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125K views 1K replies 192 participants last post by  Keith Mickunas 
#1 ·
That is the question, recently I became the proud new owner of an Epson 8350 and started researching screens. I have shown it on my wall for a week and a half and have decided on a 120 inch 16*9 screen for my room. This now leads to the difficult decision of a screen and a tight budget hence no high power.
So now I humbly ask for advice of the those more experienced than I.

Projector: Epson 8350

Screen Size: 120 inch 16*9

Viewing Habits: 75% Sports 15% TV 10% Blue ray

Sources: Panny BD 85 and Comcast cable HD

Room: Light controlled Basement 12*17 room open to rest of basement

Throw Distance:17 feet

Seating: Primary 11 Ft. and 17Ft.

Budget: Under 500


Through research and budget constraints these are my two front runners Jamestown aka Shopping deals on Ebay 120 in. or Elite EZ frame my gut says Elite but my wallet says Jamestown your happy with the wall just any screen will blow you away. The Elite is roughly twice the price of the Jamestown and I wonder if I should just spend the extra now or get my feet wet cheap.


This has been a difficult decision so all advice and opinions are welcomed.
Thank you for any help and if any other info is needed please ask.


Scott
 
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#879 ·
It's funny people are still ordering these...Within a month and a half of waiting, I heard both the "screen material shipment was delayed" as well as the "mother in law being in the hospital for over a week."

I finally get the screen and the center where the two frames come together are very far off from being aligned and it looks like DIY project gone wrong.

I sold it locally for less than half a few months later as I couldn't get rid of it fast enough.

Caveat emptor as you've seen time and time again on here, but if you do want to take the gamble, order it from Ebay and check in with him weekly.
 
#882 ·
Where you order doesn't matter... it's the same individual completing your order regardless of channel. And the timing will always be "next week." If you want to deal with a vendor who you feel gives preferential treatment to customers who order via ebay over those who speak with them directly, this may be your guy per the above posts. You could be like bighvy76 and strike the mother lode receiving someone else's screen or, like the rest of us, strike out. After 3 months of buffoonery, I'll at least concede that my screen went together well but it isn't very high quality and I wouldn't do it again. Good luck with your purchase.
 
#884 ·
hey guys,


Figured I'll just chime in with the latest.


I ordered a 100" Jamestown screen back in September, and it was shipped after 10 days of placing the order, pretty much exactly what James promised. The screen was then stuck at Canadian custom for another 10 days but that's got nothing to do with Jamestown. I hesitated to order because Jamestown had some issues with delivery, but I just wanted to say those are probably in the past.


Anyways, screen came, I finally had the time to put it together this past weekend. It's the first time I'm putting together a projector screen so it took a little extra time. All in all it took me (with a bit of help from my wife in stretching of the screen) ~ 3 hours. If I am to do it again, it will probably still take 1.5-2 hours. It took a few times of flipping the screen over, checking for wrinkles and re-stretch ... but when all is done it is perfect, wrinkle free.


My impression of the screen is the quality is top notch. The frame border is 3.5" wide which gives it a nice, heavy, high end feel. Frame is nicely wrapped in black velvet. The frame is made of wood with aluminum support frame, it's solid once put together. Mine is 100" and only needs 1 center support. Holes are pre-drilled and assembly was easy.


The screen material is nice too. It's a thick, unstretchable thick vinyl material. Stretching of the tabs took some time, but overall it's not too hard either. The mechanism that clamps on to the screen is also solid.


So after a few trials, most of the wrinkles were gone, just a couple pinch points left on the screen because I kinda folded the screen when trying to work the tabs into the frame ... and they disappeared after half a day too. Hanging it on the wall was actually the easiest part.


Turned the projector on, and what a huge difference it makes from projecting on to the screen instead of the grey wall! The screen is uniform in colour and density, no hot spot at all. With a 1.2 gain the 3D really pops out, without washing off the contrast too much. I initially wanted a grey screen because I have a BenQ W1070, which is very bright, but not the best in contrast. But James suggest me to go with a white screen for the 3D, which I did, and I'm glad to know I don't lose much details in contrast.


The biggest difference is when watching hockey ... because there's so much white on the picture with the ice, jersey, helmet etc all in white, I used to see every single brush stroke of the painted wall, and picture was blur on some uneven spots ... not anymore.


My only complaint, if I am to nitpick, is the horizontal pieces of the frame are really 2 pieces put together, and despite wrapped in black velcro, when you put 2 pieces together you can see it isn't 1 piece if you look closely. But, everyone should be looking at the picture, not the frame




So there you go! All in all I'm a happy customer. If you are wondering whether you should go for it or not I'd say go for it, and you shouldn't have to worry about lead time either!



Cheers
 
#885 ·

I am scared after reading all the posts about the delays...I ordered mine on October 8th (120" diagonal 16:9) AT screen but changed it to 125" diagonal 2.35:1 AT screen on October 11th. I checked with him after two weeks he said it should be shipped next week then again when I checked after 3 working weeks he said there are some delays with Seymour material...I just checked again today he said Seymour material should be there by this Thursday or Friday and I can get the screen early or mid next week so as of now I am in waiting mode.

 

I did ordered thru his website and he has been responsive when I called him but his email responses are slow but you can get immediate response if you send a message via his website instead.

 

cheers

tmp
 
#886 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by tmp12  /t/1304049/jamestown-or-elite-please-advise/870#post_23917310


I am scared after reading all the posts about the delays...I ordered mine on October 8th (120" diagonal 16:9) AT screen but changed it to 125" diagonal 2.35:1 AT screen on October 11th. I checked with him after two weeks he said it should be shipped next week then again when I checked after 3 working weeks he said there are some delays with Seymour material...I just checked again today he said Seymour material should be there by this Thursday or Friday and I can get the screen early or mid next week so as of now I am in waiting mode.


I did ordered thru his website and he has been responsive when I called him but his email responses are slow but you can get immediate response if you send a message via his website instead.


cheers

tmp

FYI, we've been in full stock of the XD and none of the fabric orders have taken more than two days.


Cheers,

Chris
 
#888 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by tmp12  /t/1304049/jamestown-or-elite-please-advise/870#post_23922788


Thanks Chris...then I should be able to get it by the end of next week.

Based on what I've read, he uses the "still waiting for screen material" excuse to hold up orders. I really hope it's not the case for you, but the typical turnaround seems to be about 9 weeks from order to arrival. Just want to mentally prepare you for that possibility.
 
#889 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by fatherom  /t/1304049/jamestown-or-elite-please-advise/870#post_23923320



Based on what I've read, he uses the "still waiting for screen material" excuse to hold up orders. I really hope it's not the case for you, but the typical turnaround seems to be about 9 weeks from order to arrival. Just want to mentally prepare you for that possibility.
I hope not...I received an email on Sunday (i.e yesterday) night telling me that my order will be shipped on Monday and I should get tracking number in the evening....so bottom line is he is not perfect with timing but that can be ignored if quality and price is good....always there is a trade-off somewhere!! 
 
#894 ·
I don't need an acoustically transparent screen. This may be a stupid question, but does the Seymour Center Stage XD material put out a better image than the regular screen fabric that Jamestown puts out? Or would I be better off going with a Carada Precision or even some other manufacturer? This will be a 110-115 inch screen in a completely dark room (dark walls/ceiling/carpet/no light) with image coming from a Sony HW50ES.
 
#896 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Springs Theater  /t/1304049/jamestown-or-elite-please-advise/870#post_24145047


Brad, what hinges did you use to hinge the screen?  

A pair of 4' long piano hinges - got them at Lowes I believe (or could be Home Depot)
 
#898 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Springs Theater  /t/1304049/jamestown-or-elite-please-advise/870#post_24151431


Thanks! Are those pair of hinges good enough to support the screen? I saw those in home depot but they look quite light compared to the screen, mine is 16:9 , 150". 

I was initially concerned because the provided screws are very tiny - but there are a bazillion of them, so I went ahead and used them, and it has worked out fine for me. Then again, I don't pop open the hood all that often, just once in a while when I need to make some changes behind the screen.
 
#901 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by atxz06  /t/1304049/jamestown-or-elite-please-advise/870#post_23797859


Got tracking number for mine yesterday. 11 weeks.


Glad this ordeal almost over with; would not do again.

Good to see James is sticking with what he knows - blowin' smoke up people's arse!


I was much more annoyed at being constantly lied to than the wait, and looking back on it, I probably should have just heeded everybody's warnings here and ordered another screen given the quality of the screen I received. It's not horrible, but I wouldn't call it great by any stretch. Being told, "oh, it's going out tonight"... or tomorrow, or this afternoon etc. over and over was more frustrating than anything. And then I'd call him a week later to make sure he didn't actually ship it and it's lost somewhere only to get some more BS.
 
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