Screen Goo?Yes?No?

[ToddL]

Hello
I know that theatre enthusiasts are going to favor home theatre screens such as Stewart for projectors. But has anyone ever heard of Screen Goo or other special wall paints for projectors. How do they rank for the man on a budget?

[N. Abstentia]

Check out my Goo experiment:
http://www.chuckamuck.com/ht

Down towards the bottom.

[JonW]

Hey Mr. Abstentia,

So what's the magic paint formula that you settled on as best? If you could post that, I would appreciate it. Which paints you used, exactly, and what proportions they were each mixed in.

That would be a tremendous help in making a screen myself. I wouldn't have to bother with the experimenting you did. Thanks.

[ToddL]

Your setup is exactly what I want one day(I bet no wife will bother you in the shed!). Thanks for the tips. So, more less, you can make your own screen goo.
Thanks

[N. Abstentia]

Jon,

I really don't know the ratios I used to mix, on the paint mix that ended up being the best one, I used flat eggshell white paint and mixed in some metallic silver until it turned just a little grey. I got both paints at Lowes, it's American Standard or something. I'm sure Behr, Glidden, Olympic or any other good brand of paint is just as good, this is just what they had there. Next time I have the camera out there I'll take a shot of the paint cans :)

[JonW]

Jon,

I really don't know the ratios I used to mix, on the paint mix that ended up being the best one, I used flat eggshell white paint and mixed in some metallic silver until it turned just a little grey. I got both paints at Lowes, it's American Standard or something. I'm sure Behr, Glidden, Olympic or any other good brand of paint is just as good, this is just what they had there. Next time I have the camera out there I'll take a shot of the paint cans :)

Hey N.,

Thanks for the reply. Do you have any vague idea of how much silver you added to the white? Like a shot glass full into a gallon? Just trying to get some general idea. I don't know a thing about screens. Frankly, I'm a little surprised just straight white isn't the best. So I don't know how dark you'd want it.

I'm shopping around for a nice stereo setup. It wasn't in the original plan, but if I can DIY a screen and spend, say, $1,000 on a projecter, I might try and have a movie setup in the house. :)

Is your whole project 100% complete yet?

[N. Abstentia]

There was an explaination that somebody did here as to pure white is not good...I think it had something to do with the fact that white reflects all colors while grey will absorb the darker colors giving a much cleaner picture with true blacks. Made sense and I see that on my dual color test screen.

If I had to guess at the ratio I'd say 1 part silver to 5 parts eggshell white.

No my theater is not complete, you can see it's progress on the website there. There are no major updates to it, as right now we're doing the stuff on the inside...wiring, lights, a/c unit, tearing down the old wall where it meets the existing house....from the outside it looks the same as it did 2 weeks ago.

[JonW]

There was an explaination that somebody did here as to pure white is not good...I think it had something to do with the fact that white reflects all colors while grey will absorb the darker colors giving a much cleaner picture with true blacks. Made sense and I see that on my dual color test screen.

If I had to guess at the ratio I'd say 1 part silver to 5 parts eggshell white.

No my theater is not complete, you can see it's progress on the website there. There are no major updates to it, as right now we're doing the stuff on the inside...wiring, lights, a/c unit, tearing down the old wall where it meets the existing house....from the outside it looks the same as it did 2 weeks ago.


Thanks. I'm just collecting info at this point.

Are you happy with that projector? It seems to be well regarded and is pretty cheap. too. I'm thinking about projectors vs. TV's vs. nothing (pure audio).

[N. Abstentia]

Yeah so far just with my testing I'm loving this projector. I knew a TV was not an option for me, as I'd have to spend $3000 to get the quality I wanted and then it would still be tiny by my standards. A 65" just won't cut it for me!

[JonW]

Yeah so far just with my testing I'm loving this projector. I knew a TV was not an option for me, as I'd have to spend $3000 to get the quality I wanted and then it would still be tiny by my standards. A 65" just won't cut it for me!

Right. I guess that's why we all look to projectors. :)

As I debate the projector vs. TV issue, a $1100 projector like that X31 looks pretty appealing- cheap and a big picture. But you can't really watch during the day (not in my living room).

How are the pixels? Do you see it get bumpy/grainy/pixelated if you get too close? I'm not sure how close I'll want to sit to the image. I'm guessing for me it might be around 1.3 times the screen width away. I've read that less than 2 gets you to the range where you can see the pixels.

I'm just thinking about it now. Maybe I would sit around 6 feet away from the image. So that makes a picture around 4 feet wide. That could be in TV range. But maybe a projector would be cheaper and more flexible with trying different seating adn viewing arrangments. Idunno...

[NapaValleyHT]

I used this stuff (Digital Grey Kit) for my screen. I made a custom screen attached to the wall....looks like a grey picture framed with black trim during the day. It works very well...and you will save $800-1k if you dont mind spending some time building it. I painted onto a 4x8 sheet of plywood with 5-8 coats of primer (cant remember). I've heard of people painting directly on the wall....but Im not sure about wall texture issues....plus I can move mine with a little work. BTW....total cost of my screen (lumber and paint) = $300 and a free weekend.

If you've got the money to buy a fixed screen I still wouldnt do it. DIY and make it look custom built for your home. Check out my pics in the Home theater gallery.






Hello
I know that theatre enthusiasts are going to favor home theatre screens such as Stewart for projectors. But has anyone ever heard of Screen Goo or other special wall paints for projectors. How do they rank for the man on a budget?

[N. Abstentia]

Yeah I'm going directly on the wall. 4x8 ain't big enough :)

I'll have about $25 in my screen when I'm done ;)