Ping: Home theater projector owners (screen opinions)

[panerd]

A few weeks ago I bought a Panasonic PT-AE900U projector and am very impressed with it. I knew that eventually I would have to buy a screen to project it on but right now it is projecting on a baby blue wall and looks 1000x better than my old 50" television. I have been looking around and it looks like the Da-Lite Model B 8ft x 8ft screen ($175) is the way to go for the screen. Any opinions on whether this is a good buy or whether I am just buying an expensive white piece of material. Any good sites to you use to make purchases?

(Keep in mind I have about a $1500 projector and $1500 audio so I am not looking to spend $3000 on an electric screen. But I am also weary of buying junk just to save a few bucks)

Can't wait to get an X-box 360 thrown up on an 8 foot screen! (Of course I have to purchase the X-box 360 first. :) )

[Bee]

My opinion is if you can't spend the big bucks to get one of the high end screens, then the best way to go is DIY. You can check out avsforums and they have tons of forums including one specifically for DIY screens. There's lots of methods from Blackout Cloth to various paint products depending on how much time and effort you want to spend. From what I've seen there's not really a difference between a cheaper screen and a DIY screen, in fact many DIY screens give a better picture. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[John Galt]

I'm still projecting on a slightly off-white wall and it looks great. If you can paint your wall a flat white, that is definitely the cheapest way to go. I was planning to do a DIY black-out cloth screen, but because the wall looks fine, I haven't gotten around to it.

One thing to definitely consider is whether you will be living in the same place for a long time. I know I'll be moving a bunch for the next few years, so I will probably want a different screen size depending on where I'm living.

Congrats on the purchase. I think everyone who gets a digital projector can't imagine going back to not having one.

[Daimyo]

I just project on a white wall. Before I had the projector in hand I planned to buy a screen from Da-Lite, but once I saw how good it looked on the wall I couldn't justify the $200-300 extra for a screen.

[John Galt]

The other advantage I would add to using the wall is size. I think if I was forced to buy a screen, I would end up purchasing one that actually decreases my screen size (because really big screens are too expensive, IMO). Instead, I have a massive image and the flexibility to increase or decrease it in the future.

[panerd]

Thanks for the replies guys! I guess I should have made one thing clear, I am projecting my image on the side of my basement that has no windows so I have to project it onto a wall that has an office door in the middle of it. So the screen seemed the most logical route as a sheet would have to be moved all the time and the wall to the right of the door isn't big enough for my monster football images. (What am I going to do with an 80" maximum image?)

Bee: I appreciate that avs site. A lot of good information on there, some of the guys are a little hardcore but I found it very useful. (They are kind of like my dad who will spend 45 minutes trying to get the sound and picture perfect on any movie while everyone else thought it looked and sounded fine from the beginning. It does end up being a better presentation, but not worth the time IMO)

John Galt: I am addicted to the projector already. The original intent was to watch only movies and sporting events on it. But I have already found myself watching PTI and other shows on it because the 50" TV upstairs is just too "small". :D I hope I don't have to buy a new bulb every year, but why not enjoy what I have?

[panerd]

Dola: Unfortunately I now have sirius radio, a tivo, and a projector. So anytime I am with somebody else who doesn't it is kind of a let down. I wish I never would have known some of these things exist as I will never be able to watch TV or listen to the radio without them.

[John Galt]

John Galt: I am addicted to the projector already. The original intent was to watch only movies and sporting events on it. But I have already found myself watching PTI and other shows on it because the 50" TV upstairs is just too "small". :D I hope I don't have to buy a new bulb every year, but why not enjoy what I have?

Well, I watch mine a lot (Panasonic L500U) and have had it for one-and-a-half years. I'm still on my first bulb (*knocks on wood*), so hopefully you don't have to go through the one-a-year hit. Of course, you can always remember even with many replacement bulbs, it is still much cheaper than a RPTV of the same quality and size. Glad you are enjoying it.

[jamesUMD]

I have a Da-lite screen 108" diagonal. I was using the wall at first also and thought the picture looked great. Adding the screen tied the room together and the picture IMO was much better on the screen than the wall. It took me getting the screen to see the difference though.