Contemplating 2.35:1 Screen

[Ob1kinoB]

David V.,

May I trouble you to know the name or brand of the foam board you bought at HD?

I looked around my local HD but only found Rigid Insulation board which would be a bit of a bear to cut and get a straight line.

You mention “yard signs” but that just sent the HD guy into a Catatonic state when I asked. 🙃

Btw, I have a 16:9 screen but will make a set of these for when I watch old Hitchcock movies which are mostly 1.33:1.

Thank you.

Hugo

[David Vaughn]

David V.,

May I trouble you to know the name or brand of the foam board you bought at HD?

I looked around my local HD but only found Rigid Insulation board which would be a bit of a bear to cut and get a straight line.

You mention “yard signs” but that just sent the HD guy into a Catatonic state when I asked. 🙃

Btw, I have a 16:9 screen but will make a set of these for when I watch old Hitchcock movies which are mostly 1.33:1.

Thank you.

Hugo

Hugo,

Here's what I bought:  https://www.homedepot.com/p/72-in-x-36-in-x-5-32-in-Twinwall-Plastic-Sheet-COR-3672/202771364

In my local store, it's at the back of the store at the end of the lumber department. Generally, the stores are set up somewhat the same. 

[AVSCraig]

That stuff looks like it would work well. 

[bmoney]

would love to use that...but it would cover my L and R speakers....:/

[AVSCraig]

would love to use that...but it would cover my L and R speakers....:/

You would need AT masking panels of some sort. 

[DLCPhoto]

I have a scope screen, and when I set it up, I installed a pair of black velvet curtains, each on its own curtain rod. I could draw them in when watching narrower aspect ratio content, to effectively mask the black pillar bars on the sides, of whatever width they were.  It worked well.

But then, being a lazy-a$$, getting up to move the curtains was too much to ask (!), so I started thinking about motorizing, and potentially automating, this process.

I did some googling, and came across Automatic Curtains, which seemed to offer exactly what I was looking for. I dealt with Tony Lau there, and he was extremely helpful in answering my questions, providing suggestions, etc. In order to get close to the wall where the screen was mounted, I had to disconnect and move pretty much everything that was in the front of my theater, but it all worked out.

Here's a link to a YouTube video I made showing in action:



All in all, I'm pretty happy with the result. I may tweak things slightly for a little smoother, more even movement, but it gets the job done quite well.

I use Control4 in my home, and I'm planning on integrating this into this system. And the next step I hope to accomplish, would be to have it work with my MadVR Envy, which detects aspect ratio automatically. It would be cool to have the curtain adjusted to the right position automatically, without me having to do anything more than turn the theater on.

Given some of the posts here, I thought this might be of interest to others. And the expense was fairly minimal.

[David Vaughn]

I have a scope screen, and when I set it up, I installed a pair of black velvet curtains, each on its own curtain rod. I could draw them in when watching narrower aspect ratio content, to effectively mask the black pillar bars on the sides, of whatever width they were.  It worked well.

But then, being a lazy-a$$, getting up to move the curtains was too much to ask (!), so I started thinking about motorizing, and potentially automating, this process.

I did some googling, and came across Automatic Curtains, which seemed to offer exactly what I was looking for. I dealt with Tony Lau there, and he was extremely helpful in answering my questions, providing suggestions, etc. In order to get close to the wall where the screen was mounted, I had to disconnect and move pretty much everything that was in the front of my theater, but it all worked out.

Here's a link to a YouTube video I made showing in action:



All in all, I'm pretty happy with the result. I may tweak things slightly for a little smoother, more even movement, but it gets the job done quite well.

I use Control4 in my home, and I'm planning on integrating this into this system. And the next step I hope to accomplish, would be to have it work with my MadVR Envy, which detects aspect ratio automatically. It would be cool to have the curtain adjusted to the right position automatically, without me having to do anything more than turn the theater on.

Given some of the posts here, I thought this might be of interest to others. And the expense was fairly minimal.

I love it. If you don't mind me asking...how much were they?

[DLCPhoto]

I love it. If you don't mind me asking...how much were they?

Mine is 190" long, and all in, including brackets to mount it, and an RJ12 socket for wired control, was $575 including shipping.  That doesn't include the curtains, obviously.  I had to buy some hardware to attach the curtains to the eyelet curtain runners in the track, but that was just a few dollars.

Considering that the Stewart VistaScope screen with the built-in masking, is about $20k, I was more than pleased with this pricing.

I can't say enough about Tony - I had many questions, and he always had the answers.

I can address some of the particulars involved in installing and getting it set up if you want to pursue this.

[David Vaughn]

Mine is 190" long, and all in, including brackets to mount it, and an RJ12 socket for wired control, was $575 including shipping.  That doesn't include the curtains, obviously.  I had to buy some hardware to attach the curtains to the eyelet curtain runners in the track, but that was just a few dollars.

Considering that the Stewart VistaScope screen with the built-in masking, is about $20k, I was more than pleased with this pricing.

I can't say enough about Tony - I had many questions, and he always had the answers.

I can address some of the particulars involved in installing and getting it set up if you want to pursue this.

Since my screen is away from the wall by about 5 inches, I'd have to do some engineering work to mount it (the ceiling isn't flat above the screen, it's actually at about a 30 degree angle upwards). I love the idea of it being automatic and like you said, $575 isn't much for what it does compared to the VistaScope (I had priced those a while back and when the quote was sent to me I almost had a heart attack!). How to you stop it in the required spot? It would be nice to have it to where there where multiple stops such as 2.2:1 movies, 2.0:1 movies, and 1.33:1 shows (older TV titles). I'm not sure how you'd do that. Do you just have it set up for 16x9 and it stops at the point automatically?

[DLCPhoto]

Since my screen is away from the wall by about 5 inches, I'd have to do some engineering work to mount it (the ceiling isn't flat above the screen, it's actually at about a 30 degree angle upwards). I love the idea of it being automatic and like you said, $575 isn't much for what it does compared to the VistaScope (I had priced those a while back and when the quote was sent to me I almost had a heart attack!). How to you stop it in the required spot? It would be nice to have it to where there where multiple stops such as 2.2:1 movies, 2.0:1 movies, and 1.33:1 shows (older TV titles). I'm not sure how you'd do that. Do you just have it set up for 16x9 and it stops at the point automatically?

I think this can still work.  Mine is attached using wall brackets.  They have them 4" long and 7" long, and I'm using the shorter ones.  The 7" ones might be enough on their own for your situation.  In my situation, most brackets were attached to a piece on the wall that was about 1.5" out from the wall.  For the 2 on the ends, which needed to be attached to the wall itself, I used a 1.5" piece of wood, drilled holes through those, placed these between the bracket and wall, and screwed them into the studs, so they lined up correctly with the others.  You could use a similar approach to get the brackets out a little further if you need to.

As for the stopping points: I have what they call a "stopper" in the track where the 16:9 position would be.  The motor 'learns' where this is, and gently stops at that position.  So that works perfectly.

I haven't fully worked out yet if/how I can automate the intermediate positions.  I first need to pick up another device that can learn the remote's RF commands, and then get the software Driver to connect this device to my Control4 system.  Once I have it integrated into Control4, I can determine by trial and error how long the motor has to be engaged to get to position "x" and then program that into Control4.  Whether or not this will be sufficiently precise isn't clear, but that will be my next project.

Worst case scenario, though, I can use the supplied RF remote, and just get it into whatever position I need.

[David Vaughn]

I think this can still work.  Mine is attached using wall brackets.  They have them 4" long and 7" long, and I'm using the shorter ones.  The 7" ones might be enough on their own for your situation.  In my situation, most brackets were attached to a piece on the wall that was about 1.5" out from the wall.  For the 2 on the ends, which needed to be attached to the wall itself, I used a 1.5" piece of wood, drilled holes through those, placed these between the bracket and wall, and screwed them into the studs, so they lined up correctly with the others.  You could use a similar approach to get the brackets out a little further if you need to.

As for the stopping points: I have what they call a "stopper" in the track where the 16:9 position would be.  The motor 'learns' where this is, and gently stops at that position.  So that works perfectly.

I haven't fully worked out yet if/how I can automate the intermediate positions.  I first need to pick up another device that can learn the remote's RF commands, and then get the software Driver to connect this device to my Control4 system.  Once I have it integrated into Control4, I can determine by trial and error how long the motor has to be engaged to get to position "x" and then program that into Control4.  Whether or not this will be sufficiently precise isn't clear, but that will be my next project.

Worst case scenario, though, I can use the supplied RF remote, and just get it into whatever position I need.

Great info. Thanks. Which track did you end up going with? There are multiples on the site. You've piqued my interest...I may have a new winter project on my hands

[DLCPhoto]

Great info. Thanks. Which track did you end up going with? There are multiples on the site. You've piqued my interest...I may have a new winter project on my hands

It's a single track, 920 series.  He referred to it as "Automatic Curtain System S168 Motor w/ Power Adapter".

I agree - the website is a bit confusing, with some of the items and information referring to previous products.

The best thing to do is contact Tony directly: sales@automaticcurtain.com

I found him extremely patient and helpful with all my questions, and all of his recommendations were spot on.  If you do, tell him I sent you.

Trust me - I have no business connection to them.  He was just so helpful to me that I told him early on that I thought others might have interest in this application for his products, and would get the word out, so to speak.

I think their primary customer is looking for conventional curtains, and this particular application is a 'niche' use for their products.

I'll pm you as well with my phone number in case you want to discuss at any time.

[Ob1kinoB]

Hugo,

Here's what I bought:  https://www.homedepot.com/p/72-in-x-36-in-x-5-32-in-Twinwall-Plastic-Sheet-COR-3672/202771364

In my local store, it's at the back of the store at the end of the lumber department. Generally, the stores are set up somewhat the same.

David,

Thank you very much for sharing the info. Looks like I have a new weekend project.

best regards,

Hugo

[David Vaughn]

David,

Thank you very much for sharing the info. Looks like I have a new weekend project.

best regards,

Hugo

Awesome. Let me know how it goes. I highly recommend using small screws and bolts to attach the wide L brackets. The tape alone gave way faster than I thought it would. 

[Lucjules]

It's a single track, 920 series.  He referred to it as "Automatic Curtain System S168 Motor w/ Power Adapter".

I agree - the website is a bit confusing, with some of the items and information referring to previous products.

The best thing to do is contact Tony directly: sales@automaticcurtain.com

I found him extremely patient and helpful with all my questions, and all of his recommendations were spot on.  If you do, tell him I sent you.

Trust me - I have no business connection to them.  He was just so helpful to me that I told him early on that I thought others might have interest in this application for his products, and would get the word out, so to speak.

I think their primary customer is looking for conventional curtains, and this particular application is a 'niche' use for their products.

I'll pm you as well with my phone number in case you want to discuss at any time.

Thanks for this Don, I am switching over to a scope screen and this looks like a great masking system.