mechman
AV Addict
More
- Preamp, Processor or Receiver
- Pioneer VSX-832
- Streaming Subscriptions
- HBO Max, YouTubeTV, Hulu, Netflix, Disney+
- Front Speakers
- Definitive Technology Studio Monitor 55s
- Center Channel Speaker
- Definitive Technology CS8040
- Surround Back Speakers
- Definitive Technology DI6.5R
- Other Speakers
- Apple TV 4K
- Video Display Device
- LG OLED65C7P
- Remote Control
- Logitech Harmony 650
This thread is a work in progress and will be updated!
Screen Selection Considerations
The numbers, what they mean
- Gain - gain is a number used when comparing a screen to a material that reflects all light projected upon it - usually magnesium carbonate (what I use) or something similar. These numbers are measured using a spotmeter. I use a Sekonic L-758C for my measures.
- Viewing Angle - viewing angle is the angle, off of perpendicular to the screen, that gain drops 50%. For instance, if you have a gain of .9, and at 40 degrees off center it drops to .45, the viewing angle would be 40 degrees.
- Viewing Cone - viewing cone is the viewing angle. In the above example, the viewing cone would be 80 degrees.
- Framing - frames come in varying widths and they also come in an edge-less variety. There is also the question of whether you want a Fixed-Frame screen or a retractable one. Going the retractable route can introduce issues with the screen edges rolling in. If you are interested in a retractable screen, I'd recommend getting a tensioned model.
Commercial Screen Companies
Da-Lite - Da-Lite is one of the oldest screen companies in existence. If you look at screens that are in place at your work or in your child's school, they are more than likely a Da-Lite screen. Some of the screen materials they offer are:
- HD Progressive in gains of .6, .9, 1.1 and 1.3
- Da-Mat - 1.0 gain
- High Contrast Da-Mat - .8 gain
- Pearlescent - 1.5 gain
- Cinema Vision - 1.3 gain
- High Contrast Cinema Vision - 1.1 gain
- Da-Tex - 1.3 gain
- Dual Vision - .9 gain
- High Contrast Da-Tex - 1.0 gain
- Matte White 1.0 gain
- High Contrast Matte White - 1.1 gain
- Video Spectra - 2.5 gain
In the past, I've had very good luck getting samples from Da-Lite. Not sure how easy it would be now but they appear to have been bought out by a company that's not too far from me. I may have to pop in and check them out.
Stewart Filmscreen - Stewart has been around forever as well (more than 70 years) and they are a very popular choice for some. I had a difficult time getting samples from them for some reason. I eventually did get some but I don't think I ever got around to getting readings from them.
- Phantom HALR gain 1.0
- Estero 100 Cima Only gain 1.0
- Harmony gain .8
- Neve Cima Only gain 1.1
- SnoMatte 100 gain 1.0
- StudioTek 100 gain 1.0
- StudioTek 130 G3 gain 1.3
- UltraMatte 130 gain 1.3
- UltraMatte 150 gain 1.5
- Firehawk gain 1.1
- GrayHawk gain .9
- GrayMatte 70 gain .7
- Tiburon G2 Cima Only gain .8
- Silver 3D gain 3.0
- Silver 5D gain 2.0
•Matt White XT1000V
•Grey XH600V
•Pure White XT1300V
•Pearl White MH1500V
•ReAct MS1000V
•CineFlex CH1200V
•CineFlex White XT700V
•ClearSound NanoPerf XT800V
•ClearSound White Weave XT900E
•ClearSound Grey Weave XH600E
•TecVision XH700X Grey
•TecVision XH900X ALR
•TecVision MS1000X ALR
•TecVision XT1000X White
•TecVision XT1100X White
•TecVision XT1300X White
•TecVision XT1600X White
•TecVision XT1800X White
•TecVision XH700X Grey NanoPerf
•TecVision XH900X Grey NanoPerf
•TecVision MS1000X Grey NanoPerf
•TecVision XT1000X White NanoPerf
•TecVision XT1100X White NanoPerf
•TecVision XT1300X White NanoPerf
•TecVision XT1600X White NanoPerf
•TecVision XT1800X White NanoPerf
•Grey XH600V
•Pure White XT1300V
•Pearl White MH1500V
•ReAct MS1000V
•CineFlex CH1200V
•CineFlex White XT700V
•ClearSound NanoPerf XT800V
•ClearSound White Weave XT900E
•ClearSound Grey Weave XH600E
•TecVision XH700X Grey
•TecVision XH900X ALR
•TecVision MS1000X ALR
•TecVision XT1000X White
•TecVision XT1100X White
•TecVision XT1300X White
•TecVision XT1600X White
•TecVision XT1800X White
•TecVision XH700X Grey NanoPerf
•TecVision XH900X Grey NanoPerf
•TecVision MS1000X Grey NanoPerf
•TecVision XT1000X White NanoPerf
•TecVision XT1100X White NanoPerf
•TecVision XT1300X White NanoPerf
•TecVision XT1600X White NanoPerf
•TecVision XT1800X White NanoPerf
Vutec - I've never had any personal contact with anyone from Vutec but they did send me samples of their screen materials when I requested them. They also offer up a valuable resource page that has useful links to lighting apps, screen calculators, seating distance calculator, etc. Here's a link to their surfaces page.
- Silverstar SST - gain is listed as HIGH
- Silverstar SST 3DP - gain is listed as HIGH
- MatteWhite - 1 gain
- MatteGrey - .95 gain
- BriteWhite - 1.1 gain
- BriteWhite Opaque - 1.3 gain
- SoundScreen - .8 gain
- GreyDove SoundScreen - .6 gain
- Vu-Flex Pro - 1.1 gain
- GreyDove - .95 gain
dnp - Makers of the famous Supernova! dnp is actually a Denmark printing business that stumbled across a way to build an actual ambient light rejection screen that works. They offer it in several different flavors and in limited locations worldwide. I'm not sure if you can purchase one online or not. I reviewed a Supernova dealer sample at HTS and I absolutely loved it. If I had the money back then, it would have been my screen of choice.
Elite Screens - Elite is the commercial screen company that finally pushed me over the edge from a variety of DIY screens into the commercially made screen realm. Elite makes great screens and they sell them at very affordable prices. The advent of Elite and VAPEX screens is probably what lead to the demise of Carada, who made a great product but it wasn't competitively priced compared to Elite/VAPEX. Elite, like other screen companies, carries a wide variety of screen materials. I'll just list what I consider to be the pertinent materials.
- Cinegrey -1.0 gain
- Cinegry 3D - 1.2 gain
- Cinegrey 5D - 1.5 gain
- Cinewhite - 1.1 gain
- Cinewhite UHD - 1.15 gain
- Maxwhite - 1.1 gain
- Maxwhite B - 1.0 gain
- Starbright CLR - .6 gain
Visual Apex (VAPEX) - Visual Apex is a retailer of projectors and screens. Their screens are very low cost and highly regarded within the industry. They offer one material for their fixed frame screen - Cinema Matte White with a gain of 1.1. Their portable/outdoor screens come with a material called ProjectoScreen HD offering a similar gain of 1.1.
Screen Innovations - makers of the Black Diamond, an ambient light rejecting material. Some of their other screen surfaces include Slate, Short Throw, Maestro, Pure, Solar and Gamma. I have never received any materials from Screen Innovations in the past despite several requests. I do recall having phone conversations with them, none of which were very pleasant. On the plus side, I see on their site that some of their screens are "8K rated". I wonder who rates screens for 8K?
Seymour AV - All of the big companies above make some sort of version of Acoustically Transparent screen (AT). Most, if not all of those are perforated version of one of their other materials. For instance, Da-lite sells a HD Progressive Perf. Seymour is a company that began in Ames, Iowa making woven AT screens. Chris from Seymour used to make rounds at a lot of the av forums and he was always very forthcoming and helpful with regards to their products. Seymour offers both fixed and retractable screens. They also still support the DIY community in that they will sell the screen material to anyone looking to make their own screen. Since I last looked at Seymour, they've added several new screen materials. They are all listed here.
- Center Stage XD 1.2 gain
- Center Stage UF 1.0 gain
- Glacier White 1.3 gain
- Glacier Gray .8 gain
- Matinee Silver 2.0 gain
- Matinee Black 1.4 gain
"Jamestown Home Theater Screens is a family-owned company located in Dayton Tennessee. We are a member of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce and are proud that our products are made right here in the USA.
We have been building home theater screens for seven years and we think we offer a well-crafted, furniture quality home theater screen.
We stand behind each and every home theater screen we sell! With a 60-Day money back guarantee, you can’t be dissatisfied.
We ship via UPS and provide a tracking number as it ships."
We have been building home theater screens for seven years and we think we offer a well-crafted, furniture quality home theater screen.
We stand behind each and every home theater screen we sell! With a 60-Day money back guarantee, you can’t be dissatisfied.
We ship via UPS and provide a tracking number as it ships."
DIY Screen Options
Paint - Paint is by far the easiest and most affordable way to a projector screen. Over the years there have been numerous formulations and discussions regarding paint for a screen. Everything from polyurethanes, micas, aluminum and more have been added to paint in order to get more boost for projectors back in the day - including the discovery (by myself and others at the old forum) of Black Widow which was, and probably still is, the most popular and used worldwide paint mix. It is my belief that the days of crazy formulas for screens are numbered, if not already over. With the advent of HDR, projectors willing to stay relevant have had to increase their brightness to fall within the specs of the new standards. Even before HDR, a lot of companies were slowing ramping up the brightness - case in point, my Epson Powerlite 3010 was delivering 23fL on my 100" screen on a new bulb and I measured around 17fL over halfway through the bulb's life. So before I keep rambling, suffice it to say that "special formulas" for newer projectors should not be considered.
So, where does that leave us with paint? Simple - Neutral Grays! From plain old white all the way down to a N5, you can find an off the shelf tint at Home Depot, Menards, Lowes, Sherwinn Williams, Benjamin Moore, etc. that will suit your needs. Neutral grays are based upon the Munsell system:
Paint finishes vary by manufacturer. All paints come in a flat finish, it's what comes afterwards that varies. Some manufacturers use eggshell, some use matte. Regardless, it's best to stick to a finish that is either flat or one finish up from flat - matte or eggshell. Anything higher will more than likely introduce issues such as hot spotting, artifacts, etc.
Laminates - My second screen was a laminate based upon Wilsonart Fashion Gray which was a very close N8. There was also a wonderful white laminate called Designer White. Limitations to these types of screen were size, potential hot spotting and ease of build. IIRC, the sheets were limited to five foot width, some people reported hot spotting and they weren't exactly an easy implementation.
Fabrics - Some fabrics that are available to use as a DIY screen include Blackout Cloth and Spandex.
Blackout Cloth (BOC) is the material that is out on the backside of shades or drapes to block out sunlight from entering through. There have been varying degrees of BOC made available at different times. Some have been reported to be more of a tannish color while others have reported being a bit more gray in nature. The majority though have been white and from what I remember, most of the samples I measured came within the N9-9.5 range.
Spandex is anothr material that has been used as a screen for DIYers looking for an AT DIY screen. My good friend Don Terwilliger was doing a lot of work on spandex when he suddenly and most unexpectedly passed away. I never did any work with this type of material so I can offer no opinion one way or the other.
During my time at HTS, I measured thousands of samples of screen materials and paints. Early on I compiled a spreadsheet of the spectro readings from some of those samples. I still have pretty much every screen sample that a manufacturer sent to me and I will be re-doing these readings in the very near future and posting them here.
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I clicked on the icon and added the link but it wouldn't embed the image.
They’re still mixing up 4 different liquitex paint colors to get a gray paint. To quote Forest Gump, “Stupid is as stupid does.”
