[SethP]

I spoke with Jason quite a bit the other day about screens. I've got a DILA G11U not calibrated, but I'll probably do that soon. My room will always have some light, since it's a NY apartment with lots of windows. The screen will be in front of windows as well. The screen will be 16:9, about 8 or 9 feet wide, using a Panamorph.


Will the Greyhawk be too dim for a calibrated G11 with some ambient light spillage? Or will it actually improve things due to the ambient light?


Will the DaLite high contrast be equally as good? How is the opacity of the screens? With a window behind the screen, will any light transmit through the screen? I'm told the Stewart screens are opaque, but how about the DaLite screens? DaLite is a good bit less expensive for a motorized screen, which is what I really need.


With a 9 foot wide Greyhawk and a calibrated G11, will it be too dim? I've read some accounts here of the Greyhawk being too dim with some projectors at large sizes.


Thank you in advance!


Seth

 

[KFung]

If you have the Panamorph the G11 on a 9' wide screen should be OK after calibration. My calculations give you around 20-22 ft-lamberts before calibration, after calibration and the Greyhawk that would give you a conservative 12-13 ft-lamberts. That is right around the SMPTE spec, how well that will hold up under ambient light is up to you. If it is light coming through your windows at night, you should be OK. 9' is probably the largest you would want to go, 8' would give you a little more headroom.


The Greyhawk will perform well in ambient light *if* you have enough brightness. It's really kind of hard to give you a recommendation, it depends on how much ambient and how much washout you can tolerate. You'd be best off asking for a sample for a projection test (you should be able to get Stewart to send you a good size piece). This is the best way to tell! If you find that the Greyhawk does not perform well in your ambient light, you could try a 1.3 gain or 1.5 gain. However, I would recommend stepping up to a G15 or getting dark curtains ( http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif ), I prefer the darker blacks of a grey screen in ambient light. White screens really wash out.


In your case, I would not recommend a Da-Lite HC Da-mat because you are pushing the limits of the G11 a little and the higher gain of the Greyhawk will give you more wiggle-room along with the other benefits of a grey screen. At 8' the HC Da-mat might be possible.


Perhaps Blake from Da-Lite will come by and comment on the opacity of the HC Da-mat.


If you are going with a 8-9' motorized, I think you should probably get tab tensioning because your screen is large enough that it may form wrinkles. If you add tab-tensioning, Stewart screens are not really that much more expensive (and AVS has *really* good prices).


Regards,


Kam Fung

 

[SethP]

Thanks for the info so far. A G15 isn't in the budget at this point, and any additional window coverings just aren't physically possible with the apartment layout...there are two walls of all glass. The ambient light at night isn't bad at all -- but it's there.


I didn't realize that the calibration would cut light output almost in half (according to your foot-lambert numbers). Is this really the case?


Is there anyone out there with a calibrated G11 on a Greyhawk and someone with one on a 1.3 gain screen? Any comments?


Seth