CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

schmoe · Joined: 30 Mar 2008 Posts: 374 Location: Seattle, WA

Analysis paralysis is setting in... HELP!

Not sure if I can trust what I'm reading on AVS - everyone there is a digital junkie. Over here people are ga ga for wilsonart, but I need electric/retractable.

I will have ambient light issues (see pic here), so high gain seems attractive, but y'all have me worried about hot spots.

My pj will be a couple feet above my head, so I believe that means I should go for angular reflective.

I have a 9500LC Ultra, about 12-13 ft. throw and I'm hoping to get a screen somewhere in the 87" - 96" width range.

With that in mind, what's a good screen for me? I was thinking maybe Draper M1300 but am not sure (can't even tell if it's angular or retro). So many options!

Also, are the insanely expensive brands (e.g. stewart) worth the price difference? For example, the M1300 is about 4 times more than an Elite screen I can get from Costco. Is there really that much of a difference??

Mark_A_W · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:28 am Post subject:

Just make one.

Blockout cloth, white gesso, simple masking system from felt. Done for $150.

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

Save moeny and go with a retractable DaLite 1.3 gain screen, the hard part is where you are going to mount it and figure out the screen size. what you need to do it just get a big whit sheet, set the PJ up to where you are going to mount it and see how big a screen you will end up with at that location. i say from 12 feet TD it might be 10-11 feet wide My 12 foot screen with an 8500 is 165 inches TD. The worst thing for you is its under a loft where you really dont have the option to move the PJ forward if you need to.

Id make sure you do a floor test set up first right below your planed top mount location.

Athanasios

schmoe · Joined: 30 Mar 2008 Posts: 374 Location: Seattle, WA

Mark: I need retractable, so I don't think your suggestion works.

Athanasios: I've done exactly what you've suggested with the temporary sheet/screen and setting the pj on the floor roughly in the same spot where it will be hung. I get a 99" inch screen, but it exposes the burn area from the used tubes, so I need to bring it in a couple inches. That's why I was thinking a 96" screen. It's not maximizing phosphor but I don't have much choice.

Thanks for the help.

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

You get the 100 Inch screen then just get some velvet for now and make it smaller, then if you re tube you can max out ratser and go bigger with out having to buy a new screen. the only hard part is not getting anything onto the screen material that will show up when you mask it for a smaller screen. You could use a very small needle and sew it a few spots to hold the velvet inplace, then remove it later when you go bigger. the small pin holes shouldn't show up , you could go every 12 inches.

Athanasios

Zebu Fellenz · Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 2567

I would e-mail Da-lite and ask them to send you the screen sample packet, also try other companies and see what samples you can come up with. I did this and after testing many types of material I ended up with a 96" wide Da-lite High Power screen in a Model C pulldown housing. It is an excellent screen if your projection angle is low. You may want to look at the Da-lite 1.3 and 1.5 gain materials. As for a casing I would go for the Model C if you want a manual screen, it is head and shoulders above the Model B.

schmoe · Joined: 30 Mar 2008 Posts: 374 Location: Seattle, WA

Athanasios: interesting idea, but will it work for a retractable screen?

Zebu: I had the same idea on Sunday. I've got samples coming in from Stewart, Da-Lite and Draper - 14 samples total. Elite and Vutec have not returned my mails (oh well, no business for them). What do you consider a "low projection angle"?

Btw, I've read a lot about angular- vs. retro-reflective, but none of the manufacturers say what their screens are. Is there a way to tell?

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:18 pm Post subject:

Retro reflective bounces light back to the source at whatever angle it hits the screen ( think street signs and their reflective paint )

Angular allows the light to exit at the oposite angle it comes in at. Like bouncing a flashlight off a shiney surface and having the beam reflect out at the same angle it came in at.

schmoe · Joined: 30 Mar 2008 Posts: 374 Location: Seattle, WA

I know what the differences are - I'm asking how do I tell if screen X is angular- or retro-? This info doesn't seem to be listed in any spec sheets I've seen.

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 6:22 pm Post subject:

Ahhh gotcha. Guess you'll know when the samples arrive. It's odd they don't list it in the specs isn't it?

Bruce 09 · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:32 pm Post subject:

schmoe · Joined: 30 Mar 2008 Posts: 374 Location: Seattle, WA

Thanks for the tips, Bruce. That screen for sale you liked to is only 92" wide so it fits within my parameters, and I shouldn't have to move the projector back (though it does have room to move back a few inches). Where my temporary sheet/screen is now is about 1.5' away from the wall, hanging from the ceiling by good ol' thumb tacks. Smile

Unfortunately, any used screen probably won't work as I'll need a custom length of black leader above the screen to make up for the height of the vaulted ceiling - not too many of those around on the used market. The alternative, hanging the screen case very low off the cieling has anti-WAF. She wants me to mount it directly to the ceiling and then build some kind of nice enclosure (like a valence) to hide it a bit.

Bruce 09 · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:42 pm Post subject:

schmoe · Joined: 30 Mar 2008 Posts: 374 Location: Seattle, WA

Hey Bruce, are you getting a kick back from the sale of that screen? Perhaps you are the seller? Wink

j/k

I think maybe I don't understand what you mean by valence. Is there a pic you can point me to?

Yeah, since my options are fairly limited, my plan was pretty much what you said: mount the pj as close to the edge of the walkway as possible, and then figure out the proper mounting location for my screen that gets me the desired screen size.

Anyway, this is getting slightly OT (not that I'm complaining - I appreciate the help) as I mostly just wanted some experienced recommendations on screen materials and an understanding of whether or not there's a substantial difference between, say, a $500 Elite and a $3k Stewart that justifies the price difference.

Bruce 09 · Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:55 am Post subject:

schmoe · Joined: 30 Mar 2008 Posts: 374 Location: Seattle, WA

Right now I have a big chunk of BOC hanging from the ceiling that I was using to do a rough setup of the pj, which I know many say is a decent and cheap way to go for a real screen, so I was assuming that makes for a decent backdrop for comparison.

Bruce 09 · Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:55 am Post subject:

WTS · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 1276 Location: Calgary

I've recommended Hurlay screens before and I'll say it again. Check them out, if you think a Stewart is good then try a Hurley.

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

Walt, Do they make a retractable screen?

WTS · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 1276 Location: Calgary

Hmm, that I don't know.