Help a noob find the right screen please!

As a first time projector owner, I'm in the market for my first screen. I just finished painting the wall that I want to mount the screen on, so I'm ready to get the screen up there!

Here are pics of the area that the screen is going to be:







I'm going to have the screen to the left of that window well in that big open area. I plan to have it about 2 feet or so away from the right side wall. I'm looking at either a 120" or 126" screen most likely. I also need to understand how close to the ceiling a screen can go before it can have a negative effect before I make this decision.

In that third picture there, you can see that there is a ceiling drop (I think it's duct work) so I plan on putting a ceiling mount behind it with a pole, and mounting the projector so it's JUST under that duct work portion of the ceiling. It is going to be about 15.5' feet back from the wall there. The sitting area is going to be basically right infront of where you see the projector sitting right now infront of that pole.

I plan on mostly using it with the lights off in that room. Since it's in the basement it can be pitch black if I want it to be. However there is a possibility when I am watching football or sports, that I will be getting up to go to the bathroom or getting more beer or something, and I MAY possibly have the rear lights on but dimmed down as low as possible. But in general, the ambient light isn't really an issue.

As far as what I like, I definitely do like a nice bright clear picture.

I have seen screens range from like $150 to $4k, so I know there is a huge range however I just don't know what exactly most of the differences are. I was hoping to spend around $300 - $400 on one of that size, but if that is unrealistic then please let me know.

I want a 16:9 screen that is going to be stationary. I also do kind of like the black velvet bezel look that is around most screens, so that is not an issue for me. I did see a black diamond screen in the store yesterday, and while it's cool, I'm definitely not looking for something like that.

So please leave me some suggestions, thanks!

Thanks for the input but I'm not sure what that really has to do with the screen that I'm looking for some input on.

My plan is to keep it as it is now paint wise and once I have my stuff up, I will paint as needed. I've been in a home theater that had basically the same setup I have (red wall with screen on it, white ceiling and lighter carpet) and it looked just fine, which is why I didn't choose to paint the ceiling or other walls just yet.

But that is not out of the picture. I just want to get a screen up and see how it looks as it currently is before I make any other decisions. If it's good enough as it currently is, then I'm going to just keep it that way. If there is too much reflection going on and I feel painting again will help, I'll definitely do that as well!

Are the Elite EzFrame Cinewhite screens pretty good ones for a first time projector in a situation like mine? I noticed they don't have a 126" but do have a 120".

Well yup, like I said, I'm going to get the screen first and see how it all looks, and if I feel it is too washed out, I will check into painting the other walls/ceiling in the room. Painting them is definitely not out of the picture or anything, I am just not sure quite yet if that is what I want/need to do, and I think once I see the picture on the screen I will get an idea.

Any screens that you are leaning towards on your search so far?

Ah cool okay thanks. I was checking out the monoprice thread and that multi-format screen kind of intrigues me. I really don't like the monoprice logo right on it, but it is a neat concept.

The shipping is pretty crazy for those screens though, I didn't even think of that when pricing out stuff.

I took a bunch of measurements and stuff tonight and am going to be going with a 120" screen.

I also was thinking of ways to get the side wall darker without painting the whole wall. I was talking to my wife and was thinking about possibly putting a velvet curtain or something along the wall in the corner that we could also put up when need be if we did not want it dangling while not watching a movie. Or possibly painting that whole wall the same red color, although that isn't really ideal right now.

I also may paint the ceiling the same shade of red right up to where the first air duct thing is.

Doing both of those would definitely cover the first 5' from the wall where the screen will be and should help with reflections. I'm going to be getting the screen and checking it out though before I decide on any of those.

This forum is dead!

Any other suggestions?

I really just don't know the difference between the Elite Screens that are 120" around $300 and 120" screens that are like double the price.

Thank you for that. I think since this is going to be in a pretty controlled environment as far as lights go, that a gain of 1.1 will be enough, correct? Again I just don't know much about all of this and am trying to learn as I go and doing some research.

As far as the other fabrics, is it mainly the choice of fabrics that will change the gain? So if one of the "nicer/better" screens has a 1.1 gain on some other material other than vinyl, will it have a better picture than an Elite screen with a 1.1 gain?

I will do some research on the Carada brand too, thanks!

Another quick question ... if I were to go with an Elite screen, and say down the road I was not happy with the material/gain of the screen and wanted a better one. Would I be able to simply get the better material and use the same frame for the screen? Or will I have to get a whole new frame as well?

Basically, once I have the frame and stuff should I be able to swap out screen fabric with the same frame?

Also airscapes, since you mentioned how much darkening the walls/ceiling would help with contrast/reflections, would something like this be sufficient for that?



That is a mockup that a buddy did for me. The white line down the wall would be siding that would match the baseboard.

Would something like that give me pretty much the same effect as this:



And keep in mind, the seating area is going to be infront of that white pole, with the rears of the seats basically being flush against that pole.

Awesome airscapes, thank you for the information.

I think for my first screen I may go with one of the Elite Cinewhite screens and kind of go from there. I've seen quite a few pictures of the Sable and ezFrame screens and other than the frames being different they are identical. And I think the look of either of them is just fine.

It is just weird reading some reviews of these screens and people saying stuff like they should only be used on lower quality projectors. I have a Panasonic 8000 and I would say that is more of a middle of the pack projector.