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Home Page - Home Theater Screens - A complete guide  

Date: 25thJanuary 2010





A Quick Guide to Home Theater Design

How to research, design, and build your Home Theater.

Home Theater Design e-book

by Duncan McClelland
More information HERE

 
Elite Screens VMAX2 120-inch Electric Projection Screen

Elite Screens VMAX2 120" Electric projection Screen, 16:9 Aspect Ratio (Max White)

The SECRET behind great image projections

Many opt to buy the cheapest home theater screen. Some may even put up a white sheet as a DIY projector screen while others may settle for a smooth white wall as their front projection screen.

Surely going for the cheapest home theater projector screen setup is better than nothing but you would not get the best out of your system.

The truth is that you cannot use a projector without a suitably matched projection screen.

And there is even more!

To get the best out of your video projector, you need a good quality projection screen.

Home theater screens are the secret behind a great image projection and an enjoyable cinematic experience.

A powerful projector is not a pre-requisite for the best cinema experience - but a suitable projector screen is definitely an essential requirement for the best results. With a little care, a relatively minimal expense in comparison to the cost of your video projector and home theater audio setup can transform the projected video image, into something really worth watching. 

Still not sure if it is worth investing in a good quality projection screen? Just think for a moment about these few facts...

The end-quality of your projected image is highly dependent on the quality of your projection screen.

The cost of a good quality projector screen is minimal in comparison to the overall cost of your home theater set-up.

You will surely be upgrading your home theater equipment every few years; developments in technology will simply force you to do so.

These upgrades will eventually include also your most expensive item within your home theater setup - the projector.

BUT you won't upgrade a good quality projection screen; a high quality projection screen will last a lifetime!


Home Theater Screens - Section Contents

Projection Screen Guides and Product Reviews:

We have prepared three Home Theater Screen Selection Guides that will show you through a step-by-step process, how to choose the right screen setup for your home theater, as well as the criteria to take into account when selecting a home theater projector screen surface.

We are also featuring reviews of some of the most popular Projector Screen Surfaces & Materials for home theater screens - sorted by brand. These reviews cover both off-the shelf products, as well as projection screen fabrics and projector screen paints for the DIY home theater enthusiast.


Home Theater Screens - Guide: How to select your projection screen

Home theater projector screens cover all forms of presentation media applications - from home theater to business presentations on-the-move, and vary not only in size, aspect ratio and screen setup, but also in the screen material and projection screen surface used.

Selecting the right screen setup and screen surface that is best for your application depends on a number of factors - including the projector output, supported viewing angle for your home theater audience, projection screen size, home theater environment - as well as on the level of ambient light present in the room and the targeted projection screen gain.

Arriving at the right combination of screen array and projection surface is essential for optimum results. Yet, for the uninformed, selecting a suitable screen for a front projection setup can turn out to be a rather complicated process.

We therefore hope that the following projection screen guides will help make your selection a bit easier:

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Selecting a Home Theater Projector Screen
A step-by-step guide to selecting the right projection screen setup for your home theater.

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Home Theater Projector Screen Fabrics
We present the different types of projection screen fabrics while listing the criteria to take into account when selecting a projection screen surface.

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Understanding Projector Screens: Matching the screen gain, ambient light and projector output
Today's powerful video projectors may easily lead to a too bright an image - one that may not be easy on your eyes. We show you how to best match the projector output with your screen.

 

 


Home Theater Screens - Product Reviews

The vast selection of projection screens is such that whatever your requirements and constraints are - ambient light conditions, limited room configuration, budget restrictions, etc., you can rest assured that there is always a quality projection screen that represents an optimum solution to your needs.

At the same time, it is important to realize that there is no magic home theater projector screen that performs well under all conditions. In other words, your first step should be to decide on the type of projection screen surface that best matches your video projector setup.

Once you identify the optimum screen surface, it should not be difficult to find a suitable home theater projector screen. In general, all screen surfaces are available in various screen sizes and in different screen arrays e.g. fixed wall screens, pull-down screens, electric screens, portable screens, etc.

Major suppliers in the area of home theater screens include DA-LITE, Stewart, and Draper, but there are others as well.

For example, Elite Screens are one of the major yet relatively 'new' entrants in the field - with a number of highly affordable home theater screens.

While these suppliers provide a complete projection screen solution suitable for immediate use, it is also possible to find suppliers that specialize in the supply of projection screen material.

For example, DRH also provide special optically coated screen fabric straight off the roll. On the other hand, Goo Systems and DIY Theatre.com provide specially formulated acrylic paints with various screen contrast options and screen gain, which can be applied by roller or spray to transform any smooth surface into a high performance projection screen.

While these specially prepared products do not come cheap - enough projection screen paint to cover a medium size 80-inch diagonal screen surface costs approximately $150 - yet they may still represent a cheaper alternative and a suitable solution for the DIY home theater enthusiast. 

Please Take Note:

Care should be taken when comparing projection screen solutions from different brands, in particular with respect to the quoted screen optical gain and viewing angle. Some manufacturers quote the peak gain while specifying the maximum permissible viewing cone for half-gain i.e. the viewing angle at which the image brightness falls to half that at the center. Viewing angles in the region of 65 degrees and over should be taken to refer to a full cone viewing angle.

It is therefore extremely important to consult the manufacturer specifications, in particular the gain-performance chart for the screen fabric you are interested in before taking any final decision.


To help you in your search of a suitable projection screen surface, we have reviewed some of the most popular home theater screens - fabrics and materials available from major suppliers. 


 

Reviews - Home Theater Screens:

Projector Screens and Projection Screen Paints sorted by brand:

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Da-Lite

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Draper

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AccuScreens

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Elite Screens

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Stewart

 

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Goo Systems  (for Projection screen paints)

 


Looking for an affordable Home Theater Screen?

Amazon offers a vast choice of projection screens - often at significantly reduced pricing. In addition, the various buying options available from the different retailers present on the amazon storefront make amazon one of the most comprehensive online sources in this respect. 

However, prior to any decision, we advise to do some research of your own. Look at what other customers had to say about their projection screen purchase especially with respect to product quality and manufacturer customer support. A good starting point is the customer feedback posted on amazon. 

You can search the amazon storefront without leaving our site by using the amazon search box below; your search results will appear here under.

 

 

 

Projection Screen Guides

Articles under this section 

Selecting a home theater projection screen
A step-by-step guide to selecting the correct projection screen setup.

Home Theater Projector Screen Fabrics
Discussing the different projection screen fabrics and the criteria to take into account when selecting a projection screen surface.

Understanding Projector Screens: Screen gain, ambient light and projector output
With today's powerful video projectors, one may easily end up with too bright an image. Discover how to best match the projector output with your screen.

Home Theater Screens Product Reviews:

Brands reviewed under this section include...

Da-Lite Screens

Draper Projection Screens

AccuScreens for the Home Theater on a Budget

Elite Screens

Stewart FilmScreen

Goo Systems Projection screen paints

 Home Theater Guides:

Recommended Technical Guides 

Projection TV - the center of attraction in the home theater
In search of BIG fun; look to the big screens of Projection TV. A complete guide to front and rear projection systems, and DIY projection television.

The LCD TV Guide:
LCDs are turning out sharper, bigger, better, and cheaper. Discover all you need to know about LCD TV sets in this series of articles on LCD TV.

Plasma Television
A complete guide to plasma TVs - from the features to look for when purchasing a plasma television, to installing and protecting your plasma TV investment.

Guide to Digital Satellite TV
Covering satellite TV basics - with a special emphasis on satellite TV decoder choice and satellite dish installation.

The HoloVision Rak Master Pull-out/Swivel AV RacksEquipment Racks:
There is more to equipment racks than a storage space for your system. More in this informative home theater guide.

Feel the Shake!
Bass Shakers, Buttkickers... Add the sensation of tactile sound and discover a whole new world in home entertainment.

Contrast Ratio - Playing with Numbers!
To what extent high contrast ratios affect the performance of a home theater projector or a video display device?

TV Viewing Distance
Buying a big screen TV? Care should be taken as you may easily fall into the trap of buying a too large TV.

1080p HDTV - What you need to know
Discover the strengths and weaknesses of the different HD formats - 720p, 1080i, and 1080p - in this HDTV Guide.

Dolby vs. DTS - Which delivers better sound?
We discuss the differences between these surround sound formats to help you understand why this Dolby vs. DTS controversy prevails.

Home Theater Design:
A series of articles covering all aspects of a home theater from design to realization.

Featured Home Theater Screens

Check out the latest reduced pricing on some of the most popular projector screens at amazon


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