Suggestion Needed - Home Theatre Setup

[scorpion83]

Finally after all these years, I am planning to setup my first basic home theatre in the house we move in next month and would love to get some feedback on some of the things am looking to buy ..

Thanks to our forum members, I have already decided about a few things wrt what gear am going to buy - Polk Monitor 60 fronts, CS2 center, Monitor 40 side surrounds and the Monitor 30 rear sourrounds with 2 PSW10 subwoofers. The receiver is going to be the Onkyo TX NR609, Player - Oppo BDP 93 and the projector would be the Epson 5010.

The thing I am not able to decide upon is the type of projector screen I need to get. Deciding the size is not an issue but the type of screen is what confuses me as I read multiple confilicting reports .... to give a sense of the basement I am trying to set this system up, its an open one with a semi dark paint throughout. The windows are all blocked out with proper material to avoid external light. I am also thinking about having the home theatre in one end of the basement and a wet bar with some pool table on the other end .. its not going to be a dedicated theatre room.

I also watch a lot of sports as well as movies (2D & 3D) ... and I care about the image black level ..

Having talked about the setup, here are my questions:

1. Which is a better choice 2.35:1 or a 16:9 screen ? What am I compromising in choosing either one ?
2. Should I go for a Grey Screen (.8 Gain) or White ?
3. If white, considering the ambience and the projector I have, what would be a good screen gain factor to go with ? (1, 1.1, 1.3 etc)

Thanks for your suggestions !

[hyp3rlink]

Congrats; if you want to watch sports along with your movies then 16:9 seems to be better choice since all the channels are broadcasted in that format.

I have a 110" white screen but my room is completely light proof. In your case, grey screen may offer you better contrast if you plan to have some ambient light in the room.

[roar]

Originally Posted by scorpion83

Finally after all these years, I am planning to setup my first basic home theatre in the house we move in next month and would love to get some feedback on some of the things am looking to buy ..

Thanks to our forum members, I have already decided about a few things wrt what gear am going to buy - Polk Monitor 60 fronts, CS2 center, Monitor 40 side surrounds and the Monitor 30 rear sourrounds with 2 PSW10 subwoofers. The receiver is going to be the Onkyo TX NR609, Player - Oppo BDP 93 and the projector would be the Epson 5010.

The thing I am not able to decide upon is the type of projector screen I need to get. Deciding the size is not an issue but the type of screen is what confuses me as I read multiple confilicting reports .... to give a sense of the basement I am trying to set this system up, its an open one with a semi dark paint throughout. The windows are all blocked out with proper material to avoid external light. I am also thinking about having the home theatre in one end of the basement and a wet bar with some pool table on the other end .. its not going to be a dedicated theatre room.

I also watch a lot of sports as well as movies (2D & 3D) ... and I care about the image black level ..

Having talked about the setup, here are my questions:

1. Which is a better choice 2.35:1 or a 16:9 screen ? What am I compromising in choosing either one ?
2. Should I go for a Grey Screen (.8 Gain) or White ?
3. If white, considering the ambience and the projector I have, what would be a good screen gain factor to go with ? (1, 1.1, 1.3 etc)

Thanks for your suggestions !

I've got an opinion on aspect ratio, it has changed recently, but it is still my opinion

I say let the dimensions of your screen wall dictate your screen ratio. Assuming you want the biggest picture possible regardless of whether you are watching 2.35 or 1.78 content i believe you really need to let the room dictate your ratio.

If you have more width than you know what to do with and are limited by the height of your wall I'd go with a 2.35 screen, allowing you to maximize your 2.35 experience (via zoom method or anamorphic lens) and seeing as you are topped out on height your 1.78 picture will fit fine on that 2.35 screen. You will now have black bars on the sides of your 2.35 screen during 1.78 content and on the off chance you are watching 1.33 content they will be huge

If you are limited on width I'd flip the situation and go with a 1.78 aspect ratio, as you are topped out on width you will max out your 2.35 picture there and end up with black bars on the top and bottom of your 2.35 content, conversely though, you will now have a bigger 1.78 screen, which I think is a good thing. 1.33 content will still have black bars on the left and right, but they will be smaller.

Now this is based on if you are trying to maximize your screen size... if you don't want to max out either your height OR your width, then the decision comes back to you and what you prefer and pretty much where you would prefer your black bars to be. Let it be known though, if you choose 2.35 and still have available height that you choose not to use you WILL have a smaller 1.78 picture and that may leave you disappointed whenever you are viewing your 1.78 content (Watching sports, playing video games). This is ultimately what happened to me when I built my 2.35 screen and still had height I could have used. The 2.35 experience was awesome, but I felt my 1.78 experience just lacking as I knew my screen could be bigger if I had gone 1.78.

I made the move back to 1.78 just recently after having a 2.35 screen for 4 years.

As far as what screen to get... try the Projector Screen sub forum of the Projectors forum if you want a little more directed response.

[scorpion83]

Thank you hyp3rlink and roar for your valuable inputs !

I read in multiple places that the contrast gets a boost at the expense of black levels in grey screens. How true is this ? and is the difference significant ? Any first hand experience ?

@roar - The maximizing my available space suggestion totally makes sense. I will keep that in mind. I looked at your old and new setup and I see what you mean.

Edit - I just took a look at the projector screens sub-forum which I havent noticed before and its alrighty mighty helpful when it comes to getting answers about the screen gain factor. Thanks to you guys again !

[scorpion83]

Well finally, after 5 months my home theatre setup is complete. I havent uploaded pictures of any of the gear or screenshots now. Will do so asap. Pls take a look at the setup and share what you think. It would be helpful for me.