The thinking behind the wall behind the screen being black is that it dialtes your pupipls and makes the image appear brighter. It also gets rid of any overspray as previeously stated by someone else.

My $00.02

Steve

There is an abundance of info on covering the wall of your home theater in fabric available on the web. A few links below will give you a start.

jcmitch

[Link: softwalls.com]

[Link: kineticsnoise.com]

[Link: cainslair.com]

[Link: hgtv.com]

Considering that you are using a RPTV, go with a color that fits your decor. Flat paints will be less reflective. The RPTV should give you plenty of brightness. Take some pictures of the room, then go into a GOOD paint store and get some opinions. They play with colors all day long. Just let them know what the function of the room is. Also, incorporate some fabric as well, this will help your acoustics.

Or check with any ISF guy, they will metion back lighting and colors effecting fianl color on the TV or Projector picture.

Actually, you may want to lighten up the blue to a more blue/gray colour. As Obiwan mentioned the ISF approach is to use a neutral gray, especially on the viewing wall and the other walls with colours close to neutral gray. This neutral gray should be the same colour of gray as the gray scale of a properly calibrated screen.

To make a long story a short one, the reason why you want to do this is to minimize eye strain as an environment that is too dark can cause excessive eye.

Other things you may want to consider is back lighting behind the set. The level of this light should not exceed 10% of the peak white level of the display device.

Hope this helps, however if you're still confused I would suggest contacting a local ISF calibrator.

Cheers