# Why so many HT's painted maroon or...



## MikeSp (Aug 15, 2006)

I am having difficulty deciding upon an appropriate color for my HT with a FP. When I search the Internet (and this forum) for images of dedicated HT's, besides black (which is out of the question due to WAF), it seems that the most popular color is some shade of maroon and I wonder why that is. Is maroon a good color from a technical standpoint (or dark blue or dark purple)?? I have been unable to spend the time necessary to understand the Munsell color system and figure out the neutral colors according to that system. 

My goal is to prevent as much extraneous light as possible from reflecting onto the screen and competing with that from the FP AND ALSO not changing the appearance of the colors on the screen -- thus, I think that my basic understanding of the reason for the end product is correct.

In my situation, maroon, dark blue, dark purple and even Kodak 18% grey would have enough WAF -- I just do not want to repaint a different color -- painting is painful enough, but repainting :hissyfit:

Also, I have read every posting on most AV forums and that leads to total confusion.

From a technical standpoint, other than black, which colors are best for a HT with a FP?

Opinions/suggestions appreciated -- I am lost :dumbcrazy:

Mike


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## wbassett (Feb 8, 2007)

Most theaters are a Burgundy color, and that's why I think a lot of people go with that color. Plus it is a rich looking color. I am debating on that or a nice slate gray myself. 

Painting a Home Theater room is almost the opposite of room painting 101- most people go with light colors to liven things up and 'open' the room up with a normal room. What we want for a Home Theater is a color that doesn't have a lot of sheen (for scatter reflections) and isn't a color that jumps out and says 'Look at me!' Ideally when the lights go down you shouldn't see the walls, or at least be drawn to them. Now keep in mind that with lights on it could have some affect on your color perception. Just as we use the black border as our black reference, if you were to say paint your room a bright blue or yellow, your eyes would see that as well as the screen even if it's in your peripheral vision. Seeing something like say a bright vivid blue can cause your brain to 'calibrate' to that. When professional calibrations are done, even someone walking in the room with a white shirt can affect things, so you want something that doesn't have a lot of sheen and is a rich, yet not an overbearing color.

Go with something pleasing yet doesn't draw your attention to it.


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## bpape (Sep 14, 2006)

Black is really only a 'really should do' on the front wall. Next is the ceiling. These are both for perception purposes.

The burgandy is a visual preference and has no basis in being a good performer other than being dark. Honestly, if you can swing Navy Blue, that'd be great. Other than that, the 18% grey is actually the best performer other than black.

The idea behind the grey is that even though it's not the darkest thing, it reflects all portions of the light spectrum evenly so any reflections onto the screen will not cause a shift in apparent 'tint' toward the red, green, or blue primary.

Bryan


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## wbassett (Feb 8, 2007)

bpape said:


> The idea behind the grey is that even though it's not the darkest thing, it reflects all portions of the light spectrum evenly so any reflections onto the screen will not cause a shift in apparent 'tint' toward the red, green, or blue primary.
> 
> Bryan


Bryan I just want to mention that's only really true for a neutral gray, and most wall paints are not neutral. For a wall though it won't matter and be as critical as the screen itself.

Sherwin Williams and True Value do have some off the shelf neutral grays though. Most other brands add colors to make them more visually appealing and from what I have seen they tend to lean towards blue. Again, for the walls it's not as critical as the screen, so anything as long as it's not super bright, has a high sheen, or is over powering.

Mike I've also seen a lot of people use a mustard color, but I prefer something a little darker. One thing you can do is Glidden has a virtual paint program that you can import your own pictures and 'paint' the room. It's pretty cool because you can get a real good idea of what the room will look like without actually painting it. I found for the best results take the picture of your room with the highest pixel resolution your camera has and import that into the program.

Bryan's comment about not needing the entire room black is true, and with the program you can even paint the wall the screen is on black and then the rest of the room and trim various colors and see which one you like the best.


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## chas (Jan 28, 2007)

I kinda like a couple of the colors mentioned in this thread. How would a two-tone with slate gray top and navy blue from the chair rail down work? Are two tone schemes distracting to the eye?


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## wbassett (Feb 8, 2007)

That actually sounds nice.

Seriously you should try one of the virtual painting programs. You can get an idea of exactly what your room will look like and if you like it and it's not over powering or detracts from the screen, get the paint and feel confident of how it will look!


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## MikeSp (Aug 15, 2006)

wbassett said:


> Mike I've also seen a lot of people use a mustard color, but I prefer something a little darker. One thing you can do is Glidden has a virtual paint program that you can import your own pictures and 'paint' the room. It's pretty cool because you can get a real good idea of what the room will look like without actually painting it. I found for the best results take the picture of your room with the highest pixel resolution your camera has and import that into the program.
> QUOTE]
> 
> Thanks for the heads-up on the Glidden program -- to be able to shoot the room in high resolution and import it into the program means that it is a very potent program -- will try that out.
> ...


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## wbassett (Feb 8, 2007)

MikeSp said:


> After visiting with a consultant at my local high end HT/audio store, I found that they are not creating many dark HT rooms any longer -- that they have found keeping with lighter neutral colors has worked extremely well. As you pointed out -- the neutral colors would be the key for most of us. You got me motivated to go throw up some more studs.


I think there is a growing trend for multi purpose rooms over dedicated theaters. There are still a lot of dedicated Home Theater rooms out there, but there is an ever increasing amount of people that are using existing living rooms that serve as more than just a theater. Most people tend to keep these types of rooms somewhat as just another room in the house. 

The virtual painting software really is pretty cool!  It also saved me from an absolutely horrid color my wife wanted to paint our kitchen. I took some shots and imported them and then 'painted' the room with the color she picked out (it was a different brand, but I found one that was pretty much the same). Once she saw the whole room 'painted' the color she picked, SHE said "Man that looks ugly!"

Of course you won't be able to determine how it will look with a movie up on the screen just from a virtual painter, but if you go with the common colors you see others using you'll get an idea of what the room will look like with several different colors and since people have already used them with no complaints, you also know it will work well for a Theater setup.


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## bholliday (Aug 20, 2007)

Sherwin Williams has a LRV (light reflective value) for each color on the back of their color cards. The ones I'm looking at for my theater room are:

SW 6258 - Tricorn Black, 57R 57G 59B, LRV 2
SW 6216 - Jasper (dark green/gray), 61 69 65, LRV 3
SW 6244 - Naval, 51 62 79, LRV 4
SW 6020 - Marooned, 84 57 59, LRV 5

For reference, SW 6378 - Crisp Linen (Off White), 243 232 213, has a LVR of 80. 

My walls are currently SW 6121 - Whole Wheat, 208 186 149, LRV 50, and the walls (and other objects in the room) are very visible when the projector is on (room is completely dark when the lights are off). However, the ceiling is white, so it is a major contributor to the amount of light. That said, the picture is still very good.


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

One thing that I recommend (if you have the patience to paint it) is sandwash paint from Behr. It's more expensive but finishes to a very fine sandpaper texture (in the color you specify). In my HT, it just eats the light. You can tell it's hunter green, but near zero glare from the projector.


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

Clarification: Sandwash is tough to paint because it requires many coats to get right (they say 2, it took me 3 or 4 in some spots). That's what I meant by patience.


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## toecheese (May 3, 2006)

There are some real experts on here as far as paint. I'm satisfied with my color for my dedicated HT (okay, the back part is a climbing gym, but color doesn't matter to go with plywood!), which is a brown (Spanish Raisin?).

Whatever color you paint your room is going to 'color' the screen somewhat. Because of this, you don't want a color which will make it unpleasant, so neutrals are it. Reds (burgundy) are fine- the only color you would never do is green because it so throws skin tones off. 

I'd like to second the previous poster who recommended painting part of the ceiling a dark color as well. I did the traditional light ceiling and I consciously note my eyes are drawn to it (i.e. distracting). I probably wouldn't had I not read threads about this! TMI!


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