BEST DIY Spandex Screen Tutorial for your Home Theater | UNDER $250! (With LED Backlighting)

[@enochpeter]

A thing of beauty! Excellent video documentation of the entire process, including what you learned along the way. I think I can proceed with confidence. Thank you for sharing! Other than a bit of volume attenuation, does the material “color” the sound enough to warrant a little EQ?

[@HelpMeDIY]

+Enoch Gamoian thank you! It’s really not that hard. I don’t notice any “coloring”, but I’m by no means an audiophile

[@Mr1wildman]

That was a great project and you done a awesome job

[@HelpMeDIY]

+Alvin Howell thanks man!!

[@nexx2vince]

Thank you Brutha, you guys are teaching me a trade! I luv u!

[@HelpMeDIY]

+Vince Roberson 💪😎🍻

[@nexx2vince]

@@HelpMeDIY awesome set up by the way

[@HelpMeDIY]

@@nexx2vince thanks 🙏

[@EdA-bz3bu]

I got to say I fast forward a lot of it. For the basement I installed a pull down screen and for the family room one I just used the wall (I barely got permission (Boss) for the speakers yet alone a screen). I did get couple calls from neighbors that their was strangers in my house because of the movies in the family room 😂.

[@HelpMeDIY]

😂 understand on the skipping over a lot of you’re not using this to make one!

[@ScotWithOnet]

Good job. I plan on doing this for my HT. After 2 years, how is it holding up? Does the white spandex get dirty/dusty? Do you periodically clean it with anything?

[@HelpMeDIY]

+@ScotWithOnet it is FANTASTIC! Never cleaned it. Looks like the day I made it.

[@garyl5128]

Nice job! My first AT screen was Spandex and it's amazing value, especially as it produces such a good image for the price too. What projector are you using? It'll have to be quite bright for that size. How far back will your seats be? Can the seats be moved forward or back or do they have to remain in a particular position? A good guide for a scope screen so that 16:9 doesn't look too small is to have your seats set so your eyes are roughly the same distance back as your screen is wide.

[@HelpMeDIY]

+Gary L thanks! Just decided on the Epson 6050UB and later possibly adding an anamorphic lens. Other details TBD 😆

[@garyl5128]

@@HelpMeDIY Excellent! Best value/performance right now I think. JVCs are too expensive, and not much else at the 6050 price offers as much in my opinion. I'm also using a anamorphic lens and wouldn't be without one now. I used to have a simple sled with mine, but now just leave it in place and use the projectors own aspect controls to squish 16:9 content so it fills the height and keeps the aspect ratio correct. I used to have side masks but haven't felt the need to add them this time round (yet) with this theatre. Looking forward to any upgrades etc.

[@LDBaha]

@@garyl5128 Hey Gary I have a 5050ub. Which Anamorphic Lens did you get and what advantages does it give you over just zooming in?

[@garyl5128]

@@LDBaha Hi, I have an ISCO II which I've had since 2005 (had a Prismasonic before then), though I've just recently acquired an ISCO IIIXL which I'll be installing soon. The main advantage is that you use all all the pixels and they remain the same height vertically as the 16:9 image (they only get stretched horizontally by the lens, and the pj or external scaler stretches the image vertically), so the pixels are smaller compared to zooming, and you're using more of them to produce the image - you lose around 500,000 in the black bars when you zoom (or 2 million with 4k, though the 5050 is more like a 2.7k display when using e-shift). Zooming has the same effect as moving your seating 33% closer, so the pixels are visibly larger and coarser looking compared to when using an A lens. You may also gain some brightness with an A lens, but that depends where your projector is within it's zoom range when zooming compared to where it is when using the A lens. I've never gained much light in my set ups (non in my current set up), but the increased pixel density is what makes it worth while. I'm currently using an Epson LS10000 (with HDFury Linker for WCG) and that's an eshift projector like the 5050 too. I did a few comparisons between zooming and using an A lens before I bought one, and did the same comparison with my current pj and decided to keep it as I like to sit close and the smaller pixels with the A lens are a visible improvement for me, so I'd rather use an A lens than zoom, as for me, it improves the image Anamorphic lenses can be quite expensive, so ideally you need to do your own comparisons to make sure the cost and benefit is worth it for you. Hope that helps.

[@RathOX]

Looks great man!! Its Alan from budget friendly HT facebook group

[@HelpMeDIY]

+RathØX hey dude! Thanks 🙏

[@SquidkidMega]

Great work, just a question, how far back is your projector in the room to get that large an image?

[@HelpMeDIY]

+SquidkidMega thanks! Good question. Don’t remember off the top of my head but I have another video on the channel about installing it where I’m sure I mention it.

[@EveryDayJay415]

Do you get any light bleed from the leds onto the screen?

[@HelpMeDIY]

+@EveryDayJay415 no, but I don’t watch with them on anyway

[@riley19811]

The link for your lights is "404 not found" can you let me know what led light strip you used? thanks!

[@HelpMeDIY]

+R. Wilson updated it! Thanks for pointing it out.

[@kthx1138]

2.35:1 is the way to go. A 150" screen is big enough that you can do constant height like a movie theater and still have a pretty impressive sized 16x9 within that 2.35:1.

[@HelpMeDIY]

+Mike Kuhlman Films I LOVE this size 🥰

[@xinkay]

Is there a way to build spandex screen which is rollable? (can be pull down)?

[@HelpMeDIY]

+@xinkay great question but I don’t know how you could do it 🤷‍♂️

[@CarlosPigozzi]

Hi! Can you post me a link of the spandex material you used please, to buy the same? Thanks in advance! I mean website and material if possible

[@HelpMeDIY]

+Carlos Pigozzi it’s already in the video description as I mentioned 😉🍻

[@bobfognozzle]

🤓👍 Way to go!

[@HelpMeDIY]

+Bob Fognozzle 😎

[@arvindnaran]

I'm facing banding issues in my setup. Any idea how to fix it?! Unsure what went wrong. I have 1 layer of black topped by dual layers of white (spandex)

[@HelpMeDIY]

+Arvind Naran really couldn’t even guess without seeing it. I would think the most common issues would either be the material or stretching the material evenly both horizontally and vertically

[@arvindnaran]

@@HelpMeDIY okay, let me unpin them and re-do them again and confirm if it's the stretching uneven or the material. Do you know any easiest/safest way to remove those staplers with minimal damage to the cloth?!? So far I was able to remove 30 staplers, but it is leaving damages in the cloth

[@HelpMeDIY]

@@arvindnaran I think you’ll just have to be as careful as possible and maybe get a staple remover

[@arvindnaran]

@@HelpMeDIY thanks a lot for the tip 😁 Got SR-100 from Kangaroo. I took a bit more than half a day to get all the staples removed. Reversed the screen, the banding is no longer visible to viewers. However it's still there, just that it can be seen from rear view (which is never an issue for me anyway 😅). Screen's a bit damaged cos of the stapling->de-stapling->re-stapling process. But, it doesn't cover my view area, just there in the bends Thanks for the help... Another quick question, if you got light stains on the screen. How do you clean it?! Or what are you doing in order to keep your screen dirt free?!

[@HelpMeDIY]

@@arvindnaran glad it worked! I haven’t had to clean mine. I warn people to stay away 😂

[@garyg9815]

i must say, im getting LTT vibes here. good job.

[@HelpMeDIY]

+gary g had to Google that… Linus the Canadian KZbinr?

[@garyg9815]

yep.

[@HelpMeDIY]

@@garyg9815 ha. I’d never heard of him. What is similar out of curiosity now? I’ll have to check him out.

[@garyg9815]

he is a big tech youtuber that is currently upgrading his house with a new theater room and new servers.... kind of like you are right now.

[@HelpMeDIY]

@@garyg9815 ahh gotcha!

[@banecker1]

This might be a dumb question, but when you order your fabric, how did you get it to the right heigh since it’s sold in 58 inches.

[@HelpMeDIY]

+Adam Voss not a dumb question, but I think I addressed it in the video. I made my screen that max height possible with that constraint. It’s very stretchy, but it can only stretch so far!

[@banecker1]

Thank you for the response, I am currently using a pvc screen purchased from Amazon, it has creases and wrinkles that I can’t get rid of. And honestly i know the image can look light years better. I have done the Behr ht screen paint before and that turned out great. However acoustical transparency would be amazing.

[@HelpMeDIY]

@@banecker1 yes, I could not be happier with mine! It’s fantastic in every aspect and everyone is blowing away when I tell them I made it.

[@danemoreno88]

Dang 170 inch screen I have a 120 and it takes up my whole living room wall pretty much lol that must be a huge room

[@HelpMeDIY]

+@danemoreno88 yes it is! 😆

[@angelamcfadden5741]

How did it hold up over time?

[@HelpMeDIY]

+Angela McFadden still in perfect condition and awesome!

[@juniorcorreia5923]

How is the pictures on the 4K?

[@HelpMeDIY]

+@juniorcorreia5923 really good!

[@tomascio1]

What type of wood was used for this project?

[@HelpMeDIY]

+Thomas Cunningham whatever was the cheapest and straightest :)

[@michelleh427]

One of my biggest issues is I want a 175-180" screen in a 16:9 aspect ratio. I am having absolutely NO LUCK finding wider rolls of spandex! Anyone have any luck??

[@HelpMeDIY]

+Michelle H I couldn’t either

[@michelleh427]

@@HelpMeDIY Dang! That's what I was afraid of. 😬

[@shashidharmurthy2226]

It seems that,all this material is not available in India so I will just see this video & apply it to local avail materials,😄 thanks.

[@HelpMeDIY]

+Shashidhar Murthy I’m sure they have some spandex there somewhere 😁

[@darkknightgaming7099]

Yes sir I used ply wood and normal grey screen for an 90 inch screen works perfect according to my room

[@frankfarago2825]

Nice acoustics you have in that room (extra sarcasm intentional). Also, acoustically transparent screens and speakers placed behind the screen -- that is pretty old school design, isn't it? Those entail big compromises for the sound.... and huge compromises for the projected image. I mean, these days it is sold screens, huge flat panels, and video walls. No speakers behind those, fortunately. Lastly, do you have a 10 to 12 minute abridged version of this DIC how-to? Thanks.

[@HelpMeDIY]

Umm no. Most high end theaters have the speakers behind the screen. You can’t get realistic center channel dialogue without doing that

[@Renrondog]

Frank has to be a Troll, or perhaps simply ignorant of today's facts while living in the past. Everything he said is wrong. LOL

[@CrochetNewsNetwork]

@@HelpMeDIYEXACTLY

[@bobfognozzle]

🤓👍

[@bobfognozzle]

🤓👍 Way to go!