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Posts tagged Do-it-yourself home theater
The projector screen viewing distance – Improving your home theaters performance
01 year ago
Projector screen viewing distance
Projector screen viewing distance and incorporating a 1080p projector with your home theater system are two the most important aspects of properly setting up a home theater system. Some enthusiasts are content with just buying any ole home theater projector and screen, hooking it all up and are be perfectly happy with it. But if you are serious about properly setting up your home theater, you will definitely want to find the find your viewing distance use a 1080p projector. With the proper projector screen viewing distance and a 1080p resolution projector, you are going to see detail that you could have never imagined from a front projection home theater system, but making it happen means having the right size projector screen and view distance (subtends) setup correctly.
Calculating your projector screen viewing distance is easy
Using the calculator below you will be able to find the projector screen viewing distance of any given screen size, and seating distance which will allow you to reap the benefits of a higher resolution home theater screen and projector set up.
Projector screen viewing distance calculator
This projector screen viewing distance calculator will provide you with a general idea of what room in your home will work best for your home theater installation by giving you the proper viewing distance between your seating area and your home theater projection screen.
More information regarding projector screen viewing distance here
How one element can ruin your projection screen’s performance
01 year ago
How ambient light effects a projection screen
A lot of projection screen manufacturers give you data about their projection screens: gain, viewing angle, surface type and aspect ratio. This can trick you into focusing on these elements first. But despite their best intentions to give you relevant info, your first task is not related to the projection screen.
What you need to do before you buy a projection screen
The first task you have is to learn about ambient light. Ambient light is all the light that doesn’t come from your projector. This includes sunlight from outside, but also light from lamps in your room. There’s also secondary ambient light, which is the light that’s reflected by white walls and shiny objects, like mirrors and metal or glass surfaces.
In a home theater environment, any light that’s not coming from your projector is unwanted. And that’s because a front projection screen can not “see” which light comes from the projector and which light comes from another source. The result: The screen will reflect everything that reaches it. And that’s not what you want, because the ambient light will wash out the light coming from your projector.
As the effect of ambient light outweighs all the other characteristics of a projection screen, such as the gain value and the surface type, you need to control the ambient light first. Then you can start refining your home theater by selecting a screen.
Projection screen ambient light control
Now that you know what ambient light is, I’ll show you some ways to control it. Not everything will be suitable for your budget or the design of your room, but it’ll give you a great blueprint. I’ll discuss the different methods by ambient light category: sunlight, interior lights and reflected light.
1. Sunlight
The sun is incredibly powerful, so it’s the source that can have the biggest influence on your projection screen image. Especially when you watch a movie during daytime (like the weekend) or in Summer (when the days are longer), the sun is likely going to interfere with your projection screen setup.
The best ways to keep the sun out are roller shutters, which completely darken the room. They also add benefits like security and insulation to your home. But, they are not cheap. Another good option are black-out blinds. These are roller blinds that come with a special fabric that doesn’t let the sun through. They are available in manual and electric versions, so they can suit different budgets. Make sure they come with guiding rails on the sides to avoid like leakage. A third option is a heavy curtain. Regular curtains are often too thin to keep the sun out on a bright day, so you need thick fabric. Check a sample with a torch to ensure they’re as opaque as you need them to be.
2. Interior lights
It’s hard to move in a room when there are no lights, so you need to have them. There’s always a point in the movie where you want to get a drink or a snack. You don’t want to have to stumble through your room to get it. Your interior lights should be placed as far away from the screen as possible. This will minimize the potential interference with the projection, while at the same time keeping the room well-lit when needed.
Lights that can be controlled (dimmable) are preferred, as these give you the option to control light levels that match the use of the room. Control systems allow you to pre-set these, so you can get the room in home theater mode at the press of a button.
3. Reflected light
To limit the amount of reflected light, white walls and shiny surfaces are best avoided. If that’s not practical, then you might want to think about creating a home theater with a feature wall. A feature wall gives your room a natural focal point and reduces reflected ambient light at the same time. This allows you to have the best of both worlds: a great-looking room during day-time and a well-performing home cinema when needed.
Conclusion
Before you dive into the specs of the projection screen you want to buy, make sure you have the ambient light under control. Keep in mind that ambient light can come from the outside, light sources from within your room and from reflective surfaces.
Once you have reached the limit of your control over the ambient light in your room, you will not only have created the best possible environment for your room. You’ll also have a much better understanding of what you will need from your projection screen.
If you have questions about your particular situation, let me know in the comments and you will get personal advice.
More on home theater projection screen setup.
How to build a projector screen
01 year ago
The “DIY” Projector screen
With rising prices of manufactured projector screens, it’s a wonder why so many home theater enthusiasts want to learn how to build their own over shelling out five $500-$1000 for one… On that note, I would like to present you with one way to build a nice home theater screen of your own…
If you’re on a budget and have already shelled out $1,500 or so for your projector, a/v receiver and audio/video cables etc, you’re probably not looking forward to throwing down another $300 to $1,000 for a decent screen that works with your projector’s native aspect ratio. However, there is always the alternative… A paint on screen or perhaps a white sheet?
Shoestring budget projector screen
Many home theater authorities will tell you that you can’t build a projector screen that will perform as well as a professional or production built screen, but common sense will tell you that it completely depends on the materials used, your mechanical abilities to pull it off. The bottom line is if you have more time than money, a “Do-It-yourself” projector screen will probably be your best bet. Again, No offense, but if you don’t have the mechanical skills mentioned above, you’ll probably be better off just buying a production screen otherwise you may end up with something you’re not happy with. But that totally depends on how particular you are..?
On that note, I thought I’d show you how I built my projector screen… It was quite easy to build and the end result was very gratifying. The screen materials were very inexpensive, right around $87, but you should budget $100 to $150 depending on pricing differences between suppliers. I started construction about 10am and was finished roughly by 3pm the same day. So you can count on it taking at least 4 maybe 5 hours to complete depending on how fast you work.
Again, if you’re concerned about your abilities on how to build a projector screen, you’d be better off putting the $100 bucks towards a name band production screen and be done with it over trying to learn how to build a projector screen. Think of it as buying a piece of mind?
Unfortunately as I said above, my screen is already built, but I’ll do my best to explain and show you how it was assembled via pictures below. Before we start, be sure to click on the pictures, they show examples of the construction. They will make the details a little clearer to understand, and also pay attention to the arrows found on the left and or the right over the images because there are more pictures than what you see. Think of it as a manual slide-show… 
build projector screen
Basically, this is a fabric over a two section wood frame (inner and outer frames – inner meaning the screen frame and outer meaning the border frame) home theater screen. It’s held together by “straight”, “L”, “T” brackets and screws. The border (outer frame) is wrapped in black velveteen fabric (no seems or glue – keeping it simple), the screen (inner frame) fits snugly inside of the border (outer frame).
Click on the pictures to see assembly details:
It’s time to start rounding up the materials for your screen. First, you will need to pick up to 1 x 4 Pinewood for the frame you can get at your local Home depot, Lowe’s or any home improvement (lumber) store. You’ll want though wood to be as smooth and straight as possible in order to get a good flat finish. Any rough spots will show up even after they’re covered up. And while you’re there, you should pick up your “L” and straight brackets and some 3/4″ screws as well.
Next, go to your local fabric store and pick up your border covering. I suggest velveteen fabric as it stretches and it is easy to work with. Now, for the screen fabric you’ll need to visit eBay otherwise you’ll wind up paying quite a bit of money for your screen fabric.
Total Cost of Materials:
Velveteen & screen fabric–$43.00
Wood for frame–$26.00
Brackets and screws–$11.00TOTAL: $83.00
Tools you will need to complete your project:
- An Electric jig-saw
- A staple gun with 1/2″ inch staples
- A pair of fabric scissors
- A carpenter square
- A drill with a Philips head screwdriver tip. this will make the job much easier…
- And last but not least, a can of Campbell’s soup
Steps to building your fixed home theater screen:
build projector screen
Step 1:
At this point, you should know what size of screen you’re going to build. You should know precisely the width and the height and if not, you’ll need to know these dimensions before you go any further. Otherwise, you will wind up with the screen that doesn’t match the native aspect ratio of the projector.
Start by cutting the top and bottom sections to the width of your border(not screen). Be sure to include the width of the board X2 over the size of the viewable screen. For instance, if your screen is 100 inches wide, the frame will be 108 inches wide to the outside due to the width of the frame widths which is about 4 inches. Please see pictures.
Cut the left and right sides to length remembering to subtract the width of the top and bottom frames. Take your can of Campbell’s soup and place it on the corners of the top and bottom sections and draw an outline of the edge of the can on all four corners. Using the jigsaw, carefully cut away the corners up to the lines. Something I forgot to mention, you’ll need some 120 grit sandpaper… You’ll need to sand the rounded corners in order to smooth them down after you’ve made your cuts. Using the carpenter square, make sure the structure is square then lineup the top and bottom and the two sides. Take your 4 L brackets and screw the outer frame together. Do not put the fabric on until after you have assembled the inner frame.
build a projector screen
Step 2:
With the border(outer frame) assembled, measure and cut the top and bottom sections of the screen (inner frame). Place the top and bottom “screen” sections inside the border then measure and cut the left, right and center sections. Do not make the screen fit too tight otherwise you will not be able to slip the screen inside the border without damaging it.
again, use the L. brackets to screw the left, right, top and bottom sections together and using two straight or “T” brackets for the center. I used four pennies to lift the center section off center to keep it from showing the edges while using your home theater. Please see pictures.
Step 3:
With the frame completely assembled. It is time to cover your outer border. Lay the velveteen fabric out on the floor and then lay the frame face-down on it. Using your staple gun, put one staple in the center of each side, slightly stretching the fabric. Continuing to center the staples as you move around the frame parameter. Do not attempt to staple one whole side at a time because it may cause the fabric to wrinkle. Do the corners last.
Now it’s time to do the inside… Cut through the center of the fabric and then cut a 1/2″ wide strip towards each corner being careful not to cut too close. Otherwise, you’ll see the cut on the outside after you assemble your screen. Please see pictures.
Stapling the inside is a little different than the outside. You can do one side at a time starting in the middle and working your way towards the corners. When stapling the corners, be careful not to pull too hard as you may end up tearing the strip off leaving a hole in the corner. Please see pictures for detailed visual description.
Step 4:
Covering the screen takes a little more care as the screen material tears easy and also could be damaged by the floor, while stapling. First thing you’ll want to do is lay down a blanket and then lay the screen material face down on top of it. Put one staple in the center of each side and work your way towards the corners half ‘ing the distance between the corners and the adjacent stable. Once you reach the corners, you must fold over the corners as you would like wrapping a gift. Once you have stapled all the way around, take a razor blade and trim the excess material from the screen and border.
Step 5:
Now it’s time to assemble the border and screen into one piece. Lay the border down, face-up on your blanket. Take your screen and center it over the border and gently push the screen into the border frame paying close attention not to rip the corners.
Step 6:
You’re almost done… Get yourself some some help and flip the screen over face down on the blanket and secure the two sections together using the straight brackets on all four sides . One straight bracket per side is enough, but feel free to add more. Once you have this done, you’re new “Do it yourself” (DIY) home theater screen is complete!
…And you thought you couldn’t build a projector screen?
More information on home made screens & projector screen paint, go to: Building projector screens
Key components to building a media PC – HTPC
2Building a media PC
When building a media PC for your home theater system, it’s very much the same as building a conventional PC, But if you’re not the type that likes to tinkering with technology, then building a media PC may not be the best solution for you. I suggest having a look at production-built htpc’s instead: Moneual 932BD pre-build HTPC
Key components for building a media PC
Here are the key components and what to look for when building a media PC from a standard computer(PC):
Fast processor(s):
Generally, you need at least a fast dual Core processor, preferably 2.0 GHz or faster. although you could use a powerful processor, but you could experience performance issues such as leftover artifacts and or pixel distortion on the screen because the PC can’t keep up with the decoding of the content. This is a must when building a media PC.
RAM: For an HTPC, you need at least 2GB of RAM or more otherwise HTPC will lock up because of insufficient RAM to run the program.
large hard drives: If you’re not planning on saving a lot of video on your HTPC, a 500GB hard drive will do just fine. but, if you plan to use your media PC in conjunction with your personal video recorder, then I would recommend a couple terabyte hard drives. you can get a terabyte drive for under $100 new on eBay.
There are other storage options you should consider when building a media PC such as storing your media over your network such as a NetGear ReadyNAS. there are many manufacturers producing network storage units that are designed to use the Windows media software software.
High-end TV interface, tuner card: A graphics card that has HDMI or component TV outputs is a must have. I prefer ATI and NVIDIA; they offer the best features and benefits for their products for the amount of money you pay. Look for a card with a built-in video processing engine, also known as VPE. These are designed specifically for for video throughput. keep in mind that when building a media PC, you don’t want a gaming card. They are high performers, but they are not designed for motion picture video. You’ll do much better with a card that is actually designed for motion picture video output.
ATI’s “All-in-Wonder” series of cards have a built-in TV tuner which allows for direct cable TV input into the card. Many cards have built-in ATSC tuners that allow high-definition TV channels. and speaking of high-definition TV channels is a great resource for over 1000 of them. this will allow you to get rid of your cable company altogether for a one-time fee of about 40 bucks. You can eliminate your cable service. watch TV online, free forever!
Many HTPC video cards include built in TV tuners that allow you to stroll through TV channels, you may also want to install an additional TV tuner when building a media PC which would allow you to record one channel while watching another. Or record two different channels at the same time.
you can also use your HTPC to record and display HDTV, digital TV but you’ll need an HDTV tuner in order to do so. I would suggest getting an internal HDTV adapter card, but is he did not have an extra PCI slot, then you can get an an external USB HDTV tuner. these types of adapters are readily available on the Internet.
It’s also a good idea to check the supported output resolutions of the adapter that you are considering. If your display device is a non-HDTV unit, you will need no more than a 480i progressive scan output adapter. On the other hand, if you have an LCD or plasma television, it will probably have a native resolution which is a good idea to know before building a media PC in order to match up a video adapter, otherwise your TV will have display issues. So make sure you install a native resolution card can handle your TV’s native resolution.
Building a media PC High quality audio adapter card: Surround sound audio is a must for your HTPC. Audio cards come with many different physical interfaces( output connections), Make sure the one you get is compatible with your receivers, rear interface. For instance, if your receiver has optical inputs, you’ll want your audio adapter card to have an optical output connection. this is also known as S/PDIF interface.
Media drives: you’ll want to completely bypass a DVD player and go straight for the Blu-Ray recorder/player. the Blu-Ray recorder playeris backwards compatible, which will allow you to record CDs, DVDs and or Blu-Ray discs. if for some reason you choose to use a slower processor. You might consider installing a video codec adapter. this component takes the pressure off your CPU and allows it to perform other main processing functions instead of trying to keep up with decoding the video data, while still maintaining primary functionality.
Software needed when building a media PC
The operating system: I highly recommend using either Windows XP or Vista which both have the media Center installed. choosing one of these operating systems will make installation much easier as opposed to other operating systems such as a Mac OS or Linux system.
Building a media PC for playing or recording content: You should also consider software for downloading and storing your music files as well. iTunes is probably the best you’re going to find for music. but, Windows Media Player has no problems taking care of both audio and video files. If you want to use your HTPC to capture your personal video recording, you’re going to need software that will capture the data from your video recorder.
one piece of hardware that most everyone forgets about when building a media PC is a remote control. Many TV tuner/audio adapter cards now come with remote controls as well. Some of these remote controls include software that allow you to control many of the functions of your HTPC so don’t forgot this. Remember to pay close attention when buying your audio video adapters because you’ll definitely want this type of functionality.
beyond this point, your basic computer understanding and “know how” will guide you the rest of the way through building a media PC. on that note, I hope the article answered some of the general questions regarding components and set up.
More information on building a media pc.
Fixed projection screens
41 year ago
Fixed Projection Screens:
If you’re planning on using a fixed home theater screen, you will need to be prepared to spend at least $250 -$600 for a decent fixed projection screens
Fixed Frame Projection Screen, 16:9 Aspect Ratio – 165in. (Cine White)
fixed home theater screens can get more expensive that motorized home theater screens… Generally, their construction is designed for a specific application therefore technically more goes into the construction of a fixed screen over the motorized home theater screens. If you have a dedicated room for your home theater, I highly recommend installing a fixed screen over a motorized screen.
Hand-made fixed projection screens
Home theater’s can get very expensive and if you are on a shoestring budget, you may want to consider looking at building your screen. I did and it cost me about $75 for all the Screen Materials. You can buy all the materials from your local hardware and fabric store. If done currently, a hand made home theater screen can easily look and perform as well as any production screen on the market. It all depends on the quality of your workmanship (pride) put into it and of course, the screen materials used create it.
Many people look at this as a daunting task and immediately shy away because generally they have more money than time. If this is you and you have a custom install, I recommend using this free service to find a local reputable contractor that can create and install your home theater screen for you.
Production fixed projection screens
There are many companies producing fixed projection screens and if you choose to just go out and buy one. In some cases you could spend as much on just a screen as one would pay for a high end television! Obviously home theater projection systems can get expensive, but the benefits are much greater now that high definition 1080p home theater projectors are being produced.
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One thing to think about, if you are going buy a manufactured home theater screen, you may want to look at either a “pull down or motorized projection screen. these types of screens can also get a little pricey, but you can find some great deals out there, you just have to do a little research in the right places.
If you decide that you will go with the fixed home theater screen, be sure to research your available options. You may even be able to pick up a second hand screen by searching online… For instance eBay. Often, you’ll fine amazing deals on used and new home theater screens and other home theater equipment as well.
My first Home theater projection equipment consist of everything except the projector, screen materials(screen fabric purchased from eBay) and cabinet were purchased from eBay. You see, you can find some amazing deals when it comes to buying second hand equipment, you just have to know where to look.
Here are the most popular home theater screen aspect radios to consider. Generally speaking the the wider you want to go, the more you’re going to pay for a projector that can handle the width. Just keep that in mind when you’re choosing your screen native aspect ratio.
On that note, here are the most common screens that are being used many home theater enthusiasts from all around.
Most Popular Home fixed projection screens
More information on building fixed projection screens.