[Snovosel]

Now that many of us have had the 300 for at least a few months, I'm curious to learn from others what experiences they've had with screens other than the ProjectorCentral-recommended Da-lite HCCV.


Anyone have luck with painted products on drywall? In a completely dark room?

 

[Markito]

I too am very interested to hear screen recommendations for the Panny L300U.

 

[ji9988]

I use a 92 inch diag dalite high power. The picture is Great!! What you read in here about it looking like a big plasma is true!! The projector is table mounted.

 

[Snovosel]

Since its receipt, I've primarily projected against the wall, flat white, Princeton White I believe it's called. I also picked up a Danzian Matte White a few weeks ago. I'm not that enthused by it however. It DOES provide more depth (and therefore gives more of a 3-D image) than the wall, and that aspect of it is clearly noticeable. The problem (tradeoff) is that the image doesn't have quite the vibrancy of colors that the bare wall offers. Also, and perhaps more importantly for me, the Matte White lightened up the blacks, so they now seem more grey. Hence, here I go again on the Forum looking for the "optimal" solution.


In the Screen section there are some very informative reviews/comparisons of various screens, manufactured and DIY. Unfortunately, these comparisons were not done with a 300, and were "tested" with a certain amount of ambiant light.


I'm thinking about trying the Rust-oleum Silver and/or Aluminum spray. Perhaps someone has already done so and can report back.

 

[Snovosel]

I should also mention that I'm using the 300 in a totally controlled environment, no light gets in unless I want it to. The PJ is about 13 feet from the screen. Image is 116" diagonal. I have not touched the factory settings. I'm alternating between the Panny XP30 an RP82. My room size is 13 feet in width, so viewing cone issues are non issues for me.

 

[Robert Terry]

I am using a 119" Dalite HCMW at 13' and the image is excellent. My understandin is that this is the pull down version of the HCCV. During the day, I have to sometimes set the picture to Dynamic (still in low lamp power mode) because of the ambient light, but otherwise I am almost always in Cinema1 or2.

 

[Riverplace]

Robert,


I have heard complaints about waves and/or wrinkles on the HCMW pull-down. Can you comment on that?


Thanks for your help.

 

[Robert Terry]

Yes, there are waves that I am trying to deal with. I am using the model c which is supposed to be better than the model b due to the larger roller. If you leave the screen down for a few hours, the horizontal roller waves slowly dissappear, however leaving the screen down sometimes leads to other diagonal waves. If I weight the screen slightly on the bottom towards an end, it helps eliminate them. My screen is supposedly also perfectly level which if it wasn't the problem may even be worse. If I had the choice (which I did not), I would definitely go fixed if at all possible. Don't get me wrong, it is not so bad to make things unwatchable, but in certain bright background scenes it rears its ugly head.

 

[mdmaclean]

Quote:

Originally posted by Robert Terry Yes, there are waves that I am trying to deal with. I am using the model c which is supposed to be better than the model b due to the larger roller. If you leave the screen down for a few hours, the horizontal roller waves slowly dissappear, however leaving the screen down sometimes leads to other diagonal waves. If I weight the screen slightly on the bottom towards an end, it helps eliminate them. My screen is supposedly also perfectly level which if it wasn't the problem may even be worse. If I had the choice (which I did not), I would definitely go fixed if at all possible. Don't get me wrong, it is not so bad to make things unwatchable, but in certain bright background scenes it rears its ugly head.

A Da-Lite High Power screen is more forgiving of these waves... that is one of the features which I like for mine.


High power certainly has its supporters on the forum, there is lots of discussion in the SCREENS forum.

 

[Snovosel]

Robert, how expensive is the HCMW compared to the HCCV?

 

[Robert Terry]

Not sure of the exact price difference, but I think it is almost double. Check with Jason at AVS -


as clean mentions above the high power will have less waves due to the thickness of the material. However in my setup it would probably blind me!

 

[Snovosel]

Wait a minute! 551 views and only 5 responses?


Everyone is probably too busy enjoying the 300 no matter what they're projecting it on.

 

[dgetson]

Has anyone ever compared the 300 on a Da-Lite and Stewart screen? Is there any noticable difference?

 

[gobrigavitch]

I'm using a DIY with the high heat aluminum spray. I painted a MDF board which is 59 x 105 inches. I feel the colors and brightness are very good. I have a problem with consistency though. Despite my best efforts I could not get an even finish. On bright scenes and pans you can see the effect and it produces a dirty film over the image. I've heard elsewhere, that the rust aluminum is similar and can be purchased in a can (not spray). I think I'll sand it down and try to roll on a coat using this paint.


Neil Joseph also used the high heat aluminum and had good results. You can find the thread if you search using his name. Although he's not using it with a 300.

 

[HJA]

Today I called both Draper and DaLite to get their opinions on this question (since I've asked myself the same thing). First I'll qualify this with the considerations of my room in that it is pitch black and relatively narrow (thus wide angle >50deg visibility to the 92" screen is not a requirement)


Draper recommended their M2500 screen with a 2.1 gain. It's a white screen with higher gain. It will tend to keep whites white and give colors a punch.


DaLite then recommended their High Contrast Da Mat (surprising since I've seen so many HCCV-praise posts). The HC DM is a grey screen with a .8 gain. The logic there is that the panny has adequate lumens (800) to light up the gray screen but could benefit from the contrast boost of this material.


Given that these recommendations seem to be a little conflicting (white vs. grey?) I think I'm more confused now than before. I also think that a personal preference leaked into these recommendations. Some people prefer brighter images. The second company felt that the panny would be too bright for a white screen. So, my question has now been replaced by a different one. Gray or White?