Projector Screen Alternatives?

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bmboy

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I'm in the market for a projector. Considering the Optoma HD20 Full HD projector. My room is pretty big and capable of projecting an image between 130'-150'. A projector screen that size will cost in excess of 5K. Anyone know of alternative's that'll give me the image quality equivalent to that of a 1x gain screen? From what i have read on the net a few guys have used materials such as Melamine and Blackout cloth seems quite popular....
 
A large piece of white paper? You can get pretty big pieces of cardboard from some places but im not sure if you can get that big. Or a large piece of supawood with a white finish will probably work
 
I've been googling the same thing today and researching it a bit and I think I am going to go with this blackout cloth that everyone is talking about on the overseas forums. I just installed my new projector but I'm not happy with using my wall because it is a cream colour and not ideal.

A local search gives no info on exactly what blackout cloth is or where to get it. Are you clued up on this?

I worked for a signage company years ago and if I am correct I think it is a 3 layer material with a white canvas like cloth layer, a thin black layer in the middle and a white rubbery layer that is quite shiny. Is that it? Coz then any signage company should be able to supply it.

I'm thinking of stitching a metal rod along the bottom to weigh it down so the screen is flat with no kinks. I don't have a link now but I read a thread on another forum where someone had one of these blackout DIY screens and then forked out cash on an expensive screen but couldn't even tell the difference in picture quality. It would depend on the projector though I reckon.
 
Hmmm, now I'm wondering about a melamine wood screen. It would be much easier to set up than blackout cloth. Eish!
 
I'm in the same boat... I just decided on which projector i want and now i'm doing some research on projector screens. As far as I know blackout cloth is a type of material that prevents light from seeping through it. I've never seen this type of material before. Guess I should make a trip to a material shop to check it out. If i do go the DIY route i'm keen on building a fixed frame screen. If not then a manual pull down should sufice, however they are quite pricey for the size i want. I would suggest buying a small piece about 1m x 1m and try it out first before buying the full size required.

I've read about some guys using Melamine, but have no idea how it would look. I have melamine cupboards in my kitchen and it appears to have the same texture as projector screens, however from what i've read people have problems with hot spotting on that material.

As for the paper or cardboard, i think those would crease easily and are a bit too fragile to use as a screen.

Also being a full HD projector will the size of the screen and the distance between the screen and projector compromise my picture quality? Looking at about 5m between the screen and projector and about a 130-150 inch screen.
 
Hi Guys, I'm totally new to this and still figuring it as I go along. I have the Optoma HD65 and placed the PJ about 4.2 meters from a blank white wall that i painted with a matte Dulux paint I picked up from Builders Express. At that distance I get around 120" screen size and its awesome. Due to large windows I purchased blockout curtains from a place called Textrim (any textile shop has them in stock), apparently a similar material is used for screens and depending on the model and type of PJ one can flip the material over and utilize the grey side which enhances blacks. Also you chaps should check out AVForums PJ DIY section for tips.
 
A melamine or laminate as it's also known screen works great, but you need the right make of laminate. You'll see on AVForums that they primarily use Wilsonart for this because some laminates are very reflective.

I have tried a blackout cloth screen (wherever they sell curtains they'll sell blackout/blockout material) a Wilsonart Designer White as well as Fashion Grey laminate screens and my personal preference is for Designer White, which I am still using
 
zeb said:
A melamine or laminate as it's also known screen works great, but you need the right make of laminate. You'll see on AVForums that they primarily use Wilsonart for this because some laminates are very reflective.

I have tried a blackout cloth screen (wherever they sell curtains they'll sell blackout/blockout material) a Wilsonart Designer White as well as Fashion Grey laminate screens and my personal preference is for Designer White, which I am still using
Click to expand...

Where did you source your Designer White laminate screen from and what is the local description for it?

Is this the same as the hardboard about 3mm thick with just a white front instead of the normal brown unpainted finish?

Are you happy with contrast with some ambient lighting?

Is the Fashion Grey a light or darker Grey?
 
bmboy said:
Also being a full HD projector will the size of the screen and the distance between the screen and projector compromise my picture quality? Looking at about 5m between the screen and projector and about a 130-150 inch screen.
Click to expand...

You can get the optimal throw distances for your Projector make and model from Projector Central

It will also show you what size screen you will get based on the throw distance using sliders etc.
 
Astound said:
Where did you source your Designer White laminate screen from and what is the local description for it?

Is this the same as the hardboard about 3mm thick with just a white front instead of the normal brown unpainted finish?

Are you happy with contrast with some ambient lighting?

Is the Fashion Grey a light or darker Grey?
Click to expand...

Screen is home made. Got the laminate from Wood City - they rebrand it as LD but it's Wilsonart - the stamp is still on the back.

My room is very dark but even if I open the curtains or turn on the light it's very watchable.

Fashion Grey is a very light grey. I just felt the Designer White had more "pop" to it than the FG.
btw, I still have the 72" Fashion Grey screen if you're interested...:)

Fashion Grey color swatch:
Flat-Colours_20.gif
 
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I use my wall, projector has a setting to say what colour it's projecting onto so that it can (try) and compensate. Looks decent enough.
 
zeb said:
A melamine or laminate as it's also known screen works great, but you need the right make of laminate. You'll see on AVForums that they primarily use Wilsonart for this because some laminates are very reflective.

I have tried a blackout cloth screen (wherever they sell curtains they'll sell blackout/blockout material) a Wilsonart Designer White as well as Fashion Grey laminate screens and my personal preference is for Designer White, which I am still using
Click to expand...

If possible could you perhaps post some pics of it with your projector running? How would you rate these materials compared to proper projector screens?
 
I've never tried a proper "made for projector" screen because quality screens are quite expensive.
I checked out a lot of comments from here: DIY Screen section before choosing the route I did.

Here's an old pic I've posted before. Handheld camera (not 100% stable) and it's on a blackout cloth screen.
Mickey Rourke in Man On Fire:



Waiting to get my camera back and then I'll take some shots of the laminate screen.
 
zeb said:
I've never tried a proper "made for projector" screen because quality screens are quite expensive.
I checked out a lot of comments from here: DIY Screen section before choosing the route I did.

Here's an old pic I've posted before. Handheld camera (not 100% stable) and it's on a blackout cloth screen.
Mickey Rourke in Man On Fire:



Waiting to get my camera back and then I'll take some shots of the laminate screen.
Click to expand...

That looks pretty good, is that a full HD projector? I think the laminate route would be alot easier and less of a headache than the fabric one. I'd be concerned about the fabric collecting dust or worst case getting dirty or stained.
 
zeb said:
Screen is home made. Got the laminate from Wood City - they rebrand it as LD but it's Wilsonart - the stamp is still on the back.

My room is very dark but even if I open the curtains or turn on the light it's very watchable.

Fashion Grey is a very light grey. I just felt the Designer White had more "pop" to it than the FG.
btw, I still have the 72" Fashion Grey screen if you're interested...:)

Fashion Grey color swatch:
Flat-Colours_20.gif
Click to expand...

Had a look at Wood City site and saw that the Designer White is just off white/light grey as opposed to being pure white, which explains why you are getting the "pop"

Will check this out further. I currently have a manual roll down screen which is plain white but have ambient light and it tends to look washed out, but still watchable.

Been thinking of building a screen with nice black border frame to help with contrast :)
 
I went to Wood City in Cape Town today to look at the LM laminate 'Designer White' but they don't stock it in Cape Town. They don't even have anything usable as a screen under 16mm thick which is too heavy. I was referred to 'Max on Top' in Killarney Gardens. They stock it there. So if you are in Cape Town check them out.
 
my da-lite bought vs blackout cloth made screen opinions...

I used "curtain backing blackout cloth" from metro, cost about R50 a few years back for enough for a 90" or so screen bought some wood from timber city and used thumb tacks to secure it, it's been working like a charm for 2-3years now. I had a glass-beaded(da-lite) pull-down screen before i made this one, which was only 79" but to me the colors look more realistic on the blackout cloth screen as well as the contrast seems to have improved, also with the glass beaded screen there was a very slight "sparkle"(think twilight lol! - stupid sparkling vampires...) to the image and a slight shift in image brightness if you moved around the room(i think)!
 
Finally got my new projector:) Mounted it on the ceiling, got my HD Pvr setup and a PS3 connected... I'm still unsure as to what I should use as a screen... I'm projecting from 5.5m away and the maximum screen size i get fully zoomed is about 162inches. Now the laminate is out of the question because I dont think i'll be able to get a single sheet in that size... It would be a huge job to build a frame that size for blackout cloth... I'm currently projecting onto a dark pinkish maroon sort of wall and the picture seems pretty good to me, however it is a bit dull.... How would you guys rate a white wall? And what paint should I use? I'm thinking of painting the wall white with a black border as a temporary fix, and if it looks good to me it'll probably be permanent.... Just unsure as to what paint I should use... Any suggestions?
 
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