Jamestown or Elite Please Advise - Page 16

Brother, I feel your pain.

The 30-day return on my refurbbed projector came and went and I was still waiting for that dadgum Jamestown screen. And then. And then. And then.

Stupid newbie me, I didn't know there was no zoom on my Optoma projector. I didn't know that I couldn't mount it anywhere I wanted and zoom to the screen. I was about to drywall-in my my recessed projector mount box (HDMI and power) into the wrong place in the ceiling because I hadn't tested out the projection throw. My missus and I got in a little spat and I grumbled my way down to the basement to get away from her. Looking for something to do, I finally pulled the projector out of the box and tested it on a sheet stapled to studs. I was so close to disaster. My buddy was coming to help me hang the ceiling drywall the next day. I figured out my mistake and moved my recessed box. (Thankfully, the HDMI cable was still long enough and rewiring the electrical outlet wasn't too much of a pain.).

Disaster averted. When I think about what would have happened if my missus hadn't picked that moment in time to be WRONG... When I think about what would have happened when I finally received the screen and went to mount the projector and discovered my power outlet and HDMI were five feet away from where I needed them... Oh God. Sphincter clinch.

But it's a nice screen. Great value. My refurb projector has had no issues.

Truth be told, I ordered the screen so far in advance of my construction that the UPS man rang the doorbell the day after I drywalled the projection wall. As the poet said: "If you try sometimes... You get what you need."
Edited by cshawnmcdonald - 8/1/12 at 10:06am

About to order a screen from Jamestown, but is it that much better than the Elite Sableframe? Been reading a bunch the past weeks about the two. I'd like to support a small shop, and all the reviews are great except the wait time. Amazon has the elite for $256 currently, and I'll get it in 2-3 days. http://www.amazon.com/Elite-Screens-ER110WH1-Projection-Screen/dp/B00366TZ3S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343948273&sr=8-1&keywords=elite+screen+110 I'm in California, so if there is tax, the elite is cheaper for the same size.
Edited by striker199 - 8/2/12 at 4:10pm

I have to laugh... I am in the exact same scenario as you and apparently many others. I have actually gone back and forth with James a few times and seems rather nice however, he is assuring me that he is back to a 10 to 15 day production time if I order today however I am seeing guys who ordered in late June and early July who haven't had screens ship yet. I would love to believe him put the proof is in the pudding.

I would love to know if there is a any significant differences between the Elite sable cinewhite and the Jamestown besides a few bucks.

-Lil'

There are viable alternatives.

http://www.avsforum.com/f/110/diy-screen-section

Not to discourage anyone from all that 'MM' has in knowledge and advice, but I found what I think is another good alternative on eBay. Do a search for user: dkeitho . He has gone back and forth with me for a day or two and seems to know his stuff. It seems well built for the price without all of the waiting hassles of Jamestown. SO I am down to this option or and Elite Sable I think.

I ordered just a frame from James on 7/7 and it hasn't shipped yet. Keep getting new excuses and completion dates every time I email him. It has not been a good experience for me. My theater is completely done, I have the fabric for the screen just waiting for the frame.

It sounds like he may be busy which is a good thing but without some help the overall business is going to suffer as people become discouraged about lead times and communication. I really want to support him as a small business so I hope we start seeing some people posting about receiving screens soon and good experiences. I know that there have been many of those as well but the negative stuff is what people will talk about most. I feel for you guys that have waited much longer than you were told and I hope you get good news soon. I wish James could check in here and give us an update.

This is easy for me to say, but there's a tipping point for every small business where -- if you are successful --the incoming orders outpace the workflow.

That's when you have to make a decision if you are going to expand and hire some help, or if you're just going to keep-on keepin' on.

James, brother... Maybe it's time for you to realize that the little garage woodworking hobby of yours has grown into something bigger than yourself. Just sayin'. You are a great American entrepreneur. Onward and upward.

Update: my screen is on its way and should be here Friday. Will update with details.

Good news! That's right at about 4 weeks which to me is reasonable for something custom made. Please do let us know how it turns out.

Absolutely. I agree that a month is reasonable for a small shop making everything by hand. However, I would not be quoting customers 10-13 days (as I was quoted) as a production period when a 30 day period (or 20 working days) is average. Here's to hoping it turns out nice!

Screen came tonight. Had some trouble with the default hardware but after a trip to home depot seems to be fine now. It's now mounted and looking great on the wall pictures to come tomorrow.

Pictures?

Seriously? All the manufacturers do this? I'm so disappointed! I can't beleive that this is acceptable. We all spend money to put together these amazing setups. Calibrations, color corrections, filters, lenses, hush-boxes, dedicated rooms, worrying about foot lamberts and screen gain and screen textures or imperfections. . . . and yet after all this, we're expected to lost somewhere between 10k and 25k pixels of precious image data?

Unbeleivable

Anyway, thank you for this info James

Here are some crude shots from my iphone. I took some better shots with my digital camera (including assembly and boxes of parts), but haven't uploaded yet.

Any tips on the assembly or which hardware to replace?

Yes! There are (5) woods screws on the top and bottom pieces that hold the left and right sections of the frame together. There are also 3 similar wood screws in each corner of the frame, In my particular case, NONE of these screws were getting tight. Not sure if they were overdrilled or the wood had voids, etc. The factory hardware is #8 1 1/4" in length - there are 22 of these in total for top/bottom/corners. Next I tried same length, but in #10 - no luck as they seemed to pull right out. It didn't seem to me that there was enough material grabbing into the wood frame so I went to 1 1/2", #10 and this did the trick. 2 trips to home depot later and it was done, ugh.

In your case (or anyone elses) if you go to a longer screw make SURE that you're not coming through on the other side. Mine was fine and had just the right amount of material, but any case could be different so please do check it.

As far as stretching the screen material - I didn't think this step was too bad at all. My wife tackled the task with me and we knocked it out pretty quickly. You will definitely want to have a power screwdriver handy or something similar for this step!

Overall I would likely order again. Even though for the trouble we went through, the end result is nice and we are very happy with the screen.

^^^ this is good advice. I also replaced my screws with longer 1 and 1/2 inch versions and it really holds the frame together much better, especially for larger 150 and up sizes. Mine was breaking apart in the middle of the top and bottom middle of the frame with even the smallest bit of torque on it. Even better would be if James used longer square metal bars to hold the wood frame together.

Got my Jamestown 130" screen in and got it assembled. Went with the longer screws as well and worked a lot better. Over all pretty satisfied. I have a blemish in the material on the screen I need to call James about and also the top boards are about an 1/8th of an inch at the most from lining up in the center. You can't see the blemish when watching the screen or really tell about the misaligned boards, but I know that they are there and it bugs me. Would probably order again though.

I placed my order first week of August thru ebay so I guess I will be receiving my 120" first week of September. The reason I went for James screen is because I can replace the screen with Da-lite or any screen fabric that is available out there if not contented with james screen. I used to own a 106" dalite HCCV but decided to go for a bigger screen. If not satisifed with James screen then dalite's Cinema Vision 120' cut to size for about $315 will be the next purchase. I also received a sample from Vutec's Britewhite screen material and it is stunning as compared to the HCCV. I believe I still save alot of money having a frame from jamestown rather than purchasing the Dalite's Cinema Contour for $1350 plus shipping. So I think its worth the wait. Patience, patience, patience!

I have no intention in buying another screen... I agree with you. If anything I would buy a newer projector with better performance than my Epson 1080p.

for the members who just received and put up their JT screen pls give us update(for uswho have placed and waiting for our own JT screens). also pls upload pictures! thanks!

how is your overall experience with the JT screen so far? what projector are you using? pls give us a little review. I hope this in not too much to ask. thanks!

100" Gray. Absolutely love it. Took four or five attempts to get the screen to stretch and stay stretched, but... like childbirth... You quickly forget the pain once the work is behind you.

Love the velvet frame. Does a great job of soaking up the overspill.

We hung ours just a few nights ago. It's a 106" and it's a great size for our room.

Construction was not too difficult. Stretching the screen was a real pain in the ass though. There is one wrinkle we can't seem to get rid of, but it's small enough that we can live with it for now.

Definitely would recommend a little thicker / longer screw, especially for the french cleats. The one French cleat that came with it is definitely enough to hang the screen. We originally had the cleat on upside down on both the wall and screen, just make sure you don't do that!!

All in all very happy with this product. James was pretty quick to reply by email when I would check in with questions.

Current wait times for Jamestown?

Can someone who ordered recently tell me the current wait time? Jamestown told me lat week 10 to 15 business days.

I need a 120 inch with gray screen. Any options besides the elite?

Thank you all for your input! surely is giving me excitement while I wait for my 120" JT screen. As promised by Mr James himself my screen should be shipped today(fingers crossed). I will take all advice from fellow members in how to install correctly and painlessly this much awaited screen. I've never in my life waited so long for such a thing LOL! I know its all worth it! Will post pictures once set up with both Epson 8350 and 8700UB. WE WILL SEE!

I placed my order thru Ebay Aug 6 and the delivery is supposedly today! that makes about 15 business days! It takes alot of patience LOL

about 15 business days