Whites on a Grey Screen?? Help!!!!

[Jonny1973]

I'm considering purchasing my first projector (hopefully a Panasonic TH-AE100 16:9 LCD) some time this year but I'm still unsure which screen to get. I'm not sure whether I should go for a matt white or grey screen.

Everyone seems to go on and on about black levels and the fact that using a grey screen (like a Stewart Greyhawk) improves the black level and contrast.

What about the whites?

Surely, whites will look grey on a grey screen. I'd rather have dark grey blacks than grey white.

Or do grey screens have some kind of reflective coating to make whites look white?

What are whites like using a Dulux Icestorm paint homemade screen?

Can anyone recommend any good sites for budget 16:9 screens???


Cheers,

Jonny

[Jeff]

I have a GrayHawk, its actually a very light gray, whites aren't really affected at all. Most digital projectors produce whites that are too hot anyway, so toneing them down is a good idea. Blacks on the other hand are very important when it comes to trying to recreate a life like and 3D image.

Jeff

[Jonny1973]

Cheers Jeff.

What size is your Stewart Greyhawk?

Where did you get it?

How much?


Jonny

[Jeff]

The screen is 1600x900mm, I bought it from that very nice man Gordon Fraser (Gordon, Convergent-AV). If you email Gordon he can provide you with a quote.

Jeff

[Jonny1973]

Thanks again Jeff.

I loved the pics of your setup by the way.

Are all Stewart screens custom made?

I haven't seen any prices anywhere (including Gordon's site).

Jonny

[Jeff]

All the screens are custom made, in fact they don't really have any standard sizes, they will make any size or aspect ratio you want, the price is dictated by the overall size. All the screen materials cost the same. They are quite expensive, but well worth it in my view. A large portion of the cost is the frame, you can buy the screen material on its own and make your own frame.

Jeff

[Gary Lightfoot]

As Jeff said, whites on a Greyhawk appear white, and I no longer feel that black level is an issue anymore after my recent visits to my local Warner cinema.

My Davis produces better blacks than I see there, and if we are reproducing the home cinema experience, then black level isn't really something to worry about.

Blacks on my pj appear pretty black to me anyway, and as it is relative, you'll probably find the same. It depend on how critical you are though.

You could do what I did and spend about £28 on a home made screen using wood bought from B&Q, and blackout cloth (white cloth one side, white rubber the other) from your local curtain shop. I have a DLP pj, with only 800 lumens, and the image is plenty bright enough using this material.

See my homepage for some pics of the screen. Images are from my old htpc using Mpact2 mobo with built in graphics and sound.

I'll try to do some newer pics as a comparison sometime soon.

HTH

Gary.

[Mr.D]

Human visual system is more adept at differentating brightness differences at lower intensities. So using a grey screen will produce a more perceptually noticable effect lower down the grayscale than in the upper intensities ie blacks look darker whites still look as white.

[jrwood]

Can anyone tell me how much just the greyhawk screen would cost for say 8 foot by 4 foot of material?. I already have a frame just Im interested in how much the material costs!.

Cheers

James

p.s doesnt matter if it is a rough estimate within 50-100 quid or so

[Gordon @ Convergent AV]

James:

I think you'll have trouble getting just the material from official sources over here. I have tried to get pricing for material only but the UK distributor isn't too keen on supplying it.

This is actually more to do with the fact it's very stretchy and fits to the frame by means of poppers which are sewn in to the surround. These attach to their mates on the frame itself. You need to really stretch the material tight to get it flat and make them fit together. The distributor is concerned about the fact you are likely to damage the screen material when fixing it to your own frame through whatever fixing method you come up with. This could be an issue if you then decide to return it as defective or whatever once you have it in place.

Gordon