Home Theater Newbie

[BelleBlandfield]

I don't know too much about home theaters, but my husband and I are thinking of starting to "build" one in his "man cave" first and foremost, we bought a projector (Optoma HD20) and now we need a good deal on a good wall mount screen. This seems like a good deal to me, any advice?

http://www.hometheatergear.com/prod...05-inch-Diagonal-2.35:1-Firehawk-G3.html?cid=

 

[RKS]

Monoprice.com is a great place for HT accessories.

 

[manimal]

Holy moley 2k for that screen. I got an 120 inch elite screens fixed mount for 200 on amazon.

 

[soulcougher73]

You should not have to spend over $500 for a good screen. $2000 is totally rediculious.

Id recommend one of these based on size you need. And also get the biggest size you can fit as well as your projector being able to throw given the distance.

http://www.visualapex.com/Projector-Screens/Screen-details.asp?Product_ID=164&AR=HT&Category=2

 

[Exterous]

How handy are you guys? You can build a screen if that is something that would interest you (Make the frame and stretch the screen material over it).

It seems to be a common method over at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=19 with people reporting it being fairly cheap compared to a factory built screen but I have not done it myself (but would have if I didn't already have my screen)

Also you should take in to account the distance you will be sitting when choosing a screen size

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

How big of a screen do you need?

Kinda not knowing everything myself but to me LCD/Plasmas would seem to be preferred if it is in budget.

OP, how big of a screen (viewing area) do you want?

For the stereo, you need to tell us things like budget and room dimenstion (HxWxD) and if there are special considerations like if it will double for music or not.

 

[sdifox]

room dimension and budget?

 

[BelleBlandfield]

It's a huge room (basement) about 50 x 20; on just a screen we're willing to spend up to $1000, we don't mind paying a little more if it will be high quality and last a long time. Has anyone tried the "paint on theater screen"?

 

[sdifox]

It's a huge room (basement) about 50 x 20; on just a screen we're willing to spend up to $1000, we don't mind paying a little more if it will be high quality and last a long time. Has anyone tried the "paint on theater screen"?

do you have a target screen size? the larger the screen the better pj you need.

 

[Anubis]

total budget for the project?

 

[BelleBlandfield]

100 inches diagonal would be the biggest we would go. We would like to get the best screen we can for a low price (like anyone else), but I say the budget is $1000 tops because I'm willing to pay more if it is really nice and will last a long time; however, I'd much rather use the extra money on shoes

 

[soulcougher73]

100 inches diagonal would be the biggest we would go. We would like to get the best screen we can for a low price (like anyone else), but I say the budget is $1000 tops because I'm willing to pay more if it is really nice and will last a long time; however, I'd much rather use the extra money on shoes

This is the 100" screen i bought. Its a Da-Lite High Power screen. You may or may not need a High Power screen depending on what projector you choose. Comes to about $600. Its not the cheapest out there but it is a nice one.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...xed_Frame.html

 

[vi edit]

100 inches diagonal would be the biggest we would go. We would like to get the best screen we can for a low price (like anyone else), but I say the budget is $1000 tops because I'm willing to pay more if it is really nice and will last a long time; however, I'd much rather use the extra money on shoes

Can you give a sketch of the layout? 100" is going to look pretty small depending on how much wall it's sitting on and how far back you are seated. The beauty of a projector is that it's not really that much more expensive to go from 100" to 120". Especially if you with something like a painted on solution or a DIY fabric.

 

[queequeg99]

Has anyone tried the "paint on theater screen"?

I painted my screen. My projector is a Benq W6000. Like your optoma, it is a DLP and therefore suffers a bit when it comes to black levels. In my case, I also have some ambient light issues to deal with. The picture quality is excellent. Total cost was about $250 (including all of the paint that went into the mixture and the purchase of a pretty good HVLP paint sprayer unit). Prepping the wall was pretty easy (but is does require a pretty bright halogen lamp to ensure that you have made the wall truly smooth). Painting was much easier (and cleaner) than I had anticipated. I have a lot of experience with more traditional airless sprayers and was pleasantly surprised with how little of a mess the HVLP unit made.

If you are seriously interested in this option, go to the DIY screen forum over at avsforum.com. I swear there are people over there who must do nothing other than mix up screen paints and test them out all day long. If you create a post describing your situation, you will get some very prompt and specific responses from highly informed members.

edit: I should have added that my screen is 120" diagonal.

 

[Quasmo]

I too have painted my screen on the wall. I didn't use a HVLP sprayer and just rolled it on. I think it turned out really well. I used a -8 gain grey paint for the wall so that it was better for ambient light. I spent about $250 on the paint, material, and molding.

 

[queequeg99]

I too have painted my screen on the wall. I didn't use a HVLP sprayer and just rolled it on. I think it turned out really well. I used a -8 gain grey paint for the wall so that it was better for ambient light. I spent about $250 on the paint, material, and molding.

Yes, there are many good paint formulations that will work perfectly well rolled on. I used the Silver Fire mixture described on avsforum and the creators of that mix are pretty adament about the need to use a sprayer. Whatever. I had already dropped about $6K on the home theater setup so another $120 for the sprayer wasn't a big deal (especially since I'll use it again this summer to repaint my porch railings and stiles).