Selecting the Right Projector Screen Surface

This article is a companion piece to our article on selecting the right screen size for a room. The projector screen experts at Big Screen Center go into detail about how to select projector screen material to make the best use of lighting and audience seating arrangement in a room.

Please feel free to browse our full text articles on hubpages.com.

• Projector Screen Surface
• Projector Screen Size

Soul Searching Before Selecting

People find that when shopping for a projection screen, they are often confused by which screen surface would be best for them and their use of the projector. That’s easy.

The best screen surface for most installations is Matte White. Try Matte White or Da-Mat by Da-Lite Screen Company. The next time you see a screen in a church, business, or home it more than likely will have a Matte White surface. It is the most versatile and least expensive screen surface. Ninety percent of all the projector screens on the market are Matte White surfaces.

Other screen surfaces are available in special colors and levels of reflectivity (called gain). One of the basic misconceptions with projector screen material is that everyone needs a special screen surface to get excellent image quality from a projector.

If you just bought a projector within the last year or so the picture quality will be superb on a low cost matte white surface. Projectors on the market today have the brightness (lumens) and contrast that you need to give you an outstanding picture on a variety of surfaces.

Maybe you’re thinking “Why do I need a projector screen then?” Well there are several reasons why you want a projector screen. The central point is that a projector screen offers a uniform surface with the fewest possible distractions from the perfect clarity of your image.

Projection surfaces like a plain white wall, butcher paper, bed sheet, or whiteboard have the advantage of being available nearly everywhere. However each of these surfaces has its own issues with surface texture, discoloration, transparency, and glare that an audience would notice in the bright light of a projector. Projector screen paint like Screen Goo is one way to correct glare issues on a wall that already has the correct texture and smoothness.

So there you have it. A Matte White projection screen offers the best projected image under most circumstances at a low cost. At even lower cost, there are items in most homes and offices that can serve double duty as projection surfaces. Each of these surfaces has its own issues with texture, color, transparency, and glare.

As a third option, screens made with special colors and gain are available. These screens are designed to make the projected image as beautiful as possible in certain rare situations. Here is a discussion of how to choose a screen surface with the right color and gain to fit each situation.

Understanding Projector Screen Gain

There are some inherent qualities that make up the differences in projector screen surface types. The first is gain. Well what is gain? Gain is the reflective quality of the screen material. Gain affects your image by making it appear brighter. Back in the old days they would use shards of glass in the screen (glass beaded surface) to make the overhead transparency projectors brighter.

Since then the screen manufactures have developed other alternatives for higher gain in projection screens. The downside to a surface with more gain is that your viewing angles become narrower. Viewing angle gives a sense of how clear the image will look to a person sitting beside the as compared to someone sitting in front of the screen. As the viewing angle becomes narrower, the audience should be placed more directly in front of the projector screen in order to see the projected image.  As gain goes up, viewing angle goes down.

There is a give and take to getting a screen with increased gain. If you get a screen with too much gain for your situation it can produce a hot spot in the middle of your image. A hot spot will be a blue circle in the middle of the screen, and who wants that, right? “Then when would I need a screen with higher gain?”

You need a higher gain screen when the lumen output (brightness) on your projector is not bright enough for your room. For more details, see our article on projector brightness in lumens. Though a higher gain screen will help if you have an older projector to increase the brightness remember there are limitations to what it can do for your image. Sometimes the only solution will be to fork over the money and upgrade your projector to get your desired results.

Understanding Projector Screen Color

The other question that is asked “Do I need a grey screen as opposed to your basic white screen?” The grey screen came about because the early models of LCD and DLP projectors had poor contrast. This was especially true for the home theater enthusiast. The black levels were more grey than black. That is not the case anymore; a majority of the projectors being sold now have adequate to superb contrast in the projectors.

If it is a home theater projector bought in the last year or two then it will definitely have adequate enough contrast. Most of those have a minimum of a 5000:1 contrast ratio. That should be adequate for most but if you are a home theater enthusiast who still desires the deeper blacks the grey screen is good alternative.

People notice that projecting onto a grey screen darkens up the overall image, not just the blacks. If your projector is not very bright, it can make the image hard to see and who wants that? I would recommend getting a grey screen if you have at least 1800 to 2000 lumens on your projector.

For the non-home theater application (churches, business, education etc.) I would strongly suggest a matte white screen instead of a grey one because you are typically displaying to a wide audience (viewing angles) and the display screens are much larger than a home theater environment.

When displaying on a large projection screen you are more than likely pushing the projectors brightness and getting a grey screen would only enhance the dimness of the image. If you go down the grey screen route, I would get a grey screen with a gain of 1.3 - 1.8 to offset the grey surface. Da-lite has a screen surface for their tensioned screens that handles this task nicely, the High Contrast Cinema Vision Surface.

Understanding Ambient Light - Special Considerations

Another question that gets asked is “What screen surface works best with a lot of ambient light in the room?” Well our suggestion is to buy some curtains. That could be rather pricey. For many churches curtains are not really an option for their stain glass windows. Also realize there is no AV equipment designed to combat ambient light. Mother Nature will win that battle every time, but here are some suggestions to choose screen material that offset some of the effects of ambient light.

You will want to go with a low gain screen, because the higher the gain the more reflective the screen. You do not want the screen reflecting ambient light in the room. Also remember that the only light that you will be concerned with is the light around the screen area. The lighting in the rest of the room will not affect your image all that much. So maybe installing some dimmer light switches for the room or the lighting zone above the screen area can help as well.

Conclusion

“So which screen surface is the safe bet if I’m not sure?” The answer is Matte White. Ninety percent of all the projector screens on the market are Matte White surfaces. Most screens used in churches, businesses, and homes have a Matte White surface. Selecting the right projector screen surface is easy because a Matte White screen surface delivers excellent performance at low cost in most situations.

Choosing a good projector screen surface for unusual installations is possible with an understanding of gain and color. Using gain and color to make the best use of unusual projectors and lighting conditions is an art form. With study and luck, I think you will be pleased with the results.

Selecting the Right Projector Screen Size

The Projector Screen Experts at Big Screen Center put together a terrific article on choosing the right projector screen size for a room. The article goes into detail about the math involved selecting a projector screen that is proportionate to the room.

Feel free to browse the full text article on Squidoo.com: How to Pick the Right Projector Screen Size

Three Keys to the Right Screen Size

1. Projector Native Resolution lets you know which aspect ratio to select for your screen . What is the native resolution of the projector that you have?
2. Ceiling Height allows you to determine the screen height that will fit gracefully into a room. What is the ceiling height of the room that you are outfitting?
3. Screen Distance to Audience. The people sitting farthest away from the screen determine the minimum screen width. A screen should be at least as wide as 1/6 of the distance between the screen and the viewer farthest from the screen. How far away will the viewer be sitting?

With answers to these questions, you can estimate an appropriate screen size for a given room.

First, we want to look at the native resolution (aspect ratio) of the projector being used in the room. This will help you determine what screen format you should use. Most all projectors nowadays will do both 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios. Projectors with 16:9 aspect ratio, like these available at Big Screen Center, are designed for playing High Def movies in home theater settings.

As shown below, a projector with a native 16:9 aspect ratio can letterbox to show a smaller image in 4:3 format. You will want to go by the native aspect ratio in order to get the biggest and best picture.

Second, we will want to look at the ceiling height in the room. A screen should be at least 1 ft. down from the ceiling and 3 ft. up from the floor. For example, in an 8 ft. room, a screen should be 4 ft. high at the most. If the room has a slanted ceiling, the screen should be placed at least 1 ft below the ceiling at the point where the screen is going to be installed. This rule of thumb gives you a screen that is gracefully proportionate to the wall and the room. This is especially true for classrooms, boardrooms, and conference rooms where people will be sitting in front of one another.

If you are mounting your projector to a central location on the ceiling, you want to mount the projector so that it is even with the top of the the screen. Now this rule of thumb is for a maximum screen size. It is OK to go smaller. People tend to focus on what they can see in the center of their field of vision. A person’s gaze tends to travel from one portion of the screen to the next when the screen is too big (or the person is sitting too close) to see it all at once. You don’t want your audience to get tennis neck.

Finally, we need to look at the distance the audience will be sitting from the screen. If the screen is bigger, people can see it from further away. For auditoriums, conference, and boardrooms the width of the screen should be no less that 1/6 the distance of the farthest spectator in the audience. For example if the back row of an auditorium is 48 ft. away then the width of the screen should be at least 8 ft. wide. This rule of thumb is for minimum screen size. It is OK to go larger. The important thing is to get a screen that is large enough for the audience in the back row to view comfortably.

Enjoying the Finished Installation Makes It All Worth While

Photo Courtesy of Epson and CruchGear.com

Example: Applying the Projector Screen Size Rules of Thumb

Projector Resolution. I will pretend I have a Panasonic PT-AE2000U projector, 16:9 aspect ratio for playing Hi-Def movies in a home theater. That means I should use a 16:9 HDTV format screen to get the biggest and best picture.

Ceiling Height. My ceilings are 8 ft. high. So my screen should be 48 in. high at the most. That means the largest screen I can fit in my small home theater is 92 in. diagonal 16:9 HDTV format (45 in. H x 80 in W).

Distance from Screen to Audience. If I prefer a smaller screen, the rule of thumb that screen width is based on the distance between viewer and screen offers some guidance. For example, if I set up the couch 10 ft. or 120 in. away, then the screen should be at least 20 in. wide (1/6 of 120 in.). That means a screen that is anywhere between 20 in. and 80 in. wide with a 16:9 aspect ratio will fit in my home theater.

Remember these rules are just a guide. It is important to have a clear idea of how the screen will fit with architectural features at the installation site. Discussing the screen installation with a knowledgeable professional like the experts at Big Screen Center (1-800-314-8955) may help clarify details of the the project.

Projector Screens Can Harmonize with Architectural Features - Like Stained Glass Windows

Photo Courtesy of recycledtoys.wordpress.com/

For example, a screen is the right size by the numbers might overlap some architectural feature like a window or door frame. In this case, it really helps to plan your purchase with someone who knows all the right questions to ask up front. Knowing your screen will be the right size the first time can save money and time up front.

We had a customer call in recently who had planned to install a screen between two windows but had not included the width of the window frame in his measurement of the distance between the two windows. The measurement was 80″ from windowpane to windowpane. The window frames were 2″ wide. That means that a 60″ x 80″ screen would have the viewing area exactly flush with the glass of the windows completely hide the window frames on both sides.

That’s OK for a manual or electric screen mounted to hang in front of the window frames. However a fixed frame screen designed to mount flush to the wall would be crowded out of position by the window frames. Sometimes it helps to work with a professional.

Big Screens Come in Small - And Long - Packages

Photo Courtesy of HomeTheaterBlog.com

It would be worthwhile to ask your sales rep about the size of the shipping carton the screen arrives in. Once you know the carton measurements, before you buy, check to make sure the screen carton will fit through the door into the room where it will be installed. For example, one reason the 108″ LCD television never caught on is because it is too large to fit through the doorway of a conventional house and turn down a 3′ hallway.

Sharp 108″ LCD Television - Towering over the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas

Photo courtesy of Sharp and Foxnews.com

Measure any doorways, hallways, stairwells that the projector screen carton would have to pass through from the place it leaves the delivery truck to the place it should be installed. Do your best to measure or imagine how the carton would fit through. If the package is too long to fit through the door and around all the corners, check to see if there is a window that can open to let it through. Or get creative. As a last resort, it may be appropriate to consider a smaller size.

HDTV: The rundown

So! You want to know the real difference in the top of the pile video formats? Well, that’s what this little slice of wisdom is hopefully going to do. When it comes to these kinds of things, we know what we’re talking about. No, really - we do. Without further ado, here’s how it all started:

Back in the good old days of the late 1960s, there started in Japan a newfangled theory that television broadcasts could look better than the crummy old sets we’d all been using since the early days of color television. Improvements had been made - color reproduction, contrast, sharpness were all greatly improved by the introduction of high quality digital components that were simply better than their old analog counterparts. But that hadn’t changed the fact that the CRT (cathode ray tube) hadn’t really changed all that much. At the same time, it was well established that a higher quality picture tube was quite feasible. Some bright scientist somewhere said “HEY! What if we made a television that could do the same thing as a computer monitor?” And so, the quest for high definition television was begun.

Experiments with HDTV had been tried before - England and France had both experimented with higher definition broadcasts in the 1940s, Japan had tried in the 1960s and 1970s, and all of them eventually abandoned the idea. The experiment was lackluster at best and an outright failure at worst. Because high definition uses more bandwidth than a normal broadcast, there’s a sacrifice - you can have either high quality visuals OR lots of channels in over the air broadcasts…but not both. There was, however, some good. By the early 1980s, standards such as the formats that would later become standard HDTV were agreed upon. With the advent of digital broadcasting in the form of satellite and cable services, the early fears of broadcast limitations were more or less dissolved. Digital signals have a much higher capacity allowing TV watchers to have their cake and eat it, too. In addition, public interest was becoming sparked by the prospects of a higher quality television.

Around 1997, the first 480p/720p televisions went on sale to the general public in the USA. Though extremely expensive at first, these first generation TVs made a great impression based on their high quality picture. During this period, there was also an influx of EDTV sets, which were able to display at 480p only. These sets have largely been phased out in favor of newer 720p/1080i capable screens, but they are still occasionally seen in second hand stores, yard sales, and online.

The main problem was the fact that at first, there was nothing to use with the new HDTV screens! High definition broadcasting was an entirely new concept in the USA, and although DVD players have higher quality images than VHS tapes, the max resolution of a DVD player is only 800 pixels by 600. You could get an up scaling DVD player, but they were pricey. As if that weren’t frustrating enough, there was also a vigorous debate over how to get the best quality of signal out of the attached devices - analog connections or digital. The benefits and disadvantages of these could fill their own article (hint, hint..) but the basic argument boils down to the fact that digital doesn’t lose signal quality and analog is much cheaper to use.

These days, with the introduction of the new (and pricey) 1080p screens and truly high definition formats such as Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, the high definition television has come into its own. It’s now possible to get a high quality high definition screen for around $800-$1000, or a similar quality projector that can output an extremely large image (typically, 100”+). The issues initially encountered are now far removed, and in many cases outright eliminated.

How to Reduce Shipping Costs on a Projector Screen

Shipping or freight is a significant cost of a projector screen. Companies who sell projector screens will either charge the full amount of the shipping, add shipping cost to the screen price, or absorb all or part of the cost in order to reduce their margins and save the sale. It is also worth consideration that screens with a higher shipping cost also have a higher carbon footprint because of the higher quantities of fossil fuels and packaging materials required to deliver the screen.

Efficient Shipping Reduces a Projector Screen’s Carbon Footprint

Projector screen retailers are diverse and fiercely competitive in their methods of dealing with shipping costs. This diversity gives customers substantial leverage in finding the best bargain or making choices with a favorable impact on the environment. In this guide, you will learn how to reduce the cost of your screen with Free Shipping, identifying screens with naturally Low Shipping Costs, and fully informed Comparison Shopping.

Free Shipping

Companies like Big Screen Center and Projector Screen Center offer free shipping. According to Atlanta bargain guru Clark Howard, looking for a web site that offers free shipping is one of the most important ways to save money shopping online this holiday season.

Be aware that some companies may look like they offer free shipping at first because they add shipping charges toward the end of the transaction. It is common for online shopping carts to have shipping calculators where customers to fill in a state and zip code to calculate shipping. Be careful. Some sites may hide the true shipping costs until after customers have entered payment information.

Industry leaders like Big Screen Center and up and coming Projector Screen Center confirm free shipping or detail shipping costs on the first page of the shopping cart. This elegant feature allows you to comparison shop without entering confidential address or credit card information.

Projector Screen Center Offers Full Disclosure of Shipping Costs without Confidential Information

It pays to make sure you have a company’s offer of free shipping in writing before assuming it is true. Take a screen shot of the free shipping offer including the URL and date for reference in case they try to charge you later.

Be cautious with web sites that do not disclose shipping costs before a customer registers or enters confidential information like addresses and credit cards. It is perfectly acceptable to enter a fake address and credit card information with your same zip code to verify shipping costs before making the decision to share your protected information. Then you will be able to compare the free shipping claims of all your online shopping choices accurately.

Screens with Low Shipping Costs

Shipping costs do not disappear with the offer of free shipping. It is common practice for online retailers to add all or part of the shipping costs to the product before offering free shipping. Therefore customers have an advantage when they know that for their size, certain screen designs cost less to ship.

For many customers, Fixed Frame Projector Screens are an ideal combination of elegance and shipping efficiency. Fixed Frame Screens have a flat screen surface and a frame that collapses into a very small and efficient shipping carton. Electric Screens on the other hand have complicated and bulky packaging needs because of their large cases and delicate motors. The packaging requirements raise the shipping price. A Fixed Frame Screen can cost 50 to 80 percent less to ship than an Electric Projector Screen of equal size.

Fixed Frame Screens Offer Style and Value
Installation Instructions for the Da-Lite Cinema Contour Fixed Frame Screen

With Fixed Frame projector screens, simple assembly is required at installation. Assembly is like building a kite and then hanging it like a picture. Fixed Frame Screens are the style used in movie theaters.

Manual Projector Screens have some of the look and function of electric screens while costing less to ship. Manual Screens have fewer moving parts while still offering users the ability to hide the screen from view when it is not in use. It is important to remember that lower shipping costs is another way of saying the product requires less packaging and consumes a smaller quantity of fossil fuel for delivery. In this case, choosing the lower cost option is better for the environment as well.

Manual Screens Ship Efficiently and Hide Away Neatly
Installation Instructions for the Da-Lite Model B Manual Projector Screen

Certain customers at offices and schools choose a manual projector screen because they can install it over a whiteboard, blackboard, or map to increase the number of uses for the same wall space. For home use, it is tempting to install a manual screen over a window to enjoy the choice of a window view or a view of the screen. Typically, it is difficult to place a television on a wall with prominent windows.

A Manual Projector Screen Could Fix this Awkward TV Placement

A choice between window and screen can unite nature and high tech entertainment in an enjoyable way. It is worth remembering that light from the window might create a halo effect around the picture. Careful experimentation beforehand or thick blinds are important to pulling off this home decorator idea.

If an electric screen is the best choice for your installation, then check the total price of the screen size you need (perhaps 100″ diagonal 4:3 video format) with several electric screen models across competing brands. Da-Lite, Draper, and Classic are competing national brands. Better online retailers hire experts to do this research with you. The toll free number for Projector Screen Center is 1-800-314-8955.

As an example of the shipping cost savings between electric screen models, a Da-Lite Contour Electrol electric screen measuring 84″ diagonal (50″ x 67″) ships freight at a cost of $80 to $125. Even if an online retailer offers free shipping, it is likely that some portion of this high shipping cost is added to the price of the item.

The Da-Lite Designer Contour Electrol is another electric screen by the same manufacturer designed to ship in more efficient packaging. The exact same 84″ screen ships for $20 to 30. That is a savings of 75 percent.

Da-Lite Designer Contour Electrol at Projector Screen Center
Installation Instructions for the Da-Lite Designer Contour Electrol Electric Screen

Although both screens are electric screens, of the same size, by the same manufacturer, with free shipping, the Da-Lite Designer Contour sells for over $175 less.

This proves it is worth while to uncover hidden shipping costs when searching for the best deal.

Comparison Shopping Review

Paying the lowest possible shipping costs involves careful investigation to find these key factors.

• Competing vendors offering Free Shipping
• Shipping charges added at the end of transaction
• Hidden shipping costs within the price of items
• Alternate products that meet the same requirements at a lower total cost

Look for free shipping claims and read them carefully. Assume you know the true price of a product only after you see a line item for shipping in your shopping cart or order summary. With luck, that line item reads “Free Shipping!” Although, keep the competition in mind. Even if a vendor charges for shipping, the total price may be less than the price at competitors offering free shipping. Add up product price plus shipping and handling and compare that total to judge the business with the lowest price.

Low shipping costs are a close predictor of environmental responsibility as well. Reducing the cost of packaging materials and fossil fuels used in shipping a screen reduces your cost as well as reducing the impact on the environment.

When a Projector Screen Comes in Handy

I was looking into whether or not I needed a projector screen to get an acceptable image out of a projector. At work, we project onto a white board, and it looks fine. During meetings, we can view a draft on the projector and edit the draft by marking on the white board. It is the world’s cheapest electronic white board. I enjoy the arrangement very much. I have seen other people project onto a matte white wall. Matte acrylic paint on a flat surface looks alright for a projected image, so most homes can get by without a projector screen.

It is a little trickier to project onto walls made of cinder block, wood paneling or brick. Paint type and color is important too. An image projected onto glossy acrylic paint results in a glare. I remember a geography class where my teacher projected a topographic map of the Himalayas onto our cinder block wall with glossy gray paint. I had trouble distinguishing the valleys from the seams between bricks, and squinting into that glare gave me a headache. In that case, it was much easier to deal with an image on a projector screen, like this.

Schools seem to go on the cheap, and it only cost about $60 fix the issues with clarity and glare on the wall by adding a small projector screen to the classroom.

For the price, the Classic Regal manual screen is pretty good. The Da-Lite Model B is so popular and so cheap, that I am used to online screen companies burying it in the search results so customers have to look past 15 or 20 more expensive screens before they find it.

Home decorator wall finishing, like colorful paints and wallpaper, is another projected image killer. I sat through an epidemiology conference at this hotel where our PowerPoint presentations were projected over imperial Fleur de Lis wallpaper. Imagine trying to read disease incidence rates in small print through this.

That will teach me to go to a lecture that was scheduled at the last minute. In that case, the projection screen was an essential part of the setup, and I believe I missed a few important points because I could not see the presentation.

So what if a projector screen comes in handy?

I read this article on ProjectorCentral.com about making a projector screen out of wood, velveteen fabric, and photographer’s seamless roll paper for less than $100. I have not tried this myself, but it looks like the project would take about three hours. According to the people who tested this DIY projector screen, color accuracy is the most difficult feature to get right. The best projector screen manufacturers can adjust the surfaces to maintain the white color of white light without over-reflecting other colors like blue or yellow. But to an untrained eye like mine for a casual home theater application, I am not sure I could tell the difference. Look at the photograph paper screen compared to the Stewart Grayhawk screen for over $1,000 more. Paper screen is on the left. Grayhawk screen is on the right. The testers boosted the blue gain and bias on the projector to correct a weakness in the paper when they tested the paper projector screen.

For the price, that quality is good enough for me. The team that tested this projector pointed out that contrast and color saturation is better on the more expensive screen. It is hard to capture a deep, rich black on the paper projector screen, as seen here.

That do it yourself projector screen is interesting. Still, I am not sure when to use it. I might build it at home one day. I think if I were in middle school again, my classmates would tear it down easily. I wonder if schools buy instead of DIY for the durability.

The people I know who own projector screens have both an image to project and an image to project. I mean, people who are willing to spring for a projector screen wish to present a certain sense of wealth and intelligence in addition to the content of their presentations. It is easier to believe sales are up if the quarterly report is projected on an elegant ceiling recessed electric screen, like this Da-Lite Professional Electrol.

The screen manufacturers are ready to help people spend lavishly on their image. Would you believe the MSRP on these guys?

Da-Lite
Draper
Stewart

The consulting firm where I used to work would book presentations in hotel meeting and convention facilities because we got a powerful projector and a huge, flawless projector screen for less than if we had purchased them and brought them with us to simpler meeting spaces. Most of the time, we would try to get our clients to pick up the tab, so we did not pay either way.

Another way to manage the cost of using a projector screen to improve presentation quality is to look into less expensive brands. Quite a few brands are rushing to market with less expensive screens. Brands like Classic Screens, Mustang, Elite, and Grandview are gaining some buzz.

I am waiting for the dust to settle to see who wins in quality and price.

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