CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

garou81 · Joined: 25 Jan 2023 Posts: 10 Location: Norther California

Hey guys just got a projector now Where can I go to get a fixed 4:3 screen approx 70-80 inches that's not 1000.00.
Does anyone sell a frame kit?

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12088 Location: Fort Collins, CO

How big? You can get a 4x8' sheet (or possibly 5x8') of Wilsonart laminate, color Designer White D354-60. It makes a near-perfect 1.3x gain DIY screen, it's cheap, and it's pretty much indestructible. The gain is great for CRTs, but you might notice a tiny bit of hotspotting with bright digital projectors. I use it with a 1300 lumen JVC RS-45 and it looks great.

http://www.curtpalme.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=121397

**kal** · Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:30 pm Post subject:

Mine's homemade as well. Built it many years ago (around 2000) as a stop-gap before I bought a "professional" Stewart screen (they were the big name back then), but performance on the DIY was so good that I've never wanted to change it out. See: http://www.curtpalme.com/Building_a_Screen1.shtm

It's painted per the instructions above and I wrapped the edges with velveteen.

I've used it with the following projectors:

Barco Graphics 800 (1080i60) - CRT
NEC XG 75 (1080i60) - CRT
Barco Cine 8 Onyx / Zenith 1200 (1080i60) - CRT
JVC RS56 (1080p60) - Digital bulb
JVC NZ7 (4K60) - Digital laser

Looks fantastic, wide viewing angle, never any issues calibrating colours.

A pic:

More pics here when it was installed at our previous house: http://www.curtpalme.com/forum/album_personal.php?user_id=3

Kal

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12088 Location: Fort Collins, CO

Yeah I made my first screen out of blackout cloth too. Didn't paint it though, I just went with the 1.0 gain of the cloth. So @garou81 (are you a OPM fan?? Very Happy

) if you want 1.0 gain, a blackout cloth screen is cheap and simple. If you want 1.3 gain, I'd go with the Wilsonart.

garou81 · Joined: 25 Jan 2023 Posts: 10 Location: Norther California

yeah I'm studying up on the wilsonart material. I can make my own frame easy enough I just dread cutting stapling the material. I cant cut or draw a straight line to save my life. I know I need a high gain screen so the 1.3 wilsonart will be perfect but what about alr screen material?

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12088 Location: Fort Collins, CO

alr? Ambient light rejecting? The only ones I see are just low-gain gray screens, with gain of 0.85 or so, unless you get into the $500++ range. And I think most of those are intended for use with extreme short-throw projectors, the ones that sit maybe a foot in front of the bottom of the screen.

**kal** · Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 7:48 pm Post subject:

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2023 7:13 am Post subject:

If you want ludicrous gain look for a 13-15 gain silver screen. Usually fiberglass. Expensive to ship though. I liked mine. Especially for gaming.

My regular screen was a Stewart Studiotek 1.3 gain 4:3, 110"
I used that for a dozen years or so. Nice screen and you could see the difference as compared to the white wall.

I also played with Wilsonart back in the day. I ordered some and was quoted $115 then the store informed me it was
going to be $430 so I said No thanks.

I paid $600 ish for the Stewart from a forum member back in 2008 or so.

**kal** · Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2023 1:12 pm Post subject:

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12088 Location: Fort Collins, CO

Yeah that's not a screen, that's a freakin' mirror! You'd have to curve it. Compound curve as Kal says -- not just a left-to-right curve, but a L-R and top-bottom curve making it like a dish. Then you'd have to sit in exactly the right spot, at the focal point of the screen. Sit a few feet to the side and your brightness will drop off drastically.

jp25 · Joined: 26 Apr 2025 Posts: 10 Location: Toronto, Canada

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2025 6:20 am Post subject:

My 100" was a Sony from the 1980's. Used it with the PS2. It was a concave screen, rigid, made of fibreglass with an aluminum layer sprayed on. NEVER TOUCH THE PROJECTION SURFACE. it doesn't end well. lol

I had two smaller screens made in Florida but I cant remember the manufacture.

search for HighGain projection screen

https://mocomscreens.com/download/specification/#mega

These guys still make a 7 gain screen ^

jp25 · Joined: 26 Apr 2025 Posts: 10 Location: Toronto, Canada

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12088 Location: Fort Collins, CO

Trust me, you don't want an 18-gain screen. Even the 7 is going to be almost unusable. With gain that high, the screen is almost a mirror. Unless you have absolutely perfect parabolic shape on the mirror, you will have unwatchable hot spots. And if you have the perfect shape, you will have to practically clamp your head in place. Move your head more than an inch or two off the perfect spot, and the brightness will drop off dramatically. AR liked his 7-gain screens, but be aware of the limitations.

**kal** · Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2025 1:48 pm Post subject:

Yep.

They have a video about this 18 gain screen here that kinda misses the point in many ways and makes many illogical statements:
https://mocomscreens.com/products/alr-projection-screen-solstice/#lBl7gye3pNlz

Trying to push their high grain the first question they ask in the video is: "Why do people think projection screens are for dark places?".
Well, the answer is because it's impossible to do the colour black unless the room is dark. Turn off the projector and look at the screen (any screen including theirs) in that brightly lit room. That's your black. Not great is it? You can't "fake" black by simply increasing the contrast ratio through gain.

IMHO if you must have a bright viewing area and want the best image quality, get a direct view display (TV) with a non-glossy surface. That TV will actually look black.

There's a reason why HT enthusiasts today won't use really high gain screens where image quality is paramount.

Kal