[danbl]

I've decided to turn my basement room into a home cinema / games room with a projector. I've just about settled on the Optoma HD20, but I'm not sure where to start with screens... I've read about different gain levels and all sorts of other stuff that is going over my head!

My room is rougly 12ft x 18ft, and I need to project accross the width of the room (onto the 18ft wall). Obviously as it is a basement it will be pitch black when the lights are off. I am presuming that when calculating the throw distance, you take it from the front of the PJ - i.e. my room is 12ft accross and the projector will take up ~1ft, so I have an 11ft throw? Working on this, the HD20 should project 81" - 101". As this room will be solely for movies and games, it makes sense to have a fixed frame.

Any suggestions / advice?

Thanks in advance!

[Harpmaker]

The HD20 is a bright projector, but it can use some help in producing black blacks. I think Black Widow would be a good choice for your HT situation even though you are going to view in a dark room. The gray screen will increase the perceived contrast and darken those blacks. This of course is for making a DIY screen.

For commercial screens something like the Stewart GrayHawk G3 would fill the bill. I don't know what screens are available across the pond that are similar to the GrayHawk.

Don't worry about screen gain. With your PJ and screen size you don't need a high-gain screen; in your situation it would actually work against you.

[danbl]

Thanks for that. I've had a quick look and I can't find many grey screens over here, and the ones that are have extremely high price tags.

I'm thinking of something along the lines of the below unless anybody warns me against them...

Fixed Frame 234 x 132 cm - 16:9 [FFV234132] - £202.00 : AV Partsmaster

[therockstar]

2nd post on the forums but I thought I'd add a recommendation. Bought one of those avpartsmaster 100" screens this week / arrived next day, had it mounted to the wall in about 45 minutes and is awesome. Well worth the money..

Now I have a 90" pop-up panoview screen for sale if anyone wants one...