Richvision screen, info please?

I won the bid on a 120" motorized 16:9 richvision screen. Mine cost $169US including shipping. The unit works well and the screen seems ok. For the money I think it is a good bargain screen. I'd still like to get an acoustically transparent screen. What do you think of your Richvision screen?

Brendin

I purchased a 124" 16:9 motorized screen. Not bad value for the money compared to the alternatives. Screen is a little slow and the instructions are horrible, but the quality seems good and it throws a decent picture.

I agree...for me its a good first screen...I'll get something better eventually.

Brendin

picked up a 120" richvision motorized screen on ebay about a month ago. i previously had a homemade screen but had problems with wrinkles in the fabric. i must say for the money this screen is great if you are on a budget. i paid just under $200 total and received item well packaged and quickly. i am using a panasonic 500u projector and the screen gives a nice bright picture. my buddy has a dalite screen that he dropped close to a $1000 on. to be honest i think even if i could afford it i would have still went with the cheaper screen.

My 120" has started developing slight wrinkles...not really too noticeable...hope they don't get worse.

Brendin

i have not had that problem yet with the richvision. my only issue so far would be engine noise when it is retracting the screen.it is smoother coming down. the wrinkles on my diy screen were annoying but only really noticeable when projector was off and lights were dimmed.

does anyone else have any over input on this screen? has it developed more problems in the little while that you have owned it? i am planning to purchase one soon

Anymore input on this screen?

I've had mine for about 8 months. I am happy with it being a low budget screen. The edges curl slightly but it is not a distraction. I put it up and down at least 5 times a week. When it gives up the ghost I'll probably buy a more expensive one. This screen is good value for the money. I haven't seen them on ebay for awhile. Are they back?

Brendin

Yep. They certainly are. I think I'm going the DIY route though. Sure theses screens cost 50$ but the shipping is $150!

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has any more info on these screens. I bought mine on Ebay almost two years ago but it had to set in the box until I could afford a projector. I was trying to use the image calculator on Projector Central but I need to know the screen gain. I'm assuming it's not too bad but would like to know the actual number. I found the manufacturers web site once but I can't seem to find it again.

Also does anyone else have problems with the remote. I got it to work for one day and haven't been able to use it since. What I would really like is to know the codes it uses.

I did finally get a projector about two months ago from Ebay. I didn't do any research because the auction was ending and I thought it was the same as a projector I had recently used. It wasn't. It's a sharp XV-H37U, 250 lumen, advertised with two small scratches on the right side. When I set it up I was pleasantly surprised with the lumens, it was bright enough and the 640 x 480 picture was just fine for me but the two small scratches were actually a boat load of bad pixels and a burnt spot on one of the LCDs.

I'm still not too unhappy with it though, I've taken this one apart and gotten a better understanding of how these things work which will help diagnose problems in the future. I'm keeping an out for one that's just parts, replacing the bad screen will be simple, although I have just ordered a much smaller and brighter projector.

Enough rambling, please let me know if anyone has anymore info on the screen or web site. Thanks

Hello, I have just found this forum, unfortunately for me, I found it only after I found out that my recent purchase was a richvision brand. The seller on Ebay did not tell what brand it was, or people might find out about all the problems with them. Sure, they ar cheap, but cheap isn't always better. I bought this screen for my church. It arrived today, well-packed, but missing all the remotes that were included in the auction. I haven't heard from the seller yet, and I have found many problems with the screens...mostly the remotes, the motors and the limit switches...heck what else is there? Well, the screen. And I did find one post that said the screen has a junky picture too. I am scared that I made a mistake purchasing this one. It was cheap, $90.00 plus $145.oo shipping from canada. I am still searching for answers. if anyone has anything to say, please post it here. OR email me at imreddy@live.com
thanks

Hello imreddy, Sorry to hear your having problems with your screen. I never did get an answer from this forum but I did finally get my home theater set up within the last two months and I've been very happy with the screen.

Everything but the remote seems to be functioning properly. The motors at first sounded like they weren't going to last long but they're getting quieter the more they get used. The screen it's self seems ok but I've never used another front projection screen to compare it to. It's probably not the best in the world, I've noticed the picture is only slightly better than a white wall but it isn't bad. As far as the limit switches, mine has gotten to where it leaves about 2" not rolled up. It doesn't really concern me so I haven't looked to see if there's an adjustment.

I would have replaced the remote anyway. This method would work for you too if you have the same type of controller. The original controller is just a couple of relays on a timer. When you press the button it closes the relay for a couple of minutes. The screen has plenty of time to roll up or down in that time, then after times up you can hear the relay click off. Pressing the button only closes the circuit that trips the relays so closing the circuit with anything will do the same job.

I opened my controller and found the soldier points for the switches on the back of the circuit board. I mounted a DB9 socket in the controller, although only three wires are actually needed, and soldiered six of the pins to the switch leads, two on up, two on down and two on stop.

I then built a box to serve as my remote receiver. On the outside it has a power cord, an ac outlet and a DB9 socket. Inside it has two X10 (the home automation people) relays. Here's how it's put together.

The power cable obviously plugs into the wall, that serves as your power for your X10 relays and your screen. The screen plugs into the ac outlet. Inside the power cable splits to feed both the relays and the outlet. The DB9 has four pins wired to the relays, two on each one. The pins must be the same as used in the controller end. Then use a DB9 cable to connect the home made controller to the screen controller. Now I can use any of my X10 remotes or the Activehome software to control my screen. I've written a couple of simple macros in Activehome so both of the X10 relays respond to the same unit and house code. Then on a remote I push on for down and off for up.

With this modification I was further able to use another program called Event Ghost to be able to control everything from an ordinary TV remote. I can raise and lower the screen by switching to the VCR function on the remote (I don't have a VCR to conflict with) and control the screen with the volume buttons. I have also written a macro so when I turn on the projector it lowers the screen, dims the lights switches my computer video out to the projector (I watch DVDs and TV through my computer) and brings up my DVD catalog program.

Anyway, the short point to a long story is I have a lot more control using the X10 stuff instead of using the original remote. If all your needing to do is raise and lower the screen in your church this is still a very reliable method.

A couple of clarifications, I wired six wires to the switches in the original controller but only three are needed. The stop button is actually just the opposite of whatever button is active at the time. If the screen is going down and your press the up button it stops the screen movement exactly the same way so the stop button isn't actually needed.

The other two buttons share a common ground so only 2 hot leads and 1 ground are needed to control the screen from an external box such as this.

I know I've done a lot of rambling and probably didn't make myself too clear so feel free to ask any question. Hope the screen works out for you. Rich

I just recieved a 120" richvision screen from ebay - no remotes, no control box.... just the screen: I have notified/contacted seller.....
The screen has a round 4 pin connector I think can be obtained (have seen it on other electronics - like a CB radio microphone connector I think)
Anybody have any idea what the wiring for this connector is? Since I didn't get the remotes and control box I have no way to figure it out
I would like to connect a hard wired three position switch to it like dalite supplies. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated

IMPORTANT TIP TO OTHER OWNERS:
I took off the end cap on the connector end of the screen to try to figure out the wiring, and noticed that one of the pins is a green wire with a spade terrminal on it which was just hanging loose inside....guess the screw it was under came loose from shipping - worth checking - several other screws found loose.

My screen came hard wired to the control box, no connector such as yours. The four wires from my control box to the screen are AC power wires for the motors two for up and two for down. One could plug these wires directly into the wall and control the screen. There are limiters on the motors so if the screen reaches the end and is still plugged in it stops it's self. The control box is nothing more than a relay with a timer. It simply applies power to the motor for a certain amount of time, a minute or so after the screen as finished traveling, and then cuts the power. It also serves as the remote receiver which simply trips the relays the same as the buttons, except the remote never worked.

In short, if your screen is wired the same as mine, you could use any type of switch, relay or control that would turn the power on and off to the correct pair of wires. A three way toggle switch that is "On" when in either the up or down position and off in the middle would work.

The stop button on mine actually is the same as whichever button was not pressed last. If the screen is traveling down then pushing the stop button or up button stops the screen and if it's traveling up then stop or down stops the screen. If I need to stop travel with my rigged remote control which only has up or down then pushing the one opposite of travel works just the same as having a stop button.

Hope this helps, yes it's a cheap crappy screen but it's worked well for me so far and these days I use it almost every day. I'm using it now.

By the way, the green wire would be the ground or the round pin in a wall plug. Since my screen does not use standard color coding I would highly suggest letting an electrician look at it before trying to connect it. The connector can be found at mcmelectronics.com and I think it is called a CB plug. I had to buy one several years ago but I think they still carry them.