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Darkgray Munsell N2.5-3.5 screen for daylight viewing

12K views 14 replies 3 participants last post by  Darker_plz 
#1 ·
I have checked on the 'black diamond II' and was wondering if something like that couldn't be build by DIY. In Germany there's also a new darkgray screen out called 'blackscreen' developed by cinema4home with a Munsell gray of around N2.5 and a gain of 0.3...
They got a youtube video but I can't post the link to it yet. There is a link to it on their website or search on youtube for blackscreen...

Some background on my planned setup:
-will buy Acer P1100 (2600 Lumen, Eco 2080, Contrast 4000:1, DLP) (yeah I know it's not the best for HT but it's cheap and I need it for business presentations, too. 10yrs ago in university we watched movies with much worse pjs...)
-Distance to screen 3.6 meters, screen size max 88'' (179x135 cm)
-Living room with much ambient light (large north window), white walls and ceiling
-Screen material will be coated HDF 5mm board or uncoated MDF 10 mm board. (Paint must be rolled on, I have no place where I could spray it)

The calculator (hcinema) shows me for the Acer P1100 and a 88'' screen with 1.0 gain:
Lux:1070 Lux
max room lights : 214 lux
candela per m2: 339 cd/m2
foot lamberts: 99 fL (way too much even when on eco)

for a 0.3 gain screen:
Lux: 321 Lux
max Room: 64 lux
Candela: 103 cd/m2
foot Lambert: 30 fL (almost like a CRT TV, eco mode should still be possible)

I looked at the Caparol neutral grays:
-3d granit 5 (L30 C00 H000) approx. N2 with 0.06 gain
-3d granit 15 (L45 C00 H000) approx. N3 with 0.15 gain
(N levels guessed compared with the colors a NCS to RGB calculator shows)

I also looked into mixing the neutralgray myself and came up with two grays in the reach of a backlit LCD showing black (N3.5) and a CRT Trinitron TV showing black (N 2.5-4 depending on how much white is in the picture):
Neutralgray approx Munsell N3.0 (CMYK=70,70,70,0; RGB=76,76,76)
Neutralgray approx Munsell N2.5 (CMYK=75,75,75,0; RGB=64,64,64)

(CMY without K because that's how grays are defined when doing designs for printmedia, the gray must only come from the 3 basic colors. That's the silver fire approach with mixing the basic colors to gray)

The problem with this approach is that even professional printers need to raise the M level to match a perfect neutral gray according to the manufacturer of the paints. The basic colors from marabu i.e. which are widely available need another mixture than the colors of another manufacturer. So this approach is something for someone who got a spectrometer or get's the exact colors from the excact manufacturer for a mix that was spectrogrammed.

So here is what I'm thinking about, please correct me if I'm mistaken

Solution A:
BW with AAA fine but with a darker base color
According to the NCS color code bermuda beige is NCS S0907-y70r, the first two numbers are for the blacklevel so a NCS 7507-y70r (RGB: 4D413C) 4:1 BW mix with this should result in a N2.5-3.5 Munsell neutral gray (depending on how the AAA fine influences the gray level in such a dark base color)

Solution B:
BW with AAA fine standard base color and a N2.5 neutralgray in a 2:1:2 mix
This would be 2 parts bermuda beige + 1 part AAA fine + NCS 7500 N until you like the gray (1-2 parts). The problem with this mix should be, the more neutral gray you add the more the spectrum will suffer. The result should be a slighty off neutralgray.

Solution C:
The same like Solution A but in a 3:1 mix (or even 2:1) to enhance the gain.
The NCS S7507-Y70R mix contains much black and will practically 'eat light', so to bring back the gain level up to around 0.3 more AAA fine should be needed. There are some BW 3:1 mixes out there so I'm not sure if adding more AAA fine won't mess up the result. The spectrum shouldn't suffer IMHO by adding more than 3:1 AAA fine.

Has anyone tried a BW N3 yet? I've also read the Elektra approach, but there are too many colors being added, so I'd prefer one of the above BW solutions to keep it simple and easy to rebuild by others all over the world, where specific paint brands might not be available.

Best regards!
Darker_plz

ps:
Should I use flat Latexpaint as base or flat enamel (both waterbased of course)

pps: Thank you to all of you for the great informations on how to mix paints for DIY screens:clap:
 
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#2 ·
Hi Darker_plz, welcome to the forum! :wave:
I have checked on the 'black diamond II' and was wondering if something like that couldn't be build by DIY. In Germany there's also a new darkgray screen out called 'blackscreen' developed by cinema4home with a Munsell gray of around N2.5 and a gain of 0.3...
They got a youtube video but I can't post the link to it yet. There is a link to it on their website or search on youtube for blackscreen...
That sounds like a very dark screen indeed, but yet it is around 10 times brighter than a flat paint the same color. I looked for the video on YouTube, but could not find it. If this screen does indeed perform as the specs suggest, I would expect it to have a very limited viewing cone in at least one viewing axis.

BTW, for those not familer with Munsell N values N2.5 would usually be seen as a black paint in all but the brightest light.

Some background on my planned setup:
-will buy Acer P1100 (2600 Lumen, Eco 2080, Contrast 4000:1, DLP) (yeah I know it's not the best for HT but it's cheap and I need it for business presentations, too. 10yrs ago in university we watched movies with much worse pjs...)
-Distance to screen 3.6 meters, screen size max 88'' (179x135 cm)
-Living room with much ambient light (large north window), white walls and ceiling
-Screen material will be coated HDF 5mm board or uncoated MDF 10 mm board. (Paint must be rolled on, I have no place where I could spray it)

The calculator (hcinema) shows me for the Acer P1100 and a 88'' screen with 1.0 gain:
Lux:1070 Lux
max room lights : 214 lux
candela per m2: 339 cd/m2
foot lamberts: 99 fL (way too much even when on eco)

for a 0.3 gain screen:
Lux: 321 Lux
max Room: 64 lux
Candela: 103 cd/m2
foot Lambert: 30 fL (almost like a CRT TV, eco mode should still be possible)
I'm getting similar data from the Projector Central calculator here when the PJ is in "presentation mode", the luminance data is reduced by half when in "video mode". I would expect low-lamp/eco mode to reduce this even further.

I looked at the Caparol neutral grays:
-3d granit 5 (L30 C00 H000) approx. N2 with 0.06 gain
-3d granit 15 (L45 C00 H000) approx. N3 with 0.15 gain
(N levels guessed compared with the colors a NCS to RGB calculator shows)
May I ask how are you obtaining your gain values?

I also looked into mixing the neutralgray myself and came up with two grays in the reach of a backlit LCD showing black (N3.5) and a CRT Trinitron TV showing black (N 2.5-4 depending on how much white is in the picture):
Neutralgray approx Munsell N3.0 (CMYK=70,70,70,0; RGB=76,76,76)
Neutralgray approx Munsell N2.5 (CMYK=75,75,75,0; RGB=64,64,64)
I have yet to find an exact formula to convert from any other color space to Munsell values (the only program I am aware of is commercial and I'm too cheap to buy it). We have found that simply dividing the L* value (from L*a*b* data) by 10 gives values that are acceptably accurate. For a RGB of 76 the value would be N3.2 and for a RGB of 64 it would be N2.7. I used a free program called OpenRGB available for download here to convert from RGB to L*a*b*.

(CMY without K because that's how grays are defined when doing designs for printmedia, the gray must only come from the 3 basic colors. That's the silver fire approach with mixing the basic colors to gray)

The problem with this approach is that even professional printers need to raise the M level to match a perfect neutral gray according to the manufacturer of the paints. The basic colors from marabu i.e. which are widely available need another mixture than the colors of another manufacturer. So this approach is something for someone who got a spectrometer or get's the exact colors from the excact manufacturer for a mix that was spectrogrammed.
Actually the Silver Fire mix was based on mixing RGB paints, but now that has been changed to Red, Green, Blue and Yellow. As you point out, this is the wrong way to go about making a neutral color mix and it really is practically impossible to make a neutral mix this way without having a spectrophotometer to test results with. The authors of that mix don't really claim it as being neutral (sometimes they do and sometimes they don't), rather they claim that the RGB pigments are there to more effectively reflect the RGB light coming from the PJ while at the same time "rejecting" ambient room light. There are so many holes in their theory I could write a dissertation debunking it, but to those that don't understand proper color theory it sounds good so they defend it to the death. :rofl:

So here is what I'm thinking about, please correct me if I'm mistaken

Solution A:
BW with AAA fine but with a darker base color
According to the NCS color code bermuda beige is NCS S0907-y70r, the first two numbers are for the blacklevel so a NCS 7507-y70r (RGB: 4D413C) 4:1 BW mix with this should result in a N2.5-3.5 Munsell neutral gray (depending on how the AAA fine influences the gray level in such a dark base color)
You have a greater understanding of the NSC color system than I do so I'll take your word for it. If the base paint is simply made "blacker" without effecting the hue and saturation I would expect the resulting mix to still be neutral in color. However, when I was developing the mix that would become Elektra™ I found that the darker the mix becomes the more the aluminum stands out. I did not use AAA-F though so that is still an unknown. If you try this please report your findings here!

Solution B:
BW with AAA fine standard base color and a N2.5 neutralgray in a 2:1:2 mix
This would be 2 parts bermuda beige + 1 part AAA fine + NCS 7500 N until you like the gray (1-2 parts). The problem with this mix should be, the more neutral gray you add the more the spectrum will suffer. The result should be a slighty off neutralgray.
Since the amount of Bermuda Beige is reduced while maintaining the same about of AAA-F the mix would "push" blue even if the gray paint added was truly neutral in color. In the standard BW™ formula the "warmth" of the base color corrects the "coolness" resulting from adding the AAA-F.

Solution C:
The same like Solution A but in a 3:1 mix (or even 2:1) to enhance the gain.
The NCS S7507-Y70R mix contains much black and will practically 'eat light', so to bring back the gain level up to around 0.3 more AAA fine should be needed. There are some BW 3:1 mixes out there so I'm not sure if adding more AAA fine won't mess up the result. The spectrum shouldn't suffer IMHO by adding more than 3:1 AAA fine.
I believe Mech did try a 3:1 mix, but it resulted in too much aluminum in the mix and he got some kind of negative artifacting (I seem to remember it as being a slightly granular appearance, but I'm not sure).

Has anyone tried a BW N3 yet? I've also read the Elektra approach, but there are too many colors being added, so I'd prefer one of the above BW solutions to keep it simple and easy to rebuild by others all over the world, where specific paint brands might not be available.
Nope, not yet; but it is on the schedule of "things to do". The problem is that we do this stuff in our "spare time" and that has been hard to find for some time. :crying:

The Elektra™ thread that made it's way into the main DIY forum here (the rest are in the Developer's forum) uses Cream&Sugar™ #2 as the base; that formula uses 3 different colors of metallic paint because the base paint is a simple white paint. When C&S™ #1 and C&S™ #3 are used for the base there are a total of 3 different paints used to make Elektra™ mixes (a tinted base, the silver metallic and a neutral gray). This is of limited use to you however since you are in Germany and the metallic paint used to make C&S™ and Elektra™ is not available there.

ps:
Should I use flat Latexpaint as base or flat enamel (both waterbased of course)
We have found that in the paint brands we recommend the enamel latex paints have a small amount of added gloss over their flat counterparts so we use them. I don't know if the same holds true for German paint brands or not.

pps: Thank you to all of you for the great informations on how to mix paints for DIY screens:clap:
Thank you for bothering to read and reply! :T

If you would like either Mech or myself (or both of us) to test paint samples for you just PM us for our addresses. We would need flat samples about 2 cm square for testing with our spectrophotometers.
 
#3 ·
...
That sounds like a very dark screen indeed, but yet it is around 10 times brighter than a flat paint the same color. I looked for the video on YouTube, but could not find it. If this screen does indeed perform as the specs suggest, I would expect it to have a very limited viewing cone in at least one viewing axis. ...
Search on youtube for ' Cine4home Blackscreen Leinwand - Höchster Kontrast auch bei Tageslicht Teil 1 ' and
' Cine4home Blackscreen Leinwand - Höchster Kontrast auch bei Tageslicht Teil 2 ' the youtube numbers for the videos are 2V2_nQO81_4 and vGswo2ts-bc .

On the german cinema4home website (it's a .de domain) there are several specials about it and the development of the screen (they started out with a 85% darkgray paper used by photograpers as background). Check out the 21.04.09, 04.03.10, 29.04.10 and 21.06.10 reports.


May I ask how are you obtaining your gain values?
On the german caparol website there is a section called 'spectrum' where they show the Lch code and 'brightness' of the selected color. Lab and Lch color codes for neutral grays (a0 b0 or c0 h0) are the same. Caparol shows for a L50 C00 H000 (or L50 a0 b0) gray a 'brightness' of 0.19, afaik that's the gain level for a N5 gray so I figured the shown 'brightness' of their grays equals the approx. gain.

...
You have a greater understanding of the NSC color system than I do so I'll take your word for it.
Don't take my word for it. The german wikipedia version for the Natural Color System NCS explains the color code.
NCS ##(blacklevel/darkness) ## (saturation) - R,G,B,Y or N (base color) ##R,G,B or Y (% of added color).
A N5 neutral gray in NCS code is NCS 5000 N

There is an online NCS to RGB calculator available. Just google for ' mws-design NCS nach RGB Umrechnung '.

If the base paint is simply made "blacker" without effecting the hue and saturation I would expect the resulting mix to still be neutral in color.
I'm not sure about the effects on the hue. Just play around with the darkness levels in the NCS to RGB calculator a bit. IMHO a NCS XX07-y70r seems to get a bit 'reder' the darker it gets, but that could be an optical illusion, because the actual color components stay the same.

However, when I was developing the mix that would become Elektra™ I found that the darker the mix becomes the more the aluminum stands out. ... If you try this please report your findings here!
That's my main concern, too. I will probably start testing with a NCS S5007-Y70R BB mix and darken the resulting 4:1 BWmix further with black tinting paint for testing purposes. Or should I start with an even brighter gray, i.e. a NCS S3007-Y70R ?

The Elektra™ thread that made it's way into the main DIY forum here (the rest are in the Developer's forum) uses Cream&Sugar™ #2 as the base; that formula uses 3 different colors of metallic paint because the base paint is a simple white paint. ... This is of limited use to you however since you are in Germany and the metallic paint used to make C&S™ and Elektra™ is not available there.
There are very high quality marabu (they also sell printing colors worldwide) metallic artist paints available in Europe. So those could be tested but they are very expensive (usually sold in 10 ml glasses...).

We have found that in the paint brands we recommend the enamel latex paints have a small amount of added gloss over their flat counterparts so we use them. I don't know if the same holds true for German paint brands or not.
Most people in the european DIY forums use flat latex paint for a BW screen, so it seems to be the best choice.

If you would like either Mech or myself (or both of us) to test paint samples for you just PM us for our addresses. We would need flat samples about 2 cm square for testing with our spectrophotometers.
I will remember to make some test samples for you and post updates here.

Best regards!
Darker_plz
 
#7 ·
Just an update on the whole NCS situation. The only paint company in the U.S. that can make colors using the NCS system is Benjamin Moore. These are very good paints, but cost about double what Valspar and Behr cost, and the stores are fewer and farther between; but it IS possible to get NCS colors in the States. :T

But, there seems to be a problem in determining exactly what color an NCS code actually makes! Take the color that is currently recommended for making BW™ which is S0907Y70R. I have found 3 different on-line sites that supposedly convert this to RGB values. The problem is that they don't agree with each other and they aren't minor differences! :gulp: The values I have gotten are:
R-----G-----B
234, 221, 216
247, 228, 209
238,218, 199

The problem is reflected in this Q&A from the "Ask a Color Scientist" site:
"How can I convert NCS color mode to RGB mode in Photoshop?
The NCS system is not defined by any equations that could be used to directly relate it to RGB (or other color specifications). The conversion would have to be made via look-up table."

This results in another problem using NCS to get an exact color, not ALL colors that can theoretically be made are actual available colors. For instance the color Darker_plz came up with that would supposedly make a better BW™ base is S1013-Y66R; I checked at my local Benjamin Moore store and while they could make S0907Y70R and another potential BW™ base color S1505Y70R, they could NOT make S1013-Y66R! This is also a problem in the RAL Design color system where not all potential colors in the system can actually be made at a store.

Since the actual color samples people around the world have been sending to Mech for color testing have proven to make neutral BW™ I think we will stick with s0907Y70R until something actually proves to be better. ;)

BTW, using a darker NCS tint formula to make a darker BW™ should work, but the problem may be in finding one that is a verified NCS color. A work-around would be to get some S9000N, which is as dark a black as NCS will make, and simply mix it with S0907Y70R until the desired shade is obtained. If S9000N is truly a neutral color the resulting BW™ mix should still be neutral as well.
 
#8 ·
Just an update on the whole NCS situation. ... The problem is that they don't agree with each other and they aren't minor differences! :gulp: ...The NCS system is not defined by any equations that could be used to directly relate it to RGB (or other color specifications). The conversion would have to be made via look-up table."

This results in another problem using NCS to get an exact color, not ALL colors that can theoretically be made are actual available colors. For instance the color Darker_plz came up with that would supposedly make a better BW™ base is S1013-Y66R; I checked at my local Benjamin Moore store and while they could make S0907Y70R and another potential BW™ base color S1505Y70R, they could NOT make S1013-Y66R! ...
Another update from me regarding NCS. The Swiss guy didn't answer my mail. Yesterday I went to a local store to check on the NCS colors, asked if they could mix the NCS1013-Y66R. They couldn't, it wasn't in their database.
The other one S0907-Y70R they could mix, but for that number their system came up with two NCS colors nearly matching the wanted color.

Since the actual color samples people around the world have been sending to Mech for color testing have proven to make neutral BW™ I think we will stick with s0907Y70R until something actually proves to be better. ;)
Yes that's probably the best. I even found out something worse about the NCS System...:paddle:

...A work-around would be to get some S9000N, which is as dark a black as NCS will make, and simply mix it with S0907Y70R until the desired shade is obtained. If S9000N is truly a neutral color the resulting BW™ mix should still be neutral as well
I found a link to an official NCS site
http://deutsches-farbenzentrum.de/2...ostenfreie-online-anwendung-fur-farbdesigner/
direct link to NCS java applet:
http://83.168.206.163/navigator/launch.jnlp

When you look up S9000N there and check on the Lab value shown, you will see that all of their so called 'neutral grays' are not neutral:rant: What good is a color system code when even something simple as a neutral gray isn't actually neutral?!

I've just about had it with the NCS system and I'm taking a closer look at the '3D System plus' colors from Caparol. Their neutral grays are actually neutral and they even show the LCH values of their colors.
http://www.caparol.de/site/lang__de/5774/ug1__682/ug2__716/ug3__731/ug4__541/CaparolMattLatex.aspx
The '3D Granit 5' color is the darkest neutral gray they got and it is a true neutral gray with a LCH value of L30 C00 H000

They also got an english website with a bit less information than the german website.
http://www.caparol.com

I don't know if caparol colors are sold in the US or if their 3D System plus colors can be mixed in the US. 'Easy RGB' has the Caparol 3D system colors listed.

Best regards!
Darker_plz
 
#10 ·
#11 · (Edited)
Just an update on my as 'dark as possible screen'.

After reading some posts in 'the other forum' on the extruded aluminum material boschrexroth and 8020 sell I decided to built my frame with this material
http://www.8020.net/
http://www.boschrexroth.com/business_units/brl/de/produkte/mge/a_images/104_Profil_blauwelt.jpg
and using gray spandex as screen material.

I'm using two 20x20 profiles with a length of 2360mm and two 20x20 with a length of 1370mm. Those will be connected with 4 of the 2way cube connectors.

I added 70mm on each side of the 102'' screen frame because I'm working on a DIY spandex blackscreen for daylight viewing and need those 70mm for 'integrated' masking purposes.

The cube connectors were ordered because i didn't want any sharp corners and there is no need for 45° angles with those.

I'll use several layers of 4-way spandex and mylar, which will be stretched over the frame and connected in the rear of the frame with black plastic tubes.

In case I run into problems fixating the spandex in the corners I'll screw thin steel washers on the cubes rear and use superstrong neodym magnets (15mmx3mm, 2.3kg pull) to solve that problem.

The complete screen will only have a weight of about 4-5kg.

I got a whole bunch of different gray spandex samples (many are very small though) and tried to find the best 'as dark as possible' (for Acer H5360 aka emachines v700 PJ) material.

Several problems showed up when reaching a gray level of approximatly Munsell N5 or less.

a) the darker the gray gets the more 'blueish' the image gets, especially skin tones suffer. It seems like the gray 'eats red' the most.

b) for getting a decent white level the glossy side of a N6 or darker spandex must be used.

c) backing the gray spandex with white or black spandex has decreasing influence the darker the gray gets.

d) Silvermetallic spandex as backing doesn't have an evenly reflective surface when stretched and isn't more efficient than a simple white backing. It also has got a sparkling issue. When using it's rear with a slightly yellowish n7 graytone it works nicely, but has sparkling problems in very bright scenes.

e) a thin see through gray spandex with about N8 backed with a black spandex is behaving almost like a N5 gray spandex. The problem with it is it doesn't have enough gloss to produce a good white and must be stretched very evenly .

I got some Mylar to see if it improves the gain more than a white backing without producing further problems.

It seems like Mylar increases the 'gain' of the used gray spandex aproximatly by 1-2 levels on the Munsell scale. I E a N3.5 gray has whites like a n5. I couldn't test it on a large scale yet, but have ordered graphit gray (N3.5) spandex and the thin see through N8 gray spandex in case I run into problems with the Mylar directly backing the graphit gray spandex.

Also in case the N3.5 backed with mylar doesn't work as expected I still will have a nicely working screen when using the see through n8 and backing it with the N3.5 spandex.

It seems like anything darker as N5-4 is too dark for 2000 lumen in eco mode PJs, even when using the glossy side of the material, if it's not backed by mylar. Maybe it would work with 3000-4000 lumen PJs...

Best regards!
Darker_plz
 
#12 ·
a) the darker the gray gets the more 'blueish' the image gets, especially skin tones suffer. It seems like the gray 'eats red' the most.
It's not that it 'eats red', it pushes blue more. The problem with going darker is as things move closer to black there are more pigments used and darker ones and this has an impact on the image.

For the most part what we 'see' as black is actually a deep dark purple. The darker you go the harder the blue push. If you were to have a neutral gray, even as dark as N2.5, you wouldn't see any push. The image would of course still be dimmer because more light energy is being absorbed but it would still be color accurate.

For something this dark you would either need a very bright projector or a lot of gain, and both have their drawbacks. The brighter the projectors is typically the lower the contrast is. If you find a bright projector with exceptional contrast be prepared to pay premium dollars for it!

Gain also has its negatives. I see so many people talk about gain as if it is something magical. Not only does gain affect the viewing cone, if the gain is too high it also can start causing color shifting to happen. Granted I don't think that's what's happening here, I just wanted to point that out is all.

Fabrics use different pigments than paints and they typically use inks and dyes. Black ink really isn't black at all. As mentioned it's actually a dark purple. The dyes are the same and black isn't black. That's why when you have a pair of black jeans or pants they start to get that purplish look after they have been washed too many times.

If you had a bright enough projector you could blast through all this and still get acceptable whites, but again as mentioned, typically the contrast is lower.

Just wanted to give you some food for thought as to what's going on :)
 
#13 ·
Thanks for the update Darker_plz. We have not tried using Spandex as a screen material primarily due to all the problems you are discovering and the fact that you can't control the color of the screen yourself (as you can with a painted surface). The performance of the material is greatly affected by how it is mounted and how much it is stretched. When you start layering different colors and sheens of material things get even more complicated and begin to climb toward the point where it becomes difficult for others to duplicate one's working screen.

A Spandex screen is still an item of interest, especially to those wanting to make a acoustically transparent screen.
 
#14 · (Edited)
The 'DIY Blackscreen' is finished. It needs a little bit more stretching, but I'll do that in a few days when I got a helper (did the inital stretching myself) and the spandex is hung out. I had to increase PJs brightness, contrast and red a bit, and decrease blue and green a little.

Apart from the above already mentioned boschrexroth material I used:
-2 mylar rescue blankets (the silver side facing to the front)
-Black plastic tubing ( pieces of about 15-20 cm)
-Graphit gray spandex with about N3.5 http://www.stoffkontor.eu/bekleidun...f-bi-elastisch-br-farbe-graphit-grau/a-12492/
)
-see through spandex with about N8 ( http://www.stoffkontor.eu/bekleidun...l-4223-astro-fb-silber-grau-metallic/a-12227/)
)


Here's the making of...

The glossy side of this material was used


The frame corners look like this


Connecting the material to the frame



The infamous flash picture of the screen (ignore the messy wall, it will be repainted soon...)


a few pictures of the viewing cone (not very sharp,but that's my error not the screens)


full daylight and ambient light


Another sample of full daylight and in darkness

and another sample of ambient light vs darkened room



I'm happy with the results. There are some things I would do different next time:
-try to get a mylar sheet the correct size or use 2 equally sized mylar rescue blankets pieces.
-stretch the mylar first and connect it to the outside T-slots, then stretch the spandex and connect it to the rear T-slots

Things to watch out, when rebuilding it:
-get several samples of the spandex material from different shops, test them and use the most neutral one you can find.
-The see through material is very important, without it you'll get a problem with the mylar backing creating hotpots and sparkles.


Best regards!
Darker_plz

Update:
Because of the lines you can see on the flash picture of the screen, I didn't just restretch it, but also turned the dark gray spandex around so the glossy side is facing to the rear now. That's much better. Before you were able to see the lines on the glossy side in very bright scenes like explosions etc. Now the screen works even better than before and even has a bit more contrast.
 
#15 ·
Just wanted to keep you updated.

After having watched all sorts of movies on my screen I'm still very happy with it.

Here are some things I enjoy most about my dark gray screen:
-No masking needed. 16:9, 4:3 or any other format just looks great. There's almost no difference noticable in the gray tones of the movieborders to the material not lighted up by the pj.

-Ambient light no problem. Even with the lamps on theres a very viewable image. No need for a bat cave. Dimmed lighting makes almost no difference to total darkness.

-It is 'cat safe'. As often as my cat has climbed the screen any pvc screen material would have been shredded. The claw marks in the spandex are gone within hours. (Trying my best to convince my cat not to climb the screen...)

Best regards!
Darker_plz
 
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