HP Pulldown -> Fixed Screen DISASTER

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I currently have a Blackout Cloth (BOC) stretched out on the frame and was planning to remove it before fitting the HP screen. Should I just leave it on? I'm wondering if the HP screen will stretch/slide better on the BOC than on the wood frame directly.


Also, anything special that I need to consider in stretching the screen? I managed to do it quite successfully with the BOC in the first place. This time I was planning on getting a canvas stretching plier to help tension better. Everything I've been reading suggests that it is extremely important to get the first 4 set of staples (the ones that form the "diamond") with a lot of tension. I had to pull like crazy with the BOC ... with anything heavier I doubt that my fingers would be enough (which is why I'm buying the plier this time around).


Does the HP material stretch much (if at all)? Also, would it help to dampen it a bit from the rear (that helped getting the BOC nice and tight)?

I just finished this last night. The HP material has very little give, so "stretching"

is problematic. I found that I didn't really need to strectch the material but to

pull on it enough to make it taught (sp?). I have a flat wave/wrinkle free

screen. Also, when I cut the material out from the model C, I left the black masking

in tact and make the final trim after the material was fully stapled down. I also

chose to staple the material on the front side of frame since my black masking will

hide the staples anyway. This way the HP material is always face up with no risk

of damaging the surface by being rubbed on the floor underneath.


Good luck...

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I also had a pair of canvus pliers handy but chose not to use them since the HP

fabric doesn't really have alot of give and my fingers were doing a fine job. You'll

see once you get started.

I got my Model C HiPower yesterday (133" HDTV format ... heavy beast!). Today I disassembled it and have the material all out and ready for mounting. I'm taking pictures as I go along and will post the info when done.


So far its been smooth and easy. At first I thought that I'd pull the screen out and cut it off the frame. THAT WOULD'VE BEEN A BIG MISTAKE! Since the rollers are under tension, cutting the screen while on the roller would have either damaged it or bunched it up (since the cut would be made under changing tension).

What I did instead was to first open the case completely (there are a bunch of screws that hold the end caps) and then carefully release the tension on the rollers. Once that was done, I could take the whole unit out, unroll it and basically peel it off the roller. When done, I basically had the case, the big roller and the pull bar (which is also held by 8 screws) outside. The screen with its backing etc. was intact and on the carpet facing upwards without a single scratch anywhere. A sharp scissor then *easily* cut the excess backing (I was able to "run" the scissor down the length just like any heavy fabric)


I'll keep you all posted on how the rest of the project proceeds! I'm taking it slow and easy ...

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I'm planing the same project with a Model B 106 inch screen within the next few weeks. Thanks for any tips!

I have built one of these and modified it twice to accommodate a changing setup. Here are a couple pointers/thoughts:


1. As stated before, the material is not really stretchable at all. The best you can do is to remove any slack. I used heavy velcro for this operation because it is tough to get everything pulled evenly the first time. I usually had to reposition each side once or twice to get it all even. Velcro is more forgiving in this regard than staples although it will set you back $20 or so.

2. The surface is not THAT delicate, but you definitely do not want to lay it down on an abrasive surface such as a garage floor, or workbench. I found that it was fine lying face down on normal carpeting while I set the frame on top and work on it from there. The surface does mar at very sharp bends such as you will likely see at the corners if you pull it very tight. Defiantely avoid leaving any of your work tools under the screen when you lay it out like this. A carelessly placed clawhammer or a couple stray staples could ruin your day.

3. As Sankar pointed out, cutting it off the roller while still tensioned is a big no-no because it could bunch up or cut unevenly, especially towards the end.

i ordered and expecting to arrive tomorrow a 133 diag high power permwall . yes its more then a roll up but if you take shipping into account it goes ups not trucking so shipping is a lot less. then you don't have to worry about about not getting it hung correctly without waves ect. i am planning to build my own velvet covered frame to place around screen I got the velvet 50% off at joanns and make some type of manual masking system . i have been searching for anybodys else designs but i haven't seen any good manual ideas yet that except for cutout that fits into screen and were manually removed. I didn't want to have to store apx 11 foot cutouts and preferred it to self contained like the electric systems . i have thought of putting magnet strips in frame and attach mask with magnets sewn in on end i figured the top would be okay but the bottom mask would droop and be uneven. i have found 1/2 inch metal conduit i figured if i sewed it into border would maintain straight line if supported on each end. I am still trying to design the project. my concerns are either it will be far away will cause a shadow box. Or it will be to close and will damage screen going up and down or some type of track system but the track will reflect light and will be visible on sides if it works out well i will post pictures . any body else if you have solutions your input would be appreciated


eric

Just did this myself, and although i am quite happy with the final result, it did give me a few nervous moments. This material is quite delicate and difficult to stretrch. A few observations from my experience:


1. Plan that you will need to reposition each edge a few times to get a wrinkle free surface, so use fasteners that can be removed (don't drive stapes in all the way, or go with velcro).


2. Definately have excess around each edge that can be trimmed off once you are done.


3. Because this material is quite heavy, I would recommend stapling on the front (underneith you border) so as to avoid 90 degree wrap-arounds.


Simon

I mounted the screen yesterday. Almost everything went smoothly as per plan and the final result is a nice taut 120" screen on my diy frame.


One word of caution though: the front surface is very easily damaged! At one point I had the roller bar rest on the screen (by mistake) and the resulting indendation caused light to reflect improperly. Fortunately I was able to position the screen so that it ended up on an edge and not in the visible region. BE VERY CAREFUL and DO NOT PUT IT ON A ROUGH SURFACE!


I had bought a size larger than I needed (I needed 120", but bought 133") ... I am quite glad that I did since it gave me sufficient excess to work with. I do not believe that I could've achieved a clean fit had I gone for the 120". The price differential was only $40 shipped and well worth it. I bought mine from Cousin's Video. Extremely smooth internet purchasing experience and they kept me constantly posted of what was going on by email. The screen came in a couple of days ahead of the promised date.


With the 133", I was able to use the canvas plier and pull everything real nice and tight. By the way, I found that a combination of using the plier for tension and hands for removing wrinkles worked the best. Two pairs of hands are highly recommended.


In spite of all my care when I finally projected an image on the screen, I noticed 5 small marks near the left top edge. They are not scratches but appear more like scuffs or places where the surface has been pushed in a bit. Each is about 1-2mm wide and 3-4mm long ... not that big, but from certain angles with a bright clear white image you can see them. For the most part they are not noticeable (but I know that they are there which is more hassling!). With the projector off I cannot see them (unless I go closeby looking for them) and I even wonder if it was a defect the screen came with. In any case since I've cut it all up, I can't really go back to DaLite. With a 4x3 or 1x2.35 image, there is nothing projected on it (its in the first couple of inches from the top about a foot from the left edge). I've absolutely no idea of when this could've happened, but can easily live with it (as though I have a choice!). For those of you are starting to worry ... don't! This a very minor issue and I'm sure that it could easily happen when the screen is rolled up and down. Its just that the screen needs care.


The image is nice and punchy and all my worries about not being in the cone etc. have been put to rest. When I first had the screen laid out on the floor, I noticed that the viewing cone was real. As I moved my head away from the source of light, the gain dropped off dramatically. But with the screen up and an image projected, I can move around quite a bit with no noticeable dropoff. My screen is about 12 feet from the projector. The projector (AE900u) is ceiling mounted (78" from floor) and even with my head 3.5 feet below the projector and to one side (i.e. not the best seat), the image is far better than the blackout cloth I had. I really have to move to the edge of the room (beyond the edges of the screen) to notice any significant drop off). I had originally planned on lowering my projector, but now I think I'll wait and see. For those that are thinking in terms of angles, my angles are in excess of 15 degrees ... and it's fine. Standing up and coming into the cone makes it only marginally brighter in my opinion. The eyes easily get used to the differences in brightness ... so if you are on the "edge" of the theoretical limits and worrying about it ... don't ... just get the High Power!


The color balance is slightly different and I had to recalibrate using AVIA. Not only did I have to adjust the contrast and brightness settings, but the color AND tint changed a bit too. I plan to do a full grayscale (CalMAN and SpyderPro) a few weeks later when I get some time.


Ok, the attached zips file have some shots: There are 18 images (numbered and with text names). The file was too big to upload in one shot, so I've loaded them separately ...


"1 OuterCase1.jpg", "2 OuterCase2.jpg" and "3 EndCapsEtc.jpg"


These comprise the outer shell of the Model C. I had to get the end caps off (which were each held by 4 screws) and slide the screen assembly out AFTER releasing the tension. Along with the end caps you can see the metal plates that maintained the tension. BE CAREFUL NOT TO HURT YOURSELF AS THESE ARE UNDER TENSION AND CAN FLY OUT. DON'T STAND IN THE WAY.


Once the roller is out ... "4 RollerEdge1.jpg" and "5 RollerEdge2.jpg" show you the two sides. Notice that the screen has been unrolled.

At the other end of the screen is the pull bar which would normally be used to pull the screen down and hold it in place. These are held by 8 screws (4 on each end) again. "6 PullBarScrews.jpg".

Remove them and the plate falls off and the bar can then be slid out easily. "7 PullBarRemoval.jpg" ... the blue toe you see is from an earlier "accident"


At the roller end, the screen is fastened to the metal roller by brown tape (looks like strong postal tape) : "8 ScreenAtRollerEnd.jpg". Peel it off carefully and then the roller and pull bar are off ... "9 RollerAndPullBar.jpg"

The screen is now ready for trimming etc: "10 ScreenUnrolled1.jpg" and "11 ScreenUnrolled2.jpg". ... and cut as well "12 AllCutAndReadyForMounting.jpg"

Using instructions on the web on mounting canvas (search for "How to stretch canvas" in yahoo):

"13 AttachingToFrame.jpg", "14 FinishingAnEdge.jpg", "15 AllEdgesDone.jpg".

The "gray" cloth underneath is the rear side of the Blackout Cloth I'd been using all these days ... in image 17 below I turned off the flash to show that its not all that darker than the High Power normally. Now for the final product ... (still need to do a black trim)

"16 FinishedScreen1.jpg", "17 FinishedScreen2.jpg", "18 FinishedScreen3.jpg"

 

Snaps1.zip 423.6865234375k . file

 

Snaps2.zip 412.6171875k . file

 

Snaps3.zip 498.1533203125k . file