Cheap tab tensioned screen (Celexon) or better un-tensioned (sapphire or similar) - advice please!

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Hi All.
I need a screen for my projector in a home cinema room. Before moving house I just used a matt white painted wall, and to be honest I was happy enough with that, so i don't think I'm as fussy about picture quality as most people. I have moved house however and the new wall is occupied by a book case unit - so i need a roll down screen fixed to the ceiling. I don't want to spend a fortune if possible, so i'm looking at budget options. I've found these options for a 90"-100" ish screen:

Amazon product ASIN B06VXYL8JPor

I have no experience with screens so would appreciate some advice. The key points are that the screen will be ceiling mounted and NOT against the wall, due to the bookcase. So the bottom bar will be hanging free (or at best resting on the counter top of the book case). I obviously don't want it swinging about... not sure what people do about that?
Would you recommend the cheaper tensioned screen or the better screen but un-tensioned? The room isn't the main living room and has thick curtains so it's not a problem to make it dark, however there is a small window to the hallway (I know - it's odd!) so during the day some ambient light will get in. As I said i'm not really that bothered about picture quality as long as it's decent, but a swinging screen or curled/creased screen would be a problem I think.
Thanks very much for the help,
Matt
 
I personally think especially with a 90-100" screen can do without tab tensioned... also cheap tab tensioned are nasty !

definitely put the money towards a better screen and untensioned...the good screens are quite stiff material... you are not going to get any curling of picture or creases and such you get with cheaper screens. you might get the slightest curl on the very edge of black border ... but not something impacts the section used for the picture

ps most quality screens have a quite heavy bottom bar too...should hang free so gravity can do its thing. should get no swinging about...unless have an aircon blowing on the screen or gusts of wind through windows or doors or something ...
 
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I have a few samples of screen and if the celexon Matt white is the same as the one in your link I would recommend it, it’s a very rough textured surface.
I’ve been toying with an ambient light rejecting screen myself for months but keep getting put off by the downsides.

im using a sapphire plain white non tab tensioned screen for some years now, it’s a decent screen for the money, it does have some edge curl of the black borders but doesnt impact on the white viewing area. Reliability has been good so far.

The sahhire 92” is a little cheaper here but I have never used these people myself,


Perhaps give Ricky Jennings from Kalibrate a call and talk to him about your plans and budget. I purchased my screen from him.

 
Thanks for the replies. So is a very rough texture a good thing? I'm not sure if the sample would be the same as the"basic" one that's £220, but I don't think I can get that one now - I justspoke to Celexon and the basic one I linked to doesn't have a height adjustment memory (don't know the correct term) so I'd have to carefully set the height reach time I used it - sounds like a pain. So they recommended this one instead. Looks like a better screen and not too expensive. So I guess it's this or the sapphire.
What do you think?
 
A very rough texture will not IMO display the very fine detail of 4K. As @panman40 said I would contact @Rickyj at Kalibrate to see how much one of his Diverse Screens would be, yes it will be dearer but it's another level of quality that will continue to do you long after you have changed your current projector.
 
Thanks - I already spoke to Ricky and he confirmed nothing near that price point from him. He said cheap tab tensioned would keep flat longer but more danger of components (motors) failing after a few years in a cheap screen so not really definitive. Confirmed with Celexon and they use the same motors in the "home cinema" screen as the"basic" so they might not be great quality. However everyone is saying tab tensioned much better longevity than un-tensioned. As for 4k - I'm really not bothered. Like I said I'm not too fussy about picture quality once it gets past hd. More bothered about sound for the experience, and for the screen to stay flat.
 
Thanks - I already spoke to Ricky and he confirmed nothing near that price point from him. He said cheap tab tensioned would keep flat longer but more danger of components (motors) failing after a few years in a cheap screen so not really definitive. Confirmed with Celexon and they use the same motors in the "home cinema" screen as the"basic" so they might not be great quality. However everyone is saying tab tensioned much better longevity than un-tensioned. As for 4k - I'm really not bothered. Like I said I'm not too fussy about picture quality once it gets past hd. More bothered about sound for the experience, and for the screen to stay flat.

What kind of projector are you using that you aren't concerned with 4K, even 1080P will benefit from a smoother surface. You should ask for a sample just to see how smooth it is.

I know a decent screen will cost and unfortunately you can't mount a fixed frame because for the kind of money you are mentioning you would get a decent one that's properly smooth, that said the screen from Ricky is on another level to my last one.
 
It's a cheap Optoma... maybe hd141x iirc? It's really not worth me getting samples of the material - I wouldn't know or care what I was looking at. Picture quality just doesn't make any difference to the experience for me, within reason obviously. I don't really even care about 1080p unless it's a wildlife program - it's the sound and screen size in the cinema room that is important to me. Contrast as well... but again the matt white wall was perfectly acceptable to me so I'm sure any dedicated screen will be better than that.
I do care about the screen staying flat though and not curling after a couple of years. So the question is simply cheap tab tensioned or better quality un-tensioned? That Celexon one looks a lot better than the really cheap one I linked to first... But at £575 I'd be annoyed if the motors failed and I had to replace it in a few years. Maybe I'll get the sapphire and if I'm happy that the size is right (and we're not changing the room) after a few years I'll pay for a better one.
 
Thanks for the replies. So is a very rough texture a good thing? I'm not sure if the sample would be the same as the"basic" one that's £220, but I don't think I can get that one now - I justspoke to Celexon and the basic one I linked to doesn't have a height adjustment memory (don't know the correct term) so I'd have to carefully set the height reach time I used it - sounds like a pain. So they recommended this one instead. Looks like a better screen and not too expensive. So I guess it's this or the sapphire.
What do you think?

Thats the screen I have a sample of and I don’t like the rough texture, however as your not that fussy about picture quality it’s a good price for tab tensioned screen.
 
Thats the screen I have a sample of and I don’t like the rough texture, however as your not that fussy about picture quality it’s a good price for tab tensioned screen.
I think it's too much money to spend - if you're saying the fabric is low quality and the motors are the same as in the £200 one it's probably not going to last. It's also not the perfect size so I'd rather get the cheaper one for now then pay the extra for a good quality tensioned screen in a few years when I'm sure the configuration and size are right.
 
I think it's too much money to spend - if you're saying the fabric is low quality and the motors are the same as in the £200 one it's probably not going to last. It's also not the perfect size so I'd rather get the cheaper one for now then pay the extra for a good quality tensioned screen in a few years when I'm sure the configuration and size are right.

im not saying it’s low quality, just a personal thing that I’m not keen on the screen surface texture. As for the motor it won’t be the same as the cheap one, most likely the same as in the celexon dynamic slate ALR screen that’s recently been tested on this forum, he mentioned that the motor was very quiet and smooth. However there were other issues as it was a borderless tab and had to be fully extended to avoid waves and edge curl.

I don’t think you will be disappointed with the sapphire non tab.
 

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