Black Diamond from Screen Innovations? - Page 24

Thanks for the report, DP13. I figured the vertical lines were the reason. Someone thought the lines might have happened because the screen was rolled up during shipping. Do you know if that's true?

Since mine was rolled as well I'm curious why the 1.4 would have these lines but mine (.8) wouldn't. Maybe it's the stretching process when putting the screen into the frame?? Could someone point me to a photo of what you're referring to?

Either way, SI has alot riding on the success of the BD and knowing Ryan/Aaron they want to deliver a perfect product. It's good to see them being proactive by pulling back the reigns on any issues now along with replacing orders which have been affected.

Thank you...it was a long long time to see everything in boxes for weeks without enjoying any of it. Now I just need some seats rather than the hoopty fold away chairs

The letterbox bars are pretty visible in these shots from Cars. Do you find that to be the case when viewing by eye?

was wondering who has the best price? can anyone PM me a good source? thanks!

I sent you a PM.

Not as much as evident by the picture. They are there with full on lights (as what this picture is) but you have to be looking for them. They aren't obvious in full lighting when viewing live...and as the lights go to my favorite dimmed position you never see them. I assume the camera had some effect on it.

Post 437 in this thread has a pic of the vertical lines. There is some discussion of it in the next several posts.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...6#post13770496

Well, my 1.4 BD just arrived yesterday afternoon, but haven't opened up the roll. Well, here is to hoping that I got a good one!

Tabitha from SI told me that they are no longer sending out samples of the screen material. Instead, from now on they're directing everyone to their regional dealers to see if showroom demos are available nearby.

From a sales perspective, I'm sure that makes sense. But from the perspective of an interested buyer who'd like to test the material in their own room and with their own projector (ideally compared to the screen they're replacing), it's pretty disappointing.

I can't say that is true or not. I doubt it though.

I can verify the above is not true. I spent some time with Ryan and Shannon from SI Screens this week (really cool people BTW...), and got the story direct from the source.

glennQ

What is the story? I just set mine up tonight and I do see the vertical lines with scenes with bright background colors.

A retractable BD will debut at CEDIA (beginning of September), when SI Screens releases their all new Reference motorized series.

glennQ

Have you contacted SI Screens? They'll stand behind their product, and make sure you get a screen thats 100%.

glennQ

Yes, I plan to during business hours. Just wanted to see if I can get a preview of that the issue is.

Thank you for the compliment...even though the room isn't done I know what you mean b/c I'm enjoying this BD every day...even though it's a crappy camera pic...you get the idea

No offense Hook'em, but these letterbox bars are due to the Panasonic AE2000 pj used to show the image, not the screen. The RS1 that SI has in their demo room show no such bars...

Did you get a chance to view both the .8 and the 1.4 and compare the two?

"Xyst-
- TJ Morgan has had to pleasure of doing an istall with the Black Diamond, it went so well that Playback Magazine STOLE his pictures of the install for their magazine. Is that flattery or annoyance?"

No joke, TJMorgan, you should contact Playback's editor here:

http://www.playbackmag.net/
David Birch-Jones
Playback Editorial Office
4544 South Lamar Blvd
Building #G-300
Austin, TX 78745
512.892.8682

...and demand they run a feature on your install, they thought it was good enough to post pics on their page without consent and uncredited, why not get the full story... and I bet your business would skyrocket.

I was referring to movies, which are in anything other than 4:3/16:9 format, and the subsequent letter boxes shown on the BD are not as noticeable when viewing live.

We have contacted the editor and SI and at the very least they are going to credit us in the next issue. I'm not sure if our business would skyrocket from an article in a online magazine but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt!

From my own experience, Josh's comment about testing it in your own room rings true. I have a multi-use room with indirect sunlight and a Sony VPL-VW60 and I found that the 1.4 BD image to have good blacks but rather a weak image during afternoon viewing. I compared it to a Da-lite Hi Power and even though there was some crushing of the blacks the image was much more watchable, there was a lot more pop to the image and less strain on the eyes. If I had a pj with twice the lumens, I'm sure the BD image would have been fine perhaps better than the Hi Power. So eventhough I waited months for the BD screen material to become available, I regretfully had to turn to the Hi Power screen because it provided a better image for my particular pj and lighting conditions. However, I'm glad that the new BD screen has worked out for some other people.

Could you tell how big is the screen that you use with VW60 and how big was Black Diamond? Maybe some more info about distance to the projector, mode, etc?

I called SI yesterday afternoon and had a nice conversation with Ryan. Here's the latest:

Motorized screens
-----------------

When the upcoming Reference series of motorized screens is available, customers will be able to order 2.35:1 format Black Diamond screens up to 142 diagonal and 16X9 format Black Diamond screens up to 113 diagonal, the largest sizes that the maximum seamless height allows. A motorized screen will likely cost 1/3 to 1/2 more than the equivalent-sized fixed frame screen. Ryan is hoping for 1/3 more.

http://www.siscreens.com/si/products.php

Curved screens
---------------

SI plans to come out with a Reference series of curved screens in September. The curve will have a 30-foot radius. The curved screens will cost considerably more than the fixed screens.

I'm sure watching anamorphic movies on a 142 diagonal 2.35:1 curved screen, which is nearly 11 feet wide, would be quite an immersive experience.

Larger screens
--------------

I asked about larger Black Diamond screens with seams for home theater use. Ryan said they are not going to ever be available. I asked if this meant they had already experimented enough with seams to determine that the appearance would be unacceptable for home theater use and he said yes. I asked what they would do if a customer wanted to order a 150 16X9 diagonal Black Diamond for home theater use, if they would turn the customer down, and he said yes.

Larger screens may still be available someday, though. Economies of scale and booming business may well mean that someday the maximum seamless height will be greater than 55.69.

.8 vs 1.4 gain screens
---------------------

Sales seem to be going very well just with the .8 gain and Ryan personally prefers the .8 gain over the 1.4 gain, saying it can have blacker blacks, so I am going to give the .8 gain strong consideration. I just need a demo of a .8 gain Black Diamond somewhere first.

I called the regional rep for New England and am trying to get a demo. Ryan said he is considering sending large samples to the reps. I once visited the area rep for Epson and Vutec to demo the Epson 1080 UB Pro Cinema just after it was released and the Silverstar screen they had paired with it, and noticed they had a sample lying around of a larger than usual size, maybe three feet wide. The screen used for the demo was 60 diagonal, which to me is almost like a large sample as opposed to a real home theater projection screen. Ideally, I'd like the demo screen to be at least 92 diagonal and ideally 110 diagonal, but I'll take anything.

Let me know what you find out. I'm also in the Boston area.

Will do. Have you seen the RS1/Silverstar at New England Home Theater in Littleton? It's worth a trip. They're open on Saturdays.

It's unfortunate to here this about the 1.4 gain BD screen. I was hoping to get one in a few months when my HT is built out.

HRD, Did Ryan give you any idea of when it would be available again?

Maybe I'll do a DIY screen in the mean time.

Anyone out there doing a 2.35:1 setup with a JVC-RS2? What are your thougts on it?

thanks