Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Lets talk about HT screens

Good day everyone

Ok, just went out and finally bought my Panasonic AE900U projector (merry Xmas to me). Now it's time to get a screen. Probably looking at 110 to 120 inches. The store where I was bought the projector was gonna sell me a screen for $460 plus tax. Sounds expensive to me (however I could be wrong).

This will be going into a dedicated HT room so a fixed screen will work fine. Has anybody tried ordering screen material from Ebay and built you own screen? Did it come folded or rolled. What was the final result. Should I go white or grey with that projector? Any feedback would be great.

Thanks

pn

There is pretty good discussion about screens over at projector central. There is even an screenbuilding area you may want to take a look at.

I purchased the Dazian Matte White PVC screen material off of their Ebay store, built my own DIY frame, stretched the material around the frame and attached with Velcro. Works for me for 100 bucks or so. Some of the Ebay stuff is crap, so be careful.

It basically boils down to if you are a DIY person or not. Screensize has to do with your room size, seating distance, etc.. Heck, if you have a Menards, Home Depot, etc. some people buy the Parkland Durotherm Lite panels which come in 4' x 8' and can be trimmed to match your desired size.

The 900 has good contrast ratings, so I would not worry about getting a high contrast screen. Matte White (1.0 gain) or slightly higher will work. Heck, you can also such paint your wall with one of the many DIY methods discussed on AVSforum.

Randy's do it yourself is a great option and will save you money. If you are not a do-it-yourself-er, then check out Carada www.carada.com, I think they have a more reasonable price vs. quality ration than some of the other well known brands out there.

I agree, I forgot to mention Carada....great quality/price ratio.

400 something bucks for a screen is not expensive, Most of the screens you see installed in custom home theaters are Stewart,Screen research etc.. Those screens are about $3,000 and up.

Wow. I couldn't imagine spending as much on a piece of fabric as I would on a good TV.

Hell with that, I can't imagine spending as much on a piece of fabric as I would on a really really good computer!

I have to say that a Carada Brilliant White screen would be a good choice. I recently bought a 118" Criterion screen from them to replace my 100" Da-Lite HCCV. The Carada was cheaper and a much better built screen. It'll be the last screen you need. I'm using a Panasonic AE-900U and throwing it from 19.5 feet away.

With technology changing as fast as it does, you'd be better off thinking of projectors as consumables. About two years is all you'll get before it's time for an upgrade.

Screens however don't change much. They are there for the life of several projectors. That at least was my personal justification for spending the money on a Stewart. Plus, I want to open the shades once in a while and come out 'into the light' or turn on a lamp. You just can't do that with any typical screen and still enjoy the image.

I paid double the cost of a Carada BW screen for my Stewart Firehawk, which is about half its list price. You just have to shop around and find a dealer that will work with you. I absolutely love this screen. The colors are so vibrant it's like being there. HD movies are 3-D realistic and I'm only running 720P.