102" DIY screen project done

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: Mackie2k

Originally posted by: SilthDraeth
Thanks a lot. $175 and some elbow grease sounds a lot better than $1100 especially after shelling out 1500-3k on a good projector.

On that same note, I looked at the page linked that tells you how far away to place which projector per screen size, etc.

I then clicked on the Top Projectors for Home Theater, and for 720p projectors a few fell in that $1500 dollar range. Have you had any experience with any of those models, and would they be worth it in your opinion?

This is something I have wanted to do for a while, and I might be able to do finally in about a year. I would much rather go the projection route over a plasma/LCD unit, and having a very sharp picture is definitely a top priority for me.

I look at it the other way....I paid $1700 for my Sanyo, I'd really prefer a professional quality screen with Aircraft Aluminum frame that I can EASILY break down to remove if I need to.

the $1100 was well worth it......trust me. Some people like to do things on the cheap, the screen was not something I was willing to go cheap on.

To each his own really...everyone has their own opinions.

Jello - nice setup.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: SilthDraeth
One more quick question for now.

The border and masking system you are using, is basically a flat piece of foam board covered in black velvet that you border your screen with to help absorb excess light bleeding over the edge of the screen right?

Have you ever tried something maybe like the concept of projecting your screen into a shoe box style frame, obviously larger though, and having that be coated in the same black. I noticed that there is still some bleed over, so I am curious if something like my simple diagram below might work. Thanks.

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l
l
l
l
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I did think about some other methods of trying to trap light more effectively, but I decided that it probably wasn't worth the effort with how well the velvet I got works to trap light on its own.

With my setup last year, my "black" border was still light enought that I was very bothered when I got some overlap with the image and the border. After going through several tests with my new setup, I am totally satisfied with its ability to make that distraction a thing of the past. I highly recommend this material for anyone considering doing a screen border for themselves.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: LadyBuggy

Originally posted by: Mackie2k

Originally posted by: SilthDraeth
Thanks a lot. $175 and some elbow grease sounds a lot better than $1100 especially after shelling out 1500-3k on a good projector.

On that same note, I looked at the page linked that tells you how far away to place which projector per screen size, etc.

I then clicked on the Top Projectors for Home Theater, and for 720p projectors a few fell in that $1500 dollar range. Have you had any experience with any of those models, and would they be worth it in your opinion?

This is something I have wanted to do for a while, and I might be able to do finally in about a year. I would much rather go the projection route over a plasma/LCD unit, and having a very sharp picture is definitely a top priority for me.

I look at it the other way....I paid $1700 for my Sanyo, I'd really prefer a professional quality screen with Aircraft Aluminum frame that I can EASILY break down to remove if I need to.

the $1100 was well worth it......trust me. Some people like to do things on the cheap, the screen was not something I was willing to go cheap on.

I was thinking about this issue a lot when Jello was working on the screen, and I asked a lot of questions along the way. We've already moved with the basic screen that he made this summer-- it's very lightweight and travelled very nicely in the moving van. Installation of that just involved some picture frame hanging supplies (as far as I recall). I was initially worried about the border and how easy it would be to move, but he said that the plan for removing it is just to cut at the point where the backs that are nailed into the wall meet the back of the screen. Everything else is salvageable and very moveable and shouldn't be too difficult to reinstall.

Yeah, all I really have to do to get all the good parts off my screen and border is cut through the 16 pieces of insulation (the spacers) and take all the parts off. The screen is just hanging on a couple nails, so that will be very easy to remove. Now that all my parts are the correct measurements for my screen size, I imagine getting the screen set up again in a new place in a couple years would not be such a big deal.

I'd just have to make new spacers and anchors and hang the parts up again.

 

[Mackie2k]

Hmmm, I still like mine better, looks more complete and finished.

I do think you did a nice job though, and enjoy the money in your pocket.

however, the 102inch version of my screen is only $800 shipped...so you saved, $600. But I saved about 10 hours not building it (maybe more....)and my time is worth at least $50 an hour.

Also, with my screen the edges are very black when viewing different content, so making a border isn't very needed...maybe it's your screen surface that makes it so bright...but mine is very black when in 4:3 or 2.05:1

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Mine is fairly dark without the masking system as well, but it sure helps the image pop to have close to total blackness all the way around the image.

Yeah, I guess it does turn out to have "my time is worth $XX an hour" as a factor for value. I did enjoy doing it though, so I wouldn't necessarily consider it "work".

I think we're both happy with what we spent and what we got, so :beer:

 

[SilthDraeth]

Definitely, all of you have nice set ups. If I was rolling in money, or making $50 an hour, I might opt for buying the stuff as well. But I also like to build stuff, so I don't know yet. I am glad I got involved in this topic. Thanks.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

If I was making $50/hour, I'd have gotten a better projector heh

 

[Mackie2k]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
If I was making $50/hour, I'd have gotten a better projector heh

The panny is a nice setup, I love my Sanyo....the two are very similar, basically the Panny being more smooth, and the Sanyo being more sharp....

HD 100+ inch for under $1700.....great deal.

Word up on the nice build and setup. :beer:

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Mackie2k

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
If I was making $50/hour, I'd have gotten a better projector heh

The panny is a nice setup, I love my Sanyo....the two are very similar, basically the Panny being more smooth, and the Sanyo being more sharp....

HD 100+ inch for under $1700.....great deal.

Word up on the nice build and setup. :beer:

Thanks. I just meant that if I had to do it over again and I had $50/hour income, I'd be on a 1080p projector :laugh:

Maybe in a few years when I'm out of college and 1080p DLP is affordable I'll make the switch

 

[Mackie2k]

Thanks. I just meant that if I had to do it over again and I had $50/hour income, I'd be on a 1080p projector :laugh:

Maybe in a few years when I'm out of college and 1080p DLP is affordable I'll make the switch

Well I do make over $50 an hour and I still wouldn't buy a 1080p projector......$3000-$5000 is way too much for something that you wouldn't notice.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Actually at these screen sizes and distances I think 720p vs 1080p would probably make quite a difference.

EDIT: 13.3 feet for me to fully resolve 1080i for my screen size based on 20/20 vision

16.5 for a 126" screen.

http://www.myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html

 

[maziwanka]

i'd love to see one of these systems in real life as the pictures of screens running Alien/s very likely don't do it justice.

i think it would be great to have a system like that setup for movies and video games and then run a decently sized tv for watching everything else...

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: maziwanka
i'd love to see one of these systems in real life as the pictures of screens running Alien/s very likely don't do it justice.

i think it would be great to have a system like that setup for movies and video games and then run a decently sized tv for watching everything else...

oops, I even forgot to upload some of my Alien pics

I even noticed some stuff that I had never really paid close attention to when watching the movie before.

They really did an excellent job in Alien with the original facehugger attack. Here's a shot of the penetration into the helmet.

https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/spmclaughli...2%20point%2035%20to%201/Alien%2024.JPG

It's kind of disappointing seeing how good everthing looks and then pausing it and watching it degrade in quality. Star Trek was by far the worst for that

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

For $175, this is tempting to make, I wonder if I could maybe make a batch of them and sell them in the area to others

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
For $175, this is tempting to make, I wonder if I could maybe make a batch of them and sell them in the area to others

I don't know if it would be worth it or not unless you have some people with screenless projectors already

 

[Umberger]

YOyo, I read on some of the links you posted that blackout cloth has a fabric side and a "rubberized" side, and that there is no "best" side to use. Did you experiment with the 2 sides of the fabric? Which side did you project onto?
TIA. :beer:

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Umberger
YOyo, I read on some of the links you posted that blackout cloth has a fabric side and a "rubberized" side, and that there is no "best" side to use. Did you experiment with the 2 sides of the fabric? Which side did you project onto?
TIA. :beer:

My "rubberized" side seemed a bit off-white to me. It looked a bit on the "Tan" side compared to the "fabric" side, so I went with the fabric side.

 

[Fritzo]

I'm going to do something like this in my basement with a powered screen. I have kids that would get hand prints all over than.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Maybe instead of an electric screen you could get an electric fence to put around the bottom.

 

[Umberger]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Umberger
YOyo, I read on some of the links you posted that blackout cloth has a fabric side and a "rubberized" side, and that there is no "best" side to use. Did you experiment with the 2 sides of the fabric? Which side did you project onto?
TIA. :beer:

My "rubberized" side seemed a bit off-white to me. It looked a bit on the "Tan" side compared to the "fabric" side, so I went with the fabric side.

Thanks! I'm going to be trying this soon.

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Maybe instead of an electric screen you could get an electric fence to put around the bottom.

Or a force field.

 

[melchoir]

Great looking screen, if they were for sale at around that price, I'd have no problems buying one.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: melchoir
Great looking screen, if they were for sale at around that price, I'd have no problems buying one.

Too bad I'd have to basically volunteer my time to make them and sell them at materials cost

Otherwise this could be a cool option for that "lucrative hobbies" thread :laugh:

 

[ViviTheMage]

gj man

 

[TheGizmo]

hell yea man, thanks!! for the guide and references and for where to buy materials, im gonna go make one of these over the next week in my spare time i'll post back with some pictures.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
gj man

Thanks

Originally posted by: TheGizmo
hell yea man, thanks!! for the guide and references and for where to buy materials, im gonna go make one of these over the next week in my spare time i'll post back with some pictures.

:thumbsup:

What kind of projector are you using?