Projector Screen Help

[gobucks]

I just bought a sanyo plv-z4 LCD projector and I'm currently looking for an inexpensive way to build a screen. right now i'm projecting on my wall, and while it works fine at night, there is simply too much ambient light in the daytime. the walls in my living room are off-white and there are many windows in the room. the windows aren't facing direct sunlight, but it's still bright enough to make watching movies during the daytime a less than enjoyable experience. Since i rent my apartment, painting my room muted colors and blocking out ambient light is not really an option.

I have a free draper luma 92" matte white screen on the way, but i doubt that will help much. I have decided that a high contrast gray screen suits my situation best. the firehawks and cinema contours are simply beyond my price range (they cost more than my projector), but i found a place (cousin's video) that sells da-lite HC cinema vision at $5.88/ft^2, which means that material for a 120" HDTV screen would only cost about $250ish, which i can stomach. I chose this material because it supposedly kills off ambient light and has the best gain (rated 1.1, apparently real world .9) next to the firehawk of course.

anyways, does anybody a) have any recommendations for alternatives? bear in mind i really can't afford more than $300 and b) have any recommendations for how to build the frame? cousin's video sells black backing (supposed to stop light passthrough but i'm not sure if it really does anything) and black borders (are these sufficient to make a frame or are they purely aesthetic?). alternatively, i've been told that a frame of 1x4s makes a good frame, but i'm worried about rippling of the fabric.

 

[blckgrffn]

I used some material from menards, cost $14 bucks, its a textured wall covering for bathrooms/showers that is water proof...

Can't think of the name right now, shoot.

It worked well, as the bright white gave me some nice gain and it looked good even with some ambient light.

Also, it was heavy and easy to work with. Don't like it? Then you aren't out much

Good luck!

*Found it, Parkland Polywall!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I know it's really a crappy solution, but have you thought about putting cardboard in the windows? It really helps a ton and it's a pretty easy solution if you can't put up a more permanent solution.

I made a frame and screen out of blackout cloth and 1x3s and it was pretty darn easy. I don't think the blackout cloth would help your ambient lighting problem, but the frame worked pretty easily for me.

I'm at 102" now and the POS 1x3s held up fine for that size. I only have a single vertical support bar in the middle. I should have taken some pictures while I was building it. I basically just got some metal L and T brackets and screwed together all the joints and then stretched the cloth around the frame with a staple gun as if I was making a canvas for a painting.

I'm not much of a DIY guy, but this project was pretty darn easy.

 

[blckgrffn]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I know it's really a crappy solution, but have you thought about putting cardboard in the windows? It really helps a ton and it's a pretty easy solution if you can't put up a more permanent solution.

I made a frame and screen out of blackout cloth and 1x3s and it was pretty darn easy. I don't think the blackout cloth would help your ambient lighting problem, but the frame worked pretty easily for me.

I'm at 102" now and the POS 1x3s held up fine for that size. I only have a single vertical support bar in the middle. I should have taken some pictures while I was building it. I basically just got some metal L and T brackets and screwed together all the joints and then stretched the cloth around the frame with a staple gun as if I was making a canvas for a painting.

I'm not much of a DIY guy, but this project was pretty darn easy.

I just put a board across the top and a board across the bottom and hung my screen from the wall. Gravity FTW!

Like Mr. Soundman said, these kinds of things tend to be easier than you think, but just require a little time and thought...

Nat

 

[gobucks]

thanks for the replies.

i think i'm gonna pass on the blackout cloth cause it sounds like the gain is pretty low for a non-high contrast surface.
the parkland polywall sounds nice though - $14 does sound pretty appealing relative to $250 for the HC cinema vision. do they have anything like that in a light gray? I have a feeling it's the only way i'll be able to knock out some of the ambient light.

also, i guess the best way to make a frame is with 1x4s, so i'll probably be doing that. does anybody have any ideas on what to use to make a border? i kinda want this to look nice when i'm done.

 

[Maxspeed996]

Go to your hardware store and look at Trim...you can buy some pretty nice stuff , and paint or stain it. and just cut 45/ angles on the ends and kinda build yourself a big picture frame , put your material behind it , and you may even be able to hang it with a few drywall anchors and screws at the top , and keep it as minimally invasive as possible.
I've got a Proxima Ultralight LX-1 that I've had for a few years , and I just use a roll down blind....although I spent $65 on it , it wasn't cheap , but it's high quality , and smooth , and it rolls up and out of the way...(this is in my office) I don't have a problem with ambient light in there as I've only got one window , and I can just turn down the blinds , and pull the curtains if it's really bright outside.

 

[blckgrffn]

Originally posted by: gobucks
thanks for the replies.

i think i'm gonna pass on the blackout cloth cause it sounds like the gain is pretty low for a non-high contrast surface.
the parkland polywall sounds nice though - $14 does sound pretty appealing relative to $250 for the HC cinema vision. do they have anything like that in a light gray? I have a feeling it's the only way i'll be able to knock out some of the ambient light.

also, i guess the best way to make a frame is with 1x4s, so i'll probably be doing that. does anybody have any ideas on what to use to make a border? i kinda want this to look nice when i'm done.

If your local Menards/Lowes/Home Depot has park land products, they have a few different types that you could try with minimal investment. Take it home, put it up so you can try it, and if it doesn't work, return it

No harm done at all and maybe you'll get lucky!

Nat

 

[gobucks]

cool. i think i'm gonna hold off on building this for a bit - i just called da-lite and they're sending me a free set of sample material, so i'm gonna see if this HC Cinema Vision stuff really is as good as everybody's saying it is - if not then i'll probably be in the market for some polywall or something.

 

[gobucks]

i got my sample material today, and i have to say that the HC cinema vision really does look great - the other HC material seems to dull and darken the image too much, but this stuff keeps the whites nice and bright while helping to knock out some ambient light and improve black levels. i guess right now i'm gonna hold off, since i have a free draper manual screen in the mail, but i think i might end up looking into making an HC Cinema Vision DIY screen around Christmas time or something.