AVS Forum banner

New company Screen Excellence AT screens - anyone seen one/got one

39K views 157 replies 47 participants last post by  ksharp4 
#1 ·
Well after getting ready to pull the trigger on a Screen Research AT screen - SR pulls the plug from St. John Group
. So who knows anything about St. John Group's new company and product Screen Excellence? Has anyone seen one? Own one? Know's who to buy one from? Any reviews? Basically all the questions that one has before making a purchase decision.


Dennis
 
See less See more
1
#52 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by msmCutter /forum/post/16379543


Can you post some pictures when you get the chance? I'd like to see the holes and such.

There are some nice shots on the company web site.


Here are some additional shots:


In the top shot, you'll see all three of Screen Excellence's AT fabrics vs. the traditional vinyl microperf in lower right hand corner.




In the middle shot, you see SMX material vs. EN1 from Screen Excellence. Notice the finer threads and resulting weave resulting in a smoother surface and no moire interference.




In the bottom shot, you see EN2 (also same as Screen Research's CP2) on the left and EN4K on the right. Note the smaller fiber structure in EN4K and propriatery weave that does not interfer with the smaller 1080 pixel structure.

 
#53 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr.BigScreen /forum/post/16913201


That is absolutely false. The Screen Excellence material is not the same as your CP2 material. I know this for a fact, I have compared the two as well. By comparing to the naked eye, they make come across as similar, but as far as acoustically transparent and gain, they are not the same. For a DIY project, the EN2 probably isn't a bad option if you are trying to cut corners and save money, but ultimately you are sacrificing some image quality as well as acoustics. Of course, not everyone seeks out perfection. "good enough" will suffice for many.

Mr Big Screen,

Perhaps you were looking at the backside of the material. Its quite easy to get them swapped. Perhaps you were sold a bill of goods.


But the original designer/specifier of CP2 by Screen Research is the same person who now heads up Screen Excellence. I assure you, he knows what he's doing and that the materials are the same in everyway. End of story.


Respectfully.
 
#54 ·
My dealer has received the needed information. I will order a screen when i am ready with my room for it.


I do have a question left. I see on the web site that there is black backing cloth.

Is that installed per default behind a screen, or is this an extra option.



I am thinking about a RF80WS or a RFV80WS screen.
 
#56 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by ATHicks /forum/post/16926336


John,


In your bottom picture above, I assume you are comparing EN2 on the left and EN4K (not EN1) on the right, correct?

That is correct. Good catch. EN2 on the left and EN4K on the right. I had misdescibed it originally. Thanks,

JC
 
#57 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jacovn /forum/post/16924369


My dealer has received the needed information. I will order a screen when i am ready with my room for it.


I do have a question left. I see on the web site that there is black backing cloth.

Is that installed per default behind a screen, or is this an extra option.



I am thinking about a RF80WS or a RFV80WS screen.

Every Screen Excellence screen, whether it is fixed, motorized, masking, in-ceiling, VistaCurved etc includes a layer of AT black backing material that is specifically designed for the specific screen fabric you are using. The price you pay includes this layer. The only exception is the EN1-Silverback material which is designed to disapate light via a special silver back coating. EN1SB is for installations where the backwall is already black and where the lowest possible audio insertion loss is required. EN1-Silverback is priced at the same cost as EN1 or EN2.
 
#58 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr.BigScreen /forum/post/16913201


That is absolutely false. The Screen Excellence material is not the same as your CP2 material. I know this for a fact, I have compared the two as well. By comparing to the naked eye, they make come across as similar, but as far as acoustically transparent and gain, they are not the same. For a DIY project, the EN2 probably isn't a bad option if you are trying to cut corners and save money, but ultimately you are sacrificing some image quality as well as acoustics. Of course, not everyone seeks out perfection. "good enough" will suffice for many.

As bigbaldguy has indicated, you are absolutely false. EN2 and CP2 are the SAME material. And yes, I have CP2 and my brother-in-law has EN2. There is absolutely no difference.
 
#59 ·
To any professionals considering Screen Excellence:


I have been in close contact with John and Kevin in regard to this product since before this product line's introduction into the US.


I can say that I have never been as excited over the technical details of a screen product as I was when I heard of the products that were launched under the Screen Excellence brand.


Also, you can count on the same excellent dealer support with this line as we have with all StJohn Group lines, and the same design/technical assistance we experienced with SR during the time StJohn Group imported that product.


Check out the TAM2 true aspect masking screens. They developed a way to considerably reduce the huge side panels that are required for side masking on competing premium screens. TAM2 side panels are only barely wider than the frame of a fixed screen!

To any DIYs considering Screen Excellence:


EN2, EN1, and EN4K are multi-later, woven fabrics which were specifically developed for acoustically transparent front projection.


These materials are NOT Phifer SheerWeave fabrics from the roller shade industry, rebadged and marketed as screen fabric.


Remember that the *other* screen material that Patrice developed was given both THX and ISF certification for outstanding PQ and SQ.

From what I have seen of the EN1 and EN4K, they are even more impressive.


John and Kevin at StJohn Group also worked with Patrice at Screen Excellence to get a product which is right up the DIYers alley...


The Craftsman Fixed screen. This screen comes with the fabric and the rails which hold the screen material... But without the mitered aluminum frame with the applied light-absorbing material.


If you are fabricating your own screen wall, you can order this screen and save a LOT of money vs. the traditional framed screen.


Here is the PDF of the install instructions, which helps to explain this much better than I could here.
http://www.stjohngroup.com/downloads...F)_Install.pdf


This makes kind of a "DIY kit" from a known screen manufacturer, with a premium screen material.


It's a total win-win...


I am a huge fan of these screens.
 
#60 ·
can gripfix be purchased separately from screen excellence and if so, what are the approx. costs? thanks.
 
#63 ·
Just a short note to help answer some of the reoccuring questions about purchasing Screen Excellence material.


We do not sell any of our our AT screen materials or their matching AT black backing layers or the GripFix fabric channel adhering system by itself. Instead, we offer a complete "retro-fit intended" product called the Craftsman Screen line, complete with all of the parts necessary for a professional installation of the fabrics for a guaranteed level of performance from install to install into existing frames. The Craftsman Screens include the requisite AT black backing layer, installation tool, and sufficient length of "GripFix" fabric channel system that can be screwed, glued, rivited, or stapled (etc) to the back of any exisiting screen frame for adhering both layers of fabric.


Craftsman Screens carry the same limited life factory warranty as all SE screens.


Craftsman screens can be ordered from authorized dealers only in your choice of EN1, EN2 or EN4K AT material ranging in size from 70" wide (80.3" diag) to 210" wide (240.9" diag) in 16:9 aspect and 70" wide (76" diag.) to 250" wide (271.3" diag.) in 2.37 aspect ratios.


Good listening and viewing!

John
 
#64 ·
Ok John, so I figured out you don't return your e-mails but, come on the forum to post instead.


I just read your post about the Craftsman screen and that you don't sell the fabric by itself. That answered one question. Can a sample be had? A quote or is there a price list for the sizes you mentioned?
 
#69 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mrlittlejeans /forum/post/17170928


So is anybody using the 4K material? It looks like it should dominate other AT materials but I don't see it getting much play here. Any reviews?

I'm still waiting for samples of the different screen materials. Going on 3 weeks since I was e-mailed by John saying that he was sending them.
 
#71 ·
I just received the samples yesterday. Very nice screen materials, the 4K is the nicest but, the Enlightnor 1 is also very good as well. Very hard for me to see the weave at 8ft. The 4k material I cannot detect the weave from an arms length away (about 3ft.) The prices are a little higher than I expected for just the craftsman series with no aluminum frame, however, these are msrp.


gotsteef:



What kind of question are you asking? What do people normally do with screen samples? I have samples from SMX, Seymour AV, Screen Excellence. To answer your question, I am trying to decide which one I like best to use in the false wall I am going to build in my theater. I plan on going with an AT screen. Did you think I was going to piece the samples together and make a screen?
 
#72 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Bley /forum/post/17215203


I just received the samples yesterday. Very nice screen materials, the 4K is the nicest but, the Enlightnor 1 is also very good as well. Very hard for me to see the weave at 8ft. The 4k material I cannot detect the weave from an arms length away (about 3ft.) The prices are a little higher than I expected for just the craftsman series with no aluminum frame, however, these are msrp.


gotsteef:



What kind of question are you asking? What do people normally do with screen samples? I have samples from SMX, Seymour AV, Screen Excellence. To answer your question, I am trying to decide which one I like best to use in the false wall I am going to build in my theater. I plan on going with and AT screen. Did you think I was going to piece the samples together and make a screen?

How does the EN1 and EN2 compare to Center Stage XD and to Cineweave 2k and Cineweave HD?
 
#73 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mjg100 /forum/post/17215373


How does the EN1 and EN2 compare to Center Stage XD and to Cineweave 2k and Cineweave HD?

The appearance of the Center Stage XD material seems slightly brighter than the others as noted in the specs (1.2 vs .98 gain). I cannot detect the XD material weave at 8ft. I think this screen & fabric is a great value. I also really like the EN1. It can be ordered without the black backing material and have a silver coating instead that minimizes reflection behind the screen an has better audio transparency without the black fabric backing. The best is the is the 4k material from Screen Excellence. It's so smooth!

My screen sample from SMX is from 1.5 years ago so, I will have to get some of the newer screen samples from Rueben. He showed a 4k material at Cedia that people demoed it seemed to speak highly of. I'm not in a big hurry as I'm still building my room. I'll research more as there are lots of good choices.
 
#74 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Bley /forum/post/17217052


The appearance of the Center Stage XD material seems slightly brighter than the others as noted in the specs (1.2 vs .98 gain). I cannot detect the XD material weave at 8ft. I think this screen & fabric is a great value. I also really like the EN1. It can be ordered without the black backing material and have a silver coating instead that minimizes reflection behind the screen an has better audio transparency without the black fabric backing. The best is the is the 4k material from Screen Excellence. It's so smooth!

My screen sample from SMX is from 1.5 years ago so, I will have to get some of the newer screen samples from Rueben. He showed a 4k material at Cedia that people demoed it seemed to speak highly of. I'm not in a big hurry as I'm still building my room. I'll research more as there are lots of good choices.

Thank you for the report.
 
#75 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mrlittlejeans /forum/post/17170928


So is anybody using the 4K material? It looks like it should dominate other AT materials but I don't see it getting much play here. Any reviews?

Hi, i'm using the 4K material along with the black backing partnered with a Jvc HD750 projector in a totally blackout room. You have to basically go right up to the screen to see any texture it just looks like a normal screen to be honest with you. Also had to turn up the centre channel by 2-3dbs to compensate but that was it. I'm coming from a Stewart Studiotek 130 Microperf to the Screen Excellence 4K and quite frankly the 4K blows the Studiotek 130 out the water in both the A/V departments
Anyone going to invest in a AT screen should have the Screen Excellence E4K material at the top of their list
Can't praise this screen highly enough very happy indeed
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top