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Screen Side-Masking Solutions


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Hey all,

 

Wondering what are the best DIY or retail side-masking solutions/options for a scope screen?

 

I have a wonderful fixed 165" scope screen from OZTS, and would like to have the sides of the screen masked when watching/playing in 16:9.

 

I was considering motorised blinds that are on tracks that could slide in and out. Or even just manual curtains on tracks that can slide in and out. 

 

At worst, as a quick solution I was going to build some panels that could be 'hung' off the top of my screen covered in black velvet. Seems that Spotlight only has normal black velveteen but that should be OK for what I need to do.

 

Any tips or suggestions are greatly welcomed.

Scott

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Bit hard to see ( cranked brightness up for pic) , but i use manual mask,s on each end of my 143" scope screen..  They are just held in place via velcro strips when needed. takes a couple of minutes to fit or remove...

 

They are just Perf board  ( Used for signage , very light and rigid ) covered in black velvet.

Scope-Mask.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

I made a manual masking system the same as wooferocau except instead of using velcro I used a couple of "L" brackets per mask. One side of each bracket is fixed to the mask and the other just sits on top of the screen. As the brackets are polished they allow for easy adjustment by just sliding the mask across the required amount where the width of the movie is different to the previous one. 

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1 hour ago, lozzabeau said:

I made a manual masking system the same as wooferocau except instead of using velcro I used a couple of "L" brackets per mask. One side of each bracket is fixed to the mask and the other just sits on top of the screen. As the brackets are polished they allow for easy adjustment by just sliding the mask across the required amount where the width of the movie is different to the previous one. 

 

Any chance you can take some pics to show us?

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Hi Scott

 

Hope thee photos are suitable. The brackets are about 30mm square on each side. They neatly sit on top of the screen and slide along the velour nicely. You just need to be sure you don't accidentally pull the masking forward as you adjust them just in case the masking falls off. Hopefully the brackets won't pierce the screen. My brackets have smooth edges. 

 

Lozza

IMG_6273.JPG

IMG_6346.JPG

IMG_6236.JPG

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7 minutes ago, lozzabeau said:

Hi Scott

 

Hope thee photos are suitable. The brackets are about 30mm square on each side. They neatly sit on top of the screen and slide along the velour nicely. You just need to be sure you don't accidentally pull the masking forward as you adjust them just in case the masking falls off. Hopefully the brackets won't pierce the screen. My brackets have smooth edges. 

 

Lozza

IMG_6273.JPG

IMG_6346.JPG

IMG_6236.JPG


excellent! This is exactly what I’m going to build! Love it. 
 

question: what’s the material

you are using for the panel? Ply? 

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No not ply. I can't think what its called. Its like an ultra fine chipboard. I bought the board from Bunnings.

 

I used to mask my old 16:9 screen when playing a widescreen movie by shifting the image to the top of the screen and masking the bottom. I wanted to do the same for an anamorphic screen when playing 16:9 movies. I had been pondering a design for the masking a 235 screen for ages. I found the brackets at home one day and had a lightbulb moment. I had some black material already so I think all up it cost less than $10. The board was a 900mm X 1500mm X 3mm thick sheet from memory. I cut it into 450mm X1500mm halves and fitted the brackets and the black material.

 

Its almost a perfect fit as the screen is 1550mm tall and the 450mm width is almost perfect to mask the side bars for a 16:9 image on my 140 inch screen.

 

I did consider the Screentechnics screen with motorised side masking but this was $4600 for a 140 inch at the time. It was easier to convince my wife to part with $10 plus the $1250 for a 140 inch fixed screen rather than $4600. I could have bought a half reasonable projector with the savings although I am salivating about either a JVC N7 or a Sony 590 to replace my Sony VW-80.

Edited by lozzabeau
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I know someone who used the same panels but screwed in a C section bracket. So on the back of the frame there are 2 drawer slides, then the C bracket is attached to the slide which go under the screen and up onto the front side. Then the panels are attached to the front of the bracket. Did I explain that right?

C section brackets top and bottom.

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On 02/02/2021 at 10:01 PM, oztheatre said:

I know someone who used the same panels but screwed in a C section bracket. So on the back of the frame there are 2 drawer slides, then the C bracket is attached to the slide which go under the screen and up onto the front side. Then the panels are attached to the front of the bracket. Did I explain that right?

C section brackets top and bottom.

 

Yeah that makes sense. Sounds like a great solution.

 

I have started building mine. I have the panels and the L-brackets attached. My neighbour is a metalworker so he's going to attach some additional metal to turn my L-brackets into C-brackets and file down the screws with his grinder which managed to poke through the 6mm MDF sheet. Once that's done my partner is going to glue the black velvet onto the panel then I'm good to go.

 

Shame I can't use the system currently due to my 8805 being in the service centre still :(

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