[zybar]

Well I am finally getting around to building my dedicated HT and the pieces are starting to fall into place.

I will use this thread to share my pics and thoughts specifically around the SmX acoustically transparent screen.

You can read all about the screen over at the AVS Forum and by hitting their website:  http://www.smxscreen.com/

I will start off by saying that the packing of the screen is the best I have ever seen.  I have purchased screens from Stewart before and while their packing was good, the SmX packing methodology and execution is in a class by itself!!      Basically, you have a 15-20lb screen in a 100lb crate that is rock solid and well laid out. 

Here are a few pics:





This crate is almost 11' in length and everything is super well secured!  Each part of the frame is bolted to four pieces of wood that is covered in the same black velvet as the frame.  There is basically no chance of the frame getting scratched, dented, etc...



The frame itself is very easy to put together.  Each corner has two "L" shaped brackets that slide into grooves on the frame.  Once you slide the brackets into place and have the frame pieces flush, you simply use   an allen key to fasten 8 hex screws per corner into the brackets.  This exercise took me about 15 minutes by myself to complete.  SmX even included the plastic tarp that I have the frame sitting on.

As for where I am going to mount the screen...

Since this is an acoustically transparent screen, it won't be mounted on a wall.  Instead, a "freestanding" frame is being built.  The frame will be trimmed out in mahagony all around and should look pretty sharp when completed.  Yesterday the basic framing was started and today the framing and trim work should be completed. 

Here are a few pics:

   

Taken from the side




Taken from the front


Stay tuned for more pics later.

George

[Rob S.]

Zybar,
      Look forward to additional pictures.   When this screen gets set up and it's permanent,  how will you get around it?  I'm guessing you have a huge opening to the left of the screen, which opens into the rest of the basement?

Rob S.

[zybar]

Zybar,
      Look forward to additional pictures.   When this screen gets set up and it's permanent,  how will you get around it?  I'm guessing you have a huge opening to the left of the screen, which opens into the rest of the basement?

Rob S.

Rob,

There will be two ways to get into the theater.  Neither is perfect, but I am trying to do this with the minimal amount of construction and cost.

Option 1 will be to walk in right next to the screen (there will be about 32" of clearance):




Option 2 will be the doors you see on the right side in the pic below.  The only downside is that you need to go through the boys' playroom/tv room to reach those doors.




George

[klh]

George...

Looks like you're in for a lot of fun!

What do you plan to do for light control? I did something that was cheap and easy and looks good. I cut out blackout fabric that was about 8" taller and 8" wider than the window. I then put a couple beads of liquid nails on the wall surrounding the window and behind the blackout cloth. While still wet, I tacked up the blackout cloth with thumb tacks and then used a spatula to squeze/flatten the cloth so it was flush with the wall (effectively like using clamps when gluing two peices of wood together). After letting it dry for a day, I took out the thumb tacks and used puddy to smooth over the edges. I then primed the entire membrane. After that, I sprayed on some texture and primed again once dry. Lastly, I painted it the color of the wall. The whole thing is very solidly attached, yet the blinds remain behind the membrane so from the outside the window looks the same as all the others in the house.

Here are a couple photos:


Before


After

Just some food for thought.

[klh]

Two more things:

They don't flap or make any kind of noise (and I have an IB sub with13 liters of displacement in the room). The only drawback is they don't diminish sound coming in from outside. Granted, I live in a quiet neighborhood so that really isn't an issue for me, but that may not work for you.

I have extensive acoustic treatments so no direct reflections come off the window covering (meaning the membrane aspect has minimal effect on the acoustics of the room). I'm sure your room will be treated as well but thought I should mention it anyways.

Good luck with your project... it'll be fun to watch the progress .

[ctviggen]

George,

How big is the screen, where did you get it, and (if you don't mind my asking) about how much was it?  I keep thinking of putting in an electric/pulldown screen, but I could also go your route and put in a temporary frame (temporary in that I'd take it down prior to selling the house).  I'll be interested to see what you do with yours. 

[zybar]

George,

How big is the screen, where did you get it, and (if you don't mind my asking) about how much was it?  I keep thinking of putting in an electric/pulldown screen, but I could also go your route and put in a temporary frame (temporary in that I'd take it down prior to selling the house).  I'll be interested to see what you do with yours. 

The screen has a viewable area of 110" and it's actual dimensions are 103" x 61" (including the screen frame).

I bought it from Bryan (bpape) who is an SmX dealer.  You would need to contact him for costs based on actual size.

We ran into some snags today (slight changes to the plans and I didn't like some of the mahagony boards) so it won't be finished today.  We did dry fit the screen frame and I really like the way it looks.

George

[ctviggen]

Thanks, George.  I'll contact him and see what he says.  I'd rather have a fixed frame, even if I had to rig something, than I would a pulldown/electric.  Let us know what the performance (both visual and acoustic) is like. 

[lonewolfny42]

Good luck George.....say, how big is that room ? Thanks....

                                 Chris

[zybar]

Good luck George.....say, how big is that room ? Thanks....

                                 Chris

Chris,

I will post room measurements later tonight.

Just finished a good 6+ hours of trimming things out and I need to clean up and make the boys dinner.

Pics will be posted later.

George

[zybar]

Ok, here are a few more pics:





Both these pictures show the mahogany trim starting to go up.










Still need to get one last piece of trim up, but mostly done with the rough work.


George

[zybar]

After the last trim piece goes up tomorrow, it will be time to fill in all the nail holes and start sanding the wood.

Once things are sanded nicely, I will be applying some Minwax Polyshade in the Bombay Mahogany satin finish (http://www.minwax.com/products/onestep/Polyshades-color.cfm).  This will darken up the wood considerably, which is perfect for HT use.

Unfortunately, my pics don't show the nice routing work that was done all around.

George

[zybar]

Two more things:

They don't flap or make any kind of noise (and I have an IB sub with13 liters of displacement in the room). The only drawback is they don't diminish sound coming in from outside. Granted, I live in a quiet neighborhood so that really isn't an issue for me, but that may not work for you.

I have extensive acoustic treatments so no direct reflections come off the window covering (meaning the membrane aspect has minimal effect on the acoustics of the room). I'm sure your room will be treated as well but thought I should mention it anyways.

Good luck with your project... it'll be fun to watch the progress .

Thanks for the ideas on light control.

I might be sending you a PM or two to pick your brain.

George

[zybar]

Good luck George.....say, how big is that room ? Thanks....

                                 Chris

Chris,

This part of the basement is "L" shaped.

The "l" part of the room is about 40' long and 13 1/2' wide.

The "_" part of the room is about 27' long and 13 1/2' wide.

Ceiling height is 7'6" across the space and is sheetrock.

Of course those measurements above don't take into account the area where they overlap.   

George

[ctviggen]

Very nice!  Where did you get the trim pieces?  From Home Cheapo?  

[zybar]

Very nice!  Where did you get the trim pieces?  From Home Cheapo? 

Nope, I have never seen mahogany at Depot.

The wood was bought at a local lumber yard.

The quality of the wood was good, but I wouldn't consider it true furniture grade. 

That being said, a 1x6x10 piece cost around $50-60 each, with other sizes being more or less expensive.

Not cheap, but it will be worth it.

George

[ctviggen]

Thanks, George.  We have a local lumber supply store, so I'll go there.  What you're doing would be perfect for what I'd like to do in my house (well, what I'd rather do is buy another house with an unfinished basement; but that won't happen for a while).

[zybar]

Ok, here are a few pics showing the front and back of the screen frame fully trimmed out in mahogany with the SmX screen frame in place (without the screen fabric attached).

My wife and I are very happy with the results.   

George

[ekovalsky]

Looking good George.  Are you doing all this work yourself ?

I got my new projector hung yesterday without much difficulty.  After some head scratching I think I've figured out the best way to mount the screen (Da-Lite Tensioned Cosmo Electrosol) and hopefully will get it up later in the week.  If I end up taking pictures I may start another thread in this circle.

[Papajin]

Ok, here are a few pics showing the front and back of the screen frame fully trimmed out in mahogany with the SmX screen frame in place (without the screen fabric attached).

I know you said you got the AT screen... Out of curiousity, are you planning to put your speakers free-standing behind the screen?