8mm Forum: Screens... Let's talk about screens!!

This is topic Screens... Let's talk about screens!! in forum 8mm Forum at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Jan Bister (Member # 332) on March 29, 2005, 06:58 PM:

It just occurred to me we've all discussed various projectors and their light outputs before, their lamps and lenses and the size of their shutter wheels and whatever else figures into the total light output you get out of them... but how come nobody talks about their screens?

Just what kind of screens do you guys use? Plain white vinyl? Those tiny silver pearls? What is the 'gain' rating on your screens, and what size image do you project on them? And how much of a difference do various screens make with the same projector? Let's hear it and start comparing...! [Big Grin]

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on March 29, 2005, 09:22 PM:

I just hung a brand new Da-Lite 52" by 90" Matte White screen behind the curtains on my front window. It allows me academy format images 4 feet tall and 'scope images over 7 feet wide. Since in the retracted position it's hidden, setting up and taking down are very easy. (It's always there.)

Looks cool unfurled too, I'll have to say being framed by my wife's curtains makes it seem quite theatrical! (At last!, a reason for curtains!)

I find with a 100W projector, the images are bright and sharp, but definitely better in a really dark room.

I considered a beaded screen, but the shape of my living room puts my audience at angles that would be dimmer than they are with the matte screen.

I graduated from a 4 foot square tripod, and the difference in image size is awesome! I've gone through most of my film collection and in many cases it's like seeing them for the first time!

Posted by Jan Bister (Member # 332) on March 29, 2005, 11:14 PM:

"Beaded" vs. "matte" ... ah, the terms I had been looking for. [Wink]

Any others with experiences to share? And what's actually the difference between beaded and matte (I only know beaded reflects more light but the optimum viewing angle is more restricted)?

As for me, I have a 54" by 72" matte screen... actually I just bought screen material on eBay for chump change and then hammered my own frame together from what used to be curtain rods (metal ones) [Big Grin]

so it's a pretty low-end screen (it looks it, anyway, sigh) but it's quite large... and makes for some thrilling movie viewing. [Smile]

Now if I can just figure out a way to have it roll down from the ceiling. I'll probably just buy another screen, though. Definitely once I happen to get a hold of a scope lens and films in scope format. [Smile]

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on March 30, 2005, 05:20 AM:

Dulux Brilliant White Emulsion on a flat plastered wall.

Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on March 30, 2005, 05:55 AM:

I have a 10ft wide Lumene matte-white vinyl roll-down screen hanging from the ceiling of my screening room. 62 inches tall image in Academic format when using 16mm or the VP, a little less when using Super8 (for a sharper and brighter image). Good reflectivity. Projections always happen in darkened conditions, so the main differences depend mostly on what kind of projector (and lens) I'm using. Brighter but "yellower" image with the GS1200, less bright and less yellow (Ha!) when using the Xenovaron lens-equipped Beaulieu 708.
I store a smaller (6 ft) tripod version of the same screen in one corner of my living room for impromptu projections with friends (my screening room is also my office and, depending on what I'm working on, it can be filled with loads of stuff). This screen is also used for outdoor projections.
I also have a 4.5ft metal/silver tripod screen that I keep for polaroid 3D slide projections.

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on March 30, 2005, 07:19 AM:

On the subject of Beaded vs. Matte, one of the considerations that tilted me over to the Matte side was the fact that they are much easier to clean. I have a toddler running around and anything in the house that can't deal with the occasional chocolate handprint isn't going to survive!

Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 67) on March 30, 2005, 07:46 AM:

I took a huge piece of plywood....primed it...painted it with the most brillant flat white paint available....hung it on the wall...then contructed matts out of old pieces of panelling which I covered with deep black felt material. With holes in the panels and hooks above the screen , I can change the format to just about any ratio I want. It works out rather nicely. conversion from flat to scope, for example, takes about 10 seconds. I do have a room dedicated to showing films and that helps.

Posted by Jan Bister (Member # 332) on March 31, 2005, 12:19 AM:

Plywood... that is a great idea...

So, what's this "academic format" I've heard some of you mention?

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on March 31, 2005, 12:44 AM:

Academy is 1.33:1. 'Scope is 2.66:1.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on March 31, 2005, 06:48 AM:

Want a screen that reflects a really bright, sharp and colorful image, yet can handle kids throwing tomatoes at it? This is no joke, go and get yourself a sheet of white formica kitchen countertop. Just mount it to your own frame design (wood works fine) and voila, a REALLY incredible looking image at hardly any cost.

Seriously, I used to use this in my apartment setups back in college. Pretty much nothing beats the images you will get off of it!

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on April 01, 2005, 01:41 AM:

Great tip Brad. Another similar thing to try is the brilliant white curtain blackout lining material available from haberdasheries. Also cost next to nothing and can be rolled up just like a rollerblind.

Always amuses me on the modern "home cinema" forums where video projection enthusiasts try to show off with how much money they spent on some sort of special screen not knowing they've just been seriously misguided and ripped off. Some get rather narked if they are then recommended to just paint their wall with screen paint for a better image at about $5 per tin.

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on April 03, 2005, 09:19 AM:

Brad, i think i may try that myself.
John do you use the paint on the board?
I had an old Columbia films catalouge and the centre pull out was all about screens, where to sit at what angle etc, the one thing that always sticks in my mind was that it stated the sharpest images is always achieved on a basic flat surface coated with Brilliant white matt paint. I couldnt believe that was printed in book. It did state that the brighter images would be off a white lenticuler surface but a board painted white is easy and for me in a dedicated room easy to nang up.

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on April 03, 2005, 11:35 AM:

I just used a roller to put the paint on the wall. Initially I masked it off and put matt black around for temporary masking but now it's masked with black velvet which can be moved up and down, in and out to cover all possible screen ratios.

I'd like to try Steve Osborne's (The Reel Image) screen paint as other collectors swear by this. I just don't particularly like decorating!

Posted by John Whittle (Member # 22) on April 03, 2005, 04:17 PM:

Brad's Matte finish Formica is a great choice if the size is right for you. If you're going to paint, take a lesson from screen manfacturers. To apply the paint (coating and there are special coatings available) use a spray gun. The secret is that you put the board up like a ceiling and spray up. That way any dust, blobs or other imperfections don't land ont he fresh coated surface.

Personally I've got an old 5x12 ft Dalite matte white screen I got from Films Inc back in my college days when you got it for $100 when you booked six or eight scope pictures and a new electric 108" x 54 screen for the VP with a wireless remote to lower the screen. Should be neat when I finally get the projector mounted in place and all the furniture turned around in the room. Glass bead screens have a very narrow angle with major brightness fall off. The matte screens have "gain" of 1.0 (neutral or no gain) and wide viewing angle. Never understood the "gray" screens some videoguys use. Must have been influenced by CRT engineers that put gray glass in the tube to decrease reflections. Black is created by an absence of light and that means a dark room not a gray screen. (IMHO)

John

Posted by Mark Norton (Member # 165) on April 04, 2005, 12:04 PM:

I bought a new 2.5 meter (8 feet )matt tripod screen last year for £200 and what a difference over my old 5 foot screen. Used it for some outdoor shows and indoors it's just about as big as is practical for the adverage sized living room.
I noticed how much brighter films were on this than on my white painted wall in my basement room which benefits from total darkness. With advise from this forum a new coat of Brilliant white vinyl matt emulsion applied with a roller as well as increasing the size of black masking around the screen has made a big improvement.

Posted by Tony Milman (Member # 7) on April 10, 2005, 03:16 AM:

My personal favourite is an 8ft screen I have made from Yak fur, pure white and closely cut it makes for an excellent screen. Washable and fully portable.
Getting the Yak to stand still long enough is the hardest though [Big Grin]

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on April 10, 2005, 05:51 AM:

It's true! "Yak" screens are perfect for "Talkies"!

Posted by Jan Bister (Member # 332) on April 10, 2005, 08:47 AM:

And they double as speakers: just attach your speaker wires to opposite corners of the screen [Big Grin]

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