[hdk]

Hi everyone, I have an Optoma h77 and I am trying to decide what screen to buy for it. I have the projector in the basement where I can control the lights, but, I have white walls and a white ceiling. (wife wants walls to remain white). I have read trygs great screen review and he likes the silver star, and makes a compelling case for it. My wife complains that the projector is dark shining on a gray painted wall, she want's a lot of pop in the picture and more shadow detail. I held up a sample of firehawk screen and she did agree that the colors are brighter. Is the Firehawk going to be 30% brighter than my gray or white wall? Will a silver star work with white walls and ceiling, or is that too much ambient light for that screen? By the way, we are looking for a 110" diag screen, projector is ceiling mounted.


Thanks HDK

 

[Art Sonneborn]

The Firehawk will be 30% brighter than a matte white 1.0 gain screen or paint , this is on axis though. See Stewart's web site for how off before the drop occurs but since there is no free lunch the off axis viewing will be well below 1.0. If all seats are near the center then this will be a great trade.


Art

 

[Tryg]

hdk,


H77 isn't the brightest projector you may have to compensate with a high gain screen. Projector Centrals review said it had a max 510 lumens. Most of the time much less
http://www.projectorcentral.com/optoma_h77.htm


do a foot lambert calculation.


lumens X screen gain / square feet of screen = foot lamberts.


use 70% of manufacturers specified lumens and shoot for a screen size that matches your viewing preferences.


15 foot lamberts for a dimmer movie look

50 for a strong punchy sports look

somewhere in between for best of both worlds.



Theaters are about 12-16 fl, direct view CRT TVs are around 50 fl and Plasmas are often around 70 fl.


dont forget your environment you'll be viewing in. a dimmer look(14 fl) may work in a dedicated light controlled theater but NOT with a little ambient light present like more of a media room.


I prefer and recommend 30-50. This generally pleases most that don't want a cave. I've been at 14 and was not happy



Also I have found the Firehawk to be more like a 1 gain screen overall. They may measure 1.35 at the center pixel AND viewing on axis, but definately not at the edges.

If you want more punch I would go with the Da-LIte High power or Silverstar. High Power better with white walls. Although you must set it up correctly.


Bottom line is there is very little visual difference between 1 and 1.3 gain. If you need more punch and brightness you will be very dissappointed spending big bucks and only getting .3 extra gain. You simply are gonna have to go to a higher gain material (~2 gain or more) to be satisfied

 

[hdk]

Thanks tryg, am I correct that you don't believe the silver star will work with a ceiling mounted projector and white walls?


HDK

 

[Tryg]

that's what I have ...well tan walls


BUT my wall are very far from the screen (12 feet each side) AND I only watch at night (low ambient light)


Everything will work. it's just wil it be optimal. there's always tradeoffs

 

[Hughman]

Using a device such as a photometer to measure lumens the 1.3 gain will amount to approx 30 % increase in lumens compared to a 1.0 gain screen. Your human eye will not however perceive a 30% increase in brightness. Our brain doesn't perceived brightness in a linear fashion like the machines that measure but logarithmically. I haven't seen any data which states how we would perceive a 30% increase in lumens but I've read that the increase in perceived brightness would be about half the percentage increase of lumens. It would also make sense that we may perceive brightness similar to how we perceive sound and if that were the case an increase of power by 10 would be required for a doubling of perceived brightness. Our sensitivity to perceived brightness varies with color and absolute levels of luminousity and many other variables, that coupled with the fact that perceived brightness is not measurable it's impossible to assign an exact formula.

 

[SJMAYE]

I am also looking for the right screen for a Panasonic AE700U. I am absolutely new to front projection, but try to read a lot. Tryg's post above helped a lot.


I used the Projector Central projector calculator. Based on a 90" diagonal screen this is supposed to give about 42 foot candles with what I think my setup should be. (9' throw) According to the calculator I would just multiply the fc by screen gain to get foot lamberts. With a screen gain of 1 I would fall in the 30-50 FL Tryg recommends.


My questions;

Is there any benefit to still getting a high gain screen (~2.8 or so)? Will this help additional with ambient light? I


s there a down side to using a high gain screen when it is not necessarily needed?


All recommendations are welcome!

 

[Tryg]

There can be. Higher gain = smaller viewing cone. So less ambient light gets reflected back at the viewer and more projected light(assuming you're sitting within the viewing cone)


read some reviews below

 

[hdk]

THanks for the clarifications. I am going to look at some of the higher gain screens and see how they look.


HDK

 

[tubby]

I am also considering the HP. Question: I have a bar which may have some overhead recessed lights used to enjoy drinks while watching sports. The bar is located about 8 feet behind the viewer and low ceiling mounted H77. Has anyone used a HP with this type of lighting? The lights dont need to be bright, just enough not to feel lame with the guys. Otherwise my wife and I will be watching flicks without much light. Ive heard from several people (most who dont own the High Power) that any light behind the viewer will suck with the HP and ceiling mount

 

[Ronomy]

My guess is it would be pretty noticable with light directly behind you and the HP screen. However if your setup such that your foot lamberts are in the 30 to 50 range then low levels of indirect light from a ceiling recessed light will not be too bad since the projector over comes the ambient on bright scenes.


I use an angular reflective Draper M2500/ceiling mount setup and can watch with lights turned on in the room. Dark scenes are still washed out as they will with any screen and high levels of ambient light. I have a 2 foot square sample of the Dalite HP and didn't like it with ambient light. The screen is very white and almost glows white with very small amounts of light in the room. The M2500 looks more like an off white wall with ambient light in the room. Plus with a ceiling mount the picture is brighter sitting down although that depends on the angle your sitting at with the screen and projector since if your within 8 degrees the HP would be brighter than the M2500.


If I were you I would get samples and give it a try and see what you can live with. Ask for 2 foot square samples so you can get a good idea what it will look like and try it mounted at points on the wall were it will be hung. Everyone has there own preferences on what is good and bad. I don't want to push any screen just want to voice what I saw while comparing. The HP is cheaper if you want motorized since it is self supporting...that may be enough for you to decide if your happy with it.


Regards,


Ron