I have been a lurker hear for while and find these forums to be amazingly helpful. I have been planning on a Front projector for a room that has 8 foot ceilings and is 16 Feet Long. I have read many reviews on this forum and others. Over this past week I spotted a Stewart Firehawk Screen for sale on craigslist. Its 1.5 years old and is a manual pull down, and I bought it yesterday. The hard part now is that I have the screen first I need to find the right projector to match it with. I do plan on ceiling mounting it, and have controlled lighting but dont always want to sit in the dark to enjoy. My budget is around the 3000.00 mark.

I have done extensive research here on the forums and need feedback from the experts here on which projector would work best with my Firehawk 91 inch screen. So far I think I have narrowed down the projectors to the Epson, Panny, and Mits. With my new screen and room specs what would you recommend. I am open to others too. I wil be using the projector for HD football through DirecTV, A Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, and Blue Ray/HD DVD movies.

Thanks for your help in advance. I want to buy my projector this week.

Over this past week I spotted a Stewart Firehawk Screen for sale on craigslist. Its 1.5 years old and is a manual pull down, and I bought it yesterday.

Are you sure? Generally Manufacturers dont make pull downs with tensionable material but I guess it would be possible in their Communicator line.

I would do some serious reading before jumping into too many more things. Especially for a projector.

Welcome

With that screen size, I think the Sony Pearl or the BenQ 9000 would look pretty damn good. Definitely look at them in that price range.

TryG thanks for your response......
The model # on the screen is FireHawk Model COM092HFHW-3-2-5 the Screen size is 45 X 80 inches. It seems to be a tension screen as I can see the black wire on the sides in the casing. I have yet to open it up but it does appear to have a silver screen finish.

The reason I ask about which projector to use is the fact I did all my research not knowing what kind of screen i would end up with. The Stewart I bought was such a good deal that I decided to pull the trigger and buy it first. So to clarify my initial question... What would be an ideal projector for use with a FireHawk screen with a 16 foot long room, and ceiling mounting it?
Thanks for all your help. This forum has been amazingly helpful!

Is your Firehawk the original material or the newer G3 or SST screen material? I tried the JVC RS1 (Pearl is similar) on the original Firehawk and it was not a good match. It really crushes the lower IRE details and disrupts the Gamma curves.

Is your Firehawk the original material or the newer G3 or SST screen material? I tried the JVC RS1 (Pearl is similar) on the original Firehawk and it was not a good match. It really crushes the lower IRE details and disrupts the Gamma curves.


Not quite sure which screen material it is. In my last post I listed the model number. I think it atleats 2 generations old. Perhpas the communitcator Firehawk line. I have read that a DLP projector would be best. I am sure they are all good, I am just looking for the right projector for this screen.

Older DLP's were best on the 1st gen Firehawk as the design helped the black levels. With the newer design DLP chips, black levels are no longer an issue. In fact, the Firehawk actually hurts the performance of the newest PJ's like the Pearl, RS1 and the latest DLP's like the Marantz S4, Sharp 20K etc.

Just something to consider. I have the older Firehawk and I am planning to change the screen material as soon as some funds come available.

So would you guys advise me on getting a different screen? Is this screen I bought worse off then others in the sub 500 range? Is there a current 1080 projector that would work well, or did I waste my money on it?

I think a brighter LCD such as the Epson 1080p model would mate well with the Firehawk and it's in your price range.


Scott

I think a brighter LCD such as the Epson 1080p model would mate well with the Firehawk and it's in your price range.


Scott

The Epson was one of the 1080P's on my list. Do you think it will look better with the Firehawk or should I buy a package deal from a forum sponsor that comes with an Elite? Which would look better? At this point I would be willing to eat the money spent on the Firehawk for a better quality. I am also not very handy and would have to hire my handi man to install the screen and projectr. (unless theres someone in LA that wants to help me or hire them). So I want to be sure i do it right the first time and I am happy with the results. Thanks in advance once again, and I appreciate all the responses so far.

It is incredibly easy to install a screen and pj. Tools required are a level, a drill, and a tape measure (maybe). Its a bit more difficult if you have a pj with no lens shift, but it still isn't hard. I would take the money you would have used to have it installed and put it into the pj.

How close are you going to be sitting? You could probably go with a 720p projector. A damn good one can be had for less than $3k.

I had a Sony Ruby with my 106" firehawk and it was georgeous. The Pearl is definitely plenty bright enough to light that smaller screen up. I had my Ruby for a lot more than a week and have had my HD1 for several months now.

The firehawk would be an awesome screen for either projector, though the RS1 is probably out of your $3000 price range.

Look for a used Sony Pealr in the classifieds. You could get one for less than your budget.

Scott

I had a Sony Ruby with my 106" firehawk and it was georgeous. The Pearl is definitely plenty bright enough to light that smaller screen up. I had my Ruby for a lot more than a week and have had my HD1 for several months now.

The firehawk would be an awesome screen for either projector, though the RS1 is probably out of your $3000 price range.


I will be sitting about 11-12 feet back from the 92 inch screen. Yes the Rs1 is a bit above my price range. I jujst want to be sure the Firehawk even though 2 generations old will still give me a great picture. If I am going to the effort of putting together this system I want to make sure I will be getting all the picture I can achieve. I will look into the Sony Pearl. Which would be better for my screen the Pearl or the Epson?

Look for a used Sony Pealr in the classifieds. You could get one for less than your budget.

Scott

My only concern with the Pearl is the 900 Lumens. It seems a bit low? Will I have any problems with any ambient light if I dont want to watch in complete darkness. What are you take on the Panasonic 720P 2000 lumens with my Older Firehawk screen, or the 1080P Panasonic, compared to the Sony, or the Epson?

900 lumens is not low at all. For illustrative purposes, I used to run my Sharp 12k in high contrast mode, low lamp, on my 106 firehawk G1. Now you probably wont be using all of those lumens in your setup, but youll probably keep a similar, maybe a little lower, number to that of the RS1.

The RS1 is probably at 50 to 60% of that 900 in most setups and it fills my 128" Carada BW nicely. Sometimes, in brighter scenes I find it still too bright in normal lamp mode.

Theres a lot to be said for Contrast Ratio, whether its dynamic or not. I havent seen the Panasonic so I cant tell you from visual experience, but based on numbers and on what others who have seen them both have said, it is likely a tough hill to climb for the Panasonic.

The Benq W9000 on the other hand is in a similar price range to the Pearl and has vertical stretch and CMS built in, which if you might want to walk down the 2.35 path eventually, will save you some $ on having to add a video processor for the Pearl.

It is also a bit brighter than the Sharp 12k in its best contrast mode, so should fill that screen up nicely. You lose the CR goodness of the Pearl, but I hear it puts out an awesome picture still and you do get the added benefits of being able to go into a 2.35 setup without nearly as much hassle.

The only one I can comment on is the only one I own, the Panasonic PT-AE1000U, it's incredible. The images are so film-like, and it's plenty bright for me. I have it projected onto a 100" Carada BW screen, completely light controlled. Give it a serious consideration, it's amazing. Not sure they are still doing the $1000 manufacturers rebate, but it's worth looking into. All told, I got it for just under $2600.

I am running an RS1 on the exact same 80 x 45 pull down Communicator. Stewart did not really want to make it because they prefer the motorized screens. Apparently the manuals can have greater wear and wrinkle issues with time as compared to the mororized. I have had mine for 5 years without any problems. In preparation for the RS1, I did have it changed to the new Firehawk material. The picture is awesome. I project from 12 feet and view from 16 feet. The RS1 actually has a little too much brightness for that size screen so I believe the bright compression of the silver screen works to my advantage. I get very nearly picture frame blacks and just short of squinting whites. Can't ask for more than that. The ambient light control capabilities of the Firehawk are amazing. I can watch TV with lights on in the room and still get a picture as good as most RPTV's. With today's low black projectors, the real benefit of the Firehawk is ambient light control for thhose of us who do not have a dedicated bat-cave for our setup.

I am running an RS1 on the exact same 80 x 45 pull down Communicator. Stewart did not really want to make it because they prefer the motorized screens. Apparently the manuals can have greater wear and wrinkle issues with time as compared to the mororized. I have had mine for 5 years without any problems. In preparation for the RS1, I did have it changed to the new Firehawk material. The picture is awesome. I project from 12 feet and view from 16 feet. The RS1 actually has a little too much brightness for that size screen so I believe the bright compression of the silver screen works to my advantage. I get very nearly picture frame blacks and just short of squinting whites. Can't ask for more than that. The ambient light control capabilities of the Firehawk are amazing. I can watch TV with lights on in the room and still get a picture as good as most RPTV's. With today's low black projectors, the real benefit of the Firehawk is ambient light control for thhose of us who do not have a dedicated bat-cave for our setup.

GTIMBERS - Thanks for your reply. How does one go about getting the screen replaced to the new material. Should I just go buy a new screen and eat the cost. I have also been suggested that the Firehwak I bought will actually be worse for todays 1080p projectors as there is no need for the deeper blacks. If I were to start over what package say 1080P projector and screen would u recommend?

In my opinion, with the much improved black level of recent projectors, I think the primary benefit of the Firehawk is ambient light control. If you have a "normal" room in which you are trying to enjoy home theater, you should be very pleased with the FH. If you have a dedicated room with total light control, then it is probably not necessary. In either case, if your projector has good light output, all the silver will do is reduce the "pop" of the whites somewhat but it will give an even blacker appearing black. I would prefer this situation since none of the existing non-CRT units produce really black blacks.

I would not worry about what version of FH it is until you get your projector and notice a problem. Remember, many of the people writing on this page are really in to this field and may consider a particular issue to be severe when you or I or ??? don't really notice it. Get your projector, hook things up and enjoy. I think you will be blown away at what you end up with. If things start bothering you, you can work on the details one at a time. Don't obsess about them now. The area of contention is the grain size of the new vs. old coating on the FH. The older version was grainer (larger bumps) and that can interfer with the finer pixel spacing of the 1080 sets. I think you will find this issue secondary to many other things like color accuracy, light output, accurate gray scale, quality optics, etc. You have plenty of things to deal with in making a projector choice and the screen you now have will do a very fine job, at the very minimum.

In my opinion, with the much improved black level of recent projectors, I think the primary benefit of the Firehawk is ambient light control. If you have a "normal" room in which you are trying to enjoy home theater, you should be very pleased with the FH. If you have a dedicated room with total light control, then it is probably not necessary. In either case, if your projector has good light output, all the silver will do is reduce the "pop" of the whites somewhat but it will give an even blacker appearing black. I would prefer this situation since none of the existing non-CRT units produce really black blacks.

I would not worry about what version of FH it is until you get your projector and notice a problem. Remember, many of the people writing on this page are really in to this field and may consider a particular issue to be severe when you or I or ??? don't really notice it. Get your projector, hook things up and enjoy. I think you will be blown away at what you end up with. If things start bothering you, you can work on the details one at a time. Don't obsess about them now. The area of contention is the grain size of the new vs. old coating on the FH. The older version was grainer (larger bumps) and that can interfer with the finer pixel spacing of the 1080 sets. I think you will find this issue secondary to many other things like color accuracy, light output, accurate gray scale, quality optics, etc. You have plenty of things to deal with in making a projector choice and the screen you now have will do a very fine job, at the very minimum.


Gtimbers
Thanks for your response. This is exactly what i was looking for. In your opinion what would be a good projector to start with to match the Communicator Firehwak screen? I looked into the sony but its huge, and not sure I want to support a sony product due to many issues with Sony electronics over the years. The only Sony I own are their recievers which I think are great. Anyways how do you feel about starting my first projector project with the Firehawk, and A) Epson Home Cinema B) Panasonic 1000U or C) Mits HC5000

Do you think LCD or DLP will make a difference on this screen? Is one better then the other for the Firehawk?

I am just about ready to pull the plug. My goal is to have Projector full up and running by Football season. I want to put the order in this week. Thanks for everyones feedback. Just a bit more info and opinions and I am set. This forum is great keep the responses rolling! :)

Maybe you can consider Optoma HD80 as well? It is a 1080p DLP and fit your budget.

Peter

I am running an RS1 on the exact same 80 x 45 pull down Communicator. Stewart did not really want to make it because they prefer the motorized screens. Apparently the manuals can have greater wear and wrinkle issues with time as compared to the mororized. I have had mine for 5 years without any problems. In preparation for the RS1, I did have it changed to the new Firehawk material. The picture is awesome. I project from 12 feet and view from 16 feet. The RS1 actually has a little too much brightness for that size screen so I believe the bright compression of the silver screen works to my advantage. I get very nearly picture frame blacks and just short of squinting whites. Can't ask for more than that. The ambient light control capabilities of the Firehawk are amazing. I can watch TV with lights on in the room and still get a picture as good as most RPTV's. With today's low black projectors, the real benefit of the Firehawk is ambient light control for thhose of us who do not have a dedicated bat-cave for our setup.

Yeah, I like the Firehawk myself glad to hear it confirmed with the RS1. 8)

Dear Mr. Shaft,

Unfortunately I don't have any experience with the projectors you mention. I have owned only 2 in my lifetime. Marantz VP12 and the RS1. All of the Projectors are rather different in the image they throw. You should choose one that best meets your taste. I promise that the screen will be a secondary issue compared to the choice of projector. Sorry I can't suggest any further.

Greg

I am in the process of choosing the right projector, and want to thank all whom has responded to my questions. Its amazing how helpful and kind all are on this forum. Thanks again for all the help and I hope others too can learn from my experience.

I will post what projector I end up with, and also post some pics when its up and running.

WAIT!!!!

Don't come back here after you choose the "RIGHT" projector.
You will be sorry:) :)