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***Official SmX Theater Solutions Screen Thread - Page 2

post #31 of 1209
5/4/07 at 12:00am
I have two CRT projectors (Marquee 9500LC Ultra) in blended mode (each projector lights up half of the screen, overlapping in a small area which is modulated bu a special video-processor) and I considered 3 different options for the screen:

- Screengo paint (not AT)
- Unity gain screen from MDI (not AT)
- SMX

I pretty much discarded the other ATs other there as I like to sit very close to the screen (less than 1x) and at that distance I could see the perfs (e.g. Stewart) - and that was a showstopper for me.

You can get an idea of the size (about 15 ft) here:


The detail and color from this screen is amazing. I didn't conduct a 1-to-1 comparison to the other contenders but after having installed the SMX I cannot look back.

This picture illustrates the detail I am getting:


I have not tested the SMX with a digital projector yet, but this also makes it a great option for CRT owner as I find the fabric adds to the illusion of sharpness for us CRT owners (as individual pixels do in digital setups, btw).

I use the screen in conjunction with big Genelec speakers, including a massive Genelec HTS6 subwoofer that sits behind the screen and the sound quality is spectacular.

I am extremelly happy with my screen. In fact I screwed it up during handling a bit and if I do not manage to fix it I will order exactly the same one from Ruben.
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post #32 of 1209
5/4/07 at 12:16am
I also purchased the SmX material nearly a year ago. I can not say enough about how pleased I have been with the purchase. Having talked to the manufacture before the material was even sold by Ruben, I had a good idea on the price point. (I had even gone as far as purchasing material VERY similar to the SmX product before Ruben had made his custom material available) Originally, the material was sold for a few dollars more than cost. (Around 100$ for 5 yards) Once the original shipments were sold, the price drastically rose to today's' pricing at 7-8x over cost. I attributed the rise in cost to Rubens use of a 3rd party vendor, but was still slightly put off by the drastic price increase.

Still, with that large leap, I was impressed enough with the material to consider purchasing the new frame being sold. I had in my mind a price point around 500$ for the basic frame and 600-700$ for the curved frames. I was excited to purchase this frame until I read in an earlier post the cost is around 3000$. That simply is not a DIY price and well out of my budget. If the profit margin on the frame is in line with that of the screen material, I was probably very close in my original guess on cost at around 400-500$. While I know selling items at cost is not profitable, making huge profits and knowing they are being made at your expense becomes a hard pill to swallow.

I only wish the best of luck to Rubens new gold mine. Hopefully the economical version in the works will be more along the DIY pricing for which I had hoped.

Best Regards,
Dan
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post #33 of 1209
5/4/07 at 12:51am
My new theater are nearly finished, only carpet and masking drapes are left

Here are pic of my DIY SMX720 screen, buildt with an pinewood frame. Screen size 290cm x 124cm (2.35:1 ratio).






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post #34 of 1209
5/4/07 at 4:33am
Ruben has been extremely helpful in helping me choose my screen and when my room is complete an SMX screen will be in it.
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post #35 of 1209
5/4/07 at 7:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nowandthen View Post

Yes it will cost more, but when combining SMX material with Ruben's frame it isn't that much more.

Hmm. Guess I shoulda shopped around more. The quote I got from someone in town really was nearly double the price. I'll take that under advisement. ^_^
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post #36 of 1209
5/4/07 at 8:52am
RolfHult,

Nice job on the DIY frame. What are the little orange ties for?

I'm on the verge of making a frame for my AT SMX material.

Chris
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post #37 of 1209
5/4/07 at 9:05am
I actually bought the SMX material last year, and only recently built my DIY frame and temporarily installed it on the wall.

Before the SMX screen, I had used a piece of drywall painted white.
I thought that was a pretty good picture with my new Panasonic AX100U PJ, and my HDTV digital cable.

Well, after building and temporarily mounting the screen and frame I was so excited to see the picture on my new screen. Even the opening sequence of the PJ was incredible.


After I had a chance to re-install my digital cable box, once again I was blown away with the clarity, brightness, and quality of the picture. Colors are bright, clear, and beautiful on my screen, and I have not even adjusted or calibrated my PJ.

Details on the SMX website lead me through the details of the frame build, how to etc. Tips about using Fidelio velvet as a border were invaluable.

I still need to finish my screen wall, and then "touch up" areas with Fidelio velvet on my frame and my ceiling AT that "bleed though" the fabric, then I will be able to install my temp speakers and give another review about the AT properties of the screen.

In short: great product, great value, durable, easy to work with and clean, good support. All around one of the BEST decisions I have made on my long journey on building my HT.

Best,

Tom
Chinaclipper
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post #38 of 1209
5/4/07 at 9:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by CCLAY View Post

RolfHult,

Nice job on the DIY frame. What are the little orange ties for?

I'm on the verge of making a frame for my AT SMX material.

Chris

That is elastic rubber band. It's tiny but strong!
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post #39 of 1209
5/4/07 at 11:54am
I was in the first batch of SMX screen material about a year ago and have been using it ever since. There was no frame option at the time so I had a local aluminum fabricator make me a 10 foot wide 2.35 curved 1" x 3" frame that I covered with black velvet. I filled the aluminum frame with foam insulation to deaden the frame even before the SMX frame was announced. I have an automated masking system in place the allows for 16x9, 1.85:1 or full-open 2.35:1 viewing. The results are nothing short of spectacular all for less than $900 + masking system. I couldn't be happier.
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post #40 of 1209
5/4/07 at 12:09pm
I have to say I have been nothing but impressed with rubens service. I too was on the original order over a year ago and my first screen arrived damaged, Ruben quickly sent me out another screen and all was well.

I recently order a frame from him to do a 119'' 2.35 CH screen in my theatre, The price was much cheaper than the competitors for my entire screen.

A screen research Clearpix screen would have cost me 3x as much as I paid for a screen the same size from ruben and that's with there cheapest J frame assembly. I quickly ruled out the Stewart screen of the same size because of the difference in sound quality and the perfs directly in the screen which I found noticeable from my seating position.

Now I understand I got the material much cheaper than it is sold for now. So that takes into account of why it was cheaper than a stewart or screen research. But the fact is that at one point or another ruben was the one to offer those who were ready to buy at the drop of a dime those kinds of deals, And I truly appreciate it.

Thanks again Ruben for bringing the best AT screen to market and allowing alot of us the pleasure of truly having a real cinema experience in our homes.
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post #41 of 1209
5/4/07 at 7:24pm
Thread Starter 
Having beendealing with SmX for some time now, there are a few comments I'd like to throw out there. Yes screens cost money. SmX screens with the frame are what some could call expensive. However when you look at screens whether it be Stewart, Screen Research or SmX now, you need to understand a few things.

First off, there are reasons an acoustic screen cost more. You have to leverage screen weave or microperfing against resolution and then leverage essentially having a filter in front of your speakers. How does the screen affect EQ? db?

Acoustic screens allow for a more commercial like theater and in many cases, what home theater experts and manufacturers believe is a much better audio presentation with few video weaknesses. Most speaker companies will put forth that the center channel SHOULD be behind a screen if not the also the LRs.

Another point would be that screens change far less in a theater than equipment such as receivers, projectors, DVD players, and other equipment. Simply put, the budget for a good screen, let alone an acoustically transparent one should be seen as more of an investment than other pieces of equipment. So to get performance, paying more actually means paying less.

Lastly, in reference to SmX specifically, there are things unique with what SmX has done with their frame that no one else has. They considered what was in the market, saw room for improvement and added some unique features and then built a company around it.

Richard
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post #42 of 1209
5/4/07 at 8:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chirpie View Post

Hmm. Guess I shoulda shopped around more. The quote I got from someone in town really was nearly double the price. I'll take that under advisement. ^_^

Try AVS.
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post #43 of 1209
5/4/07 at 8:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AVSRichard View Post

Lastly, in reference to SmX specifically, there are things unique with what SmX has done with their frame that no one else has. They considered what was in the market, saw room for improvement and added some unique features and then built a company around it.

Richard

All this plus it is the highest gain weaved AT screen available that is perfectly neutral in color. Some very big respected HT enthusiasts here at AVS are really appreciating the SmX Pro-Line and are using a 12' wide one in the East Coast Blendzilla meet happening today and tomorrow.

These Blendzilla folks look for the absolute highest quality projected picture anyone has ever seen. They go through some unbelievable set ups and calibrations to acheive images that people travel across the world to see (literally).

Here are some preliminary quotes from the folks building and tweaking the Blendzilla about the SmX Pro-Line before the Blendzilla show. These are real guys speaking the truth on what they see.

Mike Parker
Quote:
Originally Posted by mp20748 View Post

I've seen similar screens before, but have never liked them. They always looked dull and flat. However, the screen surface of what I'm working with on this project, is something completely different. It's so different, the screen itself is good to look at.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JBJR View Post

I also have to say I am very impressed with this screen. Working with Mike on this project we both went WOW when we walk into the room and saw the screen. It is the brightest white screen I've seen that does not have a reflective sheen to it!
It was easy to do, and see what we were focusing on the screen and it was sharp, no hazy or fuzzy edges on test patterns or images!

This screen deserves serious consideration if you are planning a HT or new screen!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Clarence View Post

Dang, that SMX screen frame is the prettiest screen I've ever seen. Incredible design and manufacturing quality. I want one.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim in Phoenix View Post

Hehe
Early telephone reports from the scene indicate "Moooahahaha" type image quality on the twelve foot wide SMX screen.

Quote:
Originally Posted by wallace1234 View Post

The screen is outta-sight!! Blending is really cool!!
wallace

To check out this incredible event and some of the most incredible screen shots check out the AVS thread HERE

Ruben
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post #44 of 1209
5/5/07 at 4:45am
I'm starting to get jelous :O Some nice screen setups in here :O
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post #45 of 1209
5/5/07 at 2:05pm
Another very happy SMX user, my 9 foot wide screens hides the Klipsch speakers and makes the Sharp 1200K PJ shine. Material was easy to attach to a frame that SandmanX help me create for about 10% of what my "theater" expert tried to sell me.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=740019
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post #46 of 1209
5/5/07 at 5:18pm
I must add my kudos to as well to a great product that is very inexpensive.

Dont laugh, but here is my screen-ology.

1st screen: White Speaker Grill cloth from PartsExpress. Very cheap and was ok for having nothing to compare to. I told you not to laff

2nd screen: 250 count king size sheet from WalMart. Brighter, but definitly affected the sound. Fortunately I have a very large JBL monitor for a center and 550 watts to drive it so it was easy to compensate. Hey, No laffing

3rd screen: Smx. 1000% improvement. Colors and light popped, sound was back crystal clear.

So call me the king of the DIY theater on the cheap..

Panny AE900(with the usual convergence issue)
Oppo (very nice entry level dvd player)
Outlaw audio 900(sherwood in sheep's clothing)
Craploads of pro sound signal processing and power(about 2400 watts total)
Oldie but still awesome JBL L100T's all around.
Crappy but effective Dahlquist sub.
Awesom SmX Screen 40x94 on homemade rig.
Panamorph Lens
Lumagen Scaler.

Damn do scope movies look awesome with no letter box. My friends with big screen rear projection systems just go quiet... its so cool to get totally immersed in a movie. The screen is one of the most important pieces of that environment.


Congratulations Ruben. I'm glad I invested!


Dennis
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post #47 of 1209
5/5/07 at 6:44pm
I was apprehensive about putting together my own DIY screen and had no experience with these kinds of projects. I found the instructions were very clear and had no problem putting it (104 x 64) together in less than 2 hours. I get lots of compliments on the image and I am thrilled with the sound from the center speaker coming through the material. I'm going to finish it off with the 00 Black Velvet.

I am doing it again with some of the remaining material for a smaller screen for a friend. I don't think you'd be disappointed with this for your own theater.
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post #48 of 1209
5/6/07 at 5:04am
I started my search for AT screens a few years back. I KNEW that I wanted two things: 2.35 format and an acoustically transparent experience. The prices from the "big boys" were just insane! (especially at that time for the 2.35 formats). I pressed on and started researching quality issues (like perf sizes, color uniformity, gain, etc...) and wasn't really excited by their offerings especially if I was going to pay handsomely for them.

THEN, out of the blue came this SMX guy who seemed to really care about quality first and foremost and since it was all DIY back then (read: blood sweat and tears) I was willing to at least watch the progress being made by him. Well, long story short, I purchased the SMX material and built my own frame and can't begin to describe how satisfied I am with the results! Since I'm not the best frame designer I've even deciced now to buy the Pro Frame as well (anybody looking for a used DIY Home Depot frame - let me know

Bottom line, if you are looking for what I consider the best quality for an unbelievably fair price then I would highly recommend some serious consideration here. The AT experience is AWESOME - my family loves it, my guests are impressed, and I couldn't imagine "going back" to speakers sticking out on the sides!

Thanks!

Rob Robinson
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post #49 of 1209
5/6/07 at 7:46am
I guess I'll add my experience in here since, I think, I'm the only person to ever order the SMX material and not actually end up using - yet.

I was in on the first batch of material as I was in my current theater build at the time Ruben started his search for the perfect AT screen. I was very excited about the prospects for this material but, at the time, it was a complete unknown. So, I ordered a measly 2 yards of it because that's all I needed to build my 8' wide 2.35:1 screen.

Well, turns out my experience with this material and a 1080 projector was instrumental in discovering that the material needs to be rotated 90 degrees to be sure you won't have moire'. I had very bad moire' in my setup and I hadn't ordered enough of the material to rotate it properly (once MarkP discovered the solution). By that time, all the original material Ruben ordered was gone plus, I had another issue with the material at the time.

My previous two rooms were both built around CRT projectors and I had always been a strong proponent of them over digital for two reasons - black level and screen door. I could not tolerate any level of screen door that I had seen in a 720p digital projector up until that time and the blacks were abysmal as well. Well, enter the Sony Ruby and I had a way to get rid of the three-eyed monster (that was always breaking down). Problem was, the SMX material (compared to the solid screens I had before) had a noticeable weave pattern to it. Mind you, it is much less noticeable than all the competing hi-dollar alternatives, but, compared to solid, still noticeable to me. And, to me, this looked just like the screen door I could not take from the early digitals. This, by itself I probably could have gotten over but together with the moire' issue I had it was a deal killer.

So, I rolled up my SMX material, stuck it in the unfinished basement and fell back on a Dazian CCC screen that, while not as bright or sharp, when you threw a 1080p image on it still showed a fantastic picture.

Now, fast forward to a few days ago when I get a little ping from Ruben letting me know about this thread. That got me to thinking about the SMX and something hit me - a few months ago I added an anamorphic lens to my setup. Previously I had been zooming to achieve my 2.35 CIH picture but the inconvenience of that finally got to me and I got in on the early price of the new Panamorph lens. Anyway, it struck me that, with the addition of the lens, my pixel size and shape was going to be different than it was before - and, no longer uniform either as any of these lenses produce at least some geometric distortion.

So, yesterday, I dragged out the roll of SMX (dusted it off ) built a quick frame for it and threw it up in place of my current screen. With fingers crossed, I started going through material of sky and fog and anything else I could find that would probably produce moire'. Whaddaya know - its almost completely gone. I could still get a tiny bit of moire' in some scenes but it was very subtle and didn't last long. Basically, you really had to be looking for it and then be very quick at that.

I've spent almost a year with my Dazian screen and have been happy but I've always known the SMX has a brighter and sharper image. The brightness thing was never a huge issue for me due to the material I watch (all movies) and the fact I came from CRTs so the Ruby on Dazian was still brighter than my previous setups. Well, I think I'm going to be even happier now with my SMX up. I still see the pattern of the weave and, if I let it that bothers me a bit. But, If I can just watch the picture instead of the screen it is a non-issue so a little time should take care of that.

There's no question (nor has there ever been) that the SMX is brighter than the Dazian. I had to re-calibrate my projector and lower my white level by 10% - and this is with a Ruby with 500hrs on the bulb. The extra brightness does more than produce whiter whites, though. Bright colors really pop. Movies like Cars or The Incredibles really show this off. Also, the extra sharpness adds to the three dimensionality of material quite a bit. I had watched King Kong on HD-DVD with my kids a couple days ago so I threw it in to look at it on the SMX screen. With a movie like this that I've seen and where the story isn't all that good anyway, I spend a lot of time looking at the picture and marvelling at HD-DVD in true 1080p. So, the quality was fresh in my mind from just the other day. Well, wow. On the SMX the picture is even more incredible with an added level of 3-d feel.

So, there's my long and torrid story. Its still early but I think I'm finally going to be one of the long list of happy owners of an SMX screen.

P.S. There is a downside to the extra detail that is revealed by the SMX material over the Dazian. The compression artifacts in DirecTV "HD" material are even more noticeable .
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post #50 of 1209
5/6/07 at 8:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ebr View Post

I guess I'll add my experience in here since, I think, I'm the only person to ever order the SMX material and not actually end up using - yet.

I was in on the first batch of material as I was in my current theater build at the time Ruben started his search for the perfect AT screen. I was very excited about the prospects for this material but, at the time, it was a complete unknown. So, I ordered a measly 2 yards of it because that's all I needed to build my 8' wide 2.35:1 screen.

Well, turns out my experience with this material and a 1080 projector was instrumental in discovering that the material needs to be rotated 90 degrees to be sure you won't have moire'. I had very bad moire' in my setup and I hadn't ordered enough of the material to rotate it properly (once MarkP discovered the solution). By that time, all the original material Ruben ordered was gone plus, I had another issue with the material at the time.

My previous two rooms were both built around CRT projectors and I had always been a strong proponent of them over digital for two reasons - black level and screen door. I could not tolerate any level of screen door that I had seen in a 720p digital projector up until that time and the blacks were abysmal as well. Well, enter the Sony Ruby and I had a way to get rid of the three-eyed monster (that was always breaking down). Problem was, the SMX material (compared to the solid screens I had before) had a noticeable weave pattern to it. Mind you, it is much less noticeable than all the competing hi-dollar alternatives, but, compared to solid, still noticeable to me. And, to me, this looked just like the screen door I could not take from the early digitals. This, by itself I probably could have gotten over but together with the moire' issue I had it was a deal killer.

So, I rolled up my SMX material, stuck it in the unfinished basement and fell back on a Dazian CCC screen that, while not as bright or sharp, when you threw a 1080p image on it still showed a fantastic picture.

Now, fast forward to a few days ago when I get a little ping from Ruben letting me know about this thread. That got me to thinking about the SMX and something hit me - a few months ago I added an anamorphic lens to my setup. Previously I had been zooming to achieve my 2.35 CIH picture but the inconvenience of that finally got to me and I got in on the early price of the new Panamorph lens. Anyway, it struck me that, with the addition of the lens, my pixel size and shape was going to be different than it was before - and, no longer uniform either as any of these lenses produce at least some geometric distortion.

So, yesterday, I dragged out the roll of SMX (dusted it off ) built a quick frame for it and threw it up in place of my current screen. With fingers crossed, I started going through material of sky and fog and anything else I could find that would probably produce moire'. Whaddaya know - its almost completely gone. I could still get a tiny bit of moire' in some scenes but it was very subtle and didn't last long. Basically, you really had to be looking for it and then be very quick at that.

I've spent almost a year with my Dazian screen and have been happy but I've always known the SMX has a brighter and sharper image. The brightness thing was never a huge issue for me due to the material I watch (all movies) and the fact I came from CRTs so the Ruby on Dazian was still brighter than my previous setups. Well, I think I'm going to be even happier now with my SMX up. I still see the pattern of the weave and, if I let it that bothers me a bit. But, If I can just watch the picture instead of the screen it is a non-issue so a little time should take care of that.

There's no question (nor has there ever been) that the SMX is brighter than the Dazian. I had to re-calibrate my projector and lower my white level by 10% - and this is with a Ruby with 500hrs on the bulb. The extra brightness does more than produce whiter whites, though. Bright colors really pop. Movies like Cars or The Incredibles really show this off. Also, the extra sharpness adds to the three dimensionality of material quite a bit. I had watched King Kong on HD-DVD with my kids a couple days ago so I threw it in to look at it on the SMX screen. With a movie like this that I've seen and where the story isn't all that good anyway, I spend a lot of time looking at the picture and marvelling at HD-DVD in true 1080p. So, the quality was fresh in my mind from just the other day. Well, wow. On the SMX the picture is even more incredible with an added level of 3-d feel.

So, there's my long and torrid story. Its still early but I think I'm finally going to be one of the long list of happy owners of an SMX screen.

P.S. There is a downside to the extra detail that is revealed by the SMX material over the Dazian. The compression artifacts in DirecTV "HD" material are even more noticeable .

This is great news ebr.

Ruben
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post #51 of 1209
5/6/07 at 8:11am
I have spent quite a lot of time with SmX now. Superb image, acoustic transparency that is easily good enough to be balanced with any of the mainstream EQ programs now, and terrific value. SmX occupies a unique niche in the screen market that I think is more than a little influencial. Its bit of gain along with acoustic transparency has opened up a very new technical capability to all. Combine that with value and it has made a major contribution to expanding this sector of the industry. It is extraordinary good luck that SmX has come to the scene at the same time as new projector technology that is brighter at D65, such as the RS1. Two excellent performers and values that create quite the symbiotic relationship. Now that it is fully manufactured product, SmX is an extremely attractive choice for even the finest theaters...and the rest of us!
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post #52 of 1209
5/6/07 at 10:26pm
Ruben glad to see that your getting lots of good press. I've seen several SMX screens and it always impresses me. You've done one hell of a job on the frame as well, glad to see someone that over engineers things come into there own.
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post #53 of 1209
5/7/07 at 7:51am
Just wanted to add my experience with SMX to the pile.

My project was not a full blown theater but rather a family room setting in a finished basement with an area dedicated for the "theater". One of my biggest requirements wes the use of In-Wall speakers for the front LCR to save space. The other restriction was budget of course. I ended up going the DIY route to construct the frame which came out quite nice. If i do it again i would do it with one of Ruben's Pro-Line Frames, no doubt about it.

The SMX material performs suberbly. The images are sharp and clear. HD DVD looks incredible!! I am using an Infocus IN76 projector in this setup w/ out of the box calibration. The main seating is 1.5x the screen width. I did have to rotate the screen material approx 15 degrees to eliminate moire. With the material mounted perfectly straight the effect was pronounced especially in bright scenes. Rotating the material eliminated it completely.

The audio transparency of the SMX allowed me to achieve my goal of hiding the main speakers. The screen is hiding 3 Definitive Technology UIW RLS2 speakers. The screen performs flawlessly. The soundstage is big and bright and lends to that movie theater experience.

I am completely satisfied with my SMX screen. It is a fantastic product and was the perfect solution for my installation.

I will be posting a thread over on the smxscreen forum because this was definitely a DIY project. I'll update this thread with a link once I get some better pictures ready.

Chris

P.S.

Congrats Ruben on your new business.
LL
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post #54 of 1209
5/7/07 at 9:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Don_Kellogg View Post

Ruben glad to see that your getting lots of good press. I've seen several SMX screens and it always impresses me. You've done one hell of a job on the frame as well, glad to see someone that over engineers things come into there own.

Thanks Don.

It's really great to read all the positive feeback here on AVS and all the other HT forums

Over a year ago when I started my research, who would of thought so many people would end up enjoying this screen as much as I did? Even including Hollywood post production studios.

It's come a long way and it's about to go much further.

Ruben
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post #55 of 1209
5/8/07 at 6:25am
ebr,
Welcome to the Dark side. J/k

The talk of this material not being tested against Stewart is sort of incorrect, Im guessing it was tested for about 6 months against a Studiotek 130 and while the Stewart had ever slightly more pop, 90% of the people that witnessed the two side by side actually perferred the SmX and thought it had better detail, contrast, Black levels.

Trust me when I tell you these people are verrrrrry picky people. The screen size was 15' and the SmX hung in front of the Stewart for months and several movies were played and not one person ever said or asked anything about a problem with the picture with a seem and everything, it wasnt even noticable at 24' seating distance.

I might go as far as saying the SmX has more POP than the Stewart because of the better Blacks it produces. Being an AT screen, the contest isnt even close. Not sure where the comparable pricing is, when I was quoted pricing on a 15' AT screen from all the companies, they were nearly 10K, not sure what the current SmX prices are but Im sure overhead plays a part
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post #56 of 1209
5/8/07 at 8:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark P View Post

ebr,
Welcome to the Dark side. J/k

Actually, shouldn't that be the Bright side...?

I've watched a bit more and I'm getting better at not fixating on the minor pattern of black dots that exist in pale, solid colors. A couple weeks and I imagine I'll completely forget it. I'm just glad my moire' problem is gone. The addition of the lens was a great addition for convenience. I should have thought about the side benefit sooner. Thanks, Ruben for the mind nudge.
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post #57 of 1209
5/8/07 at 8:47am
Regarding talk about gain, I find the SmX screen to be very white, bright white. I do not know if that equates to gain but I think it represents D65k very well. I am very happy with my first gen SMX screen.
Im toying with the idea of ordering a radical curved frame. Something I have always wanted to do. Something along the lines of Cinerama. Almost like a Simulation screen. I know someone who did some experiments and said our lens will focus fine. I would have to do a cardboard mock up first to see how much curve I could get away with and still maintain focus. I think Rubens team would be the perfect target for such a screen. Someone posted a picture ( I wish I still had the link ) who had a rad curved screen set against a black curved wall in their home playing games and it was the coolest looking thing I ever saw. Very cinematic. That always stayed with me.




antorsae

What a rad setup. Congrats!
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post #58 of 1209
5/8/07 at 9:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan Gouger View Post

Regarding talk about gain, I find the SmX screen to be very white, bright white. I do not know if that equates to gain but I think it represents D65k very well. I am very happy with my first gen SMX screen.
Im toying with the idea of ordering a radical curved frame. Something I have always wanted to do. Something along the lines of Cinerama. Almost like a Simulation screen. I know someone who did some experiments and said our lens will focus fine. I would have to do a cardboard mock up first to see how much curve I could get away with and still maintain focus. I think Rubens team would be the perfect target for such a screen. Someone posted a picture ( I wish I still had the link ) who had a rad curved screen set against a black curved wall in their home playing games and it was the coolest looking thing I ever saw. Very cinematic. That always stayed with me.




antorsae

What a rad setup. Congrats!

I know that's what I want to do in my next home theater, a true Cinerama screen with 3 projectors. The curve I have now is quite nice as it is a 16' radius curved screen but I want to go bigger and curvier!

Ruben
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post #59 of 1209
5/8/07 at 12:28pm
I am still recovering from the East Coast BlendZilla meet, see links above for it. I was part of the team that installed the video chain and screen for this HT. If I am not mistaken this is the first screen assembled outside of SMX.

The shipping of the frame is just incredible, came in a large screwed together wooded box.
The actual assembly of the frame and screen is very simple and comes with full instructions, and if needed you can call Ruben. The screen was together and ready to hang in less than a half hour. Rubens system of channels and rubber locks is just awesome. If you have ever tried a Stewert screen with the snaps, you are just going to love this, no sweating and pulling to get the snaps to the other snaps. And don't worry this screen is nice and tight!

When it was time to mount the screen, this was also very simple, a piece of aluminum channel with a bubble level on it and screw holes to mount it to the wall. We had that up in less than five minutes and were ready to hang the screen on it. This was easily done by two guys, this thing isn't very heavy.

Looking at the screen and frame, this thing is a real beauty. The frame is soooo black!! Everyone kept commenting on how black the frame was and how it made the image look like it was just floating there!

I just don't know what else to say about this combo, it's all pretty much been said above and on the BlendZilla thread. Other than it is the most awesome screen frame combo I've seen yet. I gotta get me one of these!!!


John
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post #60 of 1209
5/8/07 at 6:48pm
Just adding to the thread...
I have a 165" 2.35 SMX screen (DIY Aluminum frame) and having done nearly every AT screen out there, I will say Rubin's screen has the best combination of price, image and sound quality of any AT screen out there. His screen has the visual performance that doesn't make it necessary to go to a solid screen. The price has made it possible for more people to experience the superior performance an AT setup brings to the table. Bravo!
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