| Projector Screens and what to look
for |
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| As you know from reading magazines
and looking through the internet, there are many manufacturers
of screens on the market making it difficult to find the right
screen that will give you the best picture for the money.
Most of the time retailers can't give
you the information you require as they simply don't know
enough about the specialist market of screens.
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| Choosing the right size screen |
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The first decision you need to make
when choosing a screen is its size.
Many people assume that bigger is better, but in many cases
you just end up with poorer resolution and eye strain from trying
to take in so much moving information from such a large area.
The screen size should be governed by the distance you are sitting
from the image. As a general rule the screen should be roughly
half as wide as the viewing distance, ie: if you are 12-14ft
away a 7ft screen should be a comfortable size. |
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| How far back from the screen should
I put my projector |
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| When looking
at the specifications on a projector you will find what
is called the throw ratio. This basically tells you the
minimum and maximum distance that the projector needs
to be from the screen. For example:
Infocus
IN78 has a throw ratio of 1.52 - 1.92:1
To work out the minimum distance the projector can be
from the screen, you simply times the width of the viewing
area by the lowest number of the throw ratio.
For example the 7ft Cyber
screen has a viewing area from left to right of
80", so you calculate 80" x 1.52 =121.6"
To work out the maximum distance from screen to projector
you calculate
80" x 1.92 = 156.6"
So with an 80" screen
you can put the IN78 at a distance of 121.6 - 156.5"
away, to be on the safe side it is best to mount the
projector in the middle of these two measurements.
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| What to look for in a Projection
Screen |
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The Gain
This is a very important factor when looking for a home cinema
screen and can be confusing. Basically the higher the gain,
the more reflection you will get, therefore giving you a low
contrast.
Screens that give a high gain are generally
designed for office/presentation use, as this would be used
during the day in lightened conditions.
For Home cinema you want a gain of between 1 to 1.3. This
will give you the optimum picture quality from your projector.
i.e. the darker the room the better the picture quality will
be, like when going to the cinema.
Our Grandview
Cyber screens all have a gain of 1 to 1.1
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Screen
Material
This is another major factor to look for when buying a
screen. There are so many manufacturers that offer screens
with wafer thin material, which would degrade the image
as you will visibly be able to see ripples, creases and
any curls on the screen. If this is installed in front
of a window it will allow light to seap through the screen,
making the picture very dull.
Our Grandview
Cyber screens come with an American made three ply
top quality screen material. The screen material is
tear resistant, fireproof, wrinkle proof and is designed
to hang perfectly flat. The centre layer is a glass
fibre net producing a flex rate of less than 1% compared
with the industry average of 33%. The front layer optimises
contrast and reflectivity while a black PVC backing
prevents light leakage and helps retain a uniformly
flat projection surface.
All Screens come with a heavy weighted bar at the bottom,
making the screen taught as can be.
The screens come in a matt
white finish which is designed for home cinema as what
is used in all commercial cinemas. Some manufacturers
recommend a grey or silver finish. Silver and grey materials
were developed some years ago to help increase the perceived
contrast of the projected image. Commercial cinemas
use a white matt material as the projectors used are
of the highest quality and have very high contrast specifications.
Home cinema projectors have improved dramatically over
the years from the average contrast being 500:1 to now
over 3000:1. For this reason matt white as used commercially
is highly recommended as unlike its grey counter part
does not alter colour reproduction.
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Installation
Alot of screens now make it very difficult to install,
as the fixing points are located at either side of the
screen. (This can be difficult when installing on the
ceiling as you have to locate a joist that is in the exact
place as the end cap of the screen).
Because of the thickness of the
material and the weighted bar, this needs to have a
good fixing weather it be on the ceiling to a joist
or on a plasterboard wall into an up right. our Grandview
Cyber Screens come with easy clip on brackets, making
it very easy to install as the brackets can go anywhere
along the side of the screen, making sure you get the
best fixing you can.
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Our manual
pull down screens
As well as looking for the above in a pull down screen,
our screens give many new features you won't find on any
other screen.
The Grandview
Cyber pull down screens have a unique gear system
that prevents the screen bar from hitting the case by
slowing retracting it. Most other manual pull down screens
work like a roller blind, as soon as you let it go it
will spring into the case causing damage. Our system
allows the user to easily lock the screen in any desired
postion by simply briefly pulling the screen down and
briefly pausing the screen will lock into the desired
position. Many other screens will only lock every 5".
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Electric Screens
As well as looking for the above in an electric screen
i.e gain, material and installation, our screens have
many features that makes it one of a kind.
The motors used are all made by Somfy which you will
find on most high end screens.
Some projectors i.e. Sim2, Infocus
and Themescene come with 12 volt triggers. This basically
means that when the projector is turned on the screen
will then be triggered by a 2 core cable wired from
the projector to the screen to come down. Our Grandview
Cyber screens now come with a 12 volt trigger and an
infra red unit built into
the facia of the screen allowing you to operate the
screen via remote (included). If you are installing
the screen behind a pelmet or in the ceiling, you can
plug in an external IR which allows you to move the
sensor into a different location.
The Grandview Cyber screen also
comes with a 3 button override which is located on the
left end cap of the screen, allowing you to manually
switch the screen up and down.
The Screens are a stylish looking
curved white case and features 60cm black border on
the top, which is ideal if installing on a high ceiling.
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Fixed Frame
Screens
Wev'e had many problems with fixed frame screens from
other manufacturers. Often when installing light leakage
would shine through the gap between each press stud round
the screen material. Our new Grandview
Fixed Frame screen comes with a unique way of installing
the material on to the frame. A steel rod slides though
a looped seam all the way round each edge of the material.
The bars are then pull tightly on to the frame causing
the material to be very taught.
All Grandview fixed frame screens
are finished in a stylish black velvet.
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