[dyst0pia]

Trying to improve my projection quality without spending too much more. I live in an apartment, so painting isn't really an option. I want to hang up a limited amount of black velvet to help tone down the light reflecting back on my screen. I don't want to black out the entire room; what surfaces should I target to get the best marginal improvement?

White walls and ceilings, beige carpet. The screen is mounted on a wall near a corner; adjacent wall is about 1 foot away. Other side is blank space (wall doesn't extend all the way out) for about 6 feet. 1 foot from the ceiling, 2 feet from the floor. Short (unfortunately glass-topped) stand on the floor in front of the projector. No external light; blackout curtains all around.

I'm thinking just the close adjacent wall and ceiling, extending out about 2-3 feet from the screen. Is that enough? Anywhere else seem critical? Is that glass-topped stand going to kill me no matter what (I could probably top it with some black cloth without making it look too ridiculous)?

 

[airscapes]

Trying to improve my projection quality without spending too much more. I live in an apartment, so painting isn't really an option. I want to hang up a limited amount of black velvet to help tone down the light reflecting back on my screen. I don't want to black out the entire room; what surfaces should I target to get the best marginal improvement?

White walls and ceilings, beige carpet. The screen is mounted on a wall near a corner; adjacent wall is about 1 foot away. Other side is blank space (wall doesn't extend all the way out) for about 6 feet. 1 foot from the ceiling, 2 feet from the floor. Short (unfortunately glass-topped) stand on the floor in front of the projector. No external light; blackout curtains all around.

I'm thinking just the close adjacent wall and ceiling, extending out about 2-3 feet from the screen. Is that enough? Anywhere else seem critical? Is that glass-topped stand going to kill me no matter what (I could probably top it with some black cloth without making it look too ridiculous)?

5' from the screen, wall and ceiling is what I do and is good to go.. 5' is the rule of thumb quoted by most and I have to agree

Link to livingroom update pictures
Adding Removable Velvet and Ceiling panels

Daytime TV Watching

Night time projector watching

 

[dreamer]

Trying to improve my projection quality without spending too much more. I live in an apartment, so painting isn't really an option. I want to hang up a limited amount of black velvet to help tone down the light reflecting back on my screen. I don't want to black out the entire room; what surfaces should I target to get the best marginal improvement?

White walls and ceilings, beige carpet. The screen is mounted on a wall near a corner; adjacent wall is about 1 foot away. Other side is blank space (wall doesn't extend all the way out) for about 6 feet. 1 foot from the ceiling, 2 feet from the floor. Short (unfortunately glass-topped) stand on the floor in front of the projector. No external light; blackout curtains all around.

I'm thinking just the close adjacent wall and ceiling, extending out about 2-3 feet from the screen. Is that enough? Anywhere else seem critical? Is that glass-topped stand going to kill me no matter what (I could probably top it with some black cloth without making it look too ridiculous)?

Sidewalls and ceiling are much more important that the screen wall itself. At least 5'-6' on each. A 'table runner' on top of the glass equipment rack shouldn't look odd at all.

None of this absolutely needs to be black velvet. It can be any dark, muted fabric, even with a small pattern to it. On the other hand, Walmart sells very inexpensive black drapes that amount to $4 per lineal foot of wall that are good enough to eliminate the light bouncing off side walls -- curtain rods are extra and probably cost more than the drapes. Ceilings are tough in an apartment -- you really need to build lightweight wooden frames, wrap them with fabric, then suspend them from the ceiling with wire nailed to the ceiling joists. Staples or double-sided tape and you might not get your security deposit back.

 

[zoepup]

You can try rosebrand.com for remnants. Usually can save a lot of money. Velvet is pricey. I believe encore would be better priced and do the job just as well

http://www.rosebrand.com/subcategory183/closouts-closeout-fabric-remnants.aspx

 

[dyst0pia]

Awesome, thanks for the suggestions, everyone! I guess I'll have to think harder about how I want to do the ceiling without leaving visible damage. I think I'll be going with the drapes option, since that's cheaper than velvet or velour and probably good enough for my purposes. At the very least, it'll be better than these white walls that light up the room like it's daytime.

 

[Cksqurd]

Lots of info in this thread....
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/24-di...read-once-you-go-black-you-never-go-back.html

Might find it helpful.

 

[dyst0pia]

Lots of info in this thread....
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/24-di...read-once-you-go-black-you-never-go-back.html

Might find it helpful.

Oh man, those are some beautiful theaters. I'll read that thread in detail; sounds very useful.

Already got a great pointer from the first post. My local Joann has black fleece on sale at $4.50/yd, plus they have a coupon for 20% off including sale items

 

[ALtlOff]

Oh man, those are some beautiful theaters. I'll read that thread in detail; sounds very useful.

Already got a great pointer from the first post. My local Joann has black fleece on sale at $4.50/yd, plus they have a coupon for 20% off including sale items

Check retailmenot for other coupons for JoAnns, they almost always have a 50% off coupon every month.
I used the $5.99 -50% Crushed Penne Velvet and $7.99 Black Velour for mine.

Velour around the screen and Crushed Penne for the ceiling and soffit's, I like the Velour a little better because of the two toned look of the Crushed Penne, but needed the savings since the Soffits and Panels required 50yds.

 

[dyst0pia]

Check retailmenot for other coupons for JoAnns, they almost always have a 50% off coupon every month.
I used the $5.99 -50% Crushed Penne Velvet and $7.99 Black Velour for mine.

Thanks for that. Looks like said 50% coupon is active. It didn't apply to the fleece because that was already on sale, hence the 20% coupon instead.

What do you mean about the two-tone look of the velvet? Do you mean the color shifting kind of look that happens when you look at velvet from different angles?

I'm looking at either the Blizzard Fleece or the Crushed Panne Velvet (I don't know if the marginal cost of the velour over the fleece/velvet is worth it). Is there anything in particular I should know about these two options? Given that most people use velvet, I assume that's better than fleece? Or is there not really a difference at this price range?

Sorry for all the questions. As you can see, I'm still largely clueless about this stuff. Looking forward to a weekend of designing/building some contrast optimization on a budget

 

[ALtlOff]

Thanks for that. Looks like said 50% coupon is active. It didn't apply to the fleece because that was already on sale, hence the 20% coupon instead.

What do you mean about the two-tone look of the velvet? Do you mean the color shifting kind of look that happens when you look at velvet from different angles?

I'm looking at either the Blizzard Fleece or the Crushed Panne Velvet (I don't know if the marginal cost of the velour over the fleece/velvet is worth it). Is there anything in particular I should know about these two options? Given that most people use velvet, I assume that's better than fleece? Or is there not really a difference at this price range?

Sorry for all the questions. As you can see, I'm still largely clueless about this stuff. Looking forward to a weekend of designing/building some contrast optimization on a budget

If you see it in store you'll know what I mean, it has, for lack of a better term, a directionality to it, sort of like a really s short fur, if you rub it backwards, it takes on a different tone in color.
I can see where I put some of my panels up with it in the wrong direction, but that's being hyper critical.

 

[dyst0pia]

If you see it in store you'll know what I mean, it has, for lack of a better term, a directionality to it, sort of like a really s short fur, if you rub it backwards, it takes on a different tone in color.
I can see where I put some of my panels up with it in the wrong direction, but that's being hyper critical.

I think I know what you mean. I'll have time to drop by the store tomorrow and see for myself.