Have any of you here tried a SMX cineweave and possibly with their curved screen?

I can’t answer your question but I agree the SMX AT screens do look sweet, not sure I would want to go with a curve. I like to sit close is that recommended with a curved screen? On the other side of my screen wall is the garage so it would be possible my other question is how much room do you need behind the screen? Just the depth of the sub, main’s and center?

Mike

You want to go 9ft wide and sit 6.5 feet from the screen right?

I'm curious to see comments on this.

Cliffy

Me personally, I would not sit any closer than 1.0.

That's just me though.

Cliff

7'7.2"???? oh my.

9' seem pretty wide for a single projector, but since 1292 is a 9" I guess it would work. That distance should put you right in front of the hovercraft.


Mike

I think with those requirements a G90 or Marquee 9500 is your only choice the problem with a 1292 is finding one the tubes are not shot. That will blow the budget quickly. Have you ever seen a 1292?...It will dwarf your Dwin.

Mike

It's a shame you're not closer. I'm about to sell my 9' wide Torus screen that I've been using with my G90. My new place will be G90 blend on a 132" wide AT screen so torus needs a new home.

No color banding, but did have to adjust the color zones. very bright. I run at 60 contrast and 50 brightness. Was 5 higher on flat 8' screen.

It's 16:9.

I don't think you'd like the SMX that close... Pretty sure you'd see the "texture" / weave at that close. The holes wouldn't be a problem but the 3d nature of the weave probably would

And that's pretty darn close regardless of screen material

sure.... that user even at less than 1x is still sitting far enough back from the screen that the weave won't be a factor because the screen is so large. Probably around 10' in the extreme case for that user.

What I'm getting at is not a condition of optimum viewing distance and some formula/ratio of how far back relative to your screen width.

What I'm saying is that 6.5 feet back from SMX you probably won't like. Get a sample and see what you think as only you can be the final judge.

I'm using SMX by the way. My eye at seated position is ~10' back. At this point it's good with an occasional notice of the texture depending on what's being projected. If I get any closer.... like lean forward a couple feet then it becomes obvious. Stand right behind chairs and no way to see it. Point is at 6' it will be obvious

Sitting that close "Mosquito noise" in the bright areas could be a problem too. Especially running high frequencies like 1080p.

Mike

I think AVS is dealer for SMX and Stewart IMO this is not the place to complain about prices. Rubin put a lot of time into finding the right screen material for the job. If you want to go around him fine, but I would not voice that here.

Mike

if you want to go diy you could always try a sample from seymore. It's very close but not the same. I've got a sample here of that and the real thing on my screen. No idea the performance difference but I can say they surely aren't the same material.

What gain are the smx and seymore's material?

It's VERY similar to SMX... not the same but so similar you probably can't tell the difference really. It might not measure out to the same level (audio or video) but from a humans subjective perspective it's probably the same.

Now I'm not familiar with your comment about the old vs. new SMX though. Not sure of the version that I have experience with but the seymore is so similar that if I ever redo my screen to 2.35 I'll go that route.

It is a very pronounced texture/weave though.. not very fine like a fabric.. more like heavy screen/window shading.... which is exactly what all this stuff is

pic will be tough.... mainly because I'm lazy and the wifey has the camera at work. It looks like all the pictures that have been posted some time back when it was first getting popular.

What I'd do is request a sample from seymore. They are pretty quick about getting them out. If that doesn't work for you when you try it. SMX probably isn't going to work either.

Somewhere the two materials are posted together showing the similarity. Actually I just found it... right on the seymore website

moire shouldn't be an issue unless you are using a digital

There is a laminate material that some folks are using with CRT. I think it is from Parkland and it is very inexpensive. You will have to do some research on this. I have seen two installs with this stuff (one on a G90) and it looks remarkably good. It's definately the best DIY screen material I have ever seen.
You should strongly consider going in that direction.

Terry

Terry are you talking about Clarence's screen ? IF so, that is a Wilsonart laminate named Designer white, pretty popular lately , but it does have some gain to it .I do think it is one of the better choices for a diy screen, because it has a very durable and consistent screen surface .



Bruce

Like it or not, if you have no budget for a screen......it IS the best choice. It will give you the best bang for the buck and some.
If you want to get fancy there were some guys experimenting with painting a clear coat I think over it. Check with the DIY screen section on this.
If budget isn't an issue get a Stewart.

Terry

So with CRT there is no need to rotate the fabric 15 degrees to avoid moire right?

One thing that bothers me is this quote

"I have not tested the SMX with a digital projector yet, but this also makes it a great option for CRT owner as I find the fabric adds to the illusion of sharpness for us CRT owners (as individual pixels do in digital setups, btw)."

That says to me that the pattern is visible and creates SDE. I don't want that.

Yep and each "yarn" or weave thread is fairly thick and has some dimension to it. That's why I was concerned with how close you are sitting. It's not fine like a BOC weave is.

I'm going to get a sample of the SeymourAV stuff before commiting to a whole screen. I get the feeling this stuff looks like projecting an image onto a wicker basket

from a foot or two back yes that's a funny way to describe it....

more than that it has some texture

8-9-10 feet back and further it is awesome (which you shouldn't be sitting any closer than this anyway so it's really a mute point

I sit about 10' from an 8' wide screen, it feels about right for 16x9 material but just a little small for 2.35 material. I can see people sitting 1.0x distance or closer for 2.35 AR.

hey, terry, do you think therewould be any advantage to slightly curving the parkland material?

The Parkland is a different product, I don't think its available anymore. I have one, its good but not great. The Wilsonart is the newest rage on the DYI screen scene. I think it would be to hot for a curved screen.

Mike

Curved screens are for high gain materia,it helps with hot spotting by effectively making one large hot spot, It is a waste of time Curving a neutral gain screen Curved screens also should be an angular reflective material, as retro material sends light back in a more direct path to the source , and would make the outsides of the screen already darker than what already happens by the nature of crt.

Bruce

ok, that's what i thought. what is with curved SMX screens? are they not a fairly neutral gain and not angular reflective?