Elite Screens (1)

Elite Screens has become one of the major players in the projection screen business - with a wide variety of projection screens at various sizes and arrays available in front, rear, and acoustically transparent projection screen materials to suit any projection application.

Elite projection screens come with all that is needed for a complete installation. There is black-backing on matte screens to eliminate light penetration, standard velour surfacing on all fixed frame screens to prevent glare, and critical items like IR & RF wireless remotes, RJ45 Ethernet control packages and built-in trigger ports are all included. A 2-year warranty complements the whole package.

Most screens come in flame retardant material that meets the CPAI-84 standard for added safety. In addition, all surfaces are mild dew resistant and can be easily cleaned with a moist cotton cloth.

Innovative Projection Screen Solutions from Elite Screens

If there is one thing that has characterized Elite Screens during these relatively few years that they have been in the projection screen business is constant product innovation. This is the real secret behind Elite Screens continued success in the projection screen business.

Suffice to say that the Elite Screens catalog lists over 25 different screen arrays and over 10 different screen surfaces ranging from ultra-high gain screen surfaces to high definition acoustically transparent screen fabrics for the best in audio video integration in the home theater.

StarBright Series:

Among the latest Elite Screen products, one finds the StarBright™ series which comprises the StarBright™ 7 and StarBright 4™ UHG. These are ultra high gain projection screen materials with a screen gain of 7 and 4 and a supported viewing cone of 90 degrees and 120 degrees respectively. This high screen gain is achieved through the use of what is referred to as angular-reflective surface; this is further coated with a special coating aimed to eliminate hot spots - typical of some high gain screens. These ultra high screen gains render these StarBright Elite Screens suitable for use in the presence of high ambient light.

As expected, these high tech screens are relatively expensive and are not the type of projection screen you will find in the home theater. In fact, screens such as WB96H-G4 StarBright 4 Whiteboard Elite Projection Screen are mainly intended for use in business and instructional applications and come with a dual purpose that of a projection screen and a White Board.

On the other hand, screens such as Elite R76GH-G7 StarBright 7 Fixed Frame Screen while still intended for use mainly in places of public gatherings, can still serve a purpose in the area of home entertainment. This ultra high gain screen will  enable anyone enjoy their home entertainment in a shared room e.g. living room, under normal ambient light conditions as long as there is no stray light falling direct on the screen. A further advantage of these ultra high gain screens is that in most cases, you can still enjoy a bright great picture with the projector set in economy mode even under high levels of ambient light - thus helping to extend the projector lamp life.

AcousticPro1080:

We have already referred to Elite Screens AcousticPro1080™ projection screen fabric in our home theater projection screen guides. Supporting a relatively wide angle of view (160 degrees viewing cone) and a screen gain of 1.0, AcousticPro1080 screen fabric represents an extremely interesting screen material for the home theater and consists of specially designed woven fabric with 0.25mm perforations to allow for full acoustic transparency.

This allows for the placement of center speakers just behind the screen for a soundfield that better encompasses the movie action and the audience. The size of the perforations and the texture of the weave are such that this Elite screen can be used to display 1080p high definition content without any loss of image detail.

This screen surface is available in various screen arrays including Elite EZ-frame series of fixed Home Theater Screens. These come with full tension uniformity supported by anodized black aluminum frame with Pro-Trim black velour surfacing to enhance the appearance while the stylish masked black border absorbs any light overshoot. A full range of AcoustiucPro1080 Elite Screens is available at B&H PhotoVideo.

Kestrel Series Elite Screens:

What renders the Kestrel series unique is that this electric projection screen is neither wall nor ceiling mounted. Instead, it is a free standing motorized screen that rises from the floor thanks to the use of a motorized 'scissorbacked' cross spring risers. Available either in MaxWhite and CineWhite projection surfaces with a screen gain of 1.1, Kestrel Elite screens come in various aspect ratios and include remote control using both IR and an enhanced RF control with a 100 feet range.

There is also a built-in 5-12V projector trigger to synchronize the screen up/down operation with the operator on/off action. And as with all Elite electrical projection screens, the Kestrel series of projector screens uses a compact tubular motor for a super quite operation.

Elite Raptor Series of Projection Screens:

This represents one of the latest additions to the extensive range of Elite projection screen solutions and at anything between $4,000 and $5,000 for a screen that ranges in size from 72-inch up to 92-inch, the Raptor series of Elite screens is definitely one of the most expensive projector screen solutions at this screen size for any home entertainment center. A case in point is the 92-inch diagonal Elite CFE92H-B Raptor motorized floor rising front projection screen which is selling at B&H PhotoVideo for $5,200.

But then this is no ordinary projection screen solution. It is the solution to use if you really want to impress your friends! It represents the ultimate in concept of disappearing projection screens and an ideal solution for use in a shared room such as a living room or non-dedicated media room in the industry.

It is a motorized floor rising screen integrated into a top class stylish media cabinet which can take not only your AV receiver, Blu ray disc player, cable or satellite set-top-box and an extensive part of your favorite movie collection, but also your flat screen TV so that when you are not using the projection screen, you can still enjoy your TV viewing. The TV rests on the inner side of the top shelf meaning that it will be automatically hidden out of sight behind the screen when the projection screen rises out of the media cabinet.

The whole screen mechanism features a series of sensors to ensure that the screen operation is totally safe and would not hurt your hand while the screen is rising or lowering.

Other main features include:

Adjustable media cabinet shelves

IR/RF remote operation and built-in 5-12 volt trigger to synchronize rise/drop operation with the on/off cycle of the video projector

Washable screen complete with back backing, a screen gain of 1.1 and a wide viewing cone of 160 degrees

Super quite operation thanks to a built-in tubular motor

Simple media cabinet assembly

Finished in a stylish cherry or dark oak wooden finish, this is the projection screen solution from Elite Screens that will definitely be the center of attraction in any home entertainment setup.

Osprey Tension Dual Series:

An equally innovative solution from Elite Screens is the Osprey series of dual format projection screens designed to utilize the available full screen width. This is made possible thanks to the use of a pair of tensioned 16:9 and 2.35:1 projection screens installed in tandem to support both 16:9 HDTV viewing and 2.35:1 Cinemascope projection screen format for widescreen movie picture viewing.

One such model within the Elite screens range is the Elite DE103C82H Osprey Dual Format electric front projection screen (40 x 94"/40 x 71") which is selling at B&H Photo Video for $1,499.

As with all electric Elite projection screens, the Osprey series also comes with RF remote control operation, 5-12 volt trigger switch for synchronization with video projector on/off cycle, premium grade screen fabric with a 1.1 gain and over 160 degrees viewing cone, dual tubular motor  for super quite operation, adjustable vertical limit switch to regulate the screen rise/drop operation, and specially designed sliding wall brackets for precise projection screen alignment and ease of screen installation.

The above represents just a few of the many available projection screen solutions from Elite Screens. As we stated in our introduction on Elite Screens, the full range of Elite projection screens and accessories comprises over 25 different screen arrays - all available in various screen sizes. These range from standard manual screens and easy-to-fold tripod screens, to a full range of electric screens that literally disappear out of sight when not needed.

In the next part of this article, we will discuss those Elite screen solutions most appropriate for the home theater and home entertainment market, namely their line of Manual screens, the Home and VMAX series of electric projector screens, and the Cinema line of Elite Screens.

However, prior to doing so, we will present you with a short description of the projection screen materials available from Elite Screens. This will help you determine which screen surface is best for your projection environment.