Suitable D-ILA screen in ambient lit room

[HDPete]

Hi,

My Owl electric 92" screen is not ideal for my room. It was an ideal starter screen, but now I have a spanking JVC-HD1 D-ILA projector with very high contrast ratio, it's time to invest in a screen that will help get the best from the projector.

My lounge is fairly bright with large windows and although the curtains are heavily lined, there's a fair amount of ambient light in the room. I don't really understand the gain values and whether I need a higher or lower gain for a non-light controlled room. I may add black out roller blinds at some point, but the room will not be a perfect bat cave.

Ideally, an electric slim casement screen would suit SWMBO, but a fixed rigid board type screen could be a possibility.

As ever, budget plays a large role in the spec of screen, but what are my options for a budget of around £600? I've been looking at Stewart screens but they seem just a tad expensive for what they are.

Any thoughts / feedback greatly appreciated.

Pete

[Otto]

Hi Pete,

You are saying the Owl is no longer suitable for your set-up. Does this mean it is wrinkled, or do you just feel you want to invest in a better product?

If the screen is wrinkle-free, I would take the 600 pounds to invest in black-out blinds and keep the current screen. This will do more good than any screen can do.

Otto
Beamax

[HDPete]

Thanks Otto,

What I meant was that I wanted to invest in a superior product to match the performance of the HD1. The screen has been great and there's nothing wrong with it. It is perfectly smooth, although the bottom L+R edges have stretched out due to lack of tab tensioning.

It's just I feel that I could have a better performing screen in a non light controlled room. After posting yesterday, I did find a great spec'd screen for the home automation side, but I'm not sure how they perform with regards to light - plus, it's more than double the budget

I'd love to go for black out blinds, but nothing I have seen have much WAF. What I'd like is a 12v triggered set of blinds, but my windows are 3m & 2m wide, which is quite an expanse for any single run of any fabric (unless others know different...)

[sdb123]

That looks an interesting screen....I wouldn't mind seeing that in the flesh to see how the different aspect ratio theme works in practice.

[Otto]

Hi,

The screen you've found is a great screen in terms of different aspect ratios, but it doesn't have tensioning, so that's an important factor to keep in mind.

In terms of fabric (it's a matte white screen) it won't perform better than your owl, nor would any other matte white screen. You might go for high contrast, but that would sacrifice the accuracy of the projected image overall, as your whites will become a bit greyish as well.

The only screen that I have seen perform well in ambient light is the DNP Supernova, but then you are looking at a multiple of your budget (not "just" a double..).
This is why I recommended going the black out blind route.

If the black out blinds are not an option at the moment, I would keep the money for the screen in my pocket and put it towards a future investment in a light control solution in the future. Investing in another screen now will not bring an improvement which will make you happy, I think.

Otto
Beamax

[HDPete]

Very much appreciated - good advice.

Any recommendations for black out blinds (motorised perhaps) ??

[Otto]

Hi,

I don't have much experience with blinds myself, but Somfy and Silent gliss are manufacturers which come to mind.

Maybe somebody else at the forums has more experience?

Good luck!


Otto
Beamax

[sdb123]

Originally Posted by HDPete

Very much appreciated - good advice.

Any recommendations for black out blinds (motorised perhaps) ??

IIRC forum member T800 has motorised blinds...have a look at his setup in the Home Cinema gallery....

EDIT: Here's the link

[Distman]

Bit more pricy than your budget but The stewart Firehawk screen surface is designed exactly for your type of application/requirement.

(JVC use the Stewart surface in their HD1 demo room I believe.