Newcomer - Looking for a good projection screen

J

jibe004

Guest
Hi there! I recently just purchased my first home and I was fortunate to discover that the owner had installed a home entertainment system with a rear projector t.v.! The only drawback is that he had only painted a section of the wall with white paint (and used it as a screen). I feel I could get more out performance out of the system if I installed a projection screen.

I apologize for my lack of technical knowledge in this area, and was hoping some of you could provide me with solid reccommendations.

Firstly: my projector is an "In Focus, Screen Play 4805". I know I've been using a 16:9 aspect ratio, but the projector also has a 4:3 (I think that's the other ratio), and also a "native" ratio.

the projector is mounted to the ceiling; and the white wall/make-shift screen measured to be approx. 89" (diagonally).

i'd like to purchase a good quality screen that will unlock the potential of my projector.

reccommendations and advice would be greatly appreciated!

thanks
~Matt

EDIT: what I would really like is to make the picture appear brighter, and more detail. I will use the screen for my play station 2 video games, DVDs, and also sporting events. BTW, is my projector a high definition one? sorry for so many queries.
 
I can't really help with the screen questions, but as to HD compatibility then yes, your PJ will cope with HD inputs up to 1080i (we have one of these at work and on a slow day we tested it using component inputs just to have something to do :) )
 
good to konw. does that mean i can get HD cable from the local cable company , and plug the box into my projector and watch the sports channels being broadcast in HD? ...i already have the component cables. i even have component cables for my Play Station 2.

thanks for the reply!

could anyone now suggest a quality screen? I was looking at these two:


(Optoma Panoview™ GrayWolf II™ (DS-GWII9106P) 106" 16:9 Projector Screen)
http://shopproducts.howstuffworks.com/projection+screens/SF-1/PID-32087941

and


(Optoma Panoview™ GrayWolf II™ (DS-GWII9092P) 92" 16:9 Projector Screen)
http://shopproducts.howstuffworks.com/projection+screens/SF-1/PID-32088578

both of these screens are 16:9 ratio, are "glass beaded", and have a "1.8 gain".
(again, I apologize for my ignorance, but i want a screen that's best for HD viewing - what ratio do i want, or gain? or white matt or glass beaded?)

my home theater can control the amount of light in the room (i can close the blinds, and make the room considerably dark) - so is glass beaded my best bet? thanks!


~Matt
 
Glass beaded screens have their place in the market place however a couple of things to note with a glass beaded is that the surface can give of a grainy appearance during viewing, also if you view of angle then the picture can dim quite considerably.

If your room is light controlled then the need for a high gain glass beaded screen is in my opinion not required.

Taking into account the projector perhaps something like at a matt finish screen with a gain of 1.2. might not be a bad choice.

Foghorn
 
Glass beaded screens have their place in the market place however a couple of things to note with a glass beaded is that the surface can give of a grainy appearance during viewing, also if you view of angle then the picture can dim quite considerably.

If your room is light controlled then the need for a high gain glass beaded screen is in my opinion not required.

Taking into account the projector perhaps something like at a matt finish screen with a gain of 1.2. might not be a bad choice.

Foghorn

Thanks for the input Foghorn! Could you reccommend a brand? Optoma? And could someone explain "gain" to me? the higher the gain, the brighter the picture? or the higher the gain the dimmer the picture?

Thanks!
 
Thanks for that link - very informative and extremely helpful! I would imagine a 1.1 or 1.2 gain should be acceptable. (I was originally thinking the higher the gain the better - but i don't want the brightness to drop off drastically, should i have to sit 3' left or right of the screen's center.

I'd like to install a fixed screen, as the wall it will be hanging on is going to be dedicated for movie viewing/video game console.

also, the projector is mounted from the ceiling, approximately 15' away from the wall. the bottom of the existing "screen"(there is a black-framed portion of the wall that was simply painted white) sits approximately 3' high, from the bottom of the floor.

the walls of the room are painted a lighter shade of blue, and the ceiling is white, the floors are a lighter colored wood. i can close the blinds in the back of the room, which makes it decently dark.

i will be sitting on a standard height leather sectional to play my playstation 2 video console, watching dvds, and HD sports channels.

If I were wanting a high resolution, bright image witha decent viewing angle, I'm gussing I should look at matte white/grey screens with a 1.1 or 1.2 gain with a 16:9 ratio in the 90" to 100" range

if that's a good starting point for HIGH RESOLUTION images, could you point me in any direction for models to consider? i'd like to stay under $375 US. You've been extremely helpful thus far.

howabout a "high contrast grey" screen, such as this? http://shopproducts.howstuffworks.com/projection+screens/SF-1/PID-28833415
made by "Elitescreen".

thanks again for the advice!
~Matt
 
good to konw. does that mean i can get HD cable from the local cable company , and plug the box into my projector and watch the sports channels being broadcast in HD? ...i already have the component cables. i even have component cables for my Play Station 2.

Assuming that your cable co broadcasts HD and the box has component or DVI/HDMI outputs then yes, that ought to be fine.
 
Have a look at Beamaxs range of screens,well made and nice looking,not exspensive either.
 
The 4805 has a native DLP chip of 854x480 it may be wise not to go any bigger than the sizes of screen you have suggested. HI-Def ready projectors have native resolutions of 1280 X 720 or 1920 x 1080 and would allow for larger screen sizes.

There is a company in the US called Carada I have not seen one of their screens myself, however there is a person on this forum who speaks highly of them. The only problem would be the price they are more than you have budgeted for.

http://www.carada.com

Apart from Stewart screens (very expensive) and Da-lite I have not much knowledge of other US manufacturers.

http://www.da-lite.com

http://www.stewartfilmscreen.com

Another good source of information is the AVS forum which is US based. They have a dedicated screen section.

http://www.avsforum.com/

Also have a look in the Digital Projectors – under $3000 usd msrp for people who own 4805 you may find people referring to the type of screen they use.

Foghorn
 

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