Rich
26-05-2013, 11:55 AM
I had this crazy idea a few years ago. A lot of people told me it was stupid and it would never work. I was even unsure of just how well it would work. It was a fairly big gamble with so many design changes to the house to position the theatre where it needed to be plus a very expensive very large single pane window. After lots of planning the result has really made it all worthwhile! I'm looking forward to watching the F1 on it tonight.
In a nut shell its a double sided projection screen fitted inside the window recess that allows you to view from both sides.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/964350_10201211823846762_1197692046_o.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/965573_10201211822686733_1092615780_o.jpg
http://i40.tinypic.com/a14ql3.jpg
The hardest part was getting the window size correct as the builder would only allow me to adjust window width by full brick sizes and the height by the number of courses. The overall size wasn't crucial, it was the ratio that had to be as close to 16:9 as possible to avoid having any big gaps on the sides or top and bottom. The end result was approximately 110" viewable area after allowing for the frame width. The height of the window was also important so that you aren't staring up at the screen when sitting inside but that is simply a matter of choosing how many courses down from the ceiling or up from the floor that you want the screen. The screen was custom made to fit inside the window recess. Its an alloy frame with a stretched grey screen that is specially designed to partially reflect and partially transmit light so that you can view an image on both sides. Obviously the image can only be viewed the correct way around on one side at a time. The image can easily be flipped through the projector settings menu. The screen also lets light in from outside so an electric roller shutter is used during the day to keep the light out and simply raised when you want to watch it outside.
The projector is a ceiling mounted Panasonic PT-AE8000, Full HD and 3D. Media comes via a Samsung Series 8 BD-E8900A, Blue Ray, Dual HD Tuner, 1TB HDD, Media Centre. Havent had much time to play with all the features yet but the user interface is excellent. It has all the usual TV recorder functions combined with a Blue Ray player and media centre. I like having one unit that does everything I want. I hate clutter so I didnt want a massive stack of AV gear. Audio setup is currently a Harman Kardon Amp and 5.1 speakers. Outdoor audio is currently a 2 channel temporary setup. I havent decided exactly how I want to set up the audio outside. More research to do in that area. Once I finish networking the house it will all be hooked up to a 10TB network storage device so that every room can access movies, music etc. Im also looking into the most effective way to setup multiple zones (audio and video) that can be controlled using phone/tablet setup.
So its not quite finished yet, but I am still really happy with how it has turned out. It's something different and it has so many great applications. I love seeing people's reactions when they see it for the first time! Looking forward to next summer. Many evenings will be spent outside in front of the screen with some cold drinks :)
In a nut shell its a double sided projection screen fitted inside the window recess that allows you to view from both sides.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/964350_10201211823846762_1197692046_o.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/965573_10201211822686733_1092615780_o.jpg
http://i40.tinypic.com/a14ql3.jpg
The hardest part was getting the window size correct as the builder would only allow me to adjust window width by full brick sizes and the height by the number of courses. The overall size wasn't crucial, it was the ratio that had to be as close to 16:9 as possible to avoid having any big gaps on the sides or top and bottom. The end result was approximately 110" viewable area after allowing for the frame width. The height of the window was also important so that you aren't staring up at the screen when sitting inside but that is simply a matter of choosing how many courses down from the ceiling or up from the floor that you want the screen. The screen was custom made to fit inside the window recess. Its an alloy frame with a stretched grey screen that is specially designed to partially reflect and partially transmit light so that you can view an image on both sides. Obviously the image can only be viewed the correct way around on one side at a time. The image can easily be flipped through the projector settings menu. The screen also lets light in from outside so an electric roller shutter is used during the day to keep the light out and simply raised when you want to watch it outside.
The projector is a ceiling mounted Panasonic PT-AE8000, Full HD and 3D. Media comes via a Samsung Series 8 BD-E8900A, Blue Ray, Dual HD Tuner, 1TB HDD, Media Centre. Havent had much time to play with all the features yet but the user interface is excellent. It has all the usual TV recorder functions combined with a Blue Ray player and media centre. I like having one unit that does everything I want. I hate clutter so I didnt want a massive stack of AV gear. Audio setup is currently a Harman Kardon Amp and 5.1 speakers. Outdoor audio is currently a 2 channel temporary setup. I havent decided exactly how I want to set up the audio outside. More research to do in that area. Once I finish networking the house it will all be hooked up to a 10TB network storage device so that every room can access movies, music etc. Im also looking into the most effective way to setup multiple zones (audio and video) that can be controlled using phone/tablet setup.
So its not quite finished yet, but I am still really happy with how it has turned out. It's something different and it has so many great applications. I love seeing people's reactions when they see it for the first time! Looking forward to next summer. Many evenings will be spent outside in front of the screen with some cold drinks :)