Coytee Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 My brother in law called... is looking to put something small up in his apartment. (he owns building). Asked if this paint would work. I think I've heard of some people using a special paint but don't really know much about it. Is it out there, will it work as good as a dedicated screen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsu99999 Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 I've heard the same thing. I ran a projector off of a wall with regular paint. I was renting a place for a short period of time and used their non reflective white walls as a screen. It actually worked beautifully. I'm sure the paint your referring to would work much better, but my friends and I were both amazed in the detail a blank white wall can provide to a projector. I honestly think people put too much emphisis on screens, but that's my opinion. In my perm setup, instead of buying a screen, I built one out of a material you can pick up at lowes for around 10 bucks a sheet. I don't remember what it was, but it worked perfectly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 24, 2010 Moderators Share Posted March 24, 2010 There are plenty of guys that have made DIY screens. Some use paint, some use I think what they call Whiteboard. Short answer is yes it will work just fine if he paints the wall as long as the wall is flat and not textured (like orange peel). If it has bumps, ridges etc, it will not look good. It needs to be very flat and white. Check the AVS Forum for DIY Screens. Here is a thread called Beginners Guide to Simple DIY Painted Screens. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermoravec Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 I took this from wuzzer's playbook Check out this link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokarz Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 i am building a laminate screen with wood frame for roughly $100. from what i've read, it should provide excellent PQ rivaling those sreens that cost $400-$500. the reasons why i chose to build: 1) excellent PQ 2) cheap 3) easy to make 4) looks nice hanging on a wall....and of course, not having to paint the wall i should have pics up in the next day or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Over the years I have built four screen, but none were just paint. There are some DIY paint formulas floating around out there and a few guys sell their formula. If that is what he is really interested in, send him to the AVSForum DIY screen threads. Plenty of material there. I would, however ask him what projector he is using and what the intended use is. For example, is is a DLP low lumen pj, or a high lumen pj. Does he want to have lights on in the room when the pj is running or will all lights out work. If he wants to have some ambient light, he is going to have to go with something other than paint and select a screen that has a greated than 1.0 gain. My current screen is amazing and I can watch it with the lights on, say during a super bowl party etc. eventhough I only have a 900 lumen DLP pj. Plain paint will not allow that and you will likely not be able to see the picture well unless it is pitch black in the room. Building a screen is relatively easy, heck I did it. However, building a great screen takes some research and good material selection. I would suggest a way to go, but don't have enough information on what his needs are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 25, 2010 Moderators Share Posted March 25, 2010 I have to agree with some of Rudy's thoughts. My projector is 1600 lumens and have a 1.1 gain screen from Elite and with the lights on, the projector is pretty washed out. It needs to be pretty dark to get the amazing picture quality of the 3000u. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Best thing I ever did was make a frame and put a Dalite High Power screen material on it. Even my lowly DLP creates an amazing, bright, detailed picture. Does pretty darn well with the lights on. In no light, movie watching, it is like a 10' plasma! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbon summit Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 I look forward to the day I can join the projector club! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrod Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 I was just thinking the exact same thing Carbon. I can't wait to be talking about this stuff. Youth, all of those pics in the 235:1 thread got me really excited! Was I reading it correctly in that you need a projector and then a different lens to get the 235:1? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 The price of projectors has come way down and the resolution and picture quality has gone way up. So, quit stalling and jump in....I promise you won't regret it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokarz Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 The price of projectors has come way down and the resolution and picture quality has gone way up. So, quit stalling and jump in....I promise you won't regret it. i agreed. i've been watching projector prices over the past year+ and prices are very affordable these days. i just picked up a very good 720p projector (Optoma HD65) for $400. the 1080p version (Optoma HD20) can be had for roughly $800. if you have some cash and want a really nice 1080p LCD projector, the Epson 8500 and Panny AE4000 can be had for roughly $2,000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 25, 2010 Moderators Share Posted March 25, 2010 Was I reading it correctly in that you need a projector and then a different lens to get the 235:1? Here is the short version: To get a true 2.35:1 image, you need a projector and then an anamorphic lens (very expensive), a sled (motorized or manual) to move in front of the lens for 2.35:1 material and move it out of the way when you are watching 16:9 material. Some lenses are $2,000 or more. I reasearched and chose the Panasonic AE3000u (aka the poor man's anamorphic setup). Basically you can have a fake anamorphic with any projector just by zooming in the image. With my setup, I chose to go with a CIH (Constant Image Height). When watching a 16:9 movie on a 2.35:1 screen, the image fills the height of the screen but I have grey bars on the sides. When I put in a 2.35:1 image, there are grey bars on top and bottom AND on the sides. To fix this, you simply zoom in until the image fills the entire width of your screen (in my case 8 foot). By zooming in, the grey bars that were on the top and the bottom end up being above and below the screen. Since they are grey and they are on a dark background (my false wall is grey and black), you don't even see the grey bars. The cool thing about my projector is that it has a feature called Zoom Memory. Basically you set a zoom and focus preset for 16:9 material (I named my preset 16:9. I know it's clever). I then have a zoom and focus preset for 2.35:1 material. So when my source switches aspect ratios, I hit two buttons on the remote and the panny zooms and focuses (takes about 15 seconds) so I don't have to manually zoom in and focus each time I switch. If your projector has manual zoom and focus, you have to physically get up and go to the projector to adjust it each time. The new AE4000u is cheaper than what I paid for my AE3000u and has an automatic zoom memory so that when it detects a different aspect ratio, it adjusts the projector for you. Also, take a look at the info on 2.35:1 on Wikipedia You can see some of my 2.35:1 screen shots here. When watching a movie like The Dark Knight, the producer decided it would be cool to switch between 16:9 and 2.35:1 throughout the movie (dumb!). With my setup, you can see that when setup as 2.35:1 and the movie switches to 16:9, the image bleeds onto the wall above the top and bottom of the screen. Dark Knight Screen Shots here.. Ok.....aren't you glad I gave you the "short version"? Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 25, 2010 Moderators Share Posted March 25, 2010 Panny AE4000 can be had for roughly $2,000. Yep, sadly I paid $2500 for mine and 1yr later, they come out with the AE4000u with more features and $500 cheaper. Thank goodness for income tax refund that paid for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbon summit Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Its not just the cost of the projector and the screen and... I just really don't have the room yet. It'll be a few more years until I can get into a different house if all goes well so by then the latest greatest projector today will be half price then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 25, 2010 Moderators Share Posted March 25, 2010 by then the latest greatest projector today will be half price then! Or even less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 Less...I purchased mine four years ago for $7500. I'd be lucky today to get $800 for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrod Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 Youth, thanks my man! That does clear it up. I'm in the same boat as Carbon, just don't have the space for it....yet! [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 Indeed, the price is comming down. My PJ, now about 3 years old (or more!) will likely be replaced when the bulb burns out, sad but true that for double the price of the bulb, I can get an up to date PJ. We do use a DaLite screen and I love it. We tried sheets, wall and the screen is much better. It is a 1.4 and even then, the lights need to be dimmed for best PQ but it is viewable in a room with dimer lighting, dark is best of course! 1200 lumins out of the PJ 12 feet back onto a 119" HD screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 26, 2010 Moderators Share Posted March 26, 2010 Youth, thanks my man! That does clear it up. I'm in the same boat as Carbon, just don't have the space for it....yet! But now you have the knowledge for when you do have the space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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