[cyborge1]

is there any reason Formica would make a bad choice for a screen?

 

[wingryder]

I have not tried it.. because too glossy.. and would

most likely result in hot spots.

But you could "paint" It would make a nice smooth base surface.

A eggshell would tone it down.. Or you could try the "goo".

don

 

[petew]

I tried it but it hotspots badly. And it had some strange streaks that you could only see when illuminated by the projector. Maybe had something to do with polarized light?? I covered my formica screen with a fifteen dollar piece of white spandex and it works great.


Pete

 

[Mike Williams]

Tried the super glossy kind. No good as already mentioned you can see the crt's in the "screen" . Anyway it was pretty cheapo way to cover the concrete plastered wall.


I wound up covering it with white cloth. So far so good. Giving up on DIY screen and will probably buy a stewart or something.


Good luck stay under $300 bucks on materials and you'll have a good deal... Depending on how valuable your time is of course.


MRW

 

[petew]

I'd just about given up on home made screens too. Hopefully I'll like my current version for a while. I'm resisting buying a screen because I'm planning on building a new house soon with rear projection. I'm saving my nickles for that purchase.

 

[Flooper]

I use a 4 x 8 piece of Wilsonart laminate (formica) called "Frosty White" that I got at Mendards. If you need a grey screen, the Dove Grey works well, I've heard. It is a matte finish, does't hotspot at all, and looks excellent. I sent away for a lot of screen samples from Dalite and Draper, but didn't see much difference. I would guess it's a gain of 1.0 to 1.1. I pre-drilled holes in it, and tacked it to my wall--hangs nice and flat with no bulges. I then framed it with window trim painted flat black. Total cost: about $50. You can see all the colors at wilsonart.com. I really like this screen with my Sony 400Q, which is a 400 lumen LCD 16:9 projector. People's jaws drop when they see HDNET on this setup. Hope this helps.


mike

 

[cyborge1]

I have been unable to find the parkland plastic sheets in any home Depot in my area but I did find a mica sheet ( not Formica ) from Home Depot $9.98 it has a smooth white finish on one side that's almost matte. It's pretty light ( about 7 - 8 lbs and brown on the other side ) its pretty stiff ( no wrinkles) but can bend like Formica can.


I Just tried my AE100 pj on it. The sheet was sitting on the floor, and my pj was on a large box. Pretty good picture. (T2, Matrix, Starwars episode 1)


You only see a hot spot if your looking directly at the screen at the same level as the projector. I plan on making a frame out of 3x1/4 wood and paint it flat black.

I will then hang the screen from my ceiling (7ft) in my basement. I will also ceiling mount my pj, I think when I am sitting down looking up slightly there will be no hotspots noticeable. When I find the right paint I think I will paint it gray to give me more contrast. when I get a chance I will post some pics of the screen.

I thought I had the receipt with me so I could post the SKU I will when I find it.