HT Screen Choice

mufsoman

Help me choose a screen for a front projection set up. This would be a fixed frame screen to be used with an Epson 6010 which is 2400 lumens, 200,000:1 contrast. The theater environment is light controlled for movies, but ambient light for sat TV and games. Distance to front row is 117", back row is approx. 189".

Screen size will be 92" - 82". Larger is better, but still concerned about the front row being too close with 92".

What color do I want? Cinema white, brilliant white or high contrast gray?

What gain should I target?

I would like to keep the cost to approx. $500.

Choices are:

Carada Criterion
Elite EZ Frame
Da-Lite
Dragonfly
Visual Apex
Other?

Serendipity

It really depends on what you are mainly using the projector for. I have a Da-Lite Model C w/CSR in the High Power white fabric, and it looks great on a 100" size with the Epson 1080 UB. However, someone who would prefer more contrast may go with a Stewart grey screen or other high-contrast material.

From my experience, the Carada screens are good... However, they have a strange way of rating gain vs. other manufacturers. The higher gains aren't really "high-gain" screens per se, they just have a color temperature shift to produce more whites in the image.

That being said, I personally would recommend a Stewart high-contrast screen for best PQ and a Da-Lite white screen (High Power, or Video Spectra) for a brighter image. If you enjoy football games, HD shows, Xbox 360, etc. I would go with a Da-Lite High Power screen.

PSOVLSK

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014UTNNK/ref=wms_ohs_product

Had one in my old house and bought another when I moved without even considering anything else.

IMO, this 110" screen will be fine in your room, but they have the same screen in a smaller size I think. My seating is about 10' from the screen.

Sherardp

With that projector you don't need a grey screen. As Seren mentioned a white screen would be ideal.That Da-lite is a great screen but I'm not so sure about off axis viewing. I use the Carada Criterion and it is an all around great screen. The 1.4 gain is supposedly around 1.2-1.3 based on some testing and reviews. Elite screens are really nice, Grimster uses one paired up with the JVC HD1 and it provides a very nice image as well. I think it comes down to what you want to spend. I would vote Carada, Elite or the Da-lite, not necessarily in that order. All 3 are great screens, the Da-lite if your not in a dedicated room and have ambient light will def shine there. That projector is plenty bright so no other reason for a hi-gain screen.

leroyjr1

Why get a 80" screen when you got a 80" LCD?

mufsoman

Leroy - although the picture quality isn't bad with the Sharp 80", I'm not real happy with all the motion blurring. The judder is irritating with all the sports we watch. 80" fits well with maintaining the center position of the screen in the room. Any larger and the symmetry starts to suffer and my OCD starts to kick in. 92" inch is the biggest screen size I can fit on the wall, but I will need to chop up the sump pump closet in the corner. Nothing is ever easy. So I'm evaluating the options. I'm also rethinking the 3D thing. I'm not that big about it, but ....

Sherardp

I would say max it out bro. 80 inches on the projector is just not worth it. 92 -96 is plenty big. When you start talking 100-150 inches, wow factor kicks in.

PSOVLSK

mufsoman wrote: »

92" inch is the biggest screen size I can fit on the wall, .

You may well know this, but a 92" screen isn't 92" across. The 106" screen I linked is about 92" x 52".

Serendipity

Sherardp wrote: »

With that projector you don't need a grey screen. As Seren mentioned a white screen would be ideal.That Da-lite is a great screen but I'm not so sure about off axis viewing.

True. Since I have the seating right in the center the picture is great. However, move to the sides of the room and it looks like a laptop being viewed from an angle (best way I can explain it). The off-axis viewing of this screen reminds me of an LCD tilted away from the viewer.

mufsoman

I've seen some screens that are now labeled as 3D screens. Is it really necessary to have a 3D screen? What's the benefit/any?

pdxfj

I believe the new Da-Lite High Power 2.4 screens have a wider viewing angle than the previous 2.8 gain screen. Which helps with projector placement and of course better off axis viewing.

To quote one member over at AVS who setup a Sony HW30AES projector with the 2.4 High Power screen "It looks like a giant plasma TV on the wall".

If you're wanting to go 3D and get the best "wow" factor get the High Power screen. You're losing at least 50% of your light when you put the glasses on.

Here's a thread on the Sony projector I mentioned. It's a bit of a long read, but "Zombie10k" has contributed a wealth of first hand experience and knowledge. You'll learn a lot about projectors and screens by reading though it. It's truly amazing how much work he's put into testing projectors side by side.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1353988

evhudsons

I'm using a 150" Elite pulldown screen with 1 gain I purchased online that was under $200 including delivery. Be careful when buying online, sometimes the delivery charged is as much as the screen, and some places that say free delivery won't deliver without a charge when they see how long the screen is.

For your room the high gain screen might be best as I assume all viewers will be almost directly in front of it. In my case I have a larger room even going to outside on a deck that is usable as a viewing spot so 1 gain is as much as I can have without hotspot or angle viewing issues. The brighter the bounce back to you the narrower the viewing angle, in general anyway. My screen is white which is fine, but at that many lumens you may have some black levels washed out. I would stick with white, you can always turn down your lumens to get a good black level. I also recommend getting a calibration dvd or bluray, it will help a lot.

My projector has 5 different setting saves, so if yours does too it will be easy to adjust for each lighting condition.

I have an older dlp and am just now starting to think about upgrading so I can do 3d. But right now everything is so new I'm going to wait just a bit.

Here's a link to where I got my screen:

http://www.gpscheap.com/search.aspx?SearchTerm=projector+screen

Budget was my main concern then, and I got a great price delivered for such a big item, and had no problem with them. I have no idea why they even have them in stock. Maybe they took over a store space that was an audio/video store at one point and are getting rid of their overstock.

polkfarmboy

3D screens keep the polarization for doing 3d movies and you wont need it if your not doing 3d. I scored a favi screen in 92 inch for $95 shipped on amazon. It has a nice gain and respectable color so I am very happy with my purchase as it looks as if cost way more than my other screen. There is a really nice 3 1/2 inch thick velvet border thats aluminum framing. I highly recommend it as an alternative to a pulldown because its tensioned from waving when the camera pans across a scene


You can put the savings towards the audio goodies? Think what you can buy with the $400 because a $500 screen is just going to make you go bigger in size down the road just like audio gear you will always want more

This is the favi screen here below and its turned my small bedroom that was used for storage into theater number 2. I can watch all my Asian movies from netflix that the wife dont like or shout profanities at people during online gaming session in privacy

evhudsons

http://www.elitescreens.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=45&lang=en

One cool thing about either electric or manual pull down is that you can have art displayed when not watching movies, and then you can pull the screen down when you want to, or in case someone slams into your wall pulling everything down with it while they are looking for the closet in the dark.

Here's a screen that looks pretty cool for a fixed screen:

http://www.elitescreens.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=486&catid=12&Itemid=20&lang=en

polkfarmboy

evhudsons wrote: »

Here's a screen that looks pretty cool for a fixed screen:

http://www.elitescreens.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=486&catid=12&Itemid=20&lang=en

This is a curved 235 screen for counteracting the different distances the light has to travel when output from an external panamorphic lens

Again the only way to go pulldown electric or manual is to have a tensioning system in place and this gets super expensive for such a screen. You will eventually get waves and this is a big waste of hard earned cash when it happens. In home theater your best investments made are in good speakers and amp and the second is a good screen as everything else comes and going or changes with the times

Sherardp

A good screen is just as important as all other gear Polkfarmboy. I wouldn't skimp out on a good screen to save cash. Your screen looks pretty decent, but in the end it sort of comes down to performance. Not every screen is equal in performance, so take this into consideration when purchasing. Some of the highly regarded names have been doing it for yrs, with a few new ones out there that have a high level of respect. If your using an Epson 6010, then you will want a screen that can perform. With your budget I would at least go with the Elite, Seymour AV or Carada Criterion which compares along the lines of Stewart Studiotek screens.