The saga (picking a screen [16:9, 110'' or so] for the 10HT) continues..
After a lot of posts, and talking to a lot of experts, there are apparently still conflicting opinions on a good screen for the 10HT (where I have total control over ambient light in a dedicated HT room & seating is at 13/18')..
Here's the net net for those interested and/or willing to help sort thru the fog..
- DA-LITE Hi-Power would be my #1 choice if I could table-mount (vs. ceiling-mount the projector). BUT - this would be difficult if not impossible due to room layout as I'd have to move my seating back even further than it is already spec'd to do this. (As my wife has already commented on my need for 22' for dedicated HT space, this is probably not an option!) Ceiling mounting for the 10HT is reportedly not nearly as good with this screen as gain drops from about 2.8 to about 1.5. (Still good, but will DVDs have that "punch" to them that Bill Cushman, Don Munsil & others report, or will the Stewart options be better?)
- Stewart Greyhawk: a lot of good "buzz" about this product, but the net net seems to be that it achieves better contrast by lowering black levels. I'm afraid this will give me a "dimmer" picture - which will not be acceptable. (I don't care about "black blacks" but instead want good, "crisp" colors - as good as one can get w/LCD!) I've run the foot-lambert calcs on this, and I believe it comes to around 21 with the Greyhawk - not horrible, but not as good as the 50+ I'd get with the High-Power.
- Stewart StudioTek 130: seems like a good choice with a 1.3 gain and the Stewart name (tho not the price!), but the pictures I've seen on user HT Web pages all look "grainy" and - well, like something off a screen 5 or 10 years old. However, this screen has a great reputation and I'd probably pick this one as a "compromise" for my ceiling-mount if I could just see it somewhere with a 10HT.
Which takes me to the main problem..I've been unable to see the 10HT on ANY of these in the Detroit area, so all I have to go off of is people's opinons - which all pretty much conflict with each other (urgh!).
I've ordered samples from Da-Lite & Stewart, but I truly have no idea how a 2'' or 6'' piece of fabric is gonna help me.
Any ideas? I'm pretty much stuck @ this point.
Thanks for all of the continued help. I'm getting ready to buy, but want to know what the heck to buy without making a major mistake on one or the other of all these components..
PS: I can config the room however I want with paint, blackout fabric, lighting, etc as it is not built yet (but soon will be!)
After a lot of posts, and talking to a lot of experts, there are apparently still conflicting opinions on a good screen for the 10HT (where I have total control over ambient light in a dedicated HT room & seating is at 13/18')..
Here's the net net for those interested and/or willing to help sort thru the fog..
- DA-LITE Hi-Power would be my #1 choice if I could table-mount (vs. ceiling-mount the projector). BUT - this would be difficult if not impossible due to room layout as I'd have to move my seating back even further than it is already spec'd to do this. (As my wife has already commented on my need for 22' for dedicated HT space, this is probably not an option!) Ceiling mounting for the 10HT is reportedly not nearly as good with this screen as gain drops from about 2.8 to about 1.5. (Still good, but will DVDs have that "punch" to them that Bill Cushman, Don Munsil & others report, or will the Stewart options be better?)
- Stewart Greyhawk: a lot of good "buzz" about this product, but the net net seems to be that it achieves better contrast by lowering black levels. I'm afraid this will give me a "dimmer" picture - which will not be acceptable. (I don't care about "black blacks" but instead want good, "crisp" colors - as good as one can get w/LCD!) I've run the foot-lambert calcs on this, and I believe it comes to around 21 with the Greyhawk - not horrible, but not as good as the 50+ I'd get with the High-Power.
- Stewart StudioTek 130: seems like a good choice with a 1.3 gain and the Stewart name (tho not the price!), but the pictures I've seen on user HT Web pages all look "grainy" and - well, like something off a screen 5 or 10 years old. However, this screen has a great reputation and I'd probably pick this one as a "compromise" for my ceiling-mount if I could just see it somewhere with a 10HT.
Which takes me to the main problem..I've been unable to see the 10HT on ANY of these in the Detroit area, so all I have to go off of is people's opinons - which all pretty much conflict with each other (urgh!).
I've ordered samples from Da-Lite & Stewart, but I truly have no idea how a 2'' or 6'' piece of fabric is gonna help me.
Any ideas? I'm pretty much stuck @ this point.
Thanks for all of the continued help. I'm getting ready to buy, but want to know what the heck to buy without making a major mistake on one or the other of all these components..
PS: I can config the room however I want with paint, blackout fabric, lighting, etc as it is not built yet (but soon will be!)
