CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

dturco · Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 4:52 pm Post subject: Wisonart screen

I am going to be installing my Wilsonart DW 354-60 screen.

Here are some pics. http://s955.photobucket.com/albums/ae34/dturco/

Wilsonart material will be here Tomorrow 10-13-09.

I will have to reinitialize GOZER for this anyway and because of hight restriction I cant lower GOZER I have 8ft ceilings it's already in headsmackin territory for some of my guest, but not me or the wife. So I was thinking of tilting the screen to lessen the keystone. I think I can get about 10 degrees of tilt without to much work. The screen will be about 5" off of the viewing wall, so I'm thinking of pulling the bottom in with a wire or such. This will tilt the screen down towards the floor and give a better perceived brightness also?

There is some adjustment to be had from GOZER just not to much I would think. Is this the right approach?

CRT_Ben · Joined: 28 Aug 2006 Posts: 1682 Location: Northern Virginia

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 7097 Location: Fort Collins, CO

Careful with that. The optics are designed to delivery sharp focus in a vertical plane. If you tilt the screen, you might be able to compensate with the Scheimpflug adjustments, but I'm not sure how much screen-tilt they can counteract.

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 5:43 pm Post subject: Re: Wisonart screen

dturco · Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 5:51 pm Post subject:

So, I just wing it as usual. Smile

I think the P/J has 15 degrees tilt already there? Tilting the screen down towards the floor would be increasing this angle, so not good for keystone but better for reflecting the light towards the viewer? Tilting up would send the light to the ceiling and make the ceiling brighter not the viewing area?

So what is the answer? Is there one?

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 6:08 pm Post subject:

Yes. STOP OVER THINKING THIS! Laughing

In the immortal words of the sneaker commercial.

Just do it.

dturco · Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 6:14 pm Post subject:

**ecrabb** · Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:28 pm Post subject: Re: Wisonart screen

dturco · Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 6:59 pm Post subject:

sh*t.

I called to see if the Wilsonart was in. The very nice lady says to me, oh when they delivered it, it was snapped in 2, so we refused the order and a new piece will be here on Thursday. You didn't want that piece anyway.

She of course is right but, sh*t, Wait some more. Rolling Eyes

And of course better it snapped on them, then me. Twisted Evil

akajester · Joined: 09 Jul 2008 Posts: 927 Location: Wisconsin

take some pics when it's all done so we can see how the install went.

dturco · Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 8:42 pm Post subject:

I will add them to the Photobucket site with the frame pics. I intend to screw the top and bottom every 6" and the sides at 12" and use silicone on the frame boards also.

Jim Shonk · Joined: 18 Mar 2006 Posts: 149 Location: Zanesville Ohio

Just thought I would chime in. I am more of a lurker here and not much of a poster, however I built a Wilsonart 92 inch 16:9
screen this spring just to see if the buzz about it was legit, This screen out preforms my dalite 1.5 gain hands down, I love this surface, you can clean it with windex and it looks so silky and smooth. I have used a very low hour G70 as well as my hoped up marquee 9000lc, I must say I will never go back, I am shocked that somebody hasn't marketed this surface for projection use yet, I have not noticed a single hot spot in any movie I have watched, I have seen a bit on video sports and stuff but very minimal, And for the overall performance gain over any other surface I have tried its a small price to pay.

I glued my laminate to a 1/4 inch thick 4x8 particle board and used 2 aluminum seal strips one mounted to the wall up right the other mounted to the back of the particle board facing down, forming a 4 foot hook so to speak to mount it. I was able to pick it up and hang it myself if you were wondering about the weight

I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine, it's just perfect in my book.

dturco · Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 3:56 am Post subject:

Quick answer to the Wilsonart, it is so much better than what I was using. Jim has it right, you really need a substrate to get it perfectly flat without hassel. My frame did not allow for perfection but damn good. A Slight bit wavy at the edges, not the top or bottom though. Still much better than the pull down waves for sure.

Well worth the trouble. Thumbs Up

I took pics and will add them tomorrow. Smile

Edit : Crap, overnight I had a blow out on the side where one of the waves were. I put an extra screw there to "flatten it out" and it stressed the Wilsonart, it cracked, well no, it chipped a 1.5 inch chunk out.

I will glue it back in and use white out to conceal it.

So If you are going to use the Wilsonart use some substrate like luan or insulating boards, whatever but definitely use something and glue. It is made to be glued down so....

But that is my fault not the Wilsonart's. It performs great for picture quality on the first view, I just turned on the P/J and let it throw the image on the screen without changing the set-up, so the picture did not fill the screen, but looked great in the "box" it was in. Of course my settings were off so I did a quick adjustment to them and the colors are just so much sharper and cleaner.

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 7097 Location: Fort Collins, CO

Gary Brown glued his to some 1/2" construction foam of some kind. Made it completely rigid, but it was very light and easy to work with.

dturco · Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 3:59 pm Post subject:

Sparky015 · Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 4:33 pm Post subject:

I think this thread convinced me this is the way to go. I was contemplating a $1K Da-lite Hi-Power, but spending more on a dumb screen than my projector was making my stomach queezy. Embarassed

I like the idea of rigid foam for the backing. Cheap and light. Where have you guys found the best spot for ordering the WilsonArt material for the money?

dturco · Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 4:59 pm Post subject:

http://www.wilsonartcontract.com/directory/finddist.aspx

It's been found that the shipping costs will eat any savings so buy it from someone near you, it shioludn't be more than $150 for a 5x12 DW-354-60 standard grade not vertical grade.

shioludn't ? HTF did I type that?

akajester · Joined: 09 Jul 2008 Posts: 927 Location: Wisconsin

I made a 7ft wide 16x9 screen out of melamine. I also ordered a sample of wilsonart and to be honest couldn't tell the difference, although it was a small sample.

Pros
1. melamine was $35 for a 4x8 sheet
2. already on 3/4" substrate, no glueing necessary.
3. you can buy it at Home Depot

Cons
1. it's heavy!
2. limited in size, 4x8 sheet.

Anyways, I would recommend checking out the melamine first. If you don't like it you can return it to the store too, as it's not special order! Smile

I literally brought it home, cut it to 16x9 with a circular saw, mounted it with some L brackets to the wall framing and cleaned it with some windex.

Sorry, not trying to thread steal here.

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 7097 Location: Fort Collins, CO

The other Con for melamine is that it isn't standard. Clarence bought some melamine from HD a few years ago and thought it was great. I went to my local HD and looked at the exact same SKU, and you could almost see your reflection in it. Apparently they use different suppliers for melamine. Some of 'em look great, others would blind you with hotspotting.

Wilsonart should be standard. It's been measured and been shown to be a very good screen surface, and the Designer White you get should be nearly identical to the DW that they tested -- and the DW that many people have tried and loved.

Sparky015 · Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2009 12:26 am Post subject:

Thanks for the info. I found it in stock at a local floor and tile store. $136 for a 5x12 sheet. On to the frame!

Jim, Your particle board backing idea is interesting. I was thinking of doing something similar wth the pink rigid foam, but I think the particle board is more the way to go. My only concern is keeping the particle board from warping, but I suppose strategically placing the mounting forks would keep that from happening.

Did you use felt tape to create your boarder then? Did you also picture frame the sides to enclose it, or just leave it open?