Curtain and blind guides

Roller Blind Blackout for a Home Cinema, Media Room or Nursery

Why must a media room or nursery be dark in the daytime?

A media room or nursery used for an afternoon film or a nap after lunch faces full daylight, not street lights, so its blinds need blackout fabric and closed edges. Blackout fabric stops light through the cloth, and side channels close the gaps at its edges.

The Malaysian Meteorological Department says On the average, Malaysia receives about 6 hours of sunshine per day (MetMalaysia). For the heat it brings, see our hot room guide.

What does daylight do to a home cinema projector?

Daylight on the screen washes out a projected picture, and an ambient-light-rejecting (ALR) screen solves only part of the problem. The screen maker Elite Screens says ALR screens reject the majority of off-axis lighting from the top, bottom, and side angles, but not light from the projector's direction:

"If a strong light source is hitting the ALR material at roughly the same angle as the projector does, it will wash out the image"

Elite Screens, projector screen maker, ALR screen FAQ

Elite Screens recommends light blocking curtains or blackout shades for such a room. Plan a home cinema's blinds in this order:

1. Start with the windows behind the projector: their light is what an ALR screen cannot reject.
2. Close the edges with a Roller Blind Blackout with Side Guide or a Silent Gliss dim-out system.
3. Decide the fixing. Silent Gliss dim-out systems fit to the ceiling, the wall or inside the recess; settle it at measuring.
4. Choose the colour. The dim-out headbox, side profiles and bottom bar come in white RAL 9016 or black RAL 9005.

Roller Blind Blackout with side channels or a Silent Gliss dim-out system: what is the difference?

A Roller Blind Blackout with Side Guide and a Silent Gliss dim-out system both run the fabric's edges in side channels, which block the sunlight from coming into the room. The Silent Gliss catalogue sets out the dim-out system's parts: an aluminium headbox, side profiles, a bottom hem bar and fabric edges held by a zip. Promolink can say which suits your window at the free measurement.

• Roller Blind Blackout with Side Guide: blackout fabric on a roller, its two edges guided in side channels.
• Silent Gliss Dim-out Blind Systems: Promolink's page says Total room darkening and names A/V rooms and bedrooms among its uses; electric or chain.

The Silent Gliss dim-out catalogue puts the zip in a 40 mm side channel (fabric edges retained by two component zip profile). In that catalogue, dim-out names the system; its fabric is to be chosen from the Silent Gliss fabric range.

Why choose a motorised roller blind for a home cinema or media room?

A motorised roller blind goes down at the press of a button, so a media room darkens without anyone reaching behind the sofa for a chain. Silent Gliss motorised roller blinds feature virtually silent operation, programmable intermediate stops and a built-in safety stop if the movement is interrupted (Promolink, electric roller blinds).

The electric Silent Gliss dim-out systems pair side channels with quiet and fast motors and a soft stop. Where no cable reaches the window, the battery roller blind SG 4955 gives wireless shading at the push of a button within a stylish headbox (Promolink, battery roller blinds). Controls and mains versus battery are compared in our motorised curtains guide.

How dark should a nursery be for daytime naps?

For a child's daytime nap, Victoria's Better Health Channel advises a dark, quiet room; for a newborn still learning night from day, the NHS suggests open curtains by day. Better Health says Make sure the room in which they are having a nap is dark and quiet (Better Health Channel). For newborns, the NHS advises During the day, open curtains and to keep the lights down low at night (NHS).

The NHS also says For at least the first 6 months your baby should be in the same room as you when they're asleep, both day and night, so for those months the blind that matters is in your own bedroom.

In a University of Colorado Boulder study, 36 healthy children aged 3 to 4 each received an hour of light at one of 15 levels, from 5 to 5000 lux, before bedtime. Melatonin was suppressed by between 69.4% and 98.7%. The researchers did not observe a light intensity-dependent melatonin suppression response, and children given the lowest quarter of light levels, 5 to 40 lux, still averaged 77.5% (Hartstein et al., Journal of Pineal Research).

"These findings indicate that preschool-aged children are highly sensitive to light exposure in the hour before bedtime"

Hartstein et al., University of Colorado Boulder, in the Journal of Pineal Research

The study tested evening light, not naps or blinds, but it shows why even dim light matters to a small child. Promolink's motorised roller blinds are remotely controlled with a controller or timer, so the blind can close for a nap without anyone walking in.

Which blackout roller blind is safest in a nursery?

The safest blackout roller blind in a nursery has no cord or chain a child can reach: motorised, battery or spring. Silent Gliss chain dim-out blinds come with a child safety retainer for the chain, fixed at least 150 cm above the floor. Silent Gliss says all its relevant systems correspond to the child safety standard EN 13120.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found 209 reported fatal and near-miss strangulations on window covering cords among children aged 8 and under from January 2009 to December 2021, and 100 of them (48 percent) were fatal (CPSC 2022 rulemaking, Federal Register). In at least 35 incidents with custom window coverings, the child climbed on a couch, chair or other item to reach the cord in 14, and was on a sleeping surface, including a crib, in four: keep the cot and anything climbable away from the window.

CPSC staff observed that most of the window coverings involved in incidents had the permanent warning label, and the CPSC concluded that strangulation deaths among children occur quickly and silently, such that parental supervision is insufficient to address the incidents. Canada's rule is not Malaysian law, but it sets clear limits: since 1 May 2021, a reachable cord with one loose end must not exceed 22 cm when pulled with a force of 35 N, and a loop must not exceed 44 cm around (Corded Window Coverings Regulations).

For a nursery that must be both dark and cord-free, the electric dim-out systems combine side channels with motor operation. Silent Gliss roller blinds come in fabrics from translucent to blackout.

Where can you get a Roller Blind Blackout or Roller Blind motorised in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor?

Promolink Actions Sdn. Bhd. sells the Roller Blind Blackout with Side Guide, Silent Gliss Dim-out Blind Systems and Silent Gliss roller blinds, from an office at PJ MidTown in Petaling Jaya and a showroom in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur. Promolink, which has made curtains since 1998 and describes itself as the sole gateway to Silent Gliss in Malaysia, offers free consultation, measurement and installation, with warranty and after-sales care.

Short answers on each product are on the Promolink FAQ; directions and hours are on the Contact Us page.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia), Climate of Malaysia. https://www.met.gov.my/en/pendidikan/iklim-malaysia/
2. Elite Screens, FAQ: ALR screen with windows behind the projector and a washed-out picture. https://elitescreens.com/es-faqs/i-have-an-ambient-light-rejecting-screen-but-it-does-not-seem-to-work-there-are-windows-behind-my-projector-and-the-picture-is-washed-out-what-can-be-done/
3. Silent Gliss, Technical Catalogue Dim-Out Blind Systems (06/2026), as linked from Promolink's Dim-out Blind Systems page. https://www.promolink.com.my/images/uploads/category/70/pdf/SGGB_DO_EN-GB.pdf
4. Hartstein et al., High sensitivity of melatonin suppression response to evening light in preschool-aged children, Journal of Pineal Research, 2022. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34997782/
5. US Consumer Product Safety Commission, Safety Standard for Operating Cords on Custom Window Coverings (2022 rulemaking), Federal Register, 28 November 2022. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-11-28/html/2022-25041.htm
6. Government of Canada, Corded Window Coverings Regulations (SOR/2019-97). https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2019-97/FullText.html
7. Better Health Channel (Department of Health, State Government of Victoria), Sleep - children and naps. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/HealthyLiving/sleep-children-and-naps
8. NHS, Helping your baby to sleep. https://www.nhs.uk/baby/caring-for-a-newborn/helping-your-baby-to-sleep/
9. Promolink, Dim-out Blind Systems. https://www.promolink.com.my/products/dim-out-blind-systems/
10. Promolink, Roller Blind Blackout with Side Guide. https://www.promolink.com.my/products/roller-blind-blackout-with-side-guide-channel/
11. Promolink, Silent Gliss electric roller blinds. https://www.promolink.com.my/products/electric/
12. Promolink, Silent Gliss battery roller blinds. https://www.promolink.com.my/products/battery/
13. Promolink, Silent Gliss spring roller blind. https://www.promolink.com.my/products/spring/
14. Promolink, Silent Gliss Roller Blind Systems. https://www.promolink.com.my/products/roller-blind-systems-1/