mdrew,
Like many pointed out in the thread, it is hard for people to know exactly what they have unless they are going off of the manufacturer's specs which probably don't mean a whole lot. Then you factor in that after you put some hours on your bulb you lose brightness. How much brightness varies probably from 20% up to 50% like you said your projector had. So, I guess the best way to set up your projector is to get some hours on your bulb and have someone measure what you have on a 1.0 gain screen in economy mode. Before you have them measure it you should probably have it in movie or standard mode (just not dynamic) and have the brightness and contrast set to zero to keep flexibility. Since a 1.0 gain screen can be found for $100 in a bulk roll then it is an inexpensive part just to test with. Now calculate what gain you would need to get up to 12fL in your economy mode. If it is the 1.0 gain screen then you are done and can just make a frame. If not then you can get the 2.0 gain, or whatever you need, to get to the 12fL in economy mode. Now, you have flexability since projectors always have at least an ecomomy mode and standard or normal mode. The normal mode would get you closer to 20fL in in your particular setup. Some projectors even have three lamp settings: economy, normal and high which would give you even more flexibility.
Now, I just need to research if the new higher gain screens will introduce any artifacts. I'm also betting that a curved screen would help reduce these artifacts.
- Nick
