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The official Falcon Screens acoustically transparent screen thread

67K views 659 replies 114 participants last post by  Gorilla83 
#1 ·
My current client became the first customer of the new Northern Virginia Home Theater Screen company - Falcon Screens. Those of you who follow the Dedicated Home Theater construction threads may be familiar with the Merrimont Trace project and the builder, Snickers1 (Rich). Instead of just DIYing his own screen he jumped into the fray and invested in a die to make his own aluminum frames and sourced all the other materials to make a competitive AT screen. He promises to have his Web site up later this week to answer questions about his screen.



Some pictures


Like a lot of screens Falcon uses the z-clip mounting brackets. Here they are on a minimalist screen wall frame.




You lay out the frame pieces and put it together.





One feature of his frames, is the Quick Connect corner brackets, they have cam levers that actually pull the frame corners tight together. They slip into channels from the sides and don't have to be pushed in from the ends. This simplifies assembly and locks the corners really tight.





After putting the frame together I pulled out a tape and as Rich held his breath, I measured the diagonals to check if the frame was square. Much to my surprise it was dead on. This hasn't always been the case with other frames I've assembled. I attribute this to the tightening nature of the Quick Connect clips. we added the AT fabric and hung the finished screen. Rich used the o-ring loop and post trampoline system for a quick assembly.






Some more pictures of the project and screen assembly here:

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1464536/beam-and-pole-interruptus-not-bigmouthindc-and-nygiantsfan23-launch-another-avs-ht/0_40
 
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#2 ·
Is this a 4k very fine weave type of material?



Someone needs to really shake things up and bring a truly affordable fine weave 4k type screen to market!



I understand that these screens are a niche item but come on, let's get real... the pricing on these 4k screens is just ridiculous at the moment!



I wish Falcon success, but we shall see!




...Glenn
 
#3 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Glenn Baumann  /t/1477759/the-official-falcon-screens-acoustically-transparent-screen-thread#post_23440349


Is this a 4k very fine weave type of material?



Someone needs to really shake things up and bring a truly affordable fine weave 4k type screen to market!



I understand that these screens are a niche item but come on, let's get real... the pricing on these 4k screens is just ridiculous at the moment!



I wish Falcon success, but we shall see!




...Glenn


It is a fine Weave


seen in this up close pic and is able to do 4k .





i think thou what you asking for is it the new 4 material the has no holes and can be viewed from any distance. i currently do not offer that. when i am able to test it and offer it to the public the issues you are speaking of will be addressed for sure. Falcon HD is a fine weave and can be viewed from 9 to 9 1/2 feet depending on the screen size obviously if you have a 140" wide screen and are trying to view it from 9ft i think you will more of issue seeing the entire screen sitting that close




I hope this helps

Rich
 
#5 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by NYGIANTSFAN23  /t/1477759/the-official-falcon-screens-acoustically-transparent-screen-thread#post_23455131


I received the package today, thanks a lot.

your welcome. looking forward to see your theater all painted and carpeted


enjoy


Rich
 
#6 ·
#7 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by snickers1  /t/1477759/the-official-falcon-screens-acoustically-transparent-screen-thread#post_23463614


The FalconScreens website is up.

http://www.falconscreens.com


please message me for available discounts



Rich
 

The site looks great Rich.  Curious, do you plan to sell curved screens?

 

Nick
 
#8 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by NGiovas  /t/1477759/the-official-falcon-screens-acoustically-transparent-screen-thread#post_23463749


The site looks great Rich.  Curious, do you plan to sell curved screens?


Nick

Yes those will be coming in the near future
 
#10 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by chriscmore  /t/1477759/the-official-falcon-screens-acoustically-transparent-screen-thread#post_23476217


I see where a lot of the website source verbiage and formatting came from. You're welcome.


Cheers,

Chris

i dont see that .... a simple wordpress theme and that is really it



Thanks

Rich
 
#11 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by snickers1  /t/1477759/the-official-falcon-screens-acoustically-transparent-screen-thread#post_23483672


i dont see that .... a simple wordpress theme and that is really it



Thanks

Rich

I certainly can. You even chose the same screen sizes as Seymour Screen Excellence.
 
#14 ·
A friend of mine works at a print shop and he made a vinyl banner for me that would be roughly the dimension of the screen I want. It had a shiny side and a flat white side. I hung it with the shiny side out first and immediately saw hotspotting. I turned it around to the flat side and was surprised at how good it looked. There is some texture to this material but at 10' seating distance which is the closest I would be sitting, it was not immediately visible unless you really looked for it. This is not accoustically transparent of course and I have no intention of trying to use it as a permanent solution but I was surprised how good it looks and it gives me hope that perhaps I won't see the weave of the material in an AT screen. I have spoken with Rich about the Falcon screen and it sounds like it is really well made. I'm just not sure about the screen fabric and would like to see some other installs before making a decision. Of course, I guess someone has to be the early adopter so maybe I will just have to take the plunge. I have narrowed my choices to either the Falcon or SeymourAV for sure.
 
#15 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by dropzone7  /t/1477759/the-official-falcon-screens-acoustically-transparent-screen-thread#post_23529691


A friend of mine works at a print shop and he made a vinyl banner for me that would be roughly the dimension of the screen I want. It had a shiny side and a flat white side. I hung it with the shiny side out first and immediately saw hotspotting. I turned it around to the flat side and was surprised at how good it looked. There is some texture to this material but at 10' seating distance which is the closest I would be sitting, it was not immediately visible unless you really looked for it. This is not accoustically transparent of course and I have no intention of trying to use it as a permanent solution but I was surprised how good it looks and it gives me hope that perhaps I won't see the weave of the material in an AT screen. I have spoken with Rich about the Falcon screen and it sounds like it is really well made. I'm just not sure about the screen fabric and would like to see some other installs before making a decision. Of course, I guess someone has to be the early adopter so maybe I will just have to take the plunge. I have narrowed my choices to either the Falcon or SeymourAV for sure.

So far there has been three installs from this forum one is mentioned at the top of thread, also the first was installed in my build , also a 110" 16:9 screen was installed this weekend in one other persons from this forum more to come on that install soon. I understand you wanting to see more real world test before making your decision. I think all of us that have built there own theater spent so much time on every detail. If you would like a sample of the Falcon HD material send me a PM with your address and will be happy to send a sample out to you.


Thanks

Rich
 
#16 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by snickers1  /t/1477759/the-official-falcon-screens-acoustically-transparent-screen-thread#post_23530386


So far there has been three installs from this forum one is mentioned at the top of thread, also the first was installed in my build , also a 110" 16:9 screen was installed this weekend in one other persons from this forum more to come on that install soon. I understand you wanting to see more real world test before making your decision. I think all of us that have built there own theater spent so much time on every detail. If you would like a sample of the Falcon HD material send me a PM with your address and will be happy to send a sample out to you.


Thanks

Rich


Rich,

Your room looks awesome! I don't have anything remotely close to that nice. Mine is just a spare bedroom that I turned into a batcave. I have jokingly thought of calling it the "Compromise Theater" because I sometimes wonder if it's even worth investing money in a room so unfit for a theater. It's been used as my theater room for the last six years or so but it's been more off than on lately and when I decided that I wanted an AT scope screen I pretty much had to abandon all of my equipment and start over. I don't have the space to spare for floorstanding speakers behind the screen and add to that the fact that there is a big honking window right on my screen wall, well it's the theater of compromise... This is what led me to inwall speakers and the idea of a wall in front of my wall to hold those speakers. I finally got around to building that this weekend.

 
#17 ·
Rich, I received the sample yesterday. Thanks for sending it out so quick. I did a little testing with it last night. I just taped this up against my current white screen surface which is a piece of vinyl on the flat, non-shiny side. For evaluating your material would it be better to have it against a black background or leave some space between it and the wall in the same way that an actual screen woudl be hung?
 
#18 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by dropzone7  /t/1477759/the-official-falcon-screens-acoustically-transparent-screen-thread#post_23565730


Rich, I received the sample yesterday. Thanks for sending it out so quick. I did a little testing with it last night. I just taped this up against my current white screen surface which is a piece of vinyl on the flat, non-shiny side. For evaluating your material would it be better to have it against a black background or leave some space between it and the wall in the same way that an actual screen woudl be hung?

Black background would be best, but if you put it directly on a dark wall that would be fine.
 
#19 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by snickers1  /t/1477759/the-official-falcon-screens-acoustically-transparent-screen-thread#post_23565747


Black background would be best, but if you put it directly on a dark wall that would be fine.

Is the weave already at a tilt or would I mimic the tilted cut by tilting this sample at about 15 degress or does it really matter on a small piece like this?


In the little bit of time I spent looking at it last night, I did not notice the weave at my proposed 10' first row of seating. I really had to get about 6 or 7' from it to start to notice which is good.


I need to take down my vinyl screen and just place this sample against the black background of my screen wall because I'm so used to seeing how things look on that material. I want to reserve my comments until I rule out all possible interference. First impressions are that I'm seeing some color shift on the sample.
 
#20 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by dropzone7  /t/1477759/the-official-falcon-screens-acoustically-transparent-screen-thread#post_23565793


Is the weave already at a tilt or would I mimic the tilted cut by tilting this sample at about 15 degress or does it really matter on a small piece like this?


In the little bit of time I spent looking at it last night, I did not notice the weave at my proposed 10' first row of seating. I really had to get about 6 or 7' from it to start to notice which is good.


I need to take down my vinyl screen and just place this sample against the black background of my screen wall because I'm so used to seeing how things look on that material. I want to reserve my comments until I rule out all possible interference. First impressions are that I'm seeing some color shift on the sample.


The sample was cut on an angle so you will not need to tilt it. you should not be seeing any color shift it is Acoustically Transparent material so not only does the sound travel through it, you also get some light passing through so you may be seeing the light reflecting off your vinyl material.
 
#21 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by snickers1  /t/1477759/the-official-falcon-screens-acoustically-transparent-screen-thread#post_23565819


The sample was cut on an angle so you will not need to tilt it. you should not be seeing any color shift it is Acoustically Transparent material so not only does the sound travel through it, you also get some light passing through so you may be seeing the light reflecting off your vinyl material.

That's what I was wondering. I will change things around tonight and see how things look.
 
#22 ·
Did a bit more viewing of this sample and I think you were right Rich. Having the sample directly against my ultra white vinyl material was causing some sort of reflection back through the sample and causing it look darker, slightly yellowed. Putting the sample against a dark background and totally removing the vinyl piece made a difference. There is still some push towards yellow or green I think but this may just be the difference in gain between the AT fabric and my vinyl which is really white and probably has more blue in it making my whites look brighter. Now I wish I had never used the vinyl as a temporary screen becuase it is addictively bright although inaccurate I'm sure. Whatever I end up with, the projector is going to have to be calibrated and tweaked to it regardless. I don't see the weave of the Falcon material being an issue even from my close seating distance. I would be interested to hear from someone currently using the Falcon material and if they had their projector calibrated, how did it go. Many thanks to Rich for answering my questions and getting the sample out so quickly. I will continue to evaluate this a while longer and maybe break out the old colorimeter.
 
#23 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by dropzone7  /t/1477759/the-official-falcon-screens-acoustically-transparent-screen-thread#post_23574351


Did a bit more viewing of this sample and I think you were right Rich. Having the sample directly against my ultra white vinyl material was causing some sort of reflection back through the sample and causing it look darker, slightly yellowed. Putting the sample against a dark background and totally removing the vinyl piece made a difference. There is still some push towards yellow or green I think but this may just be the difference in gain between the AT fabric and my vinyl which is really white and probably has more blue in it making my whites look brighter. Now I wish I had never used the vinyl as a temporary screen becuase it is addictively bright although inaccurate I'm sure. Whatever I end up with, the projector is going to have to be calibrated and tweaked to it regardless. I don't see the weave of the Falcon material being an issue even from my close seating distance. I would be interested to hear from someone currently using the Falcon material and if they had their projector calibrated, how did it go. Many thanks to Rich for answering my questions and getting the sample out so quickly. I will continue to evaluate this a while longer and maybe break out the old colorimeter.


yes the weave pattern in the material is very flat and smooth which helps with seating closer to the screen. Good luck with your testing or should i say adventure



Rich
 
#26 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheTotalPackage  /t/1477759/the-official-falcon-screens-acoustically-transparent-screen-thread#post_23630313


I have to ask..... Why is pricing such a secret on these AT screens? Everyone says they cost a lot but never mention prices... any insight?

no secrets the prices are on the actual falcon website i think there is a rule about posting prices on the open forum


Pm sent


Thanks

Rich
 
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