Can anyone help me with a source for material suitable for use as a projector screen? I've tried googling on various ccombinations of 'projector' 'screen' 'material' 'display' etc, but can only come up with people who want to charge me £1000 for a bit of cloth :(
Having made the decision to buy a projector and sound system, I really don't want to spoil the effect by projecting onto a white plater wall, but finances won't stretch to an additional grand for the screen right now.
Any ideas?
Tim
p.s. hello again - been a year or so since I last posted here I think:)
This *might* appear as a sorta double post - if it does - apologies. I posted a similar message earlier, but when I clicked on it once it had appeared in the list, I got a 'this message is no longer available' note - dunno why. Anyway, here goes
I'm looking for a source of the material that is used to make projector screens. A quick google using various combinations of 'screen' 'projector' 'material' etc has given me an invaluable insight into how the various options work, but not where to buy the stuff
Also - would *very bright, white paint* do as a stopgap? (I've been warned against just projecting against a normal white wall)
How about cutting up a secondhand slide projector screen? You should be able to get one with a "wanted" ad in your local classifieds paper..shouldn't cost more than a tenner.
For that sort of money I would expect you are looking at higher gain/contrast stuff. Which is 'kin expensive (although to be fair the performance is *so* much better than you can achieve with a flat white screen). The very best stuff looks dark grey under ambient light and will give TV like contrast even with the room lights on.
We have done a few for clients recently - it is not quite as simple a subject as you might first think!
I assume we are talking front projection?
Price does vary quite a bit depending on what you are after - but there is not usually much to be had (that will outperform a white wall anyway) for under £350.
What spec do you want? You need to decide on:
size, aspect ratio? What is the lumen output of the projector, and how much ambient light does it need to compete with? (that will tell you what gain you need form the screen)
Is it to be fixed or retractable? If retractable, do you want electric or manual?
If fixed, how? (to a wall, ceiling mount, floor to ceiling guide wires (i.e. shop display style))
How close to the projector axis will viewers be, and hence how much "hot spot" or vignetting is acceptable?
What type of surround to the screen (for example having a black edge to the screen significantly enhances the apparent contrast)?
Yes, it'll do very well indeed, and save lots of money, as well as not cluttering up the place with naff equipment. Just make sure you've got a nice flat wall, and go at it with matt paint.
If you are wanting something at the cheaper end of the marked then I can highly recommend using BlackOut material I used this to make a large screen and was impressed with it considering the price. For < £40 I got enough material to make a 2.5M screen and all the wood too! The material can be found at any decent fabric place like Fabric Warehouse or John Lewis
From my 35mm slide days I recall that screens were made with fine glass beads in order to give the best reflection - or were an embossed lenticular pattern. A screen needs to reflect in a controlled manner. White matt paint will tend to absorb more light than a screen. At my place of work we went through a time where the plant engineers thought that they could make a screen in a conference room by painting the wall white. The difference was amazing when some started to be fitted with proper screens. I think electric operation is a bit of a waste of money though.
Does it really have to cost a grand? I have no idea how big your image is going to be, but Richer Sounds 'bargain bucket' department was flogging off Panasonic projector screens for 40 quid when I last looked. It can't hurt to give them a call.
I'm in a similar situation (converting a shed to a home cinema room - long story!) and there is no way I'm going to spend £1000 for a screen. good luck with the hunt.
Yup - wall is apprx 5m from the projection point, and at that distance the Sanyo PLV Z4 (current probable acquisition) should make a decent sized image. The throw ratio might be incapable of making a small enough image for the wall at that distance though - need to check this out.
5m diagonal, 16:9
1000 lumens (maybe too low?) - but room can be made almost dark even in bright sunlight. (It's a converted garage). It *does* have 7000:1 contrast ratio tho'
I'd have gone for fixed, but as the room look as though it's now going to have to double as a teenagers games room during the day - I doubt it would last long before getting scuffed or beer and pizza stained....so retractable, and as I'm a bit of a gadget nerd it would have to be remote control retractable....
If fixed, then directly to the wall. If retractable, to the ceiling.
*I* will sit directly under the projector (it's going to sit in a cupboard behind a wall and shine through a glass plate). The rest of the rabble can sit wherever they like.
If it was going to be fixed, I intended to make a black frame to surround it. (I've also been told that this can fool the eye on a plain wall - is this true?) I'm a picture framer by hobby (not trade - yet) so I have the requisite tools to make sure it's 'rectangular'
Thanks for the relevent questions - brought up a couple of points I hadn't yet considered.
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