The official Carada screen thread. - Page 3

does picture quality matter if the projector is mounted on the ceiling or placed on a coffee table ?

overall, is it better for ceiling or coffee table ?

thanks for inputs

Should not matter at all, other things being equal.

I would think that screen ( bw) would look great!

I just roll them up and put them in the corner. They look almost perfect when I put them back up and if there is a slight wrinkle or dimple, it is gone in a day or so.

I think the Gray needs quite a bit of power to have it still look punchy. I would not go less than 800 lumens or so with it in my personal taste. I figure this screen at around .6 to .8 gain but figure a little closer to .6 to be safe on brightness.

I do love the C3X. Very nice punchy picture. Very bright. If I want full lights on for the game. I pop the BW screen on and turn the bulb on high. I get around 1700 lumens or so and with the 1.3 gain and 60 footlamberts, it is ....Well Brilliant!

Thanks Jeff for the inputs!!

I just purchased a 104" 2.35 CCW from Carada. It will be used with an AE900. Right now I am using a Parkland Polywall so I'll take before and after pictures.

Just tried the ae900 +Carada BW. THe picture is very good in my well light controlled room.

Anyone have much experience in getting Carada to return emails?

He is very good about returning e-mails. If he is not replying there are a couple of reasons.

they have had some server problems lately and were fixed but may be giving them trouble again. He is also known to go out of town from time to time, imagine that and his coworker may have not seen your note yet.

give him time as David is great and will answer your question. Try him again to be sure its getting to his in box.

Good luck.

David is excellent with returning emails, prompt and quick. One of the reasons why I purchased a Carada screen. Carada definitely will have my future business again.

I have had my screen for about a week now, it was delivered to Canada. Carada was excellent, as you may have read David Giles was informative and patient in regards to any questions I had.

I have a AE900 and previous to the screen arriving I was projecting onto a light brown wall I used Avia to calibrate, so the picture was quite good.

When I put the screen up (I ordered a 88 BW) and played Lord of the Rings something was wrong I could not put my finger on it aahhh the VB everyone had been talking about. So when I had a chance I calibrated my projector with AVIA. To my surprise I had to turn down the brightness to like -14 (I don't know if that was the exact value as I'm going from memory). Well the VB is unnoticeable now, and the picture is excellent, much better than the wall.

So why did I order the BW, if I had to turn down the brightness so much particularly with a 88 screen? Two reasons:

During the day, I can't control the light. I have 12 windows in my family room where the projector is located. Six of these have no blinds. two of which face south.

Secondly I understand the bulb will dim over time.

During the day I can see the picture but of course it is washed out. I will try some tweaking so that I can bet an acceptable picture.

In regards to shipping, it had taking a bit longer that I had hoped, 14 days, but that was not the fault of CARADA, but rather the courier company. The best part was the Tracking System they use when shipping the screen. It means that you know exactly where the screen is at all times...

I would recommend CARADA to anyone.

Thanks for the report. I'm now considering a Carada BW -- the bulb on my Z3 has reached the 500 hour mark, and as some others have reported, brightness seemed to drop almost overnight. I've followed the Carada thread for months, and it sounds like the right screen for me.

Which courier company did Carada use to ship to you in Alberta, and did you have to pay a hidden "customs brokerage fee" to the courier company?

Thanks,

Ricketty in North Vancouver

I just ordered a 110 inch, 16:9, BW, Criterion series frame.

Im hoping to have it by next week.

We'll see how it turns out.

David was very patient and informative via our email communications.

Ditto to what Lofty and others have said. David was very helpful. I first communicated with him almost two years ago after first purchasing my PB6100. In the end, I decided to paint my wall, which held me over.

I just bought a Panny 900 (returned it a few days later) and decided to get the 119" Carada Criterion BW. While I returned the 900 because it had VB and have decided to wait until some of the new DLP dark chip projectors hit after CES, I decided to keep the screen. It looks great, and the picture with the Panny was awesome.

While my BenQ6100 doesn't fit it very well (4:3 projector - 16:9 screen), the BW definately is helping out my tired 2,000 hour bulb.

Before buying the screen, I taped together samples from Carada and Dalite and hung them in the center of my painted wall for a couple days, so we could look at them in multiple lighting situations (we watch a lot of SD V, usually with some lights on). My wife and I both agreed the BW looked every bit as good in the dark as the Carada Cinema white or Dalite Classic Cinema, but was the best of the bunch when the lights were up high (better then the Dalite perleasent which tended to wash out bad with lights on).

The frame looks great and assembly and mounting were a breeze. I think I had the frame assembled and screen in place in 20 minutes, and that was only because I wanted to be real careful unwrapping the pieces to make sure none of the trim was damaged because I banged it into anything.

I am very happy with the purchase, which is why I am keeping the 16:9 screen (Carada has 30 day return policy) to use with my 4:3 projector until I wait for a couple months to decide which projector to get, since I didn't like the Panny 900.

I know this borders on heresy but does anyone know if Carada would build a frame using a competitors screen fabric?

I have a DIY 2.35:1 screen made of Da-lite HCCV. I think that material is the best for my setup but I'd realy like a nicer frame. Da-lite's prices are out of my budget so I'm wondering if I could send my screen material to Carada to have them put a frame on it.

Mike

I recieved my screen yesterday, days before David said I would. Very prompt delivery. I couldnt be happier.

Very high quality frame, went together in 5 mintues. The screen snaps very taught....a good thing.

Ive had other screens at twice the price. Caradas product is every bit as good, if not better, for less money.

Customer service, communication, a great product and prompt delivery....what more could you ask for?

What more could we ask for??????????????

I have asked repeatedly for a motorized option from Carada, not everyone wants a screen in view 24/7!

At one time Carada indicated "it is coming" but that was along time ago.....

I really doubt they will do this and the cost would not be more than a new screen. Just buy their frame in the size you want and then figure out a way to mount the snaps on your material yourself. If you are the diy type it should be a fun project and you still have an extra screen of say the BW material that you might find just as pleasing to your eye once you see your image on it. You could use the screen material they send with the frame as a guide on where to put your snaps on your material you already have.

$0.02

So is the criterion frame really worth an extra $120 for the 106 inch I am considering?

IMO, only if you will be able to see the frame outline on the wall. If your front wall is completly black then the screen frame will be lost in the background.
I did not buy it as I did not have enough room for it and my screen wall is covered in black velvet and black GOM. The frame dissapears and the only thing I can see is the Carada emblem.

If the frame is on a lighter colored painted wall then it will make a very nice addition to your home and look more like a framed picture and I would go with it in that case.

FWIW

Jeff,

Thanks for a great suggestion! I'm going to request some samples from David and ask him about "snaps" for my HCCV.

Mike

Let me know how it works out. I may want to try a new fabric some day and want to put the "HOW TO" into my memory banks!

Good luck.

Likewise!

If you are considering a Carada Screen, do yourself a favor and read the my post in the Projector Central Criticizes Carada Forum:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=611792

I'm converting a mixed-use room into a sometimes-theater by building a new wall, which will hold the screen and in-wall speakers. As the kids are 0 and 2, I am trying to take steps to diminish the likelihood that they will ruin the screen. I am interested in getting a Carada screen and mounting it in the wall (either flush with or behind the surface of the wall). To be honest I am trying to emulate the aperture mount of a Stewart Luxus Deluxe, but Carada screens seems like such a better value. I didn't see any reference to doing something like this in some quick searches - I assume the best way would be to leave a hole in the wall the size of the screen (larger? the Carada mount seems to need it to be larger so it can be tilted onto the mount) mount the screen to drywall on the back of the wall, then build a wooden frame around the screen and cover that with velvet. Has anyone attempted such a thing with a Carada?

For anyone considering Carada, just read the reviews for yourself. The audioholics review referenced in that thread found the Carada HC gray to compare favorably to the Stewart Firehawk.

Do your homework and decide for yourselves. Different screens are meant for different applications. Just keep in mind that Stewart doesn't have a no risk 30-day trial period. Carada does.

I have a completely light controlled room, however paint on walls and ceiling is a lighter brown. I just ordered a Panny AE 900, everyone seems to say how bright it is. I'm looking at getting a 92" Carada Criterion just dont know what style of screen to get. Should I get the bright? Classic, or the Grey? Can anyone with a Panny 900 share their set-up with me.

I have the Panny 900 with the Carada BW (Brilliant White) 118" diag Criterion screen. The pj is 22' back from the screen. I am using about 70-80% of the vertical lens shift, 0% horizontal lens shift. The picture is really superb. I was a little hesitant before I ordered as I was leaning towards a Da-Lite HCCV. But the Carada really makes the picture "pop". With the 30 day return policy, it is hard to go wrong.

{shameless plug} FYI...There is an 84" HCG Carada Screen for sale in the "display devices" forum {shameless plug}

I'll say.

I have a panny 900 and we had 4 major screen OEMs send me samples. We put them all on the wall (24 samples) and chose the Carada BW 106" Carada Criterion BW, after a very lengthy shoot off with the family. The screen came and was a breeze to set up. The communication before and after the purchase was superb. There was a problem with shipping to Canada with Purolator. They somehow thought my street address (which ended in Court but abreviated to Ct.) was Connecticut so it went on a trip to NYC. All through the process David was communicating with me, even after his workers had gone on Christmas break to get things straightened out. We shared E mails on the 24th of December !!! Now that is customer service.
To make a long story short (too late) I got my screen late, (28th) but with no real damage even with the trip to NYC and back, because of the great packaging they provide to protect the screen.
And the picture.... Two friends have been over to view it and now want a projector and a Carada screen. Great picture. Very happy with not only the product, but the before and after support.

If I need another screen in the future, I will be looking at Carada.