hungmeister Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 I'm looking to get a projector for a home theatre setup, and don't know much about screens. I checked them out and the screen prices seem a bit ridiculous. I was quoted $2000 for an 100" diagonal screen from Stewart Filmscreens. Other screen companies charge a bit less, but still over $1000. I don't understand the cost of these things. Anyone put a screen together? Would be a nice DIY project. If so, perhaps you can share your experience. Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironwoods Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 Hi, you need Screen Goo!-http://www.goosystems.com/goosystems.cgi/index Or try the HT forums at Audio Asylum and AVS.com, for various other possible maybe's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhawk92 Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 A good location for info is the Screens forum on AVS, www.avsforum.com. Tons of info there. You can go from a white painted wall, to retractable screen, to accoustically-transparent screen, allowing you to put your main speakers behind the screen. Lots of options, so you have to figure out what you want yours to do. Yes, Stewart screens are pretty pricey, though good quality. I just finished my basement remodel and went with a 100" screen. I thought a lot about the various DIY ideas from AVS, but I didn't want to spend the time "upgrading" my screen. So, after lots of searching, and some sticker shock, I found Carada screens, www.carada.com. They are internet-only, and want to be to screen manufacturers as SVS is to subwoofers. Their customer service has been excellent, both in pre-sale questions, and post-sale support. After ordering the screen, it arrived in 3-4 business days. Assembly was a piece of cake, and it looks very professional, with a nice black frame all around to cut down on light reflections. Best part; the screen was under $700 including shipping! Check them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrench_peddler Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 I built one for about $100. It needs fine tuning but overall I am happy. I got it all at Home Depot. A 4x8 sheet of Parkland Plastics that is used for wall covering in bathrooms. It is a white, fiberglass reinforced, pebbles grained and glossy on the front and flat and mostly dull on the back. I also got 3 sticks of brick mold, spray painted flat black, for the border and had a scrap 1x4 for vertical supports on the back. I calculated out a 2.35x1 ratio and trimmed about 1.5 inches off the 4 foot end. I drilled holes in the edge of the plastic and screwed it to the brick molding that I had already 45d the corners and screwed together. I then fastened the 1x4s to the back to make sure it didn't sag in the center. I have it sitting on my Belle center speaker. You could probably leave off the 1x4s if you hang it from the top molding instead of sitting it on something. I sanded the flat side and spray painted it with gray primer. I then wet sanded it with 400 grit paper to remove all the sheen. It takes a lot of sanding to get the back perfectly flat and smooth. You may be better off going with the screen goo instead of all the sanding. With my Sony lcd the gray color was perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP3 Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 try dazian.com they are the same people who put up the projection material for the emmy's and oscars ... a 4 yard piece of "Celtic Cloth" (projection material) will cost no more than $ 45.00 ... I'm projecting an infocus x-1 onto it... works great... had to build the frame to hold it though... but it works... John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 Not to seem like a purist (cause I'm not) but I paid $1,300 for my 78" Stewart Greyhawk and the performance is outstanding from any viewing angle up to 160 degrees side-to-side and any distance from the screen. The gain (brightness) on the screen is great, too. Also, m00n really likes screen goo, too. Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkp Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 I can give some input on this, but not much technical knowledge. I dropped by my local home theater shop on Monday and ventured into their projector room where they have the Infocus 5000 and 7000 models playing (those are probably not the exact model numbers). I noticed a tremendous difference in the one projector-the picture was just unbelievable. In fact, I asked them if they changed the projector in the room. The difference was simply that much better. Well, they had not changed the projector, but had upgraded the screen. I don't know the old brand, but noticed the new one is by Da-Lite. Wow. I know the cost was under $2,000 but I don't recall how much. The salesman also ran HDTV via satellite and you would not believe this setup. The entire setup just seemed so...natural. All the colors looked dead-on. Simply amazing. Good luck! David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrPyro Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 If you are looking for a fixed frame screen, probably one of the most economical companies is Carada Screens http://www.carada.com/ Their 100" fixed frame screen is less then $600. You can check out all of the responces on the AVSForum, but they have had outstanding recomendations from almost everyone who has bought their screens. Kinda think about it...I don't remember ever reading a bad review of them.... Check them out.... -Dave PS: I'm not associated with Carada, nor do I have their screen. But they are #1 on my list when I buy a house with a dedicated HT...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhawk92 Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 I guess my previous post might have sounded like I went with Stewart, which is not true. I got a 100" Brilliant White 16x9 screen from Carada and have loved the price/performance of this unit. All the good reviews on AVS forum were a big factor, as was the great support from Carada themselves; answering all sorts of questions pre-sale, as well as a few post-sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damonrpayne Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 projectorcentral.com also recently did a screen review. They reviewed everything from the highest end stuart to screen goo and make comments concerning price/performance. Might be worth checking out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hungmeister Posted July 1, 2004 Author Share Posted July 1, 2004 Thanks folks. I'm still doing a lot of research on the filmscreens. I think I'll have to do an in person audition before I decide whether a screen is worth $1000 and up. I'm told it's a must with a non-dedicated room (where ambient light exists). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 Check out the following for a review on a variety of screens. http://www.projectorcentral.com/home_theater_screens.htm From what I gather in my own research is that there are two factors somewhat opposed, brightness level/reflectivity, versus optimum viewing angle. The 'brighter' you need the screen to appear (due to ambient light or less bright projector, the narrower your viewing area. My Canon projector is only 800 lumens, but it's only shooting about 15 feet onto a fairly bright Dana 100" screen. There is also the grey vs white debate. Many folks like a slightly grayer screen so their blacks look blacker and the overall picture is more contrasty. This also relates to the contrast figure for your projector. Many LCD's have only 400 contrast, while better projectors may be 100-200. I saved a bunch of money by just getting a pull-down style versus the electronic type. You can also make a do-it yourself permanently mounted screen with 3/8" Gator foam, which is a very dense foam with a 'skin' on both sides, commonly used for mounting photos. Good luck shopping! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 My permanent wall mounted Da-Lite 133" was $600 ish from an Internet reseller. JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Adams Posted July 2, 2004 Share Posted July 2, 2004 I too have been researching this topic for a bit now and will have to admit that it can be a bit confusing. As someone pointed out, Projector Central did an evaluation and I was kinda surprised that Carada didn't fare as well as it did. I've had an interesting chat with Evan Powell about his methods and findings. I've also chatted with David Giles at Carada about the Projector Central article. David pointed out that Evan was measuring "relative brightness" and not screen gain. I pointed out that may be true, but Evan also used a white board standard as his reference. Which therefore implies a "gain" measurement. I think it really may just boil down to seeing what the Carada screen will do with a given projector. And given the fact that they have a money back guarantee, one really can't go wrong. Something else to consider is that most of us will change projector equipment more than we will screens. So there's an argument that can be made for purchasing a very nice screen now. FWIW, I had a Stewart dealer in Atlanta quote me around $1700 for a 100" diagonal, 16:9 Stewart Luxus screenwall. Pricey to be sure. But it would never be inferior to whatever projector I bought in the future (within reason). Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwardre Posted July 2, 2004 Share Posted July 2, 2004 Like Steve above, I too went the Parkland Plastics route. So did my father. We are both extremely pleased with the results. The benefit is that you can create a screen with the dimensions that are to your liking rather than be forced to utilyze a 'canned' size. For me, the screen size was roughly 10ft x 5ft. You cannot get a piece this size at home depot, but if you call them they will be delighted to send you anything you need....they are aware of the use of their 'shower wall' material for home theatre use. I think my piece came to about $60 2 years ago. The reflective quality (gain) is about 1.5. PP is fairly highly regarded as a 'do-it-yourself solution. See attached pic..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 Has anyone ever tried a movie screen? I have a practicaly new DaLight 8mm movie screen (50 something years old) and I wonder how well something like that would do as a smaller screen? It is a manual rollup and could easily be made to attach to the wall. Opinions?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwillwalk Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 I'VE BEEN DOING ALOT OF THINKING & LOOKING & HAVE DECIDED TO GO WITH INFOCUS 4805 (1400.00) WITH THE DA-LITE PERM WAL 45X80 (700.00) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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