Anyone else with Owl screen problems such as these?

[Messiah]

I had my 8ft Othello electric Owl screen swapped out due to a problematic motor / screen sticking problem but I have noticed that I am unable to fill the screen correctly with the image. The vertical edges are not straight and the screen is not true 16:9.

The left and right edges bow inwards at the middle by more than a quarter of an inch meaning that if the image is perfectly aligned to the top and bottom corners the black side borders are overlapping into the image.

Also, I could not understand why I have been unable to fill the height when the width s filled and have measured the screen white area only to find it is 95 3/4 inches wide by 54 3/8 inches high. Unfortunately over size in one direction and under in the other.

I noticed this on the original but never actually measured it assuming it was caused by my additional short throw lens on the Z10k. Installing the new one today I took the time to measure and use a straight edge and am rather disappointed with the results.

Has anyone else with one of these screens noticed similar problems? Thanks.

[SCART]

Hi Messiah

I too have an 8ft Othello electric Owl screen that I received 3 weeks ago. I bought it from AV-sales through the forum power buy.

Completed installation last weekend and my first problem was the smell!! Whatever they use as a solvent gave me a sore throat and eye irritation. Fortunately, the weather has been good enough to have the windows open during the day but I cannot have it unfurled in a closed room at night, Which somehow defeats the object. Hope it goes away soon.

As to the screen itself, mine appears to have exactly the same distortions. I don't have a projector yet, but after reading your post I checked the vertical edges with a plumb line and found the border to be out by about a 1/4 in. at the top and a 1/2 in. at the bottom. The vertical black borders curl inwards just as you describe. A spirit level confirmed that the screen is horizontal.

Reading a description of the Owl screen on the <intoav.com> site it says that the screen is made of extra thick vinyl material 1mm thick. Mine is nowhere near this thick. Was your original screen thicker than the new one?

Even with the power buy the screen cost £723 and I was expecting something rather better than this.

I must say thet your comment of being "rather disappointed" is undertstaing my feelings at the moment.

[Messiah]

I'm sorry to hear you have the same issues but rather glad that it's not just me. Mine too was from AV-Sales about 7 months ago initially and Andrew has worked hard to get me a new one. I now realise that the old one was the same and I have asked that they arrange for an Owl representative to visit my home to see for themselves.

Maybe you would be so good as to get another member of your family to help you measure the horizontal and vertical sizes of the white area and see if yours too is not true 16:9.

I have to say for an £800 screen I am surprised and disappointed that they should have these problems. I'll speaking with AV-Sales first thing Monday to get this sorted.

Grateful if you could measure and let me know.

BTW, mine is also no where near 1mm thick, I would say about 0.5mm and this new one is exactly the same as the old one. I may even be really sad and put my micrometer (model heli building and flying) on it and get an accurate thickness reading.

Thanks again. Any other Power Buy recipients out there?

[xa200]

Hi
I have just installed my screen recenlty also the 8ft model, although i didn't buy it through the power buy. I am also finding it impossible to completly fill the screen there is either a gap at the bottom or the top, i am also finding that the image overlaps onto the side and also that the sceen must be slightly curved as the gap at the bottom is bigger in the middle of the screen than the sides. Seeing as there are other people with the same problems i am going to contact Sevenoaks on monday to sort this out.

[SCART]

Hi Messiah

I have measured the white portion of the screen and found the following :

Top 95 1/4 in. Centre 95 in. Bottom 96 in.

Left 54 3/4 Centre 54 7/8 in. Right 54 3/4 in

So not exactly rectangular. The thickness is 0.6 mm (Yes I'm sad enough to have a micrometer as well).

I'll also phone AV-Sales on Monday and see what they have to say.

[Bristol Pete]

a similar fault with my grandview. When facing the hung screen, the bottom left corner has more 'white' than each other corner if that makes sense, by about 1/2 an inch or slightly less.

It doesnt really bother me but when I watch 1:85.1 images I only really spot it....its hardly much and its not really ever bothered me but I can only assume the factory got the measurments slightly wrong.

The silly thing is that I spent a lot of time and effort mounting my PJ and when I spotted it, I thought I had mucked up my mounting. But as before, its odd as every other corner of the picture is perfectly right angled with the screen!

I have thought about buying some black electrical tape and using that, just cutting a piece long enough and tapering it off so that is flush with the middle of the screen - in essense, the white slopes of to the left side.

Cant be bothered though!! In the context of my darkened AV room it does not stand out. But I would have preferred a perfectly 16:9 screen!

Cap

[Messiah]

Well, as my new one is brand new I do not think it is acceptable. After all we pay for 16:9 screens and should therefore have perfect 16:9 screens. Imagine if the panel of your pj was all skewed

I for one want a perfect screen.

[Bristol Pete]

Let us know how you get on.

I do hope the boys from Owl come over and have a good look.

Having met a few of them at The Bristol what hi-fi show earlier this year, they all seem pretty sound and very accomodating to customers.

I can only assume that your screen was a few hundred pounds more than my grandview, given its label and size - but saying that mine was not cheap either.

Cap

[Messiah]

hey Cap, I don't think anyone, no matter how much they pay, should have to pt up with a sub-standard product. If the screen is sold as a 16:9 screen then it should be 16:9, not 16:8.7 or 16.2:9.

maybe we can gfet the film companies to start adjusting their ratios so they will fit our screens (only joking).

I'll keep this thread updated as to progress.

[Bristol Pete]

but I have drawn a line under this years home cinema experience.

Think back six months, when I first joined the FP club I can honestly state that I ended up tying myself up in knots as it seemed to be problem after problem especially in my quest for a decent Z1!

When I realised that the screen was slightly out I simply said '**** it'.

At the end of the day, when all is said and done, I only watch films on it, or play my x-box.

Having watched my mum have to have four serious breast cancer related operations in the last 18 months to 2 years I can honestly say that I hate myself for being so silly about getting upset at AV gear.

When we watch a movie now I just watch it, enjoy it and forget about all of the silly little flaws!!!

or at least I try

Cap

[Messiah]

Well said Cap. Remember how I drove myself round the bend when trying to decide on a new pj. I think you do have to ask yourself if you're prepared to let it take over your life. I too have decided this is after all just a hobby but I do still get annoyed when companies provide sub-standard products (generalising here not pointing at any one company).

Anyway, having gotten myself an £8k pj (not for £8k I hasten to add) I want to try and ensure that the screen is correct so we'll see how I get on.

BTW, I trust your Mum is on the mend. Mine too went through that 10 years ago but has been clear since. A friend of mine had throat cancer a couple of years back and it was touch and go and have to say when things like that happen it does put everything else into perspective.

If you're over Cardiff way you are always more than welcome to pop in for a coffee / beer / viewing

[Bristol Pete]

for the offer. Very kind.

My mum is doing well now.

In fact her and Dad have just come back from a week in Blackpool, where they saw Freddie Starr and the grumble weebs -
Hey its a generation thing!!

It was a fairly torrid time however as she had a lot of problems and ended up being off work for 14 months. In that time, she was refused Incapacity Benefit on the grounds that she had not contributed enough NI, which is very sad, as my Mum, although only a part time worker has never ever shirked work. She called me in floods of tears asking me if I could do anything as I work for the DWP, which I could'nt.

Glad to hear your Mum is cool too.

Mums eh?

I suppose that they are bit like a projector-

great when they are firing on all cylinders,

bloody tricky when they are not,

and you miss it when its not there

Cap

[jaybeegee]

Bloody hell , i just ordered my owl 7ft on friday because i heard its the best etc etc.
never mind since my pj is on coffee table i cant ever seem to get the image to fit perfectly onto the bloody screen anyway sideshot or no sideshot

jay

[timlloyd]

Messiah

I too recently bought the 6ft Owl from the power buy, I noticed it didn't fit the top and bottom and didn't think too much of it, thought as most films are framed 2.35:1 wouldn't really make a difference. Too be honest though how difficult can it be! What is the exact ratio supposed to be is it 1.85:1? I notice the specs on the av-sales site work out at 1.77!

When I set my screen up with my Z1 everthing seemed square apart from the bottom right corner, I thought how can 3 sides be square but not the bottom corner? Initially I thought it was due to screen curl on the Z1 as I'm using horizontal lens shift to nearly it's max, something should have twigged though when I altered the keystone and the image on the right edge then looked concave i.e curling in at both top and bottom! I now intend to take the plum line to it!

Regarding your previous post on the sticking screen, I'm now under the impression that the due to the stop point when retracting the screen I think the motor may winding up so much that it "overtightens" the screen and due to the black out material being fairly maleable and "sticky" it appears to stick to itself. Now when I retract I make the point of not going to the stop point but purposely stop it when nearly there, this seems to have made a difference but maybe it's too early to tell.

Finally are you sure we've bought an OWL screen at all? After struggling to find any specs on it I came across this site
http://centretr.timwayhost.com/eng/othello.html

Seems our screen is made by Screenline an Italian firm, www.screenline.it dont make any reference to our Othello although I think it did a few weeks ago! The diagrams on the instructions certainly seem similar to some of their web pics.

Tim

[Messiah]

Yes, that certainly looks similar. Mine definitely came from Owl as I collecetd it from their offices myself. AV-Sales are following this up for me and hoping for a satisfactory resolution.

I know what you are saying about many films not being true 16:9 anyway but what with the curved edges as well it just riles me that products are not up to scratch and not as advertised. Crikey, we spend thousands £££ on the projector and have to put up with a non true screen. I just don't think it is on as after all, and as you say, it cannot be that difficult to get a true rectangle surely