Projection Screens 101?
 

My brain hurts.

So, I was pretty set on the Sony VPL-VW285ES (perhaps considering the sister 385 with the automatic iris for the contrast enhancement) until I started poking around with some different calculators. I have mas-o-menos 21 feet of throw in the roughly 15'x24' room and without making a mess of where the projector can be mounted or leveraging screen gain, the otherwise-incredibly-sexy Sony 4K offerings under $10k are suggested to be not quite bright enough.

I see the new JVC offerings are pretty stellar performers in contrast and brightness in exchange for eShift5 up-sampling versus Sony's native 4K/UHD.

Can someone point me to a reasonable resource to learn about screen material differences and gain selection? Stewart seems to be at the epicenter of this technology with an incredible reputation and history, but when I attempt to decipher their fixed home cinema screen material options, I end up with more questions than I brought to the site.

This would be fixed frame, wall mounted, non-retractable, probably not auto-masking ($)... is Cima FF (Neve) what I should be looking at?

Any advice here would be sincerely appreciated...
/c

Projection Screens 101?
 

Have you looked at avsforum dot com?
They have a thread dedicated to that Sony Projector.
Also projectorCentral dot com has a great projector/screen calculator.
I have owned Sony and JVC projectors. Currently I own a JVC projector with eshift. However the technology is continually changing.

Projection Screens 101?
 

About screens: while Stewart has great screens (I own one), they are not the cheapest. Since you are looking for a fixed screen, You should be able to get a good screen for much less money since you are not paying for any mechanics.
Again, check out the Avs forums they have sections about screens.

Thanks nicoff... The AVS Forum was actually where I got some competitive data on the new JVC DLA-RS640U against the Sony VPL-VW385ES. I am just not sure about the eShift5 tech versus native 4K at the same price-point. There are some trade-offs in each camp.

I honestly know nothing about projection screens. Stewart is known by reputation and at least I know that the quality/value is there... I am really searching for information here regarding making a smart screen choice. I know I'm a newb over here at AA, but I know several members and I trust the information I get here more than anywhere else online. I'll keep digging! :)

Thanks,
Clayton

Clayton... we’ll talk on the phone soon. ;)

Got it!
My first screen was a DaLite. Inexpensive compared to the Stewart I have now but worked very well for me.
Looks like you are going to be spending big bucks for a projector so you might as well pick wisely on the screen material.
You will not be spending on the screen mechanism. So only the screen *material* is your concern. Try to find a good match for material based on the projector, room ambient light, and seating position.

MasterLu to the rescue! There should be AA shirts with that printed up on them... just sayin' ;)


Yeah, when it comes to the screen, I don't really feel the tug of brand allegiance, but there seems to be this magic triangle of projector brightness, throw distance, and screen size/gain that is difficult for me to navigate. My screen choice is really going to be more about decoding that than it is price... well, I mean, price is definitely a factor because a dollar saved here can be redirected to a dollar spend more wisely somewhere else in this project, but I kinda stepped out of the gate knowing the screen cost would be non-trivial (to me).

Thanks for the pointers...
/c

The right screen will last you a lifetime; I have Stewart screens that are 15 years old, and are as good as new.

Projection Screens 101?
 

Clayton,

Stewart Studiotek 130G3 baby, there is no substitute in a light controlled room.

It is the industry standard screen material, certified by THX and ISF.

My Stewart screen made the move to Colorado while most of the rest of the HT system stayed behind and was sold with the house.

Screen size does matter but bigger isn't necessarily better.

Tom

One more vote for the Studiotek 130 G3 screen. It works very well with my JVC projector.

Thanks... this helps quite a bit. I was comparing the StudioTek 130 G3 and UltraMatte 130/150 spec sheets this morning actually. It's good to hear a testimonial on performance... appreciate the comment.
/c

I have used a Stewart Firehawk fixed screen for the last 10 years with great success in a basement home theater with good light control (white walls, white ceiling, tan carpet). Strong ambient light definitely washes out the image, which is a problem for most screen/projector set ups. If one is stuck with a bright light situation like a family room, I would suggest an OLED big screen TV instead of any projector.

Projection Screens 101?
 

A big OLED TV is likely to be no more than 85" diagonal which is not very big compared to what one can get with a projection screen.

I am surprised that you are using White Walls and white ceiling. The reflected light from the screen onto the White walls and ceiling can affect the quality of the picture on the screen.

My HT room has no windows and no light leakage through the single door, so ambient light is completely controlled in the space. The walls are a medium gray.

Nice looking room! You absolutely have no issues with ambient or reflective light. I take it that your projector will hang from the ceiling. I just noticed that the front wall is about 15 feet wide. That room has a lot of flexibility. I take it that you will likely have the equipment against a lateral wall probably about mid-way the long wall.
Just for your information, my screen is about 8.5 ft wide (116"diagonal). With the JVC projector, the throw distance (from projector to screen) is about 14 ft.

Here is a projection calculator for using a JVC RS520 Projector and a screen with 1.1 gain

http://www.projectorcentral.com/JVC-...ulator-pro.htm

The Studio Tek has a higher gain of 1.3 when viewed at 0 degree angle, so you have lots of latitude in throw distance and plenty of wall space. You can even have a 10 foot wide screen (thats 138 inches diagonal) and it would still work.

May I suggest Screen Innovations.

I have a 5 series 132 inch zero edge screen with my sony vpl675es projector. It took me a while to dial it in but the image quality is spectacular. I have a gain of 1.2.

The screen is edgeless and looks like a giant TV. I have also a LED backlight. Unbelievable aesthetics. check out their website.

Stewart makes good stuff but the appearance of the screens never did it for me.

All the equipment (other than projector obviously) will be in a completely separate room adjacent to this one. The projector will mount from ceiling at the rear of the room.






I'll take a look. Thanks for the suggestion.

The location of the projector will depend on the size of your screen, screen gain, specific projector and amount of foot-lamberts (luminance) that you want (from memory, movie theaters have about 18f-l).
Since you have a 25ft long room you have the option of choosing an optimal location depending of the parameters above. However, more than likely the projector will be located anywhere between 15 and 20 feet from your screen.

Ah, and since the projector will not be enclosed, be sure to pick one that is not too noisy!

It's a close race between the Sony VPL-VW385ES and JVC DLA-RS640U at the moment... either would be a great choice. Sony pretty much has the market for true 4K, but are lagging in brightness and contrast at my price-point.

I can't seem to finalize my surround speaker choice. Right now, I'm heavily leaning toward B&W 7.3's for in-wall and in-ceiling. I have listened to them and like them quite a bit, but they are a little more than I want to spend at $1500/unit. If I could find a dealer willing to work with me a little, I may be able to swing it... but handing $15K to BestBuy for 10 speakers irks me a little (Magnolia AV is the only place to purchase them near me). So, I'm looking for a price/performance value a bit easier on the pocketbook. The THX certified Klipsch are more affordable for surround, but I'm intimidated by the highly polarized subjective opinions out there around the brand. I am trying to find a local showroom or owner that can demo them for me before I would consider... and, of course, I'm also searching for alternatives along the way. Worst case scenario, I just bite the proverbial bullet with the Bowers and Wilkins units I like and choke down the price tag.

The other "new" consideration is my learning that a Marantz 8805 (speculation) 13.2 channel pre- may be an early 2018 launch. I am at the gate to buy a AV8802A... so do I wait? If it is more than a few months into '18 out, the answer is probably no, but it's worth seeing how things unfold after Christmas.

/c

I just took delivery of a pair of 7.4's for my rear surrounds. Like you I had trouble justifying the cost of the 7.3's.

Considering 7.3's for the side surrounds but currently using 804D2's which is spoiling me but would like to get the floor space back.

Will let you know how the 7.4's sound when I install them. Using a Marantz AV7703 for processing

I'd appreciate that... the holiday season has the project progress on hold, but I plan to dive in after Christmas. I appreciate the offer to share your experience.

/c

Clayton,
I have been enjoying JVC RS 500 for a year. It is outstanding in every way.
On low lamp I'm getting 40 ft-lamberts on my 106" diagonal 1.3 gain Stewart Screen with the iris wide open. That works back to over 1000 lumens, fully calibrated. That's measured with a Minolta LS 100 spot meter. I'm at 7500 ft so can't run in high lamp mode, but I've still got plenty of headroom leftover in terms of light level.

I'm running auto iris and the contrast ratio is excellent - to me that's the most important spec of all. I've got more work to do to black out the area around the screen to get the most out of this projector. THX calibration was very close. Didn't take much to dial it in.

How large a screen are you looking at using?

As far as pre-pros go, new models are generally announced at CES in early January. Shortly after that last year's models go on sale at significantly reduced prices, so if there isn't a huge difference year to year then late January and early February is a great time to buy last year's models. Also true for projectors.

Tom

Johnny Five is Alive
 

Our long planned and awaited HT went live last night... finally. The custom furniture for the room seating is still being built, so I will wait for that to arrive before I post more photos in project thread, but I wanted to update this discussion with my final projector and screen choices... and thank everyone that provided insight and pointers along the way.

I moved forward with the Sony VPL-VW385ES and the Screen Innovations Series 5 Zero Edge Slate 1.2 screen at 150" in 16:9.

The choice in projector was based on a few key things... budget (I wanted to stay under $10k) and native 4K HDR without upsampling (this really narrowed the field quickly). I found myself deciding between the 285ES and the 385ES and went with the 385ES for the dynamic iris (improved contrast) and picture position memory (otherwise, AFAIK, they are identical units). I haven't had much time with this projector, but it's quite impressive for the money. I did have to wait almost 50 days for it to come off backorder and ship, so it's a pretty hot item right now.

The choice in screen was just personal preference. I know I could have never gone wrong with a Stewart, but I have seen several Screen Innovations products in action and just connected with the brand. They are a Texas company and I'm a Texan, so there is that I'd be lying if I said didn't play a part. I fell in love with their Zero Edge line with the extremely low profile (0.5") bordered screens. Navigating some of the marketing naming was challenging, but the basic decoder ring for Zero Edge is as follows: 5 Series is any material they currently make except Black Diamond. 7 Series is Black Diamond only. The only difference between Zero Edge and Zero Edge Pro is the border in the "Pro" is completely customizable (width, color, etc). As far as material goes, I went with the Slate over the Black Diamond because it more closely matched what I was looking for... 1.2 gain versus 1.4 (was concerned about potential hotspots) and .65 ALR versus .85 ALR (my room is 100% light controlled, so not a factor). As an added bonus, the Slate material color matches my room wall color almost perfectly when the screen is not being illuminated. Speaking of illumination, I added the 32 color LED kit on the back which I think looks really cool when not watching content. I could see where it might enhance or benefit certain viewing, but mainly I purchased it for room aesthetic when listening to music.

Anyhoo... it feels good to be wrapping this project up (for now).

http://thispageintentionallyleftblan...P/htlaunch.jpg

Cheers!
Clayton

Congratulations!!
Great job!!
[emoji122][emoji122][emoji122]

Clayton,
Wow, that really ‘pops’ - great job! I had a chance to dig into Screen Innovations offerings and they are very impressive! Congratulations!
Tom

Clayton that is AWESOME. congrats

Clayton... very nice to see your new projector in action, and glad you are happy with it! :ok:

Clayton, congrats on a wonderful system!

Thanks, all...

On a side note, since having time to tinker with it, the LED kit that accents the screen is actually configurable with "DIY" color blends (256K color palette), so you can make your own accent lighting to match your personal theater ambiance. I have the light kit tied into an automation controller, so you can turn on/off, fade, cycle, flash, etc as well as color select from your seat. I've been turning the accents off while viewing, but my wife actually enjoys having it on during viewing. Choices.

Cheers,
Clayton