Help me choose light color

[Beta Man]

I posted the question in my build thread, but I think I need more of an immediate answer so I can run out and get the lights.... so here it is.....

I'm going to pick up some rope lights....... the "clear" are nice, but I want some colored ones for more of the theater "Feel"

Well.... I have to decide between red and blue.....

I remember at the last movie I saw in the theaters (Episode 1) the stairs had red lights on them, so I'm leaning towards that...... I'm going to start with using the lights for the under-side of the riser, but may install them around the trim on the ceiling and on the inside of a hand-rail going down the stairs.....


HERE IS MY IDEA FOR THE STAIRS (sorry I can't use photo-shop etc... because I'm old and dumb )

I was going to use a router to notch out the inside of the hand-rail (facing the wall) and run rope lights in the notch, so the hand-rail and wall behind it "glows" going down the stairs......

I'll be working on this today a little... probably not the hand-rail yet, but I'm going to at least try to get the riser done.


So.... Red Or Blue???? I'm thinking Blue would be "softer" but Red should look more authentic (to me at least)

Keep your anti-HD DVD comments to yourself too..... this has nothing to do with that!

[stockstar1138]

don't get red because that was the color of hd dvd.

[Teabaggins]

can you get pale/mild blue? I would think they would look nice and relaxing and would not be distracting at all

[DrinkMore]

Why not just them them with color changing lights inside a clear case? That way you can set it to whatever color your heart desires at the time?

[Deciazulado]

As long as the colored lights are not in the field of view of your movie viewing (which would influence the perception of colors on your movie screen) and their light is not so bright as to fall on the screen or illuminate and create a color tinge in the wall/area surrounding where your screen is as you look at it, you can pick up any color you please, so if you think red is classy you should go with it, or any color you want. As you mention stairs, if the lights are going to be for illuminating the stars while room lights are off make sure the stairs can be used safely with just them!

[DavePS3]

It's a little known fact that amber is the best. If you can't go that route, get a warm white... not a cool white - you'll regret it... it's like florescent lighting. Ugh.

[gearyt]

I tired of amber, went to Blue

[JJ]

Amber would look nice with your paint job, or red. No blue, no blue.

[Hammie]

If you are looking for lights to enhance the picture, then you will need lights rated at 65K. This is a light number on the light spectrum that is as close to natural light as possible. This is also the number TV's are calibrated to in order to get the best picture.

IMO, colored lights diminish the picture and cause the colors to change on the screen. This is the same reason why walls in HT rooms should be flat paint rather than any gloss so the colors do not 'bounce' on the screen.

[JJ]

Originally Posted by louhamilton

If you are looking for lights to enhance the picture, then you will need lights rated at 65K. This is a light number on the light spectrum that is as close to natural light as possible. This is also the number TV's are calibrated to in order to get the best picture.

IMO, colored lights diminish the picture and cause the colors to change on the screen. This is the same reason why walls in HT rooms should be flat paint rather than any gloss so the colors do not 'bounce' on the screen.

He, err...means rope lights for the floor, Lou,

[SquidPuppet]

Colored lights will adversely affect (clash) the color of your walls, and, vice versa.

Clear...on a dimmer.

[Hammie]

Yes, I realize that but it can still can affect the picture if they are on during movie viewing.

The reason why in a real movie theater color is not as significant is room size. A home theater is usually smaller and lighting in such a small room can cause issues.

I'm actually considering getting these lights for my TV room. They are recommended by folks from my other hobby, photography, to get more natural lighting indoors.

Just my two cents.

[LifeOfAPirate13]

I would go with red!

[Beta Man]

Well.... this is what I went with (in other post.... pictures galore)

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...=1#post1327658

[Deciazulado]

Originally Posted by louhamilton

If you are looking for lights to enhance the picture, then you will need lights rated at 65K. This is a light number on the light spectrum that is as close to natural light as possible. This is also the number TV's are calibrated to in order to get the best picture.

IMO, colored lights diminish the picture and cause the colors to change on the screen. This is the same reason why walls in HT rooms should be flat paint rather than any gloss so the colors do not 'bounce' on the screen.

Yes. Usually called D65 lights or Daylight 6500 (degrees Kelvin), the color of average daylight falling on the planet (An overcast (grey) day is about D65).
If you buy D65 lights the best ones are those with high CRIs (Color Rendering Inde) like above 90 (CRIs of 95+ are recommended for critical color work )