I have lately been introduced to the DIY Screen forum at AVSForum.com. You would be amazed at the information available over there about DIY screens. I have found a screen solution that I feel is ideal for my personal preferences. Anyway, anyone who is looking at making a DIY screen who wants the best picture for their money should take a look at the avsforum. I have been addicted to it for the past three days. So much info. My butt is starting to hurt from sitting at my computer for so long. The threads i suggest taking a lok at are the ones involving Behr Silverscreen Paint, Misty Evening Grey, Light Fusion, and Mississippi Mud. SO many good choices. Cant wait to get started. I will probably go with the Behr Silverscreen Paint/White Opal Pearlescant combo.
Happy reading. If you have any question as far as links to information, ill do my best to direct you where you need to go.
Take care.
Happy reading. If you have any question as far as links to information, ill do my best to direct you where you need to go.
Take care.
I did the same thing just recently. Interesting read but a real time sink! Absolutely killed a perfectly good Saturday.
For anyone who is interested, though not interested in wading through the posts, the general feeling is that an inexpensive paint mixture of 75% Behr Silverscreen (just a fancy name for a warm gray hue) to 25% Behr White Opal Pearlescent (contains silica) sprayed in 3 to 4 coats (wet sanded in-between) provides a high-gain surface comparable to expensive projection screens.
If you have been following the experiments at AVSForum, the folks involved with Light Fusion (at least Mississippi Man) felt the above combination may be superior to LF (MM's comments). It would certainly save in cost for mirrored plexi.
I think they are now discussing applying SS/OP to stretched BO cloth.
These guys are really into making the "perfect" screen and I must say they have incredible results.
Screens really do matter. White wall... e-evil.
For anyone who is interested, though not interested in wading through the posts, the general feeling is that an inexpensive paint mixture of 75% Behr Silverscreen (just a fancy name for a warm gray hue) to 25% Behr White Opal Pearlescent (contains silica) sprayed in 3 to 4 coats (wet sanded in-between) provides a high-gain surface comparable to expensive projection screens.
If you have been following the experiments at AVSForum, the folks involved with Light Fusion (at least Mississippi Man) felt the above combination may be superior to LF (MM's comments). It would certainly save in cost for mirrored plexi.
I think they are now discussing applying SS/OP to stretched BO cloth.
These guys are really into making the "perfect" screen and I must say they have incredible results.
Screens really do matter. White wall... e-evil.
It's good to see more people using AVS. As far as DIY audio and LCD PJ goes, this site is great. But when it comes to retail A/V equipment, I NEVER buy anything without first seeing what the folks at AVS have to say. It's an invaluable source of info for any Videophile. The screen forum is also great, as they cover all the options from inexpensive DIY screens, to ultra high end commercial screens, to comparisons of both the aforementioned options.
Anyone interested in creating a HTPC would also do well to spend at least a week reading the HTPC forum there. They cover EVERY SD,HD, and other video input cards, sound cards, software packages, and anything else involved in a HTPC you could think of.
AVS is truly invaluable, and should be on the short list of every DIY-ers favorite forums, along with DIYAudio and a few others.
IMHO, as the internet gets overcrowded with useless garbage, and nearly impossible to search and find what you need at times, I've found forums to be a saving grace for the lost soul. When it seems impossible to find info you need, forums allow you to simply ask, and receive well thought out(sometimes) answers from people experienced with your problem or issue. I honestly spend 3/4 or more of the time I sit at my PC on one forum or another. And it's generally much more rewarding than time spent sufing through Google search results for an answer to my question.
Ok enough ranting for me. I'm just saying: Yay for forums! They are a redeeming force for the internet!
Anyone interested in creating a HTPC would also do well to spend at least a week reading the HTPC forum there. They cover EVERY SD,HD, and other video input cards, sound cards, software packages, and anything else involved in a HTPC you could think of.
AVS is truly invaluable, and should be on the short list of every DIY-ers favorite forums, along with DIYAudio and a few others.
IMHO, as the internet gets overcrowded with useless garbage, and nearly impossible to search and find what you need at times, I've found forums to be a saving grace for the lost soul. When it seems impossible to find info you need, forums allow you to simply ask, and receive well thought out(sometimes) answers from people experienced with your problem or issue. I honestly spend 3/4 or more of the time I sit at my PC on one forum or another. And it's generally much more rewarding than time spent sufing through Google search results for an answer to my question.
Ok enough ranting for me. I'm just saying: Yay for forums! They are a redeeming force for the internet!
Its exclusive to Home Depot. I've used the Silverscreen paint on the pair of screens for the club that I posted a couple weeks ago. This weekend, I've desided to bite the bullet and I'm building one for the house and my Boxlight pj using the SS\WOP combo in the 2\3 to 1\3 mix that mMan has suggested. I havent desided to what material to paint to, but it will probabably be BO cloth since I can get it in 54" wide instead of 48" in plywood, Do-Able, or Parkland Plastics.
AVS is a great site, and the DIY screen market has come along way.......
AVS is a great site, and the DIY screen market has come along way.......
glad to see there are others who have researched screens. I just feel that if we are going to put our effort in to building a DIY projector, we need the best possible screen we can get. Most would agreen that DIY projectors lack many things that the good Commercial projectors have...like contrast and lumen output. If we can do whatever we can to boost contrast and brightness of our projected image, then i suggest we do it. You will see that almost anyone who has compared blackout cloth or parkland plastic to the new paint solutions has seen obvious improvements. This is very exciting for me. I am going to Home Depot today to look arouhd for the supplys. A part of me wants to take the plunge and go for the light fusion (not the mirror one, but the one with the Silver metallic underlay), but it is about twice the cost of the Silverscreen/WOP mixture.
Did anyone see the mixture called ME+ (Misty Evening Plus silver metallic)? It looks very promising as well. Here is a link: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=320794&highlight=one+coat
As you can see, there are many options. I just cant decide what i wanna do yet. I need to go to HD and check out prices. I might just go for the Mississippi Mud goo by itself.
But the good news is...for anyone who already has a blockout cloth screen can easily apply the paint on top of it and create a very nice screen comparable to many commercial screens.
Take care.
Did anyone see the mixture called ME+ (Misty Evening Plus silver metallic)? It looks very promising as well. Here is a link: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=320794&highlight=one+coat
As you can see, there are many options. I just cant decide what i wanna do yet. I need to go to HD and check out prices. I might just go for the Mississippi Mud goo by itself.
But the good news is...for anyone who already has a blockout cloth screen can easily apply the paint on top of it and create a very nice screen comparable to many commercial screens.
Take care.
one more thing i should add. Many people have been having problems getting a good blue level using Lilliput projectors. I am not sure if this is a usual thing, or if it depends on the bulb you use, but if you are having trouble achieving a good blue level, you might be interested in the Misty Evenig Paint. It has a very slight blue tint to it, and it will aid in the blue level of the projected image. The same goes for those wanting deeper Reds. I would suggest the Silverscreen paint. It has a slight reddish tint. There is also a mix that someone invented called neutral grey. I has no color tint to it. It is straight grey (a white paint with a little black added). The coolest thing i have found is the White Opal Pearlescence. It adds a shimmery sheen into the screen which helps in brightness without hotpotting (as long as it is mixed in well with another paint...not to exceed 30% of the total mix). It allows you to use a greyer screen in order to help with contrast, without taking away brightness. Another thing that many over at AVS have claimed is that these paints help with the screen door effect. The screen door is diminished due to the grey color of the screens. Since the screen door is usually a grey-ish color, having a grey screen helps toe mask the effect of screen door. Makes sense to me.
Take care.
Take care.
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