Beamax M-100 alternatives?

mathew

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Hi Guys,

Wondering if anyone knows of any Beamax M-100 alternatives?

Specs I'm looking for are:
Electric screen
2m wide (92" diagonal)
IR remote (so I can use my harmony with it)
Nice casing (alu)
Good quality screen material (ie better than on a £100 eBay screen)
Large top border so I can optimise screen height for seating position. I don't have high ceilings but I am ceiling mounting so I can't choose the height the casing is mounted as you may do with wall mounting.

Projector is an Optoma HD300x that is still waiting to be tried :) I do have an M-100 screen on order from Beamax but they are VERY difficult to get hold of :confused:

Room has just been decorated with a very light cream silk paint so I am worried about contrast.. though the screen I've ordered is gain 1.0, hoping that will be ok.
 
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Hi Mathew,

Sorry for the delay in answering, but the screen is ready to go and I'll make sure your questions are answered ASAP.

We've only come back to work on Monday, so there's a bit of a backlog to be addressed.

Thanks in advance for your understanding,

otto
 
Thanks Otto. Anyone know of any alternatives?
 
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I've stumbled upon the Grandview Cyber series. These are suitable as they have a 65 cm top border. This puts eyes from the seating position up 30% from the bottom of the viewable and exactly 15 degrees (don't want to exceed 15 as per the rule of thumb) to the top (7 degrees to bottom). Suppose if spending that amount the M-100 is still a good choice (at £50 more than the Grandview for a new one) as they give a bit more flexibility (could try 11 degrees to both top and bottom for example). Hmmm.
 
Received really terrible service from Beamax so guess I'm definately after an alternative now, if I get my money back that is (was promised by end of 9th Jan)..

Still not got my money :mad:
 
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Found another m-100 alternative: Eyeline Electric Screens
Works out at £500 with VAT and the remote.

I also found out that Sapphire will make me a custom screen with bigger top border but there is a long lead time from China 8-12 weeks IIRC.

Screenline will make a screen up with the big top border with 2-3 week lead time, but it's quite an expensive screen.

There's also the Grandview Cyber..
 
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What did you go for Matt? I am in the same position as you...
 
My ceilings are only 8' so I was Ok with a drop less than < 1m (but much more than the normal 30 cm).

It came down to the Grandview Cyber or Grandview Fantasy (FYI the Fantasy is branded as Sapphire by the UK distributor).

These two models are almost identical in the Grandview range (slightly different extrusion shape i.e. personal preference) but the Fantasy is allot cheaper in the UK as the markup applied by the distributor isn't as high (they are imported by different distributors who, I suspect, have exclusivity for each model).

The other difference between these 2 is the drop 55cm IIRC for the Fantasy and 65cm for the Cyber. This only applies in the UK with the Sapphire branded Fantasy's as in Grandview's catalogue they have the same drop.

I went for the Fantasy / Sapphire as the drop was just enough, 3 year warranty, cheaper, same American screen fabric (i.e. 3M) that people comment positively about, etc.

Got mine direct from the importer / distributor i.e. Welcome to www.projectorscreen.co.uk - Projector screens and projectors for all
Got this model: Sapphire Electric Screen with Trigger 2037mm x 1145mm

I also think the following could be rebranded Fantasy (looks identical) and is even cheaper and has the 65cm drop..... Eyeline Pro Electric Screen - 203 x 115cm - 16:9 Format (SEW20)

HTH.
 
Thanks,

So you've not had any ripples on the screen? I was worried about this and why it put me off non-tab screens. These are a lot cheaper than what I was looking at.

Dan
 
Received really terrible service from Beamax so guess I'm definately after an alternative now, if I get my money back that is (was promised by end of 9th Jan)..

Still not got my money :mad:

I was also interested in the Beamax screens and emailed Otto as per his own Youtube video requests. I did get two prompt responses asking for more info which I duly provided but after that I heard nothing and when I rang, his secretary or whoever she was told me that Otto had told her to tell me to get the screen from an online retailer. I told her I was in discussion with him about a bespoke screen and not a standard size to which she replied, she'd find out and get back to me by email but nothing!!
I chased her up again with a further query about screen cases and she said she'd reply back that same day...I've had nothing from her or Otto.
I feel very let down, leaving a potential customer to do all the chasing for something he was prepared to pay for (I wasn't asking for a freebie). I got the impression he and his secretary were not interested in the domestic customer but only the retailers (if so, they should have told me up front) hence no response...I also consider this as rude when ignoring me like this. I am now looking into the purchase of a Grandview screen which seems to meet my specs for much less than the price of a Beamax.

Otto if your reading this, you really need to respond back to the customer so that he/she is kept informed at all times of what's going on. There is competition about. If you are still prepared to work out the price on the specs I requested for the screen then please email me a response.

In the meantime I assume you've realise that so far, I am deeply disappointed.:thumbsdow
 
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Hi Akarit1,

The reason I asked you to check with the retailer, is that you told me you had spoken to them about the screen gain etc. after my first responses.

That's perfectly fine, but if you then want to finalise the screen's specs, that's something the retailer in case is very capable of handling.

It's not that I don't want to answer questions, but there's no point in me and the retailer giving you the same answers.

Plus, it avoids the "he said, they said" issue that inevitably comes up.

I trust our resellers to supply you with the info to buy the screen once you're in touch with them.

That doesn't mean I don't care about someone who is the real user of the screen.

It means I respect the value they add for us. Period.

With kind regards,

Otto
 
Hi Akarit1,

The reason I asked you to check with the retailer, is that you told me you had spoken to them about the screen gain etc. after my first responses.

That's perfectly fine, but if you then want to finalise the screen's specs, that's something the retailer in case is very capable of handling.

It's not that I don't want to answer questions, but there's no point in me and the retailer giving you the same answers.

Plus, it avoids the "he said, they said" issue that inevitably comes up.

I trust our resellers to supply you with the info to buy the screen once you're in touch with them.

That doesn't mean I don't care about someone who is the real user of the screen.

It means I respect the value they add for us. Period.

With kind regards,

Otto

Otto, thank you for your response, i only spoke to the retailer about a projector choice and sought advice for the types of screen gain suitable for those projectors and that was as far as I went. The only reason I mentioned the screen gain in the first place to the retailer was because you had requested me for info regarding the screen material, I quote your message:-

"With regard to the screen fabric, the right choice would depend on your projector as well.

Could you give me more information about that?"

This is why I enquired with the retailer. As far as I was concerned, i had entered into discussions with you about what you could provide in line with my specs and I expected you to give me a personal response. Your colleague was not much help either as she recommended a case that was not practical with the RF power sensing unit.

Not to worry, I feel there may have been cross wires here and no harm done. I appreciate the help you have given so far and welcome your overview and pricing (as long as it's not too expensive..LOL);):smashin:
 
Otto,

I take it your not interested then as I have not heard back from you or had a reply to my post above in response to your post above that.
 
Sorry to hear that others are experiencing difficulties with Beamax but it's completely understandable as Beamax are a terrible company to deal with!

To not reply to mine and other peoples numerous emails is frankly rude.

Shocking customer service, avoid at all costs.
 
Sorry to hear that others are experiencing difficulties with Beamax but it's completely understandable as Beamax are a terrible company to deal with!

To not reply to mine and other peoples numerous emails is frankly rude.

Shocking customer service, avoid at all costs.

Yep, there is no point in contacting them as they don't seem bothered despite what Otto says above as below that, I have tried to reconcile and get my issues solved but he has obviously ignored me:thumbsdow. Well there are great screens and screen manufacturers out there who would be only too happy to sell their stocks. Beamax are not the only company and they should wisen up as they may end up with bare order books in future.:lesson:
I will be going for the Grandview Cyberscreen which meets ALL my requirements and will be happy to part with my hard earned cash to those who appreciate it and acknowledge my existence. :)
 
mathew said:
My ceilings are only 8' so I was Ok with a drop less than < 1m (but much more than the normal 30 cm).

It came down to the Grandview Cyber or Grandview Fantasy (FYI the Fantasy is branded as Sapphire by the UK distributor).

These two models are almost identical in the Grandview range (slightly different extrusion shape i.e. personal preference) but the Fantasy is allot cheaper in the UK as the markup applied by the distributor isn't as high (they are imported by different distributors who, I suspect, have exclusivity for each model).

The other difference between these 2 is the drop 55cm IIRC for the Fantasy and 65cm for the Cyber. This only applies in the UK with the Sapphire branded Fantasy's as in Grandview's catalogue they have the same drop.

I went for the Fantasy / Sapphire as the drop was just enough, 3 year warranty, cheaper, same American screen fabric (i.e. 3M) that people comment positively about, etc.

Got mine direct from the importer / distributor i.e. Welcome to www.projectorscreen.co.uk - Projector screens and projectors for all
Got this model: Sapphire Electric Screen with Trigger 2037mm x 1145mm

I also think the following could be rebranded Fantasy (looks identical) and is even cheaper and has the 65cm drop..... Eyeline Pro Electric Screen - 203 x 115cm - 16:9 Format (SEW20)

HTH.

Sapphire quote that that the Fantasty fabric is 3M, the screen is not the same quality off the GrandView Cyber series, the Grandview is a big step up from the Sapphire / Fantasy, with much better fabric and a superior and Weightier bar at the bottom. they look like the same screen and may come from the same factory, but trust me, they are different screens.

A couple of my friends have the 106 Grandview and their screens are as flat as a pancake even after a few years of use, no curling at the edges or rippling in the fabric, best screens I have seen that are not tab tensioned.

Sapphire are a good company to deal with, they stand by their products offering a 3 year warranty with their Fantasy screens, they are cheaper and are good value for money, but not in my view, not as good as Grandview Cyber.
 
Looking at getting a new 92" screen myself, budget ~£300.

I was thinking of a rebadged(?) Fantasy screen (from mathew's projector point link), but am now hesitating if the fabric is not the same as the Grandview Cyber Electric.

I presume the fabric in the Grandview Cyber Pull Down and Electric is the same?
 
mallet said:
I presume the fabric in the Grandview Cyber Pull Down and Electric is the same?

It certainly is the same material:)
 
Thanks Ricky, just seen you stock it on your site, so will be putting in an order soon :)
 

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