Well I am in college and I am on a college budget, please remember that. I live in the dorms and I am looking to make a screen, possibly out of blackout cloth, that I can use but also hide away when not using it. I am looking at about a 92" diagonal 16:9 screen. I have thought of several ideas like just make a frame and hang it up when i use it. Another idea was ran by me today, make it like a shower curtain, so it can slide to the side when not being used. The only probably with that is, how can I keep the screen taught when in use? Any ideas/suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks

How about a BO cloth screen with loops on the top and bottom. Put heavy poles or pipes through the loops, the top pole would provide something to use to hang on the wall, the bottom pole would provide weight to keep the screen taut. The screen could be taken down and rolled up when not in use (kind of like a roll-up blind or commercial roll-up screen but without the roll-up mechanism).

Here's a crappy MSPaint rendering of my idea (the side view shows the loops exaggerated to get the point across):

Click to view attachment

This is what I did - not very portable, and could be improved. I've been using it for a year and a half now though - it's not too bad taking it apart to take home for summer. (could be better though) It cost me about $100 altogether.

I actually like OKflyboy's design, and you can still add black borders(which I highly recommend). I just wanted to show mine off, otherwise all that work would be a waste

edit: Oh I almost forgot the pictures.... hah
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e327/Nin...tz/IMG_3047.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e327/Nin...tz/IMG_3949.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e327/Nin...tz/IMG_6795.jpg

OKflyboy - very nice idea. That is what I was trying to think of for the longest time. What would I use for the poles though, that wouldn't sag?

Thanks

Metal plumbing pipe was what I was thinking of.

conduit is cheap too... thats what I used

Instead of using heavy metal plumbing pipe (don't know how much it would weigh), you might want to try using aluminum pipe with heavier weights at each end (if you need it).
It's just an idea.

There was a really cool portable screen that worked using fiberglass poles kind of like a tent. I cant seem to locate it though. I am sure Quasi with his ninja search skills can find it. I thought it was a very neat idea.

I couldn't find the post that sdubb was referring to. But, I did come across a display while browsing through the local Home Depot that I thought might make a good portable screen design. I'm not sure how one would adapt it for a larger size, but I snapped a couple pictures, anyway (click images for larger picture).