Buyers Guides > Projectors and Screens
Choosing the Right Screen For Your Home Theatre, Presentation
and Conferencing Needs
A projection screen is probably the least considered factor, whether
for home cinema or preparing a presentation. Some people or companies
will spend thousands of pounds on the latest projector and then ruin
the effect by showing the presentation or latest films on any old screen
or even worse, projecting it onto a wall. The effect of this is to
counter-act the benefits of buying a quality projector.
The purpose of a projection screen is to reproduce visual information without
losing image quality and to distribute the projected light towards the audience;
it plays an integral part in the quality of the displayed image.
How do projection screens work?
Projection screens maximize the light coming from the projector by reflecting
more light back to the audience concentrating the viewing angle. They are made
using high-tech fabrics, that either focus or diffuse the light shining on
them and control how that light is reflected back to the viewer.
A projection screen has to reflect and distribute the projected image in such
a way that everyone in the room can see and read the image clearly, so optimum
image quality can only be achieved if the projector and projection screen are
perfectly matched to the presentation room.
As important as it is to choose the right projector to insure that
your color will be rich and your video will be brilliant, it is also
important to find the right screen to allow the projector to do give
it's best performance. The first thing to look at is the fabric. If
you have a projector that is not all that bright you can get a fabric
that will increase the output of brightness; if you have one that doesn't
have the greatest contrast ratio, you can buy a fabric that will darken
the black levels up. Here is a list of everything you need to know
about screen fabrics and maybe even a little more.
Screen size
The size of your room and the position of the audience are the prime
factors in deciding on the best screen size to use. A good rule of
thumb is: the minimum distance to the screen should be 1.5 times the
screen width, and the maximum distance should be six times the screen
width
Screen fabric type
Gain is how much light the screen will reflect back to the viewer. A Matte
White fabric has a 1.0 gain and for every lumen you put in you get one back.
Higher gain screens will actually give the appearance of a brighter image.
For example: a High Power Screen with a 2.3 gain will take an 800 lumen projector
and make it appear as if it is actually 1,840 lumens. Sounds perfect, right?
Don't get too excited yet. It is important to know that when you increase the
gain of the screen you decrease the viewing angle. This means that the more
you cross a 45 degree angle, the darker the image will get. If you have theater
style seating in rows straight back, a high gain screen will look great and
keep your audience enthralled. If you are turning your living room into a home
theater and your furniture is arranged in more of a semi-circle to the screen,
the people on the outer edges will have a darker image than those sitting straight
on to the center of the screen.
There are some screens on the market that actually have a gain less than 1.0. "Why
would they ever want this?" you ask. Well, good question. A screen that
has a gain of less than 1.0 is called a High Contrast Fabric. These screens
are great for darkening up the contrast ratio (or black levels) to give a more
cinematic effect. When the door creeps open in a horror movie and all you see
is the shadow of the killer, that shadow will be black and menacing, rather
than charcoal and not so scary. Who watches a horror movie and doesn't want
to be scared,? It is necessary to have a good balance between contrast and
brightness to get the optimal image. These screens do take some of the brightness
away, so it is important that either you have a projector with a high brightness
level or have a more darkened room to compensate.
If you have a projector that is low in Brightness, and can't afford
to lose any of your lumens, but you would also like to be scared by
the creepy shadow, the answer is a High Contrast Cinema Vision. These
screens combine a gray fabric with a sheen that gives a 1.1 gain. This
is the perfect marriage of a slight increase in both brightness and
contrast.
Screen fabric type in more detail
Screen fabric varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Types of screen
fabrics are:
1. Matte White Diffusion Screen Cloths:
Diffuse (Type D) fabric screens. Use for large audiences that are
going to be quite spread out and where you can black out or dim the
light in the room. These screens reflect a diffuse image over a wide
angle. The advantage of this is that you have a wide viewing angle
and members of the audience can be sitting some way off the axis between
the screen and the projector and still see the full, bright image.
The disadvantage is that the resulting image is relatively dim and
your room therefore needs to be blacked out or at least have subdued
light.
Suitable for most applications particularly where light conditions
are controllable. It evenly distributes light over a wide viewing area
while colours remain bright and life-like, with no shifts in hue.
2. Datalux Reflective screen fabrics:
Datalux fabric has been specially developed for projection applications where
a higher reflection value and wider viewing angle are desirable. Accordingly,
Datalux fabric is extremely suitable for video and data projection. Also
ideal for use in conjunction with ceiling mounted projectors where the maximum
advantage will be noticed.
3. High Power Retro-reflective screen fabrics:
Retro-reflective screen fabric primarily reflects the projected light
back towards the projector. Accordingly, it is highly suitable for
applications
where the projector is at table height, and is ideal for smaller presentations
with fewer people in the room. Not recommended for ceiling mounted projectors
as the light rays are bounced back along the exact path from where they came
from.
What are the applications?
The applications for which the projector will be used, together with the configuration
of the presentation room and the amount of ambient light, affect the choice
of fabric for the projection screen.
If the wrong screen fabric is chosen, it may not be possible for everyone to
view the image properly.
Do I choose a screen with 1:1, 4:3, or 16:9 ratio?
Generally when choosing the aspect ratio of your screen its worth
taking into account the aspect ratio of your projector. If your projector
is natively 4:3
match this with a 4:3 screen. This will give you the best effect filling
all available screen space and optimising the projected image.
Other things to consider once you have chosen a fabric are styles
of screens. You can get a permanently wall mounted screen, a manual
pull down or electric or even a portable screen that would allow you
to have a mobile home theater (which is great way to keep friends from
moving in to your house permanently!). Here is a look at what screens
will work with which fabrics:
In order to use a high contrast fabric or some of the fabrics that increase
gain, you have to have the screen permanently mounted or tab-tensioned electric.
The reason for this is these materials are very spongy and need to be pulled
taught in every direction in order for them to be effective.
Here is an example of a permanently wall mounted screen. This type
of screen will handle all fabrics offered and is truly the perfect
compliment
for a dedicated home theater room.
For those of you who are looking to utilize a living room for a theater
and therefore do not want a screen open on the wall all the time should
look at manual and electric screens.
The next step in a retractable screen is the electric. Electric screens
hard wire into your home and work on a three position wall switch
(up, down, and
stop). This allows for easy access of the screen and no need to stand on
a chair to pull the screen down if it's really large.
You will have a perfectly flat image by having the screen pulled
taught, not only vertically with the bar at the bottom of the
screen, but horizontally
as well, with the addition of side tabs. This extra tension not only allows
for a perfectly flat image but also allows all fabrics (including high
contrast and certain higher gain fabrics) to be used.
Screen shapes sizes in more detail
Projector screens generally come in 3 shapes: 1:1 4:3 16:9. A rectangular
screen 4:3 will be ideal for most applications.
Square 1:1 aspect ratio
These were originally designed for use with overhead projectors where
the image projected is also square so that the image fills the entire
screen.
Rectangle 4:3 aspect ratio
Televisions and computer monitors are not square but slightly rectangular
in shape and have a 4:3 aspect ratio. This just means that the width
of the screen being 4 parts long to 3 parts high. Most projectors display
this rectangular image and a rectangular screen will allow the image
to fill the entire area. If you project onto the square screen for
comparison, then you will see an unused area at the top and bottom.
Widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio
This is the shape of a wide screen television. Some projectors, which
are specifically designed for video use, can project an image of this
shape. Again if the image shape and screen match, then you can completely
fill the screen with the image.
Rectangle 1:1 aspect ratio
Just to complicate things, some screen manufacturers with USA connections,
call their screens 1:1 format even though they aren't square in shape,
for instance, 300x225cm 1:1 format. This is because generally in the
USA, they refer to a 1:1 format as a screen which is plain white with
no borders. All their 4:3 and 16:9 screens have black borders. You
can have two screens both measuring 300x225 but one is 1:1 and the
other 4:3. This means that the 1:1 screen is plain white and the 4:3
version has black borders.
Slide 1.48:1 aspect ratio
You will find this format offered by Draper Inc., USA screen manufacturer,
on their Ultimate folding screens.
4. Rear Projection
Housed inside the large cabinet of a rear projection unit is a projector aimed
at a mirror that reflects the image onto the rear of a display screen.
The mirror enables the image to travel far enough to be seen without requiring
the distance that front projection normally requires.
The mirror in a rear projection unit allows for large images while maintaining
a relatively slim profile for the home or in the boardroom. A permanent rear-projection
system can be installed into a wall for a neater and more impressive finish.
Rear projection screens also have the benefit that people are less likely to
walk between the projector and the screen, casting shadows over the image.
Rear projection screens tend to be considerably more expensive than front projection
screens.
Please visit our projector screen section to view prices on the most popular
screen formats. If you cannot see what you are looking for please e-mail us
as we can any type of screen you require or use the custom screen form for
a quotation.
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