CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

nettwerkjohn · Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 8:10 pm Post subject: Vutec Silverstar

Anyone use this? Its a high gain (6) with no hot-spotting apparently...

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12026 Location: Fort Collins, CO

No way. From what I've heard SS is a very good screen surface, but a flat screen with gain higher than about 1.5 or 2 WILL hotspot and/or limit its prime viewing angle. Higher gain will hotspot more noticeably. That's just the way the optics work.

If SS does indeed have a gain of 6.0, it will hotspot very noticeably with a flat screen. Might make an awesome torus, except it's a rigidly-mounted material. Besides I'd say it's overkill. A gain of 3.0 is plenty for a torus.

See the review of SilverStar at ProjectorCentral.com. They said lots of good things about it, but their final statement tells the tale: "It is not in our view an appropriate choice for the typical home theater."

nettwerkjohn · Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 7:59 pm Post subject:

well, i got the silverstar. turned up with a manufacting fault (raised bump, about 5 pixels wide and 4 pixels high).

very visible in some circumstances, invisible in most.

nettwerkjohn · Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 8:05 pm Post subject:

pix

Spanky Ham · Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 5643 Location: Comedy Central

John,
I am not sure if there is any way to get rid of that bump. You might be able to heat it gently with a hair dryer and maybe take a rolling pin to it.

Gary,
Yes, it should hot spot and probably will, but I think the matte surface might help it a little. I know Tinman has one and loves it. I have noticed that there are a lot of people that put up with high gloss hot spotting screens and say there is nothing wrong with them. One guy over at AVS just said that his old Parkland was more vibrant or whatever than his Wilsonart DW. Wilsonart can be a crapshoot anyway regarding gloss, but this guy must be shooting some real gain with his Parkland. He said he prefers it. A friend in Miami shoots his crappy LCD pj onto a high gloss wall and says it looks good. I guess for some people it is just a matter of how big the image is not how good it is.

nettwerkjohn · Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 11:45 pm Post subject:

looks like a piece of something underneath the surface layer.

our local vutec agent have been very accomodating though.

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12026 Location: Fort Collins, CO

So in the meantime have you been using it? What's the verdict?

Your Ruby has 800 ANSI lumens -- that's about 3x what any CRT delivers. I'm surprise you need/want that much gain. How big is it?

draganm · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 8990 Location: Colorado

In that picture the hot-spotting looks pretty severe

nettwerkjohn · Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2009 8:45 pm Post subject:

it does'nt hot spot. there is no visible color shift either, unless you're at aan extreme angle.

the spot is apparent on certain scenes, mostly invisible until it SCREAMS on just the right material.

apart from that, the screen is WAY nicer than a dalite 1.5 gain. smooth, better contrast, way brighter whites.

i'm now running the ruby with its iris closed all the time, still getting a very bright punchy image, but with better contrast than before, and without the action of the iris (which i've only ever noticed once before, during the opening of "o brother, where art thou")

screen is only 7' wide, room wouldn't allow anything bigger.

nettwerkjohn · Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2009 8:48 pm Post subject:

don't know what it'll be like with crt, i gave away my other ECP earlier in the year, so no CRT in the house anymore to compare...

greg_mitch · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 5321

Spanky Ham · Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 5643 Location: Comedy Central

VideoGrabber · Joined: 09 Apr 2006 Posts: 933 Location: Michigan

> looks like a piece of something underneath the surface layer. <

I agree. And unless the substrate (backing material) is soft enough that you could push the particle back into it, you'll likely make it worse. Even if you manage to flatten part of the bump, that will leave the smaller spot with a more obvious edge.

> our local vutec agent have been very accomodating though. <

That's good to hear. This is obviously a manufacturing defect (unless someone rammed a sharp object into the back), and for what these cost they should certainly take care of it to your satisfaction. Gain materials emphasize any defects in the surface.

P.S. Also, while the gain is rated at 6, a review of these over at the A-Forum years ago indicated it was closer to 3+. It's a well-regarded screen.