Spare room to home cinema conversion

[m8internet]

Given I watch a large number of films, rather than general TV programmes from Virgin Media, I have decided to convert one of my two spare bedrooms into a dedicated Home Cinema room

The first stage was to work out the best screen size, based on the room dimensions and seating position
The room is a perfect rectangular shape, about 8' x 12' (excluding doorway entrance)
The TV would then be about 10' from the seating position
By my calculation this gives an ideal TV size of between 52" and 60"

Based on budget I have gone for the LG 50PS3000
I will also need to purchase a suitable blu ray or DVD (with upscaling) 5.1 Home Cinema system
Given the size of my DVD collection it would take about £2000 alone to replace that with blu ray discs!
Therefore the blu ray is an option, but replacing the DVDs will take place over time and availability

The existing TV in the living room is going in the bin, as the AV receiver is faulty
However, the SONY DVD Home Cinema system works perfectly and is still under warranty until 2011
This will be used temporarily until I can decide on a suitable blu ray or DVD upscaling system

I contacted many cinemas for information on what colours they use, but seem reluctant to provide specific information
I have therefore visited many cinemas with a small handheld torch to try and work out the colours they use
The majority use a black vinyl or dark grey carpet
ODEON use both a dark red and a dark brown, with the skirting and ceiling being matt black
Cineworld use a dark brown throughout, but a matt black on the wall with the screen
The main issue I have is what colour to paint my walls
I have looked at both Crown (my preferred option as I get a discount) and Dulux, but I cannot find a similar suitable colour
Any recommendations?

Equally, should I paint the ceiling in that same colour, or do as ODEON do and use matt black?

[gurpswoo1]

To be Honest Colour is a personal choice, the rule of thumb is to use as dark a colours as possible and as close to back aswell. But having an all black room is not always the best looking even if it a dedicated room.

However the more important thing about the paint you use is the refelctive properties, you don't want any reflections from the wall this will kill contrast. Ask a crown sales person over the counter who should give you an idea whats best. usually to get the best finish you will need a undercoat and then 2-3 layers of the final paint so take that into consideration when you budget. The paint manufacture I can't help with, I used delux which is good, maybe someone who used Crown can tell if it's any good but can't see why it wouldn't be.

On my cinema room: - Gibbs Home Cinema

you can have a combiniation of 3 colours, painting the ceiling black is very possible.

The modern colours at the moment seem to be dark brown to dark yellows. I've gone for traditional colours because that what Ilike. It's up to you.

You don't even have to use paint you can use other materials and even sound absorb sheet.

A good reference is to use the cinema room gallery for help. Also google image search is good, just type in home cinema or home theater.

Hope this helps.

[m8internet]

All the images I have looked at on google are light coloured walls with bright red curtains (very americanised home theatres)
I previously had a similar setup and found the glare from the walls, carpets, and ceiling were awful
To reduce this I painted the walls a very dark matt royal blue, the side walls were then painted a slightly lighter shade of dark blue, and overall this helped

I always use two coats of Crown, even if it is a solo
I tend to use solo when you need to lighten dark coloured walls, but it's not such an issue when darkening light coloured walls (as per this case)

Crown do a near to black, called Little Black Dress, and that is as dark as I would go
I will probably apply this to the rear wall and ceiling
For the other three walls and entry I will use City Life which is a dark grey
If this turns out not to be dark enough, then I can paint over that with Little Black Dress

[m8internet]

Looks like my hunch was right
I bought the two test pots of paint and have painted a small section of wall and ceiling
Little Black Dress is a matt paint, perfect for the ceiling, skirting boards, and back wall, behind the TV
City Life appears to be a blend of dark green, teal, and dark grey
There is very little reflection or glare when a TV is placed next to, when compared to the existing white!