Projector Screen advice?

Bluehair

Any hints/tips on good (but not expensive) projector screens for home cinema use?

Ciaran500

I built mine from blackout material stretched over a simple wooden frame. Does the job perfectly and cost less than €50 for materials.

Bluehair

Really? that sounds pretty cool esp since most screens online are pricing in the hundreds at a min. Where did you buy the blackout material?

Vexorg

You can buy it from hickeys fabrics or I got mine originally from a fabic stall in the markets in thomas street market. I subsequently bought a "proper" screen which produced to my mind anyhow a better image, brighter and better colours, however for theprice and to get me going, the blackout material screen was great.

I have a link to instructions on how to make one somewhere, will post when i find it.

Before I forget this is the link

Bluehair

Cool thanks for the link it looks exactly like what I'll need.

I'm torn between a projector and a 42"plasma though and the better half is threatening to veto the projector (would overwhelm the living room?, I though that was the idea! )

Where did you buy the 'proper' screen and how much. Was the difference very visable?

Vexorg

If you watch a lot of tv, plasma is the way to go, you cant really watch tv on a projector, you tend to blow up the pic so large its shows how poor the picture quality is.


If size is important, and lets face it is:) most projectors will give you a great picture in the 6 foot to 8 foot wide range, as opposed to diagonal for tv and plasma measurements.

To watch most projectors and still have good picture quality, you need to be able to control the light in the room. I find even with my screen in the bay window, ceiling to floor curtains pulled and blackout lining on the curtains, that light still spills in during the day, which causes the image to wash out a little. At night the image is amazing, that said, im in the process of setting up my latest projector, which is proving more defficult that I first thought, but thats part of the enjoyment of home cinema for me, the testing, experimenting and trying not to break stuff.

Was there a noticible image difference, yes it was noticible but not "wow" thats different, its was a subtle change. If you had not seen the setup before and you say it for the first time on either screen, you would find ithard to distinguish. The more hours you put up, you may like me look for a little more.

I had to put my fixed screen in place every time, I wanted to watch a movie, so i bought a pull down screen with an extra 18 inch drop, I have high ceilings and dont like having to look up at the image, I wanted the bottom of the image to be below my eye line. Regarding buying a screen, if you have the space and can set up for a fixed screen, I would go for that. If not apull down manual or electric is handy. DO not buy a cheap pull down, the screen material tends to go wavey and it will disturb your viewing pleasure.

If you go fixed screen, make one yourself, you can always keep the frame and buy proper screen fabric and re use what you have. If you do make one, you must make a black border for it, it will fool the eyes and appear to give you a much better image.

What projector are you thinking of buying? I would suggest a home cinema based model over a data grade model..

Vex.

The Ritz

Hi,

I've had a fixed screen in my living room but tbh, it is a little dominating to have a 80" wide white panel hanging on the wall all the time, although a careful choice with the rest of the decor could overcome this. After a couple of months I moved to a dedicated room, dark walls, full light control, ideal for watching movies.

Completely agree with Vex, if you want a big screen for watching tv, a plasma is a better option. TV picture quality at 7 or 8 ft wide is not particularly good and light control is a big issue - if you're talking about watching tv in normal living room circumstances, a projector will not give anything remotely like the image you'd get with light control. I'm not saying it's unwatchable, but the best you could ay for it is that it would be big. My first screen was built with blackout cloth and it performed perfectly well and I then recovered the farme with professional grade screen material from HarknessHall - they make screen material for regular cinemas. it made a substantive difference, not "night and day", but substantive nonetheless - more "snap" to the colours.

I'm attaching some pictures of my setup........ just to whet your appetite.. /devil. It's fully masked - whatever the screen ratio of the movie, the image is surrounded by black velvet panels. If you like watching movies, there's no substitute for the big screen............




Screen and masks (movable panles for the top and bottom of the image).




Black panels in place.



Movie Time !!!


The Ritzzzzzzzz.

Bluehair

The darkness of the room is an issue I must admit, the projector I was thinking of is the Panny ae700 but it is/was going to go in the living room. Odds are I'd only therefore be able to use it when I have the house to myself and can pull the curtains etc so I'm beginning to swing round to her pov and reconsider the plasma.

Thing is I really DO like my movies and was getting my hopes up about the 'home cinema' idea. We're prob gonna put an extension on the house next year so maybe I just need to be patient until then since one room will be a games room.

Sweet setup Ritz and thanks for the info Vexorg. Exploring avforums is pretty enlightening too there are some pretty amazing home theatres on there.

Maxwell

Hi All,

A stupid questions, but I have a large wall that I am going to project my images to and Im having it plastered in the next couple of days and just going to paint it a brilliant white. Is the fabric and black surround necessary?

Im asking because Im trying to have a set up that is "wife friendly" and a black wall isn't and was wondering what will I lose by not having a black surround and only the fresh white wall instead?

Comments appreciated?

Maxwell

Another question:

I have my projector and will be setting it up nice and neatly from the room - but for watching regular TV I am to buy a 42" Plasma -- how am I going to accomodate both....on the same wall?

Vexorg

Hi Maxwell

The black border just fools the eyes into thinking there is more contrast. The image is generally unaffected. A complete black wall will improve the image by absorbing more reflected light I think, so the is an improvement in Picture quality as a result, its subtle, but when you get into home cinema as a hobby, you are always looking for small percentage increases

You could set up the projector without a border and the with masking tape add a 2or3 inch black border and see if a) its makes any difference and b) if you could live with it.

Going for a totally black wall is only for practical if you can have a dedicated home cinema room like the Ritz. His set up is very nice, and he shall be employed to design and construct my screen wall as soon as I get the play room build, probably years from now but it will happen.

V.

Vexorg

You lucky thing, a plasma and a projector:)

The easiest solution would be a manual or electic screen, with brackets to move it out from the wall so that when it is "pulled" down, it is in a comfortable viewing position.

More expensive solution would be to have the plasma mounted into a cabinet that could raise and lower the plasma so you could project onto the wall behind.

I suppose these decisions would be based on budget.


V.

Maxwell

Thanks Vexorg, I really appreciate your comments.

As for the Plasma and Projector - yes I am very lucky, but alot of weekends without drink pays for them!!

Thinking that the only solution would be an electric screen that disappears into the roof (it will be a wooden "latted" roof) and comes over the wall mounted plasma.

I saw something here that is what Im looking at:
http://www.everyoneshometheater.com/site/theaters/woz.htm

Going to see if it will work for me - because my roof is a "loft shape"

lamella

Is it easy enough to get a projector to work with an xbox?

Ciaran500

Depends on the Projector. But it should be with the majority of projectors.

The Ritz

Vex, Mmmm, screenwall........ hurry up...... lol...

Maxwell,

Fully appreciate that black walls etc. have no place in a living room. A drop- down screen in front of a plasma is the ideal solution, another example, Click Here.


The Ritz.

Maxwell

Excellent - thanks for that link Ritz