Surely, there is a vast selection of Projector Screen fabrics, but...

There is no MAGIC projector screen surface that performs well under all conditions. Follow the criteria detailed in this guide to identify an optimum surface for your application.

Projection Screens
Screen Fabrics & Materials

Manufacturers have come up with a wide range of projection screen arrays, each with a choice of projection surfaces to suit the different presentation media applications.

This Projector Screen fabric selection guide focuses on a specific media application - namely that of home theater and home entertainment.

Clearly, there isn't an 'all purpose' projector screen surface that performs efficiently under all home theater conditions - hence selecting the right material that is most suitable for your application  is essential for best results.

This is itself should not be an issue in that whatever your requirements and constraints are - ambient light conditions, limited room configurations, budget restrictions, etc., you can always find a high quality projector screen surface that represents an optimum solution to your needs.

This guide highlights a set of basic selection criteria that one has to consider to identify the right projector screen surface.

Prior to discussing these criteria, we thought that it would be beneficial to present a few 'movie screen basics' - this in view that the same operational principles apply in the home theater.

Movie Screen Basics

It is a fact that at first glance, movie screens look incredibly simple - a big stretched sheet of white fabric. But a deeper inspection would soon reveal that there is a fair amount of technology and design involved in their creation.

Usually, these are made of heavy white vinyl - but there is more. The movie screen surface is categorized by the amount of light it reflects.

There are four main categories of screen surfaces:

• Matte white: This represents a surface with less than 5% reflectivity; black is very dark gray to black but the image is not very bright.

• Pearlescent: Surface reflectivity is typically 15%; black is dark gray and image is bright, provides best overall contrast.

• Silver: 30% reflectivity; black is medium gray and image is very bright, dark colors may seem a little dull.

• Glass bead: This represents the surface with the highest level of reflectivity - typically 40%; black appears as light gray and image is usually too bright. Normally, this type of projector screen surface is used only under special circumstances.
  

Pearlescent is probably the most common choice for a typical movie theater. To make a pearlescent or silver screen, a reflective coating is added to the matte white vinyl.

A glass bead screen actually has thousands of tiny glass marbles embedded in a transparent coating on the surface of the screen.

Movie Screens are designed not only to present a great picture, but also to support the theater sound system. Most movie screens have tiny perforations in them to render the screen acoustically transparent. In this manner, the audience will be able to hear speakers placed behind the screen.

Close-up: Perforations on the front of the movie screen

In a typical movie theater application, you'll find three speakers behind the screen, located at the far left, center and far right.

In the home theater,  usually it is only the center speaker that is positioned behind the projector screen.

This makes the sound even more realistic, particularly when someone is talking.

The audio is delivered through the appropriate speaker so that a sound seems to come from the person talking or thing making noise. This makes for a more immersing movie experience in that it provides a better enveloping sound-field that encompasses both the projected movie image and the audience.

Selecting the right Front Projection Screen Surface

There are a few basic criteria that you have to consider to arrive at the right projector screen surface. This is necessary as different projection screen surfaces are designed to handle each of these basic criteria in a somewhat different manner.

Hence, a through understanding of these criteria is essential prior to making your choose of a projector screen surface - this is the only way to ensure that your choice will help you make  the most out of the available equipment within the constraints of your home theater environment.

Criteria 1: Projection Method 

The type of projector screen surface to use is partially dependent on the projection technology of your video projector.

Most common technologies in the home theater area include CRT, LCD, and DLP. Each of these technologies handle brightness, contrast and color differently - hence manufacturers have developed  specially formulated color corrected screen surfaces  that best compliment these different imaging technologies.

Criteria 2: Ambient Light Conditions 

Any projected image is at its best when viewed in total darkness - this being so independent of the projector brightness output. However we live in an imperfect world where not everything is under our full control.

Determine to what extent it is possible to minimize ambient light when required - in particular, any stray light falling direct onto the projector screen causing the projected image to washout.

Criteria 3: Display Brightness 

The brightness output level of your projector is a measure of the projector output power in terms of light intensity. Yet, it is important to realize that the end projected image brightness - also referred to as image luminance - is a different issue as brightness falls in proportion to the area of the projected image size.

This means that the bigger your projected image is, the dimmer it will look for a fixed level of projector brightness.  At the same time, it is extremely important that you would not end up with a too bright an image that would be uncomfortable on the eyes - hence the need to match the screen gain with the projector output level, screen size and ambient light.

This also means that one cannot simply proceed with a projection screen purchase in isolation from your video projector or home theater environment. A correct balance of all the respective parameters involved is critical for the best results. We discuss this subject in more detail in our third guide to Understanding Projector Screens.

Criteria 4: Room Configuration and Size 

The ideal seating area of your home theater should require no more than a viewing angle of 30 degrees from either side to the center of the projector screen; anything greater than this may result in uncomfortable viewing for those sitting at the extreme sides of the projector screen.

If your home theater room configuration calls for a wider viewing angle, then you should make use of suitable screen fabric that can maintain adequate image brightness even at extreme viewing angles.

Criteria 5: Projected Image Make-up 

This is not really much of a critical issue when displaying conventional video images but if you are after displaying high resolution images, then use should be made of a projector screen with the appropriate screen surface.

In particular, this is the case when displaying digitized picture data through the use of LCD and DLP projectors found in most home theaters - the use of the appropriate screen surface is essential if you want to enjoy optimum results.

Criteria 6: Projector Placement 

If you are making use of a high gain projector screen, care should be taken with respect to your projector placement: Placing your projector on a floor-stand would require a different type of screen surface than when the projector is ceiling mounted. Why?

When the projector is positioned on the same side of the normal to the screen center as the audience (the floor mounted version), use should be made of a higher gain screen with a retro-reflective surface. 

If the projector and the audience are on the opposite sides of the normal to the projector screen (the ceiling mounted version), use should be made of the higher gain screen with a reflective surface.



 

Criteria 7: Screen Maintenance 

Hardly considered during a projector screen purchase, yet to get the best performance, the screen surface should be kept clean all the time.

While in general this is not a problem, yet there are situations where the screen surface may be subject to a higher level of airborne debris and dust that may settle on the surface. Worst is the case where the screen surface may be subject to potential soiling or even damage from constant handling.

Under such circumstances, an easy to clean screen surface is a pre-requisite for continued best performance over time.