Widescreen Gaming Forum

Dont think it was mentioned, but you can't project onto curved screens without an expensive lens and a very specific radius of screen.

wait it was my understanding it can be adjusted with softh or sol7. are you sure about that??

BHawthorne, I am confused do you like the three screen or curved setup above? in my plans. also I talked with Da-Lite the fabric will be $1000, thats out of my budget what type of alternative would there be, your canvas it is pretty rough look would think, also Da-Lite thinks the screen would need tension from the bottom..... that would void my design unless could weight it. any oppinion on that?

on the flip side i did find some nice bendable curtain track made by recmar, would be a snap to roll it and bend and mount it. comes in up to 100' lengths too.

Dont think it was mentioned, but you can't project onto curved screens without an expensive lens and a very specific radius of screen.

It's not mentioned, because it's not a true requirement with multi-projector setups. Pretty much the only specialized issue is making sure you can properly throw centered head-on in the particular screen arc the projection covers. That can be figured out by just using Projector Central's Projector Calcular Pro to find your mounting distance and screen height based on the throw. I'm using standard COTS projectors -- Optoma EX525ST. Others are also doing just fine with standard off the shelf stuff. Here are several examples: http://nthusim.com/setups :wink:

I'm partial to the single curved screen, because it's what I know through experience using for the last year. I'd just get it in bulk from here: http://cgi.ebay.com/LCD-DLP-CRT-MOVIE-PROJECTION-PROJECTOR-SCREEN-MATERIAL-/300443823151

_________________
Brad Hawthorne
Product Manager
Nthusim Pty. Ltd. | www.nthusim.com

[quote]Dont think it was mentioned, but you can't project onto curved screens without an expensive lens and a very specific radius of screen.

It's not mentioned, because it's not a true requirement with multi-projector setups. Pretty much the only specialized issue is making sure you can properly throw centered head-on in the particular screen arc the projection covers. That can be figured out by just using Projector Central's Projector Calcular Pro to find your mounting distance and screen height based on the throw. I'm using standard COTS projectors -- Optoma EX525ST. Others are also doing just fine with standard off the shelf stuff. Here are several examples: http://nthusim.com/setups :wink:

I'm partial to the single curved screen, because it's what I know through experience using for the last year. I'd just get it in bulk from here: http://cgi.ebay.com/LCD-DLP-CRT-MOVIE-PROJECTION-PROJECTOR-SCREEN-MATERIAL-/300443823151

good find, that is 1/5th the cost of Da-Lite if that is indead the same fabric, and we are talking apples with apples. Da-Light quoted me on a fiberglass backed screen, i think.

My biggest concern now is will there be enough even tension on the screen from the bottom to keep it without wrinkeling.

When I initially designed my projection room it was to have a wide 2.35:1 flat wall screen and a circular 180 degree screen both. I'll probably still persue the ability to use both screen types. But I got a roll of that ebay material about a year ago. It's thick enough that it's not going to wrinkle easily. I do agree about the tension on the curved surfaces though. I'm stil struggling with the design concept of how to do it. I picked up a bunch of 1/2" electrical conduit yesterday. That stuff is dirt cheap -- $1.98 per 10 foot pipe at Home Depot. I'm going to experiment with it a bit. It might actually be a bit too small, so I might end up goin with a bit larger sized pipe. I don't really want to use something as large as galvanized fence piping though, because that is around $10 per 10 foot pipe and that'll add up quick (especially if I do design for portible and have to account for hanging the 3 projectiors on an free standing run of it.

_________________
Brad Hawthorne
Product Manager
Nthusim Pty. Ltd. | www.nthusim.com

When I initially designed my projection room it was to have a wide 2.35:1 flat wall screen and a circular 180 degree screen both. I'll probably still persue the ability to use both screen types. But I got a roll of that ebay material about a year ago. It's thick enough that it's not going to wrinkle easily. I do agree about the tension on the curved surfaces though. I'm stil struggling with the design concept of how to do it. I picked up a bunch of 1/2" electrical conduit yesterday. That stuff is dirt cheap -- $1.98 per 10 foot pipe at Home Depot. I'm going to experiment with it a bit. It might actually be a bit too small, so I might end up goin with a bit larger sized pipe. I don't really want to use something as large as galvanized fence piping though, because that is around $10 per 10 foot pipe and that'll add up quick (especially if I do design for portible and have to account for hanging the 3 projectiors on an free standing run of it.

This is the bendable curtain rod i found search 6100 if it does not come up, http://www.curtain-tracks.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=6100

Hum, so you don't think either I could get away with hanging the screen.. This is not good, as a permanent rack is not an option, how aobut weighting it?, or stays / battens like in a sail? grrr.

http://www.answers.com/topic/battens-in-sails I am thinking these could be velco on to the back.

edit" wait even better a curved hoop, like fiberglass, or aluminum that can be velcro on to the bottom edge that would assure the bottom keeps its shape and would tension the material. and maybe velco a left right and center stay. now that would be cool, what do you think? easy enough to remove and put away. possibly in two parts for easy storage.

ordered a 1' sample and a roller to see how study the track is, and how clean rollers move on it.

Hrrm, I'm really liking that curved curtain track idea. Wonder if I could tack a run of it on the ceiling and on the floor. Wonder how it would handle tension of the screen. some sort of weighting down of the bottom hang of screen might be plausible in your case. I've not thought it through long enough to give as suggestion though. Too much weight and the screen material might ripple and sag in an nonuniform manner over time though.

_________________
Brad Hawthorne
Product Manager
Nthusim Pty. Ltd. | www.nthusim.com

i got a sample of the tracks and rollers. very cool firstly the track has metal in it that allows one to bend it, also the rollers work very nice, little friction, move nicely, seem to be strong and can handle very tight corners. a very nice product indead, there is clips that can attach to the top of the track so you can make the curtain travel in whatever shape/direction.

now question is about how much tension the screen would need.

Also I emailed the person that sells that screen fabric you mentioned but have not heard back from him. how much do you think 22' of it would cost?

i got a sample of the tracks and rollers. very cool firstly the track has metal in it that allows one to bend it, also the rollers work very nice, little friction, move nicely, seem to be strong and can handle very tight corners. a very nice product indeed, there is clips that can attach to the top of the track so you can make the curtain travel in whatever shape/direction.

now question is about how much tension the screen would need.

Also I emailed the person that sells that screen fabric you mentioned but have not heard back from him. how much do you think 22' of it would cost?

He tends to ignore direct emails to his yahoo email because people have tried to scam him via that. Try an ebay mail through your ebay account using the listing question link and he should be pretty prompt. 22'...depends on what screen height the material is. He sells it in multiple heights by the linear foot. I would go no shorter than 48' on a screen design and I prefer 60'. Anything larger than 60' you really need 1280x1024 or 1920x1080 pixel height. 768 pixel height on a projection larger than 60' gets too blocky looking. He sells up to 84' material height in 1 foot increments. Which projectors were you planning on using again? I can run the data though on them and get you info on what screen height would work with your particular models and lens throw.

He almost lost a 65 linear foot purchase from me last week because he didn't reply to the yahoo email inquiry. He made up for it though by giving me 3-day shipping and upgrading my material from 63' to 72' height.

_________________
Brad Hawthorne
Product Manager
Nthusim Pty. Ltd. | www.nthusim.com