What Color To Paint Your HT?

**Phil M** · **06-15-06, 07:46 AM**

Before painting my HT room I had seen a few dealer demo rooms that looked great, but painted in very strong colors - such as deep reds/burgundy etc. It struck me that this would shift the color balance/perception or whatever the correct technical term is. So finished up using a grey similar to the background on this forum for my room. Since then I've seen light greens, bright blues....
So my questions are - does wall color make a difference to the projected image, and if it does what color(s) should be used?

**lcaillo** · **06-15-06, 08:16 AM**

Search for SMPTE RP166.

**Tommy** · **06-15-06, 08:48 AM**

We still havent decided on a color pattern, so I'm still searching and interested in this topic also

**Phil M** · **06-15-06, 08:57 AM**

Tommy, I don't know what the exact answer is - even though my room is a mid-grey I left the ceiling in 'mud white', my calibrater hit the roof (excuse the pun) as he complained about the reflection from the screen onto the ceiling. He wanted it flat black! We compromised and I used the same grey for 50%of the ceiling (which coincides with an RSJ bisecting the room).

So my objective for starting the thread was to encourage thought and debate, as the room can play a critical part in the viewing experience.

**Tommy** · **06-15-06, 09:04 AM**

Well my room is a dedicated room so I have no problems using colors that would enhance the overall performance of the show. I know this may be different if the room was a dual purpose room.

I have no problems painting the ceiling black etc. Within the given limits of this though I would like to pick out some choices that look better then others.

As you pointed out alot seem to be deep reds/burgundy. I went to one HT installers demo room and he had the whole room painted black.

I was thinking maybe a burgundy color for the walls, black ceiling and possibly painting the columns black but Im not sure.

I do however think it was just to plain when the whole room was one solid color.

**Phil M** · **06-15-06, 09:13 AM**

Tommy, my room is broken up with wall treatments that are a darker grey which breaks up the single wall color and looks good. I'll put up some photos.
Maybe some of the installers can post their experiences?

My ISF calibrater is a bigger perfectionist than I am

that has to hurt.

**Sonnie** · **06-15-06, 09:37 AM**

Quote:

lcaillo wrote:

Search for SMPTE RP166.

Hey Leonard... I searched for that and didn't come up with much. What is it?

I have no clue on color... we just threw something on the wall, but I'm not overly tickled with it and might change it later. But we did try to stay with darker colors and even painted the ceiling a midnight blue.

I think our carpet is neutral and our recliners are neutral, so changing the colors would be fairly easy.

**Tommy** · **06-15-06, 09:50 AM**

Slightly off but the same topic at the same time, how much does hanging those movie posters effect the room?

I'm sure they cant be good for reflection but would like them for the decor.

**Ayreonaut** · **06-15-06, 12:32 PM**

I've read that the reflections from the ceiling, walls and floor on the screen are critical only on the areas near the screen. You should use neutral, darker carpet and paint on the first five feet or so at the front of the room, but behind that you should be able to take your pick.

**khellandros66** · **06-15-06, 02:19 PM**

Colors should be very "dead" such as burgandy, deep blue, and darker greys. I would recommend a color pallete like that. I would say the walls would be lighter then the ceiling because dark walls and light ceiling make the room seem smaller but very tall.

~Bob

**Phil M** · **06-15-06, 05:54 PM**

"Room color specifications in SMPTE RP166 are as follows. Visible surfaces that surround the TV screen should be a truly neutral color. SMPTE used the Munsell Color Order System to define their color references. Neutral is any color of gray throughout the range from black to white. Surface colors that lie within the observer’s field of view with the monitor screen should be in the neutral category. The purpose for this specification is to preserve accurate color perception of the image on the screen. "

Thats what I found on one site:

**Sonnie** · **06-16-06, 12:52 AM**

Interesting. Sounds like I've got my colors close then... just need to paint the front part some shade of gray. Dark burgundy, gray, and dark blue... might work.

**Steve Williamson** · **06-16-06, 05:51 PM**

I am going tans, dark brown and nearly black. Went to our local leather suite dealer for theatre seating and their showroom had a ceiling painted with a light tan border of about three feet then a very very dark brown middle, it looked like the ceiling had no centre, very dramatic effect.

We will have dark brown carpet with lighter border and light tan or latte coloured leather seating. I agree that the couple of metres nearest the screen is the most influential in terms of colour problems and I have always steared clear of burgandies and reds as I was told long ago that the red side of the spectrum causes the most colour saturation on the screen. I can't verify that as I have never used any reds.

The walls are going to have carpeted panels between columns so if I get bored, we can change the look of the room without repainting.

This theatre has nice colours even though it is burgandy'ish:

**Phil M** · **06-17-06, 10:36 AM**

Most of us on the forum are DIY'ers learning as we go along and from each other.
For example I was just about to finish my room and realised, at the last minute, that my equipment was behind me and how could I use my RC? Luckily the walls were not quite finished and I was able to put in an IR repeater system.

My objective in starting this thread was to learn, and raise awareness level to the fact that color of the environment does have an impact on the projected image. Knowing this it then becomes a personal choice on how to design your room.

What triggered me off was seeing the industry professionals giving awards for theater designs that were extreme - and for me more distracting and not squeezing out the maximum performance of the system. Again its a personal choice. I was put on the right track by my ISF calibrater, he called me before hand and avised me on screen choice, projector position, room color etc. This guy is used by well known projector manufacturers in the industry to set up projectors at trade shows, and also the homes of senior people inside these companies. The guy is extreme, a bigger perfectionist than I am, but still shakes his head when he sees my ceiling. One question that does come to mind - and that is if you do choose a strong color scheme for your room, which creates a color shift, can this be compensated for in calibration (IRE levels, Gamma)?

**Phil M** · **06-17-06, 01:54 PM**

Some pics from my HT/Gym:

**Phil M** · **06-17-06, 01:58 PM**

More HT/Gym pics:

**Sonnie** · **06-17-06, 06:40 PM**

Hmmm.... work out while you watch a movie. Pretty cool.

**Tommy** · **06-17-06, 10:51 PM**

Thanks for posting the room pic's all. Different pic's of how the rooms are painted really add to the topic.

Steve, your pics gave me some ideas I will be following up on. I have colums similar to the pic you posted and have been discussing with the wife whether or not we should paint them a seperate color then the walls.

Phil you mentioned installing a IR system, I'd be interested if you posted a seperate topic on that alone to see what and how that was done. It would be a good tuturial for us newbies.

**Steve Williamson** · **06-18-06, 04:25 AM**

Tommy, I think the best idea would be to paint the walls and ceiling the darkest colour you can then if you need to lighten the room, use furnishings and wall coverings. Better than finding you have to much reflective light in the room and having to repaint again.

**Phil M** · **06-18-06, 06:53 AM**

Quote:

Tommy wrote:

Phil you mentioned installing a IR system, I'd be interested if you posted a seperate topic on that alone to see what and how that was done. It would be a good tuturial for us newbies.

Good idea Tommy, I'll kick it off.

**Tommy** · **06-18-06, 09:53 AM**

Quote:

Steve Williamson wrote:

Tommy, I think the best idea would be to paint the walls and ceiling the darkest colour you can then if you need to lighten the room, use furnishings and wall coverings. Better than finding you have to much reflective light in the room and having to repaint again.

I didnt mean using lighter colors for the room. Were thinking a black ceiling and front wall and burgundy for the rest of the walls. What were trying to decide though is whether the columns in the room should be a different color then the walls. Sort of like the above picture where the columns and trim work are a different color but I would prefer a darker color.

**Phil M** · **06-18-06, 10:24 AM**

[quote=Tommy]Thanks for posting the room pic's all. Different pic's of how the rooms are painted really add to the topic.QUOTE]

Tommy, the room looks brighter on the photos than it is - the 'charcoal' band around the front and side of the room, along with the tiles on the back wall, are acoustic panels to improve the room acoustics. They also serve to breakup the monotonous color scheme.
Based on the industry advice 'any dark color' does not give a balanced image color, the recommendation is any shade from white to black. Using another color scheme is a personal choice, but you will get color shift. Is it important - guess it depends on how obsessed you are

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