Projector Screens

[chiwen228]

hi everyone,

i am getting a Panasonic HD LCD Projector PT-AE900U,
but the thing is... i don't know what kind of screen is the ideal for me,
does anyone can recommond me the decent one with 16:9 aspect ratio,
and it has to be wall screen. your respond would be very useful.
thank you
Charlie

 

[brian32672]

What is your budget? How much light is in the room?
Have you read up on gain levels?
Have you looked here - http://www.projectorcentral.com/mfg.cfm
That link will have a good portion of the screen manufactures.

 

[westcott]

I found the Carada Criterion in Brilliant White to be the ideal screen for my AE700u.

The price was much better than the competitors, as well.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Screen size should be about .66 times your primary seating distance in width.

There are a ton of screen manufacturers as listed above, but I would have Carada and Severtson on my short list. Carada is around 800 bucks for a screen shipped to your door which is better than most of the competition for sure.

 

[mtrycrafts]

hi everyone,

i am getting a Panasonic HD LCD Projector PT-AE900U,
but the thing is... i don't know what kind of screen is the ideal for me,
does anyone can recommond me the decent one with 16:9 aspect ratio,
and it has to be wall screen. your respond would be very useful.
thank you
Charlie

I would recommend a 1.85 aspect ration on a screen, unless you will view TV mostly. Most movies are 1.85 and above to 2.35 and some higher. This way, you will have a full picture on the screen with 1.85 and a bit of black bars on the higher ones. If you watch TV occasionally on it, you would loose little in wide screen presented programs

 

[majorloser]

I have a 100" Stewart Luxus Deluxe Screenwall with Firehawk material. I love it! I was easy to assemble and fairly easy to hang (with help). Not cheap though.

Granted you won't need the 1.25 gain of the Firehawk with a LCD projector. I might go with the Greyhawk 0.92 gain for that projector.

http://www.stewartfilmscreen.com/index.htm

 

[BMXTRIX]

I would recommend a 1.85 aspect ration on a screen...

Gotta disagree entirely on this.

The screen should always match the native resolution of the projector unless there are lenses and processing that is being involved to convert to an anamorphic display.

16:9 projectors are 1.78:1 - This is the same format the HDTV is and the format HD shows will be available on with HD discs. Add to that, 1.85 movies are typically about 5% overscanned (or less) by the projector so you still get 100% fill from the 1.85 material on a 16:9 (1.78:1) screen.

You only should go 2.35 if you have a good anamorphic setup with a anamorphic lens and video processing that will fill the 16:9 panels with full 2.35 material. This is costly, and IMO a pain to deal with.

 

[awesomebase]

DIY an option?

I gotta chime in on this. I've read great things about Carada, but also saw that it was basically lambasted on a comparison review with Da Lite and others. My question really deals with whether it is worth spending that kind of money or if it is just better to DIY. If so, what kind of vinyl or other material would be required?

 

[BMXTRIX]

Meh... DIY is about the only way I would go unless I seriously was a paint or tool phobe or had special needs. Of course, I have special needs (short bus) and so I got a tab-tensioned motorized screen. But, should I build a basement theater, I would build a screen myself using blackout cloth.

There is great DIY info on screen building at www.avsforum.com in the screens sub-forum 'DIY Screens'.

I did build a screen myself and it compared easily as well as my $2K+ Draper screen. If I really didn't feel like making a screen, I would be looking at Carada and Severtson - no question in my mind at all about that.

 

[awesomebase]

Thanks!

Great! I signed up for AVS Forums there and got some great info about DIY screens. I've wanted to do a "floating frame" design. It will be a few months before I can get to that, but I'll be sure to take pics and post them when I'm done. I appreciate the info!

 

[majorloser]

Meh... DIY is about the only way I would go unless I seriously was a paint or tool phobe or had special needs.

I'm definitely not a tool phobe but the alluminum frame and construction of my Stewart is way beyond the average DIY'er. There may be cheaper and there may be screens of equal quality but in my case think I got my moneys worth. The screen material is very thick, the CNC'd frame with black felt cover is very heavy gauge alluminum and the "snap" material attachment system is great. Haven't had experience with their retractable screens. I just know they ain't cheap.

 

[BMXTRIX]

I'm definitely not a tool phobe but the alluminum frame and construction of my Stewart is way beyond the average DIY'er. There may be cheaper and there may be screens of equal quality but in my case think I got my moneys worth. The screen material is very thick, the CNC'd frame with black felt cover is very heavy gauge alluminum and the "snap" material attachment system is great. Haven't had experience with their retractable screens. I just know they ain't cheap.

Yeah, I know about them - I've assembled a few in my (short) time in the business. I just added my setup to the 'MEMBER SYSTEMS' section, so you can have a look. I do have a special need in my family room so I have a tab-tensioned motorized screen. Not inexpensive there either.

But, since I had the chance to build a screen and it was going into a permanent location, I did it and was able to compare it to my screen. The actual QUALITY of the image was what I was comparing... and the DIY model was easily as good as the expensive pre-fab version.

So, a nice, well built, aluminum frame, w/snap on screen. Now, how many times do you need to unsnap it and take the screen frame apart? I know, it is possible to do that, but if you never take it apart, and can build one that LOOKS just as good for 1/10th the cost.... or compared to a Carada - about 1/4th the cost.

It would be nifty to have a DIY vs. pre-fab screen shoot out. Unfortunately, that may not be something screen manufacturers ever want.

 

[Paisaab]

I have the same projector- Panny 900U witha 110" Da-lite hi contrast screen- very good combo.

 

[jhawkins]

Steawart Screen Problem

Hello I understand your problem I have seen the higest quailty screen and it is easy to assemble. My friend purchased a Screen from iamaloser.com and he thought he was purchasing the Stewart version of the grayhawk material but to our surprise it was a compleatly different product it has a better image and the frame was the best quality and was a snap to put togeather. It uses springs on the back to tension the screen material and there are only four brackets (one for each corner) it was so amazing that we are burchasing their theater seating for our theater room. If you want any more information go to the website and it lets you download their prodcuct brochures and the great thing it was half the price of any other screen we looked at.

Thanks

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