Am I the only one who used blackout curtains behind a $60 projector and it looked better than a screen? | Budget Home Theater Builds

Stella Black · 2026-10-16T16:10:03.753113+00:00

So my basement setup started with a $60 used projector I grabbed off Facebook Marketplace in Dayton last spring. The wall I was aiming at had this weird tan paint and every light source made it look washed out, especially the little window by the stairs. I tried hanging a white bedsheet first, which just showed every wrinkle and looked terrible. Then I taped up two blackout curtains from Walmart, the cheap $12 ones, layered them tight so no gaps showed. The difference was insane, blacks got way darker and colors popped because there was no ambient light bleeding through. I also threw a dark gray fitted sheet over the wall section itself to cut reflections. Total setup ran me under $100 including the projector mount I made from scrap wood. Has anyone else skipped the screen and just killed all the light instead? I'm wondering if a real screen would even be worth it at this point.

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Am I the only one who used blackout curtains behind a $60 projector and it looked better than a screen? | Budget Home Theater Builds - The Community Guide