- Aug 6, 2001
- 31,204
- 45
- 91
Hey folks, I just got done with the border and masking system for the screen I made during the summer so I thought I'd post some pictures
Basic Info
The screen is 102" for 16:9 and is made of Blackout Cloth. The material is stretched over a wooden frame with the help of a staple gun. The border and masking system are made of pink insulation board covered in black fidelio velvet.
I'm using a Panasonic AE900U as my projector and my content is mostly DVDs.
The Screen
Unfortunately I didn't really take any pictures during the process, but it was pretty easy to do. I just built a frame out of 1x2s with some metal brackets (1 "L" in each corner and 1 "T" at each end of the middle brace bar). Next I stretched a few yards of Blackout Cloth (from Jo-Ann Fabrics... yeah it was scary in there) around it as if I were making an artist's canvas.
Some pictures of the screen
There are a lot of good options for screen material other than what I used.
There are a lot of options listed here
Planning the Border and Masking System
Ok, so the screen looked pretty good on its own, but I knew from my own experience that a border and masking system really makes things pop.
Back at the old place last year I made a basic border and masking system for my 76" Infocus 4805 setup and it improved things a lot.
Pics from last year:
16:9
4:3
2.35:1
I was fairly happy with how it worked, but it was very flimsy and wasn't really "black" enough to capture any overlap of the projected image with the border.
This year I got around to researching what would be a good material to use and I came to this thread:
http://archive2.avsforum.com/a...00495&highlight=velvet
It's incredible how black this stuff is.
I took some pictures vs. some "black" speaker grilles and my "black" subwoofer.
Black Fidelio vs. Onix Rocket RSC200 grille
Black Fidelio vs. SVS
I decided to test it for its intended purpose and I was not disappointed.
Black Fidelio vs. my AE900U image
I circled the two parts where the "wrong side" of the fabric was being hit by the image. That looks black on its own too, but nothing compared to the right side
Before I ordered my velvet though, I wanted to make sure I had the right amount. I also didn't want to buy more than I needed since at $20/yard it was rather expensive
I planned out the parts and sizes I was going to need for the velvet an eventually the insulation board that would be used to support it.
Plans
Making the Border and Masking System
I think I covered the process pretty well visually
Constructing it
The pink foam insulation is 3/4" thick. Ladybuggy and I had to fit two 4'x8' boards worth of it in a Hyundai Elantra, so we kind of had to have them cut to roughly the right size at Home Depot.
In addition to the insulation and velvet, my other major construction item were 20 Neodymium Magnets
Might as well throw up a link
The magnets were strong enough that I'm able to support each masking panel with only two magnet-to-magnet connections. In my previous masking system, I had used velcro to secure my panels. I knew that even the "fuzzy side" of velcro wouldn't be as black as my fidelio velvet, so I needed an invisible way to connect the panels easily and magnets seemed like the easiest way to do it.
So the border has 8 magnets in it while each masking panel has 2. The panels are secure enough that I don't think I have to worry about them falling off even if I turn my sub up
Finished Product
So anyway... all went well and I now have my project completed. I took a couple pictures of each aspect ratio.
Done!
Some shots of it in action
The border and masking system didn't show up too well in these shots due to my camera, but I assure you that it really helps the image to have the border there.
16:9 material
Aliens
Nemo
4:3 material
Star Trek TNG
This looks pretty bad compared to the rest. We're on Season 2 right now and I'm hoping that things improve visually as the seasons progress. It looks much better in motion (as does all of this material) but these looked especially bad in these shots
2.35:1 material
Alien
THX logo
Ok, I'm done
Basic Info
The screen is 102" for 16:9 and is made of Blackout Cloth. The material is stretched over a wooden frame with the help of a staple gun. The border and masking system are made of pink insulation board covered in black fidelio velvet.
I'm using a Panasonic AE900U as my projector and my content is mostly DVDs.
The Screen
Unfortunately I didn't really take any pictures during the process, but it was pretty easy to do. I just built a frame out of 1x2s with some metal brackets (1 "L" in each corner and 1 "T" at each end of the middle brace bar). Next I stretched a few yards of Blackout Cloth (from Jo-Ann Fabrics... yeah it was scary in there) around it as if I were making an artist's canvas.
Some pictures of the screen
There are a lot of good options for screen material other than what I used.
There are a lot of options listed here
Planning the Border and Masking System
Ok, so the screen looked pretty good on its own, but I knew from my own experience that a border and masking system really makes things pop.
Back at the old place last year I made a basic border and masking system for my 76" Infocus 4805 setup and it improved things a lot.
Pics from last year:
16:9
4:3
2.35:1
I was fairly happy with how it worked, but it was very flimsy and wasn't really "black" enough to capture any overlap of the projected image with the border.
This year I got around to researching what would be a good material to use and I came to this thread:
http://archive2.avsforum.com/a...00495&highlight=velvet
It's incredible how black this stuff is.
I took some pictures vs. some "black" speaker grilles and my "black" subwoofer.
Black Fidelio vs. Onix Rocket RSC200 grille
Black Fidelio vs. SVS
I decided to test it for its intended purpose and I was not disappointed.
Black Fidelio vs. my AE900U image
I circled the two parts where the "wrong side" of the fabric was being hit by the image. That looks black on its own too, but nothing compared to the right side
Before I ordered my velvet though, I wanted to make sure I had the right amount. I also didn't want to buy more than I needed since at $20/yard it was rather expensive
I planned out the parts and sizes I was going to need for the velvet an eventually the insulation board that would be used to support it.
Plans
Making the Border and Masking System
I think I covered the process pretty well visually
Constructing it
The pink foam insulation is 3/4" thick. Ladybuggy and I had to fit two 4'x8' boards worth of it in a Hyundai Elantra, so we kind of had to have them cut to roughly the right size at Home Depot.
In addition to the insulation and velvet, my other major construction item were 20 Neodymium Magnets
Might as well throw up a link
The magnets were strong enough that I'm able to support each masking panel with only two magnet-to-magnet connections. In my previous masking system, I had used velcro to secure my panels. I knew that even the "fuzzy side" of velcro wouldn't be as black as my fidelio velvet, so I needed an invisible way to connect the panels easily and magnets seemed like the easiest way to do it.
So the border has 8 magnets in it while each masking panel has 2. The panels are secure enough that I don't think I have to worry about them falling off even if I turn my sub up
Finished Product
So anyway... all went well and I now have my project completed. I took a couple pictures of each aspect ratio.
Done!
Some shots of it in action
The border and masking system didn't show up too well in these shots due to my camera, but I assure you that it really helps the image to have the border there.
16:9 material
Aliens
Nemo
4:3 material
Star Trek TNG
This looks pretty bad compared to the rest. We're on Season 2 right now and I'm hoping that things improve visually as the seasons progress. It looks much better in motion (as does all of this material) but these looked especially bad in these shots
2.35:1 material
Alien
THX logo
Ok, I'm done