How to Select a Projector Screen
The Basics for Making an Informed Screen Purchase |
We understand that shopping for a projector screen can be a little intimidating; there are lots of choices. Between case, fabric, size and style options, there are thousands of projector screens on the market for you to choose from. We can help. Below you'll find a basic guide to selecting a projection screen, along with explanations of various screen styles, materials, and sizes.
Call us toll-free at 1-800-637-3181 and we'll guide you through the selection steps to help with your purchase. |
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| Step 1: What type of screen do you need? |
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| Pick the type of screen that best suits your particular needs. For example, choose from front projection screens in either portable, wall or ceiling mounted models in either manual or electric versions or rear projection screens. Generally, if your projection application is permanent, then wall and ceiling screens are your best choice. If you find your needs require moving the screen to different locations then a portable screen is a better alternative. Here is a brief description of each screen type: |
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- Manual
- Electric
- Portable
- Rear Projection
- Paint
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Manual screens are inexpensive and easy to use. Operating just like a windowshade, a manual screen is revealed by simply pulling the screen down by hand.
Manual screens may be of tensioned or non tensioned variety. Tensioned models attempt to keep the fabric flat and immobile, whereas the non tensioned models have the fabric of the screen hanging freely from their support structures and are prone to malfunction if there are currents of air in the room, giving imperfections to the projected image. To counteract these shortcomings, screen manufacturers have added some special features to manual screens to improve their quality.
Manual Screen Case Options: Controlled Screen Return (CSR) - Stops the screen from rolling back into the case too quickly. |
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Choose between tensioned or non-tensioned manual screens. |
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Electric screens can be wall mounted, ceiling mounted or ceiling recessed. These are often larger screens, though electric screens are available for home theater use as well. Electric screens are similar to pull-down screens, but instead of the screen being pulled down manually, an electric motor raises and lowers the screen.
Electric screens are usually raised or lowered using either a remote control or wall-mounted switch, although some projectors are equipped with an interface that connects to the screen and automatically lowers the screen when the projector is switched on and raises it when the projector is switched off. |
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Choose between tensioned or non-tensioned electric screens. |
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| Rear projection screens provide a clean and impressive alternative to front projector screens. Placing the projector behind the screen requires either a good deal of darkened space behind the viewing surface, or a mirror system that will reflect the image over a far enough distance to correct the image size. |
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Paint On Screen is very easy to apply.
It is designed to be applied just like any other interior paint. The screen can be used immediately after application. Care should be taken to ensure a smooth screen surface. A smoother screen, free of defects, provides the sharpest image. Paint On Screen will take 24 hours to cure to perfection but can be used immediately.
Helpful Hints: Paint On Screen can be applied to any smooth surface. A smoother surface will yeild higher image quality. It is an extremely easy product to use and provides stunning visual impact.
If placing on a wall that has already been painted before, prep the area to be painted with a light sanding and primer.
Give the screen area two light coats to ensure even distribution.
You can choose to use any type border you want. A flat black or stained trim of any style can be used for a more classic look while some opt not to use any border for a invisible modern look.
Digital theater paint can be used on vaulted ceilings, family rooms with hidden electronics, media rooms, 3D gaming rooms, simulators, Anywhere! |
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| Step 2: How do you Select a Screen Fabric? |
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There are a few basic criteria that you have to consider to arrive at the right projector screen surface. This is necessary as different projection screen fabrics are designed to handle each of these basic criteria in a somewhat different manner. The most important things to evaluate when selecting a screen fabric are gain and viewing angle. There is a lot to know about gain and viewing angle and how they affect each other (as gain increases viewing angle usually decreases). Hence, a thorough understanding of these criteria is essential prior to making your choose of a projector screen fabric - this is the only way to ensure that your choice will help you make the most out of the available equipment within the constraints of your environment. |
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- Gain
- Viewing Angle
- White or Gray?
Gain is a measure of reflectivity of light compared to a screen coated with magnesium carbonate or titanium dioxide, when the measurement is taken for light targeted and reflected perpendicular to the screen. Titanium dioxide is a bright white color, but greater gains can be accomplished with materials that reflect more of the light parallel to projection axis and less off-axis. A gain of 1.5 means that the screen reflects 50% more light than the screen standard.
Screens with higher gain will exhibit more mirror-like properties, namely a bright “hot spot” in the screen — an enlarged (and greatly blurred) reflection of the projector’s lens. Opinions differ as to when this “hot spotting” begins to be distracting, but most viewers do not notice differences as large as 30% in the image luminosity, unless presented with a test image and asked to look for variations in brightness. This is possible because humans have greater sensitivity to contrast in smaller details, but less so in luminosity variations as great as half of the screen.
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Viewing angle is a measure of the distance from the center of the screen at which you can still see the same quality image as from the viewing axis. For example, some projection screens reflect more light perpendicular to the screen and less light to the sides, making the screen appear much darker (and sometimes colors distorted) if the viewer is not in front of the screen. |
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Another important screen fabric decision involves the contrast of your image. Grey screens which are more capable of darker tones than their white counterparts. A matte grey screen would have no advantage over a matte white screen in terms of contrast; contemporary grey screens are rather designed to have a gain factor similar to those of matte white screens, but a darker appearance. A darker (grey) screen reflects less light, of course — both light from the projector and ambient light. This decreases the luminance (brightness) of both the projected image and ambient light, so while the light areas of the projected image are dimmer, the dark areas are darker; white is less bright, but intended black is closer to actual black. Many screen manufacturers thus appropriately call their grey screens "high-contrast" models.
Grey screens are designed to rely on powerful image sources that are able to produce adequate levels of luminosity so that the white areas of the image still appear as white, taking advantage of the non-linear perception of brightness in the human eye. People may perceive a wide range of luminosities as "white", as long as the visual clues present in the environment suggest such an interpretation. A grey screen may thus succeed almost as well in delivering a bright-looking image, or fail to do so in other circumstances.
Compared to a white screen, a grey screen reflects less light to the room and less light from the room, making it increasingly effective in dealing with the light originating from the projector. Ambient light originating from other sources may reach the eye immediately after having reflected from the screen surface, giving no advantage over a white high-gain screen in terms of contrast ratio. The potential improvement from a grey screen may thus be best realized in a darkened room, where the only light is that of the projector. |
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| Step 3: How to choose a screen size? |
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| Screens are sized in a few standard formats: square, video format and HDTV are some of the most popular. |
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| Square |
| Square size screens have a width to height ratio that is generally 1:1, with some variation. Square screens are usually used for data presentations and overhead projectors. |
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| Video Format |
| Video format screens have a width to height ratio of 4:3.The 4:3 ratio for standard television has been in use since television's origins and many computer monitors use the same aspect ratio. Video Format screens are the best option if you'll be switching equally between fullscreen and widescreen viewing. |
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| HDTV |
| HDTV screens have a width to height ratio of 16:9. HDTV screens the optimal format for home theater, offering the best matched fit for widescreen viewing and is the international standard format of HDTV. Wider options include Letterbox and Widescreen; not all but a few of our screens are available in these sizes. |
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| Can't Come To A Desicion? |
| Can't come to a decision about which size or format screen you want? We carry a huge assortment of screens with masking systems that modify the format or size of your screen. |
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| Step 4: What else are you looking for? |
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| Do you need mounting brackets, projector cart, cables or a remote? We have a wide range assortment of speaker mounts and screen accessories for finishing your projection needs. |
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| Once you have followed our selection steps, you should be able to identify what you need. We carry screens from the finest screen manufacturers on the market: Da-Lite, Draper, Buhl Industries, Dukane, Elite Screens, Sima and Bretford. If you have any questions, please give us a call. |
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| Our projection specialists are ready to help you (toll-free 1-800-637-3181), 9 AM to 5 PM EST, Monday through Friday. |
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