The Official Stewart Film Screen thread. - Page 17

Hi, I am new to the "fancy screen" arena. I have been living with my blackout cloth DIY screen, but now Im curious about upgrading to a Da-lite or even a spendy Stewart Filmscreen.

My concern..
Currently I have a panasonic AE900, but next year I plan on upgrading to whatever the current hot 1080p projector is, mostly wanting better contrast.

so can I buy a screen now that will not only be good for the ae900 but also work perfectly with my next projector? or am I better off waiting to get a new screen after I choose a 1080p projector. I have a living room setup that is not a batcave, but I usually only watch at night.

thanks!

Mark,

I ordered the Stewart Studiotek Lexus Deluxe fixed frame 110" from Tryg. I am either going to buy the Sony Pearl or wait for the next sony model, VW60. Lets say I buy the pearl, how far should I place the plojector from the screen?

mike

Hoko,

Thanks for purchasing from us! With the Pearl, it's a given that you need to consider mounting the projector at the short end of the available zoom if possible. The lens will provide more light at the short end versus the long end bya significant percentage. I do not recall the lens specifications, but the information will be in the manual, and is probably available here or elsewhere on line.

Steinfoot,
I have an AE900 in my family room, and we've got an AE700 here in Engineering which we use for viewing CAD drawing large scale. That family of projectors were a hot as a pistol when introduced. Progress has followed and the black level performance of these projectors is pretty poor by current standards. Your viewing environment drives the choice of screen surface as much or more than the projector specifications. So if you're not planning to change light management in the viewing area, then a contrast enhancing screen would still help, down the road with your next projector. It is probable that a new projector would have better contrast ratio performance without question, but that can easily be offset by a lousy room. So try to commit to making the room more damped in cross reflection, or you can use a Firehawk or similar product to help with that if room modification is not going into the plan.

Mark Robinson

I have a 110" Stewart G3 which was highly recommended by the folks doing my home theater even tho I was thinking of going with the Studiotek 130 instead (they talk me out of it). I went with the Sony Pearl which is mounted about 11'7" from the screen. My seating is about 10'5" for 1st row and 16' for the second row.

Would the Studiotek been the better option? Also my home theater has redish colored walls and black ceiling with no windows so its very dark and has total light control.

The picture looks good to me but again nothing to compare to and starting to second guess weather the other screen would provide an even better picture for my setup.

I am about to pull the trigger on the Panasonic pt-ae1000u 1080P projector and was looking into buying a screen as well. I currently have the pt-ae900u and was shooting onto the wall, then we bought a house and I am shooting onto a white sheet for now, yes it does suck! After doing some research I am thinking of paring the pt-ae1000u with the studiotek 130: luxus screen wall. Just wondering if this would be a great fit before plumping the cash down? Here are my room condtiions and setup:
Room 14x12
Projector celing mounted 13 to 14 feet back from where screen would be, mounted around 5 feet above seats. Ceiling is normal cieling height for most houses
dark room, light controlled at all times
light walls for now, going to paint blue later on
wanting to go with 123' screen

Is there a difference between Videomatte 200 and Ultramatte 200?

Yes...Ultramatte 200 has a gain of 2.0 whereas Videomatte 200 has a gain of 1.8

Any difference in terms of color balance, hotspotting or sparklie propensity?

Do I have a Stewart Firehawk screen with defects?


Does anyone who has a Stewart Firehawk, possible a year or more old, have issues with seeing little specs of brightness in the image, depending on the seating position? These seem to be points of light, or specs, which only show up in bright scenes. Sometimes I see one spec, and other times I see two specs. They are always in the same location.

If I turn the projector off and turn the room lights on, I cannot see the light specs, even close up?

This is bugging me and I am very concerned because I spent about 4k on this HD Electric screen and I can't stand watching it now.

Someone from Stewart I met at CES said they might consider swapping out the screens.. They said something about this being a known defect and some people just never notice it, so it mostly goes unreported.

Please advise..

Thanks,
Fabian.

I had one of the original Firehawk screens (before the G2, G3, SST, etc. formulations) and I saw these specs on occasion. My thinking was that these occasional sparklies were (an unintended but unavoidable) part of the formulation.

Flamaest, P.M. me with your serial # information. We've worked very hard to minimize blazing sparkles coming out of our screens. IF you've got one or two that keep poking out at you. Put up a white field, find the irritating sparkle, walk up to the screen, locate it, and mute it down by touching it lightly with a #2 pencil. Let's see how old it is and so forth. We've replaced some units for this problem, but it's been 2 years now. I'll work with you.

I will soon be getting the JVC projector and would like to have a new screen to replace my old Grayhawk. I use a 110" 16X9 screen in a light controlled room with dark walls. The projector will be ceiling mounted (lined at the top of the screen) at about 15'. My viewing distance is usually about 1.5X to 1.25X. I was considering getting the Studiotek 130 - but my concerns are 1. sparklies and 2. black levels. Are the sparklies reported by some, a result of an older screen material or how the projector is mounted. Would I be better off with another material. Any help will be appreciated.

Tawn

I've never heard of sparklies on a Studiotek screen. Perhaps someone can elaborate. Assuming you can get good brightness and have a light controlled dark room, the Studiotek should be an ideal match for a high quality projector like the JVC.

Would a RS-1 produce sufficient lumens to light up a 126" x 72" StudioTek 130?

I am getting the screen next week with the plan of upgrading to a digital in the near future. Right now I am using a G70 crt with a Draper 1.6 (or 1.8, can't remember) gain screen that is only 93" x 52". I can get 9.5fl off of this screen with the G70 but I have toned it down to about 7.5fl because I prefer black blacks.

I had a st130 in the past, but traded it for the Draper to get more punch with the crt. I'm thinking that the st130 will give better color if I have a higher lumen projector.

I guess my real question is, how many lumens will I need to get 8-10fl off of a 126 x 72 st130?

thanks

ed

OH, I may do a CH setup and only have 126 x 52 maximum to light up if that makes a difference.

thanks

ed

Unless you are using an anamorphic lense, you need to figure brightness for your 2.35:1 area based on a larger 16x9 area of the same width, even though you are only using a portion of it for your cinemascope images. Projector central (dot com) has some good calculators that let you input projector type, screen size, gain, and distance from projector to screen. The output of the calculator only works when the manufacturer tells the truth about their unit's lumens, so remember to take that into account.

thanks

ed

cool calculator!

11fl with that screen size. I could probably live with that just fine.

THis next weekend I'll get to see an RS1 at Cliff's house and see if I want to start selling plasma for this thing.

thanks again Nathan

ed

I was hoping I could get some input in this thread;

I have just bought a second-hand Stewart Ultramatte 200 screen. It works quite well, but I have one issue that I would like to ask you about.

There are some spots on the screen. They are of various sizes and shapes (a few inches wide\\high) and they are visible only from certain angles. At first I thought that they might be some fat-stains, but carefully cleaning the fabric did not effect it in any way. At a closer inspection it looks like to "gain structure" is a bit different on these spots (there is less sparkle on these spots). It can sometimes be a bit annoying when watching a movie as some of these spots stand out a bit when viewed from certain angles. They seem to be a bit darker that the rest of the fabric. This is usually only visible in bright daylight scenes with large areas of the same color (like a bright skyline).

I can clearly see all of the spots when I view the screen from about 90 degrees (in ordinary daylight). Luckily I do not watch movies at this angle (hehe), but some are also visible from normal viewing angles. Moving the viewing position a little to the side or up\\down hides some of them. My point is that some of them are visible from certain angles, but invisible from other angles.

Have any of you heard of this before? Do you have any tips for me that I can try? Perhaps it can be remedied somehow...

BTW. I use the screen in a DIY torus setup.

Norll, it sounds to me like your screen surface is scuffed. When the fabric is abraded, it will appear darker off axis, cause the portion of the optical coating most near the surface is usually damaged first and that part is the little fragments which are directing light off axis. There is enough coating deeper, to keep the screen looking more uniform on axis. So I'm afraid that the problem is not possible to remedy. Any treatment will probably make the area more visible.

Regards,

Although, NORLL, now that you own a Stewart Screen (and frame), an authorized dealer can order you replacement fabric for your frame -- which is perhaps half the price of ordering a new screen. Not ideal, perhaps, but a "remedy" of sorts.

Am I crazy to be thinking about using a StudioTek 130 in a non-batcave?

Ok here's the scenario,
JVC RS1, 120" screen. Projector mounted on rear wall. 13.8' from lens to screen surface. 17' ceiling. Carpet on flooring, walls are painted a darker shade of yellow.
The side walls are no where near the screen. Room is basically 15'x21'
viewing will be in the 15' dimension.

I was pretty much consigned to using a firehawk. With concerns of hotspotting being so close. While the screen is acceptable I'd rather do white. Why?

In finding a dealer with a RS1 setup, I also found to picture on the 1.3 gain white screen they had setup to be just great! I mean, it was alive.
Here's the thing, This particular room they had it setup in was designed to look like a typical living room. light colored carpet, white ceiling, and a light beige paint on the walls. With all the lights turned out, I didn't see washing out of the color or blacks. The picture was still quite good and watchable with the lights turned up to what I would call, 'fine steak house dining illuminance'

I don't plan to use the projector in daylight hours. I'll have a nice big plasma behind it. I don't have a wife and/or kids running around turning on lights,opening doors,ruining my life etc,

What do you guys think? Should I still bite the bullet and go Firehawk?

Nobody loves me.

how much would a 92" 16x9 deluxe fixed frame firehawk screen in perfect condition be worth? I am thinking of selling mine so I can purchase a one a bit bigger.

I'd go with a firehawk, but you should try a screen sample of each and see what you think.


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merv43: For a current formulation screen in good condition (ie, G3 or SST) the price appears to be about 50-60% of MSRP. For earlier formulations, or in not perfect shape, it's a bit less. Check our videogon, ebay, and the listings here at AVS for a robust view.

Alright, so I spent a good amount of time with the RS1 using a 1.3 gain white screen today.
I watched a lot of star wars, space scenes etc. Indeed I will need a Firehawk. While it was completely watchable with a white screen, the blacks just aren't there.

So now it's a decision between the SST and G3. I've only seen the SST, as no one around here has a g3 on display.

I will probably talk with Stewart this coming week, but does anyone have any experience with both types of Firehawk?

Please let me know what you find out, I am considering replacing my 92" firehawk that is three years old with a new 106" G3. I am currently using a sony vpl-hs51 but will likely upgrade later this year to an rs1 or what ever may come out between now and November.

I am using a Firehawk G3 100 inch screen with an EPSON 1080 PRO and the picture quality is excellent. Blacks are black and colors are brilliant. Get lots of detail in shadowy backgrounds. Not a cheap screen, but you can't beat the picture quality.

Mark,

I am upgrading parts of my system and going to a scope screen. I have a Sony Qualia 004 front projector (1080P). I need a microperf. and this time the screen is to be 14 ft wide (current screen is 10 ft wide 16:9).

I have been very pleased with my Stewart Electrimask. It has functioned perfectly since I bought it.

My room is 100% light controlled

3 questions:

1. Studio Tek or a Firehawk. My room is 95% movies only - little sports with lights on. Are the black levels 'better' with the Firehawk relative to a white screen? Wich would you recommend?

2. Cinecurve or or flat screen. What are the disadvantages of and indications for a curved screen?

3. I am looking at the Vistascope. Is it a 2.40 native screen or a 2.35. The website is unclear. Also, is the BRIC system an option or part of the screen price?

All the best and hope you are enjoying the holiday weekend!

Jeff

By chance, does anybody know how much it would cost to ship from Chicago to the UK? I'm looking to buy a 2nd hand ST130 but don't know how heavy it would be (it's 100 inches diag)

Also could I purchase a replacement shipping box for safetyfrom Stewart as the current owner doesn't have the original?