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).
Cheers!
Clayton