which is why I built the curved screen. I also built a manual sled from ideas I also got from you guys. I wound up covering the screen with black velvet material with self adhesive that I got from Mcmaster-Carr Supply, the stuff works great. Enclosed are some pics. Anyone thinking of going 2:35, GO FOR IT !!! the effect is unbeliveble. In the future I want to add remote control curtains for masking and maybe build a remote control transport for the lens, I used to hate 2:35 movies, now it's all I want to watch. Thanks again for all your help,
George

George, just one question. Does the vw60 morph the image for you or was an external processor employed?
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 78
11/7/07 at 7:10am
George-
Very well done. I was wondering, the velvet from McMaster, is this the 45 - inch wide stuff?

BTW, I'm currently building a curved screen made from aluminum. Will be posting when it is finished.

Don
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 78
11/7/07 at 8:53am
Great way to get the curve. After seeing your pics I went ahead and started with a 2x6 frame. However, while grabbing base-moulding for a family room project I happened to notice a rabbeted moulding (clear pine - the cap is rounded over on both sides, and the back has a single rabbet that starts full width and angles in for about an inch and a quarter) that i deemed perfect for a rear-stretched screen. And indeed it is. I'll snap a pic of the profile when I get a chance. What was nice about the shape is it provides a cleaner edge for the screen to sit against. Probably not critical, but it does work well

I DIY'd my lens. Throwing a 41" tall image from about 11.5 feet back. I'm still struggling with lining up the projector - it skews the right side still (without the anamorphic lens). But my hands were tired from stretching the screen last night so I didn't mess with it too much. Seating is at 10'. And man, is that a nice image. Perfect size.

C
Reply
Reply
post #16 of 78
11/7/07 at 5:58pm
Hi

It is a nice job tr6.

I have made my own curved screen as well. I used reverse calculation to find out the curvature needed. The anamprphic lens only created 2 inch deep in the curve (pin cusion effect) when projected onto to plain wall. Used deep and width to find out radius, using the constant radius calculated the segment heights at 1 feet apart. So you will fin my screen is curved very slightly. The screen is 15 feet wide, hence the effect.

Some photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/prabhatb...ey=POsNp1tXOhU
Reply
Reply
post #17 of 78
11/8/07 at 10:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tr6 View Post

Hello Dipak, I bought the screen material from the AVS forum which they got from Vutec. The material is a Vutec bright white with a 1.3 gain, the material measures 47" by 112" outer size which includes a 1" border with Velcro for easy installation. Viewing surface is 45" by 110" which is a 2.44 screen ratio ( thats the picture size that I got when I installed the lens, so I went with it).The Vutec material was $209.00, the black Velvet was $57.00 and the wood from Home Depot was about another $60.00. Total cost was about $326.00. After figuring out how many inches difference between the center of the screen pincushion and the edge using the broomstick method that I got from CAVX (in my case it was 3.5") I nailed 2 long nails 3.5" from a starting point on both ends of the 2 by 6 board that I used for the curve and nailed 1 long nail in the center of the starting point ( the starting point was 1.5" from the edge of the wood for strengh) the I simply put a long 1 by 3 piece of wood on the center nail and bent it over the other the 2 nails on both corners to get my radius. Then I used a marker to trace the curve which I then cut for the curve. Hope that helps, George

I'm trying to understand how you guys figured out the curve radius. In the attachment is an exagerated pincusion. Is the area I marked as "a" the measurement we are talking about?...Thx
LL
Reply
Reply
post #18 of 78
11/8/07 at 11:23am
Thread Starter 
Hello CMRA yes the Sony vw60 does the stretch, it's one of the reasons I bought it. Hello Don yes I used the 45" velvet and still had some left over, the stuff worked great.
Hello nosdude. This is the advise that I got from CAVX on how to figure out the pincushion correction,
"The best way to "ray trace" is to project on to a flat surface first.
Take a stick (broom stick is ideal) and mark the top and bottom of the centre of the light beam on the stick. This is the smallest vertical part of the image suffering pincusion.
Move the stick to one end. The pincusion effect will have the light spilling over the tape markers.
Move the stick out from the wall until the tape now once again matches the light beam.
Measure that distance from the stick back to the wall. That is your distance for your screen.
Bend the frame (if possible) to match the distance at each end with the centre secured to the wall."
Hope that helps, George
Reply
Reply
post #19 of 78
11/8/07 at 12:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tr6 View Post

Hello CMRA yes the Sony vw60 does the stretch, it's one of the reasons I bought it. Hello Don yes I used the 45" velvet and still had some left over, the stuff worked great.
Hello nosdude. This is the advise that I got from CAVX on how to figure out the pincushion correction,
"The best way to "ray trace" is to project on to a flat surface first.
Take a stick (broom stick is ideal) and mark the top and bottom of the centre of the light beam on the stick. This is the smallest vertical part of the image suffering pincusion.
Move the stick to one end. The pincusion effect will have the light spilling over the tape markers.
Move the stick out from the wall until the tape now once again matches the light beam.
Measure that distance from the stick back to the wall. That is your distance for your screen.
Bend the frame (if possible) to match the distance at each end with the centre secured to the wall."
Hope that helps, George


Perfect explanation. Thanks.
Reply
Reply
post #20 of 78
11/8/07 at 11:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nosdude View Post

I'm trying to understand how you guys figured out the curve radius. In the attachment is an exagerated pincusion. Is the area I marked as "a" the measurement we are talking about?...Thx

Hi,

I tried this way. Take your picture for explanation, I calculated the screen width (w) and Height (a).

Now I need calculate (a) at 1feet interval so that I will create studs and nail a frame over the stud to get the curved frame.

To do this, need to find out radius (r) from (w) and (a).

I used this calculator: http://www.1728.com/circsect.htm

Now keeping (r) constant I found (a) at various (w)=3feet, 5feet, 7feet etc.

Now I got (a)'s at 1 feet apart and cut the studs accordingly.

Hope it helps
Reply
Reply
post #21 of 78
11/9/07 at 8:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tr6 View Post

the Velcro came already sewn on the viewing side of the screen in a 1" border, that's the way I ordered it from Vutec and then you simply attach it to the inside border from the back of the screen.

Apparently the screen material has enough body/stiffness to it that this method still results in a smooth curvature to it? Sorry, I've never worked with screen material before.

Quote:
Originally Posted by camarillo_cinema View Post

I'm currently building a curved screen made from aluminum. Will be posting when it is finished.

I'm very interested in this--I'm hoping to build a screen that is light enough that I can rotate it up-and-more-or-less-flat against the ceiling, likely into a soffitted surround. The wood the tr6 used would be too heavy for this I think.
Reply
Reply
post #22 of 78
11/11/07 at 2:59pm
So what came first, the screen or the projector? Since I have neither, here's what I do know- screen to be 10' wide, projector to be placed 13' from screen, mounting height to center of lens 7' from finished floor.

Given that- what would be the recommended:
1. Height of screen (10X?)
2. Depth of curve (between the right and left sides facing)
3. Mounting height of finished screen assembly (7' lens height)

Will different projectors change the numbers for above or can I go ahead and at least get my screen going. BTW, tr6 you did a nice job on that project!
Reply
Reply
post #23 of 78
11/11/07 at 11:58pm
GG386,

Most likely you would need to curve your screen if you are getting pincushion effect from using an anamorphic lens. If you don't use one, curving the screen may become a problem, it will give an effect opposite of pincushion effect. Of course you can live with it or mask it, but you make the call....
Reply
Reply
post #24 of 78
11/12/07 at 4:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by prabhatb View Post

GG386,

Most likely you would need to curve your screen if you are getting pincushion effect from using an anamorphic lens. If you don't use one, curving the screen may become a problem, it will give an effect opposite of pincushion effect. Of course you can live with it or mask it, but you make the call....

This is exactly my point- If I use projector X, then in 2 years I may want to use PJ Y, then is my curved screen now rendered useless? Since I have commited to a CIH setup, (and ready to drywall next week), my plan is to recess the screen into my viewing wall. I could frame the R.O. and slip in the screen at a later time but what are the dimmensions for a 10' screen- is there a height that corresponds to the width? Any projectors (digital) that work better with scope?- probably the wrong forum I know but it can't hurt to ask
Reply
Reply
post #25 of 78
11/12/07 at 5:26pm
If you are investing on a good anamorphic lens, there is little chance that you would want to change it in x years, unlike a projector. With that in mind, your curved screen may not go wasted or need any change, since you will curve your screen to offset the amount of curvature created by lens. More or less even you change a projector (assuming that you would go with almost same throw distance etc.) and keep the lens, your curved screen will be useful for many years.

I have a optoma H80 and a DIY curved screen. My screen is really a big one - 15 feet wide. The height of the screen is little larger than it should be for a 2.35 aspect ratio. Since I have build a bigger (curved) screen, I am free to mask it in anyway to suit my projection. In my case actual projection is not 15 feet, but about 14.25 Feet. So I mask it both side , right and left and top and bottom with black 'Felt' cloth. Masking it will give you a real theater experience anyway.
Reply
Reply
post #26 of 78
11/15/07 at 9:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tr6 View Post

A few more pics I could not fit, The screen shots don't do it justice, it looks alot better in person,
George

Great pic of King Kong. Is that from a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player?
Reply
Reply
post #27 of 78
11/15/07 at 11:33am
Thread Starter 
Hello nosdude, It's a Toshiba A2 HD DVD player with 1080i output.
George
Reply
Reply
post #28 of 78
11/18/07 at 4:10pm
So if you know your screen size, throw distance, projector, and lens make/model, is there any way to determine the pincushion correction prior to actually putting the theater together? I am in process of demolition and then will begin the whole basement renovation (contractor actually) of which the HT will be a part, but I would like to figure out ahead of time the arc on my diy screen so I can be building it while the rest of the basement is under construction.
Reply
Reply
post #29 of 78
11/19/07 at 12:07am
I don't think you would know for sure the curvature needed from just numbers (screen size distance etc ). Too many variables.
Reply
Reply
post #30 of 78
11/19/07 at 5:46am
Quote:


Apparently the screen material has enough body/stiffness to it that this method still results in a smooth curvature to it? Sorry, I've never worked with screen material before.

What about this?
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: DIY Constant Height

AVS Top Picks

AVS › AVS Forum › Display Devices › 2.35:1 Constant Image Height Chat › DIY Constant Height › Finished my DIY curved screen set-up with pics