I setup my D50 in my basement to be a beater projector for video games. I'm running it on a ~88" wide screen that consists of two white sheets back-to-back. The room is blacked out quite well with black sheets hung on the walls and carpet (black-out on a budget!). I know that the screen is far from optimal because if I tape a piece of white paper to it I see a noticeably brighter pic on the area of the paper. The sheets aren't 100% opaque and in the back-to-back configuration there's softening of the image as the light hits one sheet, then hits the one behind it. Plus, to get a semi-decent picture I have to crank the brightness and contrast up each to around 70, which on a D50 will probably eat through my tubes pretty quickly. So, my question -- what kind of screen should I get? I was thinking of a 96" wide 1.5 gain pull-down screen. My seating is about 8' back from the screen, the projector is floor-mounted, though it's mounted high and aimed down a bit so that the seating -- a futon -- can reside in front of the projector. All the seating is pretty much on-axis so I'd think a higher gain would be okay. While 96" is definately pushing it for a lowly D50, it really give that WOW factor and I'd think a 1.5 gain screen would help quite a bit while not yielding too much color shift or hot-spotting. The other options would be to go with perhaps a 1.1 or 1.3 gain screen. Opinions? I guess I'm asking because I've always went with 1.0 gain screens in the past. Would 1.5 gain be a little high or just about right? Thanks!

I hate pull-down screens. Even the fancy motorized ones. Especially if you don't need to retract them. Ripples, waves, yech. The tensioning is never sufficient.

Is the screen location against a wall? If so, start with the $25 Home Depot melamine board.

Yeah, true, there is rippling. Though compared to the sheet I'm using that would be minor. However, I suppose that a higher gain would make ripples more obvious.

The screen is against a wall. I went over to Home Depot looking for surfaces that would work as a permanent screen and didn't find much. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places. I'll have to ask them about "melamine board".

I've also read posts about designer white Wilsonart laminate (tried looking for that as well at Home Depot). I think I found a source for it online. Is that stuff pretty stable on it's own or does it need to be mounted to a wood frame? Any approximate gain of that material?

I also read a DIY guide on Curt's site for making a screen by pulling a white blackout curtain over a wood frame and stapling it down. Seemed pretty economical, though the gain would not be over 1.0.

96" wide 1.5 gain? Go for a 96" wide 2.7 gain and get a 96x96" Da-Lite High Power, then mask off the top/bottom to get the 16:9 appearance. About $180-220 delivered if you look hard enough.

Will blow the doors off the blackout cloth. Works better if the PJ is floor or table mounted though.

I've also read posts about designer white Wilsonart laminate (tried looking for that as well at Home Depot). I think I found a source for it online. Is that stuff pretty stable on it's own or does it need to be mounted to a wood frame? Any approximate gain of that material?
The gain of the WilsonArt Designer White laminate is 1.24

http://crtforum.com/img/gain.gif

Yes, it's available at HD (special order Wilsonart Designer White D354-60 from the kitchen cabinet department), but it's usually found much cheaper at local cabinet/countertop shops. Make sure you get the thicker grade stuff, not the thinner postforming or vertical grades.

Very informative. Thanks Clarence!

Eddie, I'll have to consider a higher gain screen option.

I am headed to HD this week to try and find the Wilsonart material. Clarence, you would be proud as I'm finally making some progress with my NEC. I had heard so many negative comments about the manual that I had purposely avoided it and instead read the user created guides. Those are great as well but I have found many mistakes that I was making before which the manual cleared up for me. One in particular which is going to sound really stupid I know. I had set the tabs for each lens to the locations for a zero degree setup rather than 11 degree. Once I fixed that I was able to get much better focus at the corners and better overall focus. I feel sure that the Wilsonart screen will look much better than what I'm currently using which is a wall with a huge window in the middle of it with white plantation blinds!

The best source I've found online for Wilsonart Designer White laminate is http://www.cabinetparts.com . They have "5X8 D354 60 107 DESIGNER WHITE" for $80.81. Shipping is about $50. Anyone know of a better source?

The best source I've found online for Wilsonart Designer White laminate is http://www.cabinetparts.com . They have "5X8 D354 60 107 DESIGNER WHITE" for $80.81. Shipping is about $50. Anyone know of a better source?

Have you tried Home Depot or Lowe's?

The best source I've found online for Wilsonart Designer White laminate is http://www.cabinetparts.com . They have "5X8 D354 60 107 DESIGNER WHITE" for $80.81. Shipping is about $50. Anyone know of a better source?See above about my suggestion to check your local cabinet/countertop shop (the local dealers here have it for about $90 less than the price you're looking at) and/or Home Depot.

Here's the WilsonArt Distributor Locator site:
http://wilsonart.com/design/directory/finddist.asp

You did say that you already read the "Laminate Screen Material (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=708240)" thread in the DIY Screen subforum, right?

You did say that you already read the "Laminate Screen Material (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=708240)" thread in the DIY Screen subforum, right?

No, I didn't read it word for word. That thread is 68 pages long! It's really hard to get useful information quickly by reading such long threads verses just asking another question. Searching on this forum just isn't as good as it used to be. Of course when you consider the immense data on this forum, it's not surprising that searching doesn't work as well anymore.

No, I didn't read it word for word. That thread is 68 pages long! It's really hard to get useful information quickly by reading such long threads verses just asking another question. Searching on this forum just isn't as good as it used to be. Of course when you consider the immense data on this forum, it's not surprising that searching doesn't work as well anymore.

Almost everything you need to know is in the first post.

Almost everything you need to know is in the first post.

Good to know. Thanks.