Front projector HT question

[tmalke]

I just purchsed my HT gear today being installed in a couple weeks. My question is in regards to the wall the screen mounts to. It is currently an eggshell or off white wall. Should I paint this wall darker? If so do you believe in certain colors over others?
It makes sense to me for that back wall to be as dark as possible.
Thanks in advance,

Tyler

[Azeke]

I just purchsed my HT gear today being installed in a couple weeks. My question is in regards to the wall the screen mounts to. It is currently an eggshell or off white wall. Should I paint this wall darker? If so do you believe in certain colors over others?
It makes sense to me for that back wall to be as dark as possible.
Thanks in advance,

Tyler

In a word yes, to minimize any reflections. BTW, that also includes the ceiling. Keep up posted.

Good luck and congratulations,

Azeke

[Kevin P]

Darker is better, and the less shiny the better, so go with a matte finish paint, or use fabric.

[DelRay]

Lots of people use dark reds, blues, grays, and even black. I use a dark blue eggshell with red acoustic panels. I am actually thinking about painting my ceiling too, probably flat black. You can see on my homepage how well the dark blue can look. Mine is a dedicated HT room, so I didn't have to worry about the WAF too much.

[George Bellefontaine]

My front walls were painted flat black but now with all the draperies around the screen, it doesn't matter. The rest of the room is painted a dark neutral grey. I can do that because the room is a dedicated HT room that's only used for watching movies.

[Chris D]

The ideal dedicated theater room would be entirely flat black... everywhere. Walls, ceiling, floor, chairs, you... everything.

Of course, the WAF factor is just about as low as you can get for that, and most guys would be hesitant to do that as well.

For me, I chose to make a compromise that I think is perfect. My screen wall is completely flat black. My ceiling is a flat "midnight blue" that looks black in low light, but adds color to the room with the lights on. My carpet is a dark grey. (if you're not going to use black, neutral colors are best to avoid tinting your perception of the picture's color) To blend the floor to the ceiling, my walls have dark grey on the bottom half, and dark blue on the top half.

With lights off, my room is VERY dark, and overall very neutral in color that doesn't transmit a particular color in light reflections. (the dark blue has minimal impact) With lights on, the room has some life and color, and isn't a tomb.

[Adz]

My front wall and ceiling are flat black (by the way there are different shades of blacks out there so compare swatches as some are "blacker" than others). but I painted my walls with Ralph Lauren Suede Paint (cool blueish gray color, forgot the name) and it actually asorbs the light better than the regular flat black-- it actually does what it claims to do!!

[Burke Strickland]

Flat black for wall with screen, Kodak 18 % neutral grey for other walls and cathedral ceiling. If ceiling is low (in other words, the ceiling surface is close to the top edge of the screen) then a band several feet wide of flat black on the ceiling above the screen would also be advisable.

One great thing about Koday grey (used by photographers to set aperature and exposure time) is that it makes other colors really stand out without distorting their hue, so, with the lights on, people look great in a room painted that color. (So does artwork and furniture.) Needless to say, when the lights are low or off, it works its magic on movies too -- no odd hues reflected back onto the screen.

Burke

[Chris D]

Interesting, Burke, I haven't heard that before. How would you recognize or generate that particular shade of grey?

[Burke Strickland]

Kodak reference cards are available from photography shops or from internet vendors (a Google search on "Kodak 18 % neutral grey" will yield some sources). Take one of the cards to a paint shop or Home Depot or Lowe's and they will do a computer match to generate that shade of paint.

A few years ago, Behr used to have a pre-mixed color that was very close to an exact match, but they change their colors and shade names often enough that it is probably better to do the Kodak card match than for me to specify a product that is probably out of date. (I did the computer card match to get the paint for my walls and ceiling, but purchased the pre-mixed shade to paint some shelves that went in the same room.)

Burke

[George Bellefontaine]

My neutral grey is Benjamin Moore #1602. This was recommended by Joe Kane in one of his Widescreen Review columns a few years back when he ( and I ) was still into crt front projection. My walls before Benjamin Moore were a light brown and I really noticed a snap in projected colors after the paint job.