[BL]

I am finally ready to jump on buying a new screen and called Stewart today about screen recommendations for my Sony 1272Q. I would like to do a 100" diagonal 1.78:1 screen. The person I spoke to recommended the 1.8 gain videomatte. This is apparently because it brought the level up to 9 foot lamberts. In speaking to her, it appears that they recommend the lowest gain screen that gets you over 8ft lamberts.


I now have a Draper M2500, which is somewhere in the 2.3 to 2.5 gain range.


I am a little nervous about losing a lot of brightness. A local Stewart dealer suggested that I go with 2.0 gain so that there is not too much of a perceived drop from the Draper.


Does anyone have experience with the 1.8 and 2.0 Stewarts? Is there a significant difference? Am I obsessing over nothing?


BTW, some have suggested that I go to a smaller, lower gain screen. However, the way my HT is configured, it would be a major project to move the projector a couple of feet forward, so I really want to avoid that.


Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Mike2]

BL,


I have an M2500 screen and the measured gain is a little less than 2. The Stewart 1.8 is likely to actually be 1.8 gain. Any difference in brightness will probably be minimal.


Mike

 

[BL]

Mike:


How exactly was the gain measured? I am not sure I have heard this being done on a screen by screen basis.

 

[Mike2]

I project a white field then measure maximum screen lumens with a spot light meter.

 

[Don Stewart]

Bill,

Is your Projector ceiling mounted? If so, I would recommend the Videomatte 200. The difference between the Ultramatte 200 and Vidiomatte 200, other than the 2/10ths gain factor is the manufacturing process and machinery used to produce the fabrics.

The Ulramatee 200 is designed for extreamly large

screen venues and is avaiable in seamless sizes to 40 feet by 90 feet. This material performs best with lens throw distances over 1.8 times screen width. The Videomatte 200 is designed for ceiling mounted CRT projectors with lens throw distance of 1.4 times screen width. The Videomatte is also limited to 8 foot high by 40 feet wide in seamless sheets. This not a problem in your case though.

Regards,

Don

 

[BL]

Thanks for the reply, Don. Yes, my projector is ceiling mounted. Also, because I have a low (7ft) ceiling, it is relatively square to the screen instead of highly angled.


I used the Sony PJ calc to set the distance from the screen, and I believe the mid point of the projector is about 138" from the screen. With a 100" screen, if I assume that the distance from the midpoint of the projector to the lenses is 12", then it would be about 126" from the screen, which puts it a little below 1.5 times screen width away. I assume that this is still okay?


I also assume that you consider the 1.8 to be plenty bright for my use, is that correct?


Thanks again for responding.

 

[Don Stewart]

Bill,

Your throw distance is fine. As for the foot lambert issue...The most stunning image I have ever seen was a G-90 projector with a Faroudja processor at the Faroudja trade show booth. It was measured at 8 foot lamberts. Just keep the room theater dark.

Regards,

Don

 

[kenolle]

i might be interested in your used 2500, i have a targa electric now, i think its only a 1.0 gain so yours would be a major improvement. why are you switching? ken

 

[BL]

Ken:


My Draper has a vertical streaking issue that is visible in some bright scenes and has been reported by a number of owners. It gives a very good picture 95% of the time, and I have really been on the fence about replacing it. I just watched Castaway, and it looked great. Part of the issue is that I now watch a fair amount of Tivo, and given that the resolution is lower than DVD (especially when the broadcast quality is poor) the streaking is more visible. An example of a DVD scene I have noticed it in is the hilltop scene at the beginning of the Sound of Music.


I have now decided I am willing to pay the price to upgrade to a Stewart so I hopefully will no longer have any screen issues.


Please Let me know if you are still interested given these issues, or if you have any questions.

 

[kenolle]

thanks for the reply. i would have to see what your talking about to know, but im assuming i would have a problem with it too.. whats Draper say about it? i looked at their website and didnt see anything about the problem. you would think they would stand behing their product.. anybody in the st. louis have one of these 2500s i can look at? ken

 

[Art Sonneborn]

I use a Stewart Videomatte 200. This is a fantastic screen( having formaly used the Draper product). The 1.8 gain seems to have very few if any downsides in my installation. I can vouch for the wonderful picture but have not had the opportunity to compare it to the 2.0 gain screen.

Art

 

[Li On]

Quote:

Originally posted by Art Sonneborn I use a Stewart Videomatte 200. This is a fantastic screen( having formaly used the Draper product). The 1.8 gain seems to have very few if any downsides in my installation. I can vouch for the wonderful picture but have not had the opportunity to compare it to the 2.0 gain screen. Art

Hi Art,


I'm considering the screen material too. Can you see any screen texture in projected image especially bright scene from 1.3 times of screen width away? Because I sit only 6.5' from a 5.5' wide screen. Thanks in advance.


regards,


Li On

 

[Art Sonneborn]

Li On,

At that distance I would say no but at one screen width or so back( my front row) one can see texture on full white or in solid color near white.

Art

 

[bryan_chow]

Quote:

Originally posted by Don Stewart Bill, The Videomatte is also limited to 8 foot high by 40 feet wide in seamless sheets. This not a problem in your case though. Regards, Don

Wow, it would be really cool if that's a problem for your home theater!!


Bryan

 

[BL]

Ken:


Sorry for the delayed reply. I am not sure that Draper acknowledges much of a problem. I think the best way to see what people think of the issue is to run a search on "draper" and "streaking" on this (screens) forum and see what people say. There appears to be a wide range of severity. Mine is not severe. I watched Shrek tonight (at approx 1.5 screen widths away, and though I occasionally saw the screen, I did not see any streaking).


I hope this gives you the info you were looking for.

 

[kenolle]

ok, whats your projector and proccessor? ken

 

[BL]

Sony 1272Q and an IEV Turboscan 1500.


I think another way to describe the streaking issue is that it is more visible with lower quality dvds and regular tv signals. The better the signal/source, the less visible the streaking.