[Petermgr]

Hi all,

I'm not only new to this forum, but also new to the home theater scene. After a lot of research and reading on forums I decided to buy the Epson 8350. I also want to make (paint) my own screen.

Our HT is in our basement and 95% of the time the room will be completely dark when watching movies. I have the projector ceiling mounted 14' 6" away from the wall with single row of seating 14' from the wall. I have painted a 120"(diagonal) screen on the wall using Behr Ultra White Ceiling Paint. So far, only one coat since I haven't decided on a final top coat paint.

We watched several movies in either Dynamic or Living Room modes (not calibrated) and noticed the following:

1) Viewing is very comfortable with a screen size between 115" - 120".

2) Overall contrast is very good when scenes have a good mix of light and dark areas.

3) Bright scenes (lots of white) washes out the blacks and overall contrast is lost.

4) Although the room is completely dark, our white ceiling, soft sea green walls, and ceramic floor tiles, are somewhat lit up by the bright scenes. I'm guessing those are possible factors causing washed out blacks.

I want to retain decent contrast in bright scenes with blacks not getting too faded out. I know I need to darken the color of our ceiling, and possibly our walls. But will that alone give me a more balanced image with bright scenes? Or is there a paint that can reduce the amount of light being thrown back from the screen? I know there are grey tinted paints that may help, but I would prefer staying with white (I don't want to lose too much brightness).

I have read so many discussions regarding the various paints and paint mixes, but it's difficult knowing which one will give me the solution I'm looking for. Also, many of the recommended methods involve paints that are difficult to find in my area. I have access to Benjamin Moore, General Paint, and Home Depot paints.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks

Peter

 

[Harpmaker]

Hi Peter, welcome to the forum! :wave:

Forgive me, but the sandman is making it hard for me to keep my eyes open let alone do an answer to your questions justice. Let me get back to you tomorrow. :snoring: Of course Mech or someone else might beat me to it.

 

[Petermgr]

Thanks Don,

Hope you had a good sleep

Peter

 

[Harpmaker]

Although the room is completely dark, our white ceiling, soft sea green walls, and ceramic floor tiles, are somewhat lit up by the bright scenes. I'm guessing those are possible factors causing washed out blacks.

I want to retain decent contrast in bright scenes with blacks not getting too faded out. I know I need to darken the color of our ceiling, and possibly our walls. But will that alone give me a more balanced image with bright scenes? Or is there a paint that can reduce the amount of light being thrown back from the screen? I know there are grey tinted paints that may help, but I would prefer staying with white (I don't want to lose too much brightness).

This is the downside to having light colored or white room surfaces. The brighter the scene on the screen the more it will light up these surfaces and the more bounce-back will fall back on the screen lessening image contrast by making black areas gray instead of black. The best solution to this problem is to darken the room surfaces, but a darker gray screen will help too.

People tend to worry too much about losing image brightness, our eyes can compensate for brightness lose unless it is a huge difference. In typical HT settings a screen can lose a full third of it's brightness and many people wouldn't even notice it.

I have read so many discussions regarding the various paints and paint mixes, but it's difficult knowing which one will give me the solution I'm looking for. Also, many of the recommended methods involve paints that are difficult to find in my area. I have access to Benjamin Moore, General Paint, and Home Depot paints.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks

Peter

I would recommend an N9 gray level paint for you (N10 is pure white and N0 pure black). In Canada many paint stores can match the ICI colors and the closest to N9 (which is a VERY light gray) would be 00NN 72/000 . . "Snowfield". Using paints from Home Depot I would use Behr in an eggshell finish or Glidden in a flat finish (the Glidden eggshell is too glossy). I'm not familiar with Benjamin Moore and General Paint colors and finishes.

 

[Petermgr]

This is the downside to having light colored or white room surfaces. . . . I would recommend an N9 gray level paint for you (N10 is pure white and N0 pure black). In Canada many paint stores can match the ICI colors and the closest to N9 (which is a VERY light gray) would be 00NN 72/000 . . "Snowfield". Using paints from Home Depot I would use Behr in an eggshell finish or Glidden in a flat finish (the Glidden eggshell is too glossy). I'm not familiar with Benjamin Moore and General Paint colors and finishes.

Thanks for the advice Don! Appreciate you taking the time

I will give this a try later this weekend. Will let you know how I make out!

Have a great weekend!

 

[NegativeEntropy]

Peter,

Also keep in mind that the projector itself loses the ability to create deep blacks the brighter the mode you use it in.

Have you tried watching in the Cinema mode (with the bulb in standard [non-eco] mode)? My math shows it'll be a bit dim (about 11 fL), but it'll give you the deepest blacks. If you find it slightly too dim, zoom it down to about a 100" screen to experiment. That'll bump you to about 15 fL (in the recommended 12-16fL range for a dark cinema).

If under these conditions you find that the dark areas still wash out too much in bright scenes then your options are to darken the screen (which also darkens the image as gain falls) and room surfaces and/or get a projector that does not rely on an auto-iris.

An auto iris will be wide open if there are bright areas of the scene and this will challenge such projectors the most for their ability to have good blacks at the same time. You may be able to experiment with this if yours has a manual iris adjustment (e.g. turn off auto and set it to a medium or low range to experiment).

You can mock up a darker room using dark colored fabric/blankets to see if it has the intended effect.

Between experimenting with the projector's settings and the room, hopefully you can determine the right path to get where you want to be.

 

[Petermgr]

Peter, Also keep in mind that the projector itself loses the ability to create deep blacks the brighter the mode you use it in. . . Between experimenting with the projector's settings and the room, hopefully you can determine the right path to get where you want to be.

Hey NE, thanks for the tips and advice. I will do a lot of experimenting over the weekend. Will let you know how I make out . . .

Peter

 

[mechman]

Your particular room is the reason dnp makes a screen called the Supernova. :T You really can't mimic it with any paint. :dontknow:

 

[Petermgr]

Your particular room is the reason dnp makes a screen called the Supernova. :T You really can't mimic it with any paint. :dontknow:

Impressive online demo of their screen. But when they say "call for quote', gotta be super expensive :spend:

 

[mechman]

I would guess somewhere in the neighborhood of $3-4K. They really are the screen to beat though, when it comes to ambient light. Nobody does it like dnp.