Projector Screen

[landerd]

Need some advice from all you gurus out there ;)

Mate of mine is building a media room as a new extension to his house and he is planning on having a projector which will be mounted in the ceiling and projectign onto a screen. The thing is the screen will be hidden when not in use because it is at the end of the room that the french doors/windows will be at. (I hope I have explained that well enough for you to understand! ;) )

So far we have thought of a few options:

Screen that rolls down from the ceiling. Rough price on this (including install) is about $3000 (from VideoPro IIRC)
Rigid panel raising from floor (have not even though of costings but seems to me that would be cheaper than $3000 as it would be a couple of servos, some building materials and a rigid screen)
Electronic Glass. I vaguely remember hearing about glass that would become opaque - my question is: would this be usable - is it opaque/white? (and of a quality good enough?)


Any suggestions and or pointers regarding this?

Thanks
Dave

[Dean Roddey]

The floor rising one sounds pretty difficult to me. The bottom of the screen will have to end up coming up a considerable way off the floor to reach the correct projection height. How much space do you have under the floor? You'd need the height of the screen plus the height of supporting beams to get the bottom of the screen up to viewing height, plus enough still in the floor after reaching full height to hold it securely. It seems like you'd need a lot of clearance under the floor to make that work?

[landerd]

There is quite a lot of room under the floor - but as I said we haven't really researched this option yet... I visualised telescopic arms to lift the screen into place, which would get around the need for extra depth required. Might be easier to have a one piece rigid screen come down similar to a multiple piece roller door - although then the screen and possibly mechanism would be exposed on the ceiling... Feel free to hit me with any thoughts or alternatives to the setup (I have attached a pic to make it easier to visualise ;) )

The glass wall is really french doors and glass leading out onto a deck area - this is one of the reasons I was thinking of avoiding the roll-down screen. In the brochure they show wall mount options - hanging in mid-room I suspect the screen may move quite a bit based on wind,etc. This is why I though of a rigid screen in the first place.

[dallaswillard]

Screen that rolls down from the ceiling. Rough price on this (including install) is about $3000 (from VideoPro IIRC)

Hi Dave,

How big is the screen your mate is looking to put in?

Installed on the ceiling would be the best way to go i would think so as that you do not take up valuable space on the floor.

IMO Herma (or LP Morgan) screens are the pick of them all, and they have a few levels of quality to pick from. The two most common being their 'Rondo' range and their entry level 'Grandview' Range

Widescreen Motorised with Wall Switch (Rondo)

Note: On motorised screen the costly part of the installation is becuase you need an electriction to wire it up

82" - $1789
92" - $1999
100" - $2019
110" - $2049
120" - $2299

Wisecreen Pull Down

82" - $979
92" - $1109
100" - $1129
110" - $1149
(bigger and smaller ones can be custom made to order)

Grandview Motorised Widescreen - uses a switch pre installed on cord (no hardwiring required)

102" - $1599

Grandview Pull Down Widesceen

92" - $599

(No custom sizes can be made in the Grandview Screens)

Hope This helps to a degree Dave

[dallaswillard]

hanging in mid-room I suspect the screen may move quite a bit based on wind,etc.

Most good quality drop down screen have weight bars in the bottom to limit this however it does not completely eliminate it if you have a very strong wind

[landerd]

Hi Dave,
How big is the screen your mate is looking to put in?
Installed on the ceiling would be the best way to go i would think so as that you do not take up valuable space on the floor.
IMO Herma (or LP Morgan) screens are the pick of them all, and they have a few levels of quality to pick from. The two most common being their 'Rondo' range and their entry level 'Grandview' Range
Widescreen Motorised with Wall Switch (Rondo)
Note: On motorised screen the costly part of the installation is becuase you need an electriction to wire it up
82" - $1789
92" - $1999
100" - $2019
110" - $2049
120" - $2299
Wisecreen Pull Down
82" - $979
92" - $1109
100" - $1129
110" - $1149
(bigger and smaller ones can be custom made to order)
Grandview Motorised Widescreen - uses a switch pre installed on cord (no hardwiring required)
102" - $1599
Grandview Pull Down Widesceen
92" - $599
(No custom sizes can be made in the Grandview Screens)
Hope This helps to a degree Dave
Thanks for that Dallas - I got a the details he was quoted:

Home Theatre Screen with infra red remote control you can purchase the screen technics 130 " Diag or 1980mm x 2640mm video format screen. It is available in several sizes, this one is just in the middle of your 2 - 3 metre request. This premium model comes with the remote control and integrated IR Reciever module. Price Inc GST is $2387. Installation for such an item is typically as an estimate $950 dollars which includes the 240v works.

Are the Rondo prices you quoted including install? (If not they are fairly similar to the quote he got)

Another question:
What are the benefits of having a screen as compared to projecting on a plain white surface (ie wall etc)?

Thanks
D

[Forumadmin]

Another question:
What are the benefits of having a screen as compared to projecting on a plain white surface (ie wall etc)?

DCost and picture quality, the quality loss depends on the projector you purchase and the amount of light in the room. However the question should be which projector can you recommend? Don't start me.

[dallaswillard]

Cost and picture quality.

Exactly What Ross said. Paints are generally created to be an absorbing material which is not the ideal situation you want to project an image onto.

Screens are speciall designed to be slightly reflective enabling image clarity and brightness levels to be maintained.

If you have a modern day DLP or LCD projector a screen with a gain of 1.1 (which most modern day screens are) where as if you are using a CRT projector then a screen of higher gain / reflection would be required, somewhere around a gain of 1.7

And regardless of what is said matte white is the best colour surface :)

[landerd]

Thanks to you both for your words of wisdom :)

Looking into the possibility of a rigid screen rising out of the floor. Just put the thought in his head to excavate under (it's on a slope so wouldn't be too hard) to make it a bit easier on installation and maintenance. Looking into using something similar to a garage door opener to bring the screen/mount up into the room. (In other word we're still bashing ideas around the head ;) )