[Emil]

How much of a difference does a screen make?
I purchased some generic screen material on eBay and made my own 120 inch diag screen. Picture looks fine but can it be better? How much better? What about diminishing returns? When does that kick in?

I've seen screens for over $1000 Is that videophile territory?

[Bob in St. Louis]

How much difference it makes has quite a few factors involved to properly answer your question. You didn't think you'd get a straight and easy answer did you? 
There's quite a few "ifs ands or buts" to accurately answer your question, but I'll try to help.

-"Screen gain". A higher "gain" number in a screen in essence makes it more reflective. If you have a weak projector (PJ) in regards to lumen output, you would need a higher gain factor.
-If your PJ is mounted further back than recommended ("throw distance") then you'd need a higher than normal gain screen.
-If your rooms ambient light is not 100% controlled, again....guess what..... you need a higher gain screen.

Lets say you happened to fall on the right combination of the above variables (bright PJ, the correct gain for your room, and a 100% dark room);
-If you went out and bought a $1,000 worth of screen material, YOU MAY NOT NOTICE A DIFFERENCE.
-If you happened to buy the exact WRONG material, you may notice a lifesaving epiphany religious experience and for the rest of your natural born life, you'll be convinced $1,000 screens are well worth the dollars.

so......

Is  $1,000 screen "videophile territory"? I think so.
Could you benefit from an upgrade? Mmmmmm, maybe.

Can you provide a link to the screen material?
What PJ do you have?
What's the throw distance? (PJ's lens to the center of the screen)
Is ambient light controllable? How much?
Is the material stretched over an open frame, or is the frame "hard" (like the material is stapled on a wall kinda thing) basically, what is directly behind the material?

Bottom line, to answer your question as best as I can, a screen 'can' make a HUGE difference.

Bob

[zybar]

How much of a difference does a screen make?
I purchased some generic screen material on eBay and made my own 120 inch diag screen. Picture looks fine but can it be better? How much better? What about diminishing returns? When does that kick in?

I've seen screens for over $1000 Is that videophile territory?

What projector material did you buy?  Were you given any specs?

There are many screens out there that cost more than $1k new (especially in that large size).

I personally think a screen makes a significant impact over not having one, but that is simply an opinion.  As Bob said, above, the impact of the screen is based on many factors:

type of material used
what type and model of pj being used
room variables 

In terms of value and diminishing returns, that is a judgement call that is unique to each person and only you can answer that.

Here is a good article to read from projectorcentral.com:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/projection_screens_review.htm


Good luck and let us know if you have any specific follow-up questions.

George 

[Emil]

Thanks guys for the 411

The reason why I ask is that i sometimes feel that the colors are somewhat washed out.
My room is totally dark (basement) which is good and my projector is a highly rated Panasonic http://www.projectorcentral.com/panasonic_ax100.htm

I think I may have gotten a bit out of hand with the screen size (120 diag).

My room is roughly 24 by 13 with the screen on the short wall. The projector is about 15 feet from the screen.

I can no longer find the vendor on ebay but I remember it being a gain of 1 and white in color. It definitely is screen material. It has that texture and black backing.

I built the border myself using poplar wood and stapling the screen to it. No reflective black material was used to cover the wood.

[Emil]

Here is a pic of the room if it helps

[bpape]

You could definitely improve performance if the room walls/ceiling were darker colors.  With lighter walls, the light coming off the screen reflects back off the other walls and back onto the screen - thereby washing it out some.  Also, a darker front wall will tend to give you more apparent contrast - not really but your eye perceives it that way.

Bryan

[ted_b]

Maybe calibration is in order!

The screen color is also a factor.  Some newer powerfully bright LCD's like a grayer (Grayhawk, etc.) tinted screen, and with some gain, like 1.3.   But your best bet is to peruse the AVS Forum and find your pj there.  The thread will likely be huge and have a lot of info regarding optimim screen sizes, types, etc.  

I have a Stewart Studiotek 130 (meaning a gain of 1.3) 110" diag for many years.  Did well with my Runco CRT, and now my Sammy DLP.  And to Bryan's point, a darker room DEFINITELY helps.

Here's some AX100 stuff:
Owners thread with 4396 posts (then search on "screen" or "gain")
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=719857&highlight=ax-100

And a thread about issues:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=762444&highlight=ax-100

[Bob in St. Louis]

Like Bryan said, having a white ceiling, very light walls, and light carpet puts you behind the eight ball right off the bat.
Painting the front wall flat black will help, but is also VERY low on most WAF's. You could try hanging a dark colored drape, I'm sure it will help considerably.

Your PJ is rated at 2,000 ANSI lumens, which as the specs show is considerably brighter than my 800. (although you should never, never, never put much stock in manufacturers contrast and lumen ratings). I've also got another four feet thrown distance and 40 more inches (diagonal) with an inferior screen to yours. By all rights, yours should "blow mine away" for picture quality. But my picture looks very good, nice and bright.
I've also got much darker ceiling tiles. They're made by USG (.com) The model is Glacier 707 in Taupe, color swatch here:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.usg.com/graphics/images/selectors/swatches/taupe_107.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.usg.com/products/ceiling/advantageColors.jsp&h=65&w=65&sz=1&hl=en&start=23&um=1&tbnid=FvJBguSQRxH18M:&tbnh=65&tbnw=65&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dceiling%2Btile%2B707%2Busg%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

I bought them at Home Depot, if memory serves, they were $75 for a box of twelve. It'll do wonders for your perception of the overall video quality. This in combination with darkening the front wall would be huge.
(IMHO), you screen is probably fine, you'd have better results darkening the area surrounding the screen. A darker shade of paint on the walls, the darker tiles, and maybe a darker area rug between you and the screen should do wonders.

Sorry for rambling, been interupted many times while typing this. 

Bob

[Loftprojection]

In my previous setup I had painted the front wall, side walls and ceiling a dark wine red with a relatively dark colored carpet covering the center of the room over the maple floor.  The back wall was a light colored beige.  It looked very nice, no waf problems at all and it was perfect for picture quality, much much better then the light colored walls that were there in the beginning.  I think this has the potential to make a bigger difference then the screen itself for almost no $ investment.  By the way, just like you, I use a cheap ebay screen with a frame I built myself with pine wood covered in black velvet. 

[satfrat]

Real nice room Emil,,, I am totally envious. 

Cheers,
Robin

[Emil]

Thanks everyone for responding

You guys do have a point of the room being too bright. I noticed it the other night how the room illuminates during a movie. Since the walls are fiberglass panels,I think I'll try some retractable black curtains for the side and front walls. That leaves the ceiling tiles like Bob suggests.
All the above will be much cheaper than a new screen

Ted B
Thanks for taking the time to provide the links for AVS for me. I try to avoid that place because all that info tends to leave me paralyzed with TOO MUCH info if you know what I mean. I must of spent DAYS going over posts when I was looking for a projector leaving me just as undecided as when I started. 

[superchad]

I have same Projector and a pretty white room in basement, I just moved in during winter so I havent been able to paint or anything yet but I can give you my experience and ideas.
 I think you are pushing it with size and throw distance, at your screen size you should be at 16ft, anything more and image is going to wash out quickly. I did not notice how far you are throwing the image but from pic I assume its further than 16ft. Here is a link for the Projector we both have allowing you to see how much distance you can throw and how lights will affect room
 http://www.projectorcentral.com/Panasonic_Home-PT-AX100U-projection-calculator-pro.htm

I only go 90' on a budget screen (less than $100 manual) and I have a super bright crisp picture (only the blacks are lacking but thats the Projector technology) at any rate I throw around 11ft I think.
 My room is 14X24 and is in basement so there is no light, I have white ceiling and walls and light gray carpet and have no issues, I spent my working life in hi-end commercial printing so I dont think my eye for color and color quality can be questioned. I also have a Sony 34' XBR WEGA CRT which may be still one of the best pictures possible, and no the Projector doesnt match up but it certainly is better than you describe.
 I run Lexicon DVD, Toshiba HDDVD and TW HD cable with all AudioQuest YIQ3 wire....just for the record.
 If you have not checked out that calculator I sent then look into it and see if it can be fixed then please keep us posted, I am curious to see if this can be improved...cheers

[superchad]

BTW great looking room, if you saw mine you would know how good you have it! From what I gather 13-14 ft would give you brightest picture possible while useing lamp on low level output............put it this way, in my room I really cant even use "Living Room" settings in a dark room because I dont like how bright it gets, movie 1 and normal are my favorites and normal is what I use for sports with 2 60w lamps on when hanging with buds (sorta feels weird locked in a dark room for sports)..........again cheers

[Emil]

Thanks Superchad

According to the chart, with a 120 inch screen, the projector should optimally be 16 feet. My projector is 15 feet from the screen so I should be ok.

[bpape]

There's a difference between having the right throw distance and having enough light to fill X amount of screen surface area and not have to crank the brightness so far that it washes out the darks.   

I just ran the numbers with that PJ, throw, screen size, and screen gain of 1.0.  That says you have 19 Foot Lamberts brightness.  That should be plenty - however - that is toward the max screen size for very low ambient light.  I suspect a combination of calibration and darkening some of the room surfaces (specifically the front and rear walls) would give you a nice improvement.

Bryan

[Emil]

Bryan
Thanks for checking. I wasn't quite sure i was using the chart correctly.

I can see darkening the front walls but you would say that darkening my rear wall ( see room above) would have priority over the side walls? I guess that would make sense since the light would bounce directly back from the screen

[superchad]

I am no expert but from what I gather that 2 extra feet may give a good difference if you throw at 13 but again I am just a guy with a Projector.

[bpape]

Bryan
Thanks for checking. I wasn't quite sure i was using the chart correctly.

I can see darkening the front walls but you would say that darkening my rear wall ( see room above) would have priority over the side walls? I guess that would make sense since the light would bounce directly back from the screen

The front wall increases apparent contrast to the eye which allows you to turn down the actual brightness (a proper calibration will do this regardless).   The side walls should definitely be done too. 

Bryan