Home Theater Suggestions for back wall?

Question

I just took the big leap and ordered my DLP HDTV. I'm setting up a room in my basement as my home theater and would like some suggestions on how to set it up.

The room is a long (19') and narrow (10.5') and it has stained wood paneling on all 4 walls. I've got a 9' x 9' black leather sectional couch coming for me and my friends to watch the games on, and a 65-inch Mitsubishi Diamond on its way. The room is going to have all black components, speakers, shelving, tables and whatnot. We're in the basement so the lights can be controlled easily.

I'm thinking that the wood-grain might be a little distracting behind the tv. While the TV will take up a good portion of the wall, I'm thinking that I would like to paint the wall some neutral or dark color to simplify the backdrop and emphasize the picture. The Mitsu Diamond has an extremely thin black border around the screen. Are there any colors that work better for this? The TV is obviously going to be the focal point of the room.

EP

Answer 1

If color fidelity, gamma and “shadow detail” are high priorities then you’re on the right track. A dark, neutral gray, matte paint would be an excellent choice (though matte black would be an acceptable alternative) to paint what is commonly referred to as the “surround” area of the display, which in your case would be the entire wall behind the display. Just be aware that this is a practice that is more common to color-critical professional applications and could easily be deemed overkill for the average home theater where aesthetics are often equally—if not more—important to most homeowners.



Nevertheless, if you’re still interested you may want to consider purchasing spectrally neutral gray paint from a company such as eCinema Systems. More often than not these types of specialty paints are fairly expensive, which may prove to be a significant deterrent.



SP50 - spectrally accurate neutral gray “surround” paint (in one gallon containers) available through:



     ECINEMA SYSTEMS INC

     25026 ANZA DR

     VALENCIA CA  91355-3413

     Website: http://www.ecinemasystems.com



     eCinema Systems Sales:

     e-mail: [e-mail]

     Phone: [phone]



You can also try searching the Internet for specialty suppliers that sell Munsell Neutral Gray Paint. Again, such specialty paints will be fairly expensive.



The next best (and less expensive) option would be a custom mixed dark, neutral gray, matte paint from your local hardware store or paint supplier.

________________________



Should I paint the media room all black?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...



Where should light source be placed/located in the living room relative to the TV?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...

  

What is Display Gamma?

http://www.sencore.com/newsletter/June04...



Frequently Asked Questions about Gamma

http://www.poynton.com/PDFs/GammaFAQ.pdf



Considering the Surround in Device-Independent Color Imaging

http://www.cis.rit.edu/fairchild/PDFs/PA...



Colour Appearance Comparison between Projected and Self-luminous Colours in Dark Surround

http://www.iscc.org/aic2001/abstracts/po...



Wiki: CIECAM02

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIECAM02

 

Answer 2

It's not my business, but in case you didn't consider it, why would you buy a big screen TV and not a projector? The setup you describe would be ideal for a projector, and a 1080p model with a 100'-120" screen wouldn't cost any more than the 65" Mitsu (see the link)