At the same screen size the AE900 would be brighter than the 40H80, but still wouldn't be as good in ambient light. Rear projection screens are really high gain and have ambient light absorbing black stripes that give them great contrast in the presence of ambient light. A white front projection screen's contrast washes out easily in ambient light. For ambient light with front projection you'll need an expensive black screen.
In the dark brightness will be no problem. Large screen sizes won't be as bright as a 40" RPTV, but even the theater is nowhere near as bright as a RPTV at the screen sizes they use. Eyes have the ability to adjust to different brightness levels. The AE900 is plenty bright for home theater, but it will not give you near RPTV like equal results with daylight pouring through the shades.
In the dark brightness will be no problem. Large screen sizes won't be as bright as a 40" RPTV, but even the theater is nowhere near as bright as a RPTV at the screen sizes they use. Eyes have the ability to adjust to different brightness levels. The AE900 is plenty bright for home theater, but it will not give you near RPTV like equal results with daylight pouring through the shades.
