Selecting the right 120 inch screen for dedicated home theater room

[boulderpete]

I am building out a dedicated home theater room. The room will have a single window in the back but with a blackout shade available. The room is being optimized for movie watching. However at times will want to watch sporting events or play video games under mid lighting conditions.

I am seeking help choosing a 120" screen that will be wall mounted. At this time I am not considering placing speakers behind the screen as others have said this requires a more expensive screen and/or can degrade the projected image - unless compensated for via much more expensive projectors.

My current budget is around $8K for both projector and screen. I would rather sacrifice on the projector than the screen since that is easier to replace later. I'd like a screen that could be reasonably assurred of performing well as projector technology advances and drops in price (e.g., 4K.)

I'm also interested in guidance regarding whether I should get a professional installer involved or if this is something your average home builder should be able to handle.

I'm also interested in advice in terms of how to pair the right projector with the selected screen.

Thanks for any help provided, I realize this is a bit of a laundry list

 

[Darkwing_duck]

Heard of Screen Innovations? They have some nifty screens with a neat exlcusive technology that reflects more light back. Yes I know most of them are geared towards bright rooms but they do have specific home theater ones and they look really really really pretty. You should check out the Black Diamond Zero Edge....damn thing looks like a HUGE flatscreen tv. OH and the light reflecting tech in it should enhance the contrast ratio by a whole lot....Ive read that blacks looks absolutely black on the black diamond screens and not grey with ordinary non-black diamond screens. I do believe Stewart Filmscreens manufacturers a screen with similar technology but based on a review I read by hometheater.com the Black Diamond was the preferred screen due to its better blacks and better contrast ratio as a result

 

[BMXTRIX]

The BD screen is very nice, but is completely pointless in a dedicated space. A good projector with a well built screen delivers an extremely high level of quality for a good price. The BD screens are very nice, but tend to suck up light which reduces the punchiness of an image, and while it maintains great contrast, it only needs to if the room was poorly designed. Basically, it's a very good Band-Aid to a poor room design. (I have a love/hate mentality with the screen)

If you are properly designing your theater space, then that means you intend to put in dark carpet, paint the walls dark, and paint the ceiling dark. No white trim, no white anything if you can avoid it. Use flat paint.

For lighting, you want no less than 2-zones of recessed, directional lighting, and possibly many more zones than that. Lighting is very typically, poorly implemented, so plan accordingly, attach photos/drawings, and ask questions before you wire the lighting in. I swear, no electrician seems to have a clue how to properly light a theater.

I think your budget is high.

That is, a mid-level projector like the RS46 from JVC will give you 95%+ of the performance of any projector you can get under $10,000. Mostly due to the incredible black levels it delivers.

For a great screen, I would look at the DaLite JKP Affinity screen. It is designed from the ground up to pair with high resolution home theater projectors with a perfectly neutral tone to not shift the color spectrum or alter contrast ratios significantly.

 

[Darkwing_duck]

The BD screen is very nice, but is completely pointless in a dedicated space. A good projector with a well built screen delivers an extremely high level of quality for a good price. The BD screens are very nice, but tend to suck up light which reduces the punchiness of an image, and while it maintains great contrast, it only needs to if the room was poorly designed. Basically, it's a very good Band-Aid to a poor room design. (I have a love/hate mentality with the screen)

If you are properly designing your theater space, then that means you intend to put in dark carpet, paint the walls dark, and paint the ceiling dark. No white trim, no white anything if you can avoid it. Use flat paint.

For lighting, you want no less than 2-zones of recessed, directional lighting, and possibly many more zones than that. Lighting is very typically, poorly implemented, so plan accordingly, attach photos/drawings, and ask questions before you wire the lighting in. I swear, no electrician seems to have a clue how to properly light a theater.

I think your budget is high.

That is, a mid-level projector like the RS46 from JVC will give you 95%+ of the performance of any projector you can get under $10,000. Mostly due to the incredible black levels it delivers.

For a great screen, I would look at the DaLite JKP Affinity screen. It is designed from the ground up to pair with high resolution home theater projectors with a perfectly neutral tone to not shift the color spectrum or alter contrast ratios significantly.

Um...they're not pointless? Stop being a hater. Also I don't understand why you would agree they have a high contrast ratio but they lack punchiness since they absorb light....???? Anyways since you have a great budget you should look into the Stewart Filmscreen Firehawk screens. Similar to the black diamond but a bit more high end. I don't think that translate into a better picture but it's more widely known. Cheers

 

[BMXTRIX]

The problem we have is that most people don't know why and when to use screens and why to use different shades of screens.

Grey screens are excellent for use in poor rooms, but a dark theater environment actually gets zero improvement from specialized screens and they just suck up money which doesn't need to be spent. Both the Firehawk and the DaLite High Contrast Cinema Vision are cheaper positive gain, grey screens which improve contrast ratios in rooms with uncontrolled ambient light. The Black Diamond and DNP Supernova screens are designed for use in high, uncontrolled, ambient light situations. Specifically, those two black screens were designed for board rooms and commercial installations where ambient light is a huge issue. That's because they maintain incredible contrast ratios despite the horrible conditions of the typical boardroom.

That's a big caveat: They MAINTAIN contrast ratios. They don't improve them, they don't improve the projector, they don't improve the room.

So, in a room which doesn't need help from a screen, a standard grey screen does little, a pricey (very pricey) Stewart Screen adds nothing, and the comparable, but far less expensive DaLite HCCV screen performs similarly. The key is that the room itself doesn't cause deficiencies in the image, and proper lighting maintains that incredible image on screen, so the best screen is one which doesn't screw around with the image, but preserves it in the best way possible.

Most people still jump to expensive screens as a solution, without first determining if there is a problem. You almost never try to pair a screen with a projector. That's silly. You pair a screen with the room. You buy a screen to match the room and the viewing requirements, not a screen which goes with a projector. If the room is good, then the screen doesn't need to correct the room, the screen only delivers the image as perfectly as possible.

The worse the room is, the more screens like the Firehawk and Black Diamond become important. But, the best image in a poorly lit room on a great screen will look worse than what the JKP Affinity screen and the same projector will look like in a great room.
Room>Screen>Projector

Want to make a $2,000 screen/projector setup look better than a $10,000 screen/projector setup? Buy $50 in paint.

 

[Darkwing_duck]

LOL you gave me a -1 rating and said I was trolling? Wow...whatever. Listen OP, a Black Diamond screen is actually a preferable screen for dark viewing environments because it reduces screen reflectance in the room a whole compared to a regular screen. Reducing light pollution in a dedicated theatre is a very important obstacle to overcome in designing your room. Here is an example of the black diamond showing how effective it is with removing unwanted light reflection http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GIPZbo1AhpY&desktop_uri=/watch?v=GIPZbo1AhpY.

See what I am talking about? Black diamond screens are actually preferable to dark rooms instead of regular screens.

 

[BMXTRIX]

The example shown is presented in a white room instead of a properly light controlled room. Since I emphasized that a properly light controlled room is an integral part of a proper home theater setup, and said that $50 in paint trumps $3,000+ worth of screen, I think that going back to recommend $3,000 in screen over starting with a proper room is misleading.

The video certainly does show how a poorly treated room does have improvement with the BD screen, but it doesn't show the projector in use which appears to be very bright for the screen size. It also doesn't show an improvement in perceived contrast which is supposed to be one of the main purposes of that type of screen. Likewise, it doesn't show dark material being presented on that screen to see how that is maintained with a projector with normal home theater light output levels - typically closer to 900 lumens or so.

Final note: If I ever give negative feedback I will sign my name to it so you know where it came from. I am happy to have people disagree with me, and I've certainly been 'schooled' on things and have picked things up along the way, but I know these screens pretty well. I have a 2'x2' sample sitting on my desk at the office. I've recommended these screens, and I like these screens, but I don't think a good home theater is the spot for them. The JKP Affinity screen is about the best screen to pair up with a really good theater to deliver.

Now, if this was an open rec-room area, without good light control, and they still wanted the best possible image and had the budget for it, then the BD screen may be perfect. But, it would still be recommended to pair with a brighter projector to help deal with the ambient light issues.

 

[panteragstk]

I got pretty fantastic results with a cheap projector and a self built screen. I wanted an acoustically transparent screen so the options for purchasing were either expensive or terrible. I actually built one out of spandex (yep). The material used was high quality and looks fantastic in my room. I know most aren't up for the DIY route, but if you don't want an AT screen you can get extremely high quality with a good paint formula. HTguide and AVS both have sections about paint formulas. Look in to it. Cheap solution so if it doesn't work out you can always just purchase a screen.

 

[Darkwing_duck]

The example shown is presented in a white room instead of a properly light controlled room. Since I emphasized that a properly light controlled room is an integral part of a proper home theater setup, and said that $50 in paint trumps $3,000+ worth of screen, I think that going back to recommend $3,000 in screen over starting with a proper room is misleading.

The video certainly does show how a poorly treated room does have improvement with the BD screen, but it doesn't show the projector in use which appears to be very bright for the screen size. It also doesn't show an improvement in perceived contrast which is supposed to be one of the main purposes of that type of screen. Likewise, it doesn't show dark material being presented on that screen to see how that is maintained with a projector with normal home theater light output levels - typically closer to 900 lumens or so.

Final note: If I ever give negative feedback I will sign my name to it so you know where it came from. I am happy to have people disagree with me, and I've certainly been 'schooled' on things and have picked things up along the way, but I know these screens pretty well. I have a 2'x2' sample sitting on my desk at the office. I've recommended these screens, and I like these screens, but I don't think a good home theater is the spot for them. The JKP Affinity screen is about the best screen to pair up with a really good theater to deliver.

Now, if this was an open rec-room area, without good light control, and they still wanted the best possible image and had the budget for it, then the BD screen may be perfect. But, it would still be recommended to pair with a brighter projector to help deal with the ambient light issues.

It doesnt matter what type of you room you have. Treated or not, dark walls or white walls, you will still have light spray from the screen. My point is a Black Diamond or other screen with similar tech in it will drastically reduce that problem. And to make my point, if you have a light treated room with dark walls, having a black diamond screen will only enhance the viewing pleasure. This isnt something i am making up. Its right there in the video. Although whatever screen you are recommending may be great it will still scatter light which isnt good. But i am sure it isnt as bad as I may be un-intentionally making it. But if a product exists that can eliminate this problem why not use it? Thats all....hopefully the OP will consider our recommendations and its not like im sitting at work with a black diamond screen sample at my desk....I have no motive behind my opinion other than to help make an informed decision....