What are my screen options with this setup? (1 Viewer)

[iguano]

Newbie alert!!! I've been lurking a lot and reading/researching but need your help. Recently moved into a new home that has a built-in entertainment center in the main viewing area. Here is a picture of it:

It's a very nicely built piece of furniture using excellent quality cherry wood. The sections on either side of the cutout are doors that open outward (tall door on top, small door on the bottom) and the black in those doors is a speaker black mesh cloth material, allowing for placement of speakers. There's a long black mesh bar at the top of the cutout. It's basically a shelf that the previous owner must have put a long center channel speaker in.


Like I said, it's very nicely built BUT - not necessarily the configuration I would have chosen. So in trying to work out options, I came up with the idea of doing front projection with a motorized screen that drops down right in front of the unit.


So my question(s) are - is this feasible and what are my options.


Here are dimensions of the unit:

Seating is 15 feet back from the front of the unit. The room is 30 feet long, but room configuration (doorway, etc.) sets where the seating must go.


My thoughts are to find a motorized screen that comes down right in front of the unit and is woven for audio pass-thru allowing me to utilize the unit for speaker placement. I also wouldn't want a screen that goes lower than 18" to the ground to avoid obstructed visibility.


The screen could be mounted on the ceiling or on the unit itself - I could have someone fabricate a mounting solution that attaches to the top of the unit.


What are some of your recommendations for AT screens for something like this? Are motorized screens seen as a good thing or a bad thing? I have no idea if motorized screens have issues of getting wrinkles etc. Also - how low can the tops of the viewing area on a motoirized screen go? I don't want the top of the screen at the ceiling, basically.


Sorry if these are newbie questions that have been answered a million times! Feel free to ask me anything. Thanks!

 

[schan1269]

The issue here, mainly, is "the screen has to roll up somewhere".

Where you are happy with that...

Personally, mine is ceiling mounted. Not "in the ceiling", just on the ceiling.

If you'd rather have the housing hang on the front of the built-in, that is your choice.

My main theater has the same thing going on, just in all black painted MDF. I didn't install doors on anything.

There is also a 50" plasma in there.

The screen is a Screen Research ClearPix Grey with their black out cloth.

On your question "how low can the tops go"...

I have no idea what you are talking about but, when you do a retractable screen...it doesn't matter if it rolls out 6 feet, or 20ft. You design in enough "extra fabric" to cover whatever distance you have.

On wrinkling...

Buy a piece of crap, it will wrinkle. Buy a good one, it won't.

 

[iguano]

The screen is a Screen Research ClearPix Grey with their black out cloth.

On your question "how low can the tops go"...

I have no idea what you are talking about but, when you do a retractable screen...it doesn't matter if it rolls out 6 feet, or 20ft. You design in enough "extra fabric" to cover whatever distance you have.

Thanks for the info!


Regarding "how low can the tops go" - I couldn't find information regarding how much fabric there was beyond the top of the screen. So i wasn't sure if there was only so much non-screen fabric above the top of the screen, which would only allow it to go down a small maximum amount, because a lot of the product photos I was seeing had the top of the screen not far down from the housing.


Regarding Screen Research - what kind of price range do their motorized clearpix screens fall into? I completely understand the need to buy a quality screen, just curious if they fall into a range that I can afford. Interestingly enough, the North American distributor is not far from where I live in AZ.

 

[schan1269]

Gregg Loewenn(if I spelled it right) is an ISF guy and he posts here. He just bought one.

Screen Research is "not cheap"(easily the highest price you are going to find. I would start here, cause...pretty much...every other motorized woven is going to cost less).

I sold the ClearPix I white with my house in Indy. We negotiated $3500 for it...

This one cost a bunch. But, it is going to hang there 30 years.

Why does Screen Research cost so much?

Cannes, Telluride, Locarno, SXSW(and many others) film festivals use them.

 

[iguano]

Gregg Loewenn(if I spelled it right) is an ISF guy and he posts here. He just bought one.

Screen Research is "not cheap"(easily the highest price you are going to find. I would start here, cause...pretty much...every other motorized woven is going to cost less).

I sold the ClearPix I white with my house in Indy. We negotiated $3500 for it...

This one cost a bunch. But, it is going to hang there 30 years.

Why does Screen Research cost so much?

Cannes, Telluride, Locarno, SXSW(and many others) film festivals use them.

Thanks for the info. I think something like this will be a "phase 2" purchase. For now, I'm going to need to keep the screen budget lower, knowing that down the road (in a few years when funds will allow) I would get something like this. For now, ideally looking for something under $2k. I'm sure it won't be as nice as this, but hopefully I can find something to tide me over until a larger budget allows for a better screen.


However, I had another thought.


What if I don't need a motorized solution at all. Maybe there's a large AT screen I can simply hang on the front of the unit, and remove when needed. But for the most part, it would remain there. Kind of like hanging a painting.


Is that a valid option? I'm sure that then, it being non-motorized, would allow for a better screen in the budget.


Thoughts?

 

[schan1269]

I've seen people put up their screen on a hinge. Raise it to the ceiling with an eye bolt/hook similar to a screen door. Just need eye bolts at both spots.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

Thanks for the info!


Regarding "how low can the tops go" - I couldn't find information regarding how much fabric there was beyond the top of the screen. So i wasn't sure if there was only so much non-screen fabric above the top of the screen, which would only allow it to go down a small maximum amount, because a lot of the product photos I was seeing had the top of the screen not far down from the housing.


Regarding Screen Research - what kind of price range do their motorized clearpix screens fall into? I completely understand the need to buy a quality screen, just curious if they fall into a range that I can afford. Interestingly enough, the North American distributor is not far from where I live in AZ.

It's usually referred to as "drop-down" (or even "screen drop") - meaning the amount of black material above the screen viewing surface. Most manufacturers list how much drop down their screens are built with, and once you move up the scale a bit you can usually custom order one with the amount you need.

 

[RolandL]

Another option is to just remove the furniture and mount your screen on the wall, speakers below the screen. That's what I have (actually no screen, I project onto a wall) and its works fine. Reed and Charles saw it and the picture looks great from my Panasonic AE8000 projector.

 

[iguano]

Another option is to just remove the furniture and mount your screen on the wall, speakers below the screen. That's what I have (actually no screen, I project onto a wall) and its works fine. Reed and Charles saw it and the picture looks great from my Panasonic AE8000 projector.

I would like to avoid removing it, as it is built into the house similar to cabinets in the kitchen. It is also connected to the fireplace as the mantle was built at the same time with this furniture in mind. It will be very difficult for me to go through all the work and expense in removing, especially with having very young kids, so i would like to avoid that for now. But I completely understand what you're saying, and in a perfect world, that is probably what I would do. So I'm just trying to find a solution for what is existing there at the moment.

 

[iguano]

I've seen people put up their screen on a hinge. Raise it to the ceiling with an eye bolt/hook similar to a screen door. Just need eye bolts at both spots.

Interesting enough, I had a similar idea just this morning. Not sure I could keep it that way as it would then be covering a fire sprinkler. Something definitely to think about though. Thanks!