Author Topic: Suggestions on projector screens.... (Read 493 times)

Estes · « **on:** March 20, 2005, 05:57:45 PM »

I am about to buy an Infocus SP 4805 and would like some opinions on screens. From the research i've done, I think a white matte screen is best for my lighting situation. I have been looking for an electric screen around 92" diagonal but the prices for most are very high. I am not willing to pay as much or more for a screen as I am for the projector. There are several screens on ebay around the $400 range, but I don't know about the quality. Most of the customers seem satisfied. Also, I am probably going to go with the Sony HT-DDW670 HTIB unless you guys have a better suggestion around $200. Thanks in advance guys.

Also, I don't know if anyone on here knows about modding an xbox, but i'll ask just in case. My friend installed an Aladdin chip on my version 1.1 and it doesn't seem to be doing anything. When we first installed it, it lit up half grenn and half yellow and would then reboot itself. We could not see anything wrong with the points, but we resoldered it anyway. Now, it will boot to the ms dashboard like nothing is installed. We took my friend's chip out and put it in mine (exact same chip) and it did nothing still. Now, neither of the chips seem to do anything. The Xboxs will boot to the MS dashboard and seem to be in fine working order. Please help, we are both very confused.

Staga · « **Reply #1 on:** March 20, 2005, 07:01:16 PM »

Do you have space in the wall or in the roof?
We built a 3m/120inch whitescreen for our club from a plywood which is painted with special paint. This one won't go to waves and can be repainted if needed.
Our is bolted to the wall but friend has similar, thought little smaller, and it's in rails and can be rised to the roof when not used.

Check this if You're interesterd about making your own whitescreen.

Estes · « **Reply #2 on:** March 20, 2005, 07:43:19 PM »

I am looking at screens with a gain of 1 and that paint gives more than that. Thanks for the suggestion though. I am really interested in an electric screen so that it can be moved out of the way easily. This will be going into an apartment, so tearing into a wall or ceiling is not an option. I really think that the ebay screens will work just fine, I would just like to hear from someone who has one or has seen one.

Estes · « **Reply #3 on:** March 20, 2005, 09:26:07 PM »

bump.

Trell · « **Reply #4 on:** March 20, 2005, 09:31:16 PM »

take a look at avsforum.com best avs site i know

MrLars · « **Reply #5 on:** March 21, 2005, 04:28:50 AM »

Glass beaded screens are by far the best in the low to medium price range. Problem with them is that the optimum viewing angle is about 15-20 degrees less than a matte screen.

There are several US manufacturers. Draper is the company I buy most of my screens from, Da-Lite is another that has good products.

Look in your phonebook under 'audiovisual' and contact some of the businesses that offer rentals. A larger company would possibly have some screens in need of repair that they will sell you at a good price. Also, check for AV companies that do home installs and ask if they have any used for sale.

As for retractable screens, finding one for 200 bones is going to be real tough unless it's used.

Check this out...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5750154275&category=75400

A 50" manualy operated screen for $235, could be what your looking for.

GreenCloud · « **Reply #6 on:** March 21, 2005, 05:23:29 AM »

i use dalite..love it..but its manuel

indy007 · « **Reply #7 on:** March 21, 2005, 08:49:01 AM »

Get the highest gain screen you can afford. I've got my eye on a nice glass bead screen with a thing that drops down borders for switching between 4:3 & 16:9. Pricey, but worth every penny. I have an Infocus X1 in my game room, and honestly, I prefer to play Xbox & PS2 on TV. You really lose alot of resolution on a big screen and it makes video games especially grainy. Great for movies, not so great for games.

Estes · « **Reply #8 on:** March 21, 2005, 10:27:02 AM »

I won't really need the gain, I am looking at getting the Infocus SP 4805, which is plenty bright on it's own. I will also have a bit of ambient light which will negatively affect a high gain screen. Does anyone have an opinion on the electic screens on ebay for around $400 like this one : http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48655&item=5762098447&rd=1 ? How much better could an $800 screen possibly look than these? I am seriously asking, I have not made up my mind as to whether the ebay screens are good enough.

indy007 · « **Reply #9 on:** March 24, 2005, 11:36:41 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Estes
I won't really need the gain, I am looking at getting the Infocus SP 4805, which is plenty bright on it's own. I will also have a bit of ambient light which will negatively affect a high gain screen. Does anyone have an opinion on the electic screens on ebay for around $400 like this one : http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48655&item=5762098447&rd=1 ? How much better could an $800 screen possibly look than these? I am seriously asking, I have not made up my mind as to whether the ebay screens are good enough.

Well, our screen material came from ebay. Not a screen itself, just the matt. Framed it ourselves... should just bought one. It works much, much better than the wall, but after checking out a projector (with specs inferior to the Infocus X1 but 5x the price-tag) on an expensive screen at a Tweeter store.. the screen is worth every penny.

Gain is everything. You can't project black, so lower gains make dark movies look like crap because lots of the detail is lost in the contrast, and ambient light washes out the black on top of that. Example: Finding Nemo, looks amazing. The Matrix, not quite so amazing. You can always turn down the brightness later on and adjust settings to the room, but if they're already maxed out, you're not going to get any better.

Oh, almost forgot, buy blackout shades. Worth every penny in a media room. Had to cover 6 windows, and it was pricey as hell (@ linen's & things, probably much cheaper online), but the impact on image quality was more than worth it.

Siaf__csf · « **Reply #10 on:** March 24, 2005, 01:55:50 PM »

Too much gain on a lcd/dlp projector will only give you hotspotting and a horrible end result.

indy007 · « **Reply #11 on:** March 24, 2005, 02:29:30 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Siaf__csf
Too much gain on a lcd/dlp projector will only give you hotspotting and a horrible end result.

Wierd. My X1 has a 2000:1 contrast & 1100 lumens. His 4805 has same contrast, but only 750 lumens. I'm using a cheap screen, and I gave up playing GT4 on it. Any type of corner with a shadow you just can't see coming unless you make the screen pretty small, which pretty much defeats the purpose. Never any problems with hotspots, just loss of detail in anything with lots of shadows (games, movies, you name it).

Siaf__csf · « **Reply #12 on:** March 24, 2005, 02:38:38 PM »

I said too much. If yours isn't hotspotting it most likely means your gain isn't too high yet.

How much do you have?

indy007 · « **Reply #13 on:** March 24, 2005, 02:42:24 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Siaf__csf
I said too much. If yours isn't hotspotting it most likely means your gain isn't too high yet.

How much do you have?

I wanna say 1.3, but my roommate was the one who got it looking for the cheap route

We're still debating a glass-bead or acoustically transperent screen (gotta hide those speakers), but neither of us are too keen on picking up the bill for it yet.

oh, and shining flashlights on the screen while 4 people are playing Mario Kart is a good way to get things throw at you... learned that one the hard way

Siaf__csf · « **Reply #14 on:** March 24, 2005, 02:52:55 PM »

It seems that the X1 has considerably lower brightness at cinema mode so it's not really 1000 ansi in practise. That may be one of the reason why you feel more gain is better.

I have the Panasonic PT-AE700 and with gain of 1 I feel that the bright spots get to my eyes in a darkened room if I use standard settings.

In daylight it's more of a joke to even try to project with it. Sure you see the picture but it's nowhere near the quality of a tft or a plasma.