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What Type of Projection Screen Should I Buy?

Al Griffin  |  Feb 11, 2015

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Q I’m planning on buying an Epson 5030UB projector. My sofa will be 14.5 feet from the screen. The room has controllable dimmers, and there will be some room light when I watch games. What screen size and type would you recommend? — Lou Gutierrez / via e-mail

A With a 1080p resolution projector such as the Epson 5030UB, a 110-inch-diagonal screen would be a good option given your 14.5-foot seating distance. When viewing from that distance with a screen that size, you should be able to appreciate full detail level without detecting any pixel structure in projected 1080p images.

However, since you plan on watching sporting events in a room that’s not completely dark, you should consider using a screen material designed to provide some ambient light resistance. A few good options in this case would be Stewart Filmscreen’s FireHawk G4 or Cima Tiburon G2, or Screen Innovations’ Black Diamond. Each of these materials is designed to boost brightness and/or contrast to a degree. You'll also find ambient light-rejecting screens from brands including Elite, Da-Lite, Vutec, and Seymour Screen Excellence , among others.

The downside? Compared with a white screen with unity gain, there will be some consistency tradeoffs—the picture won’t look as bright from far off-center seats as it will when viewed straight on.

Also see Top Projection Screen Picks.

COMMENTS
AaronMN's picture
Submitted by AaronMN on February 11, 2015 - 12:09pm

I use a fixed Seymour AV screen with an Epson 5020 for a 14x14 room and similar environmental light issues and have been very happy. They have a great product at a reasonable price and really good customer service. http://www.seymourav.com/screensfixed.asp

Arnold_Layne's picture
Submitted by Arnold_Layne on February 12, 2015 - 9:27pm

That projector is very bright in dynamic, non-eco mode. Buy a cheap 120" VAPEX screen from Visual Apex. If it's not bright enough during the day, adjust the projector zoom to a smaller picture.

drj9797's picture
Submitted by drj9797 on February 13, 2015 - 12:26pm

should be considered as a system together, as one cannot function without the other.

as a professional video calibrator, first, i recommend that you get your video room professionally calibrated. the picture that is produced is a result of projector AND screen. having a bright screen may not be a good thing, whereas a bright projector can be adjusted. in other words, to get the best picture, the calibrator will use his equipment to measure and adjust all the settings accordingly. one of the key measurements besides grayscale and CMS is the light output. this should be more more than 15 foot lamberts, otherwise viewers may experience eye fatigue. (THX specs). since no two projectors and screens and rooms are alike, there is no way to get the best picture without having a professional adjust the settings to maximize the performance of the components and give you a reference picture "as the director intended".

second, you should choose a picture setting other than vivid or dynamic. try CINEMA or MOVIE mode. this will produce a picture that is less bright, but closer to D65 than the other preset settings.

save some money on the equipment, and invest in a calibration. that is the best money you can spend to get the best picture you can. and, btw, you might be able to get a setting for daytime watching, and another for nighttime watching, if your projector has multiple memory slots for this purpose.

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