Need some install help!

[Brain Sturgeon]

Originally Posted by Cisco in HD

Good to know Brain. Thanks for your expertise.

I did myself a favor and read the world of projectors sticky.

How important is gain when picking a screen? Obviously, the higher the gain the less of a viewing angle is prominent. Naturally the screen would be needed to be taken into account when setting up the seating area in the planning phase (of course).

How important is screen color?

What color gives a better image in a dark room with controlled lighting?

You're welcome. Apologies to Zachd, by the way, for hijacking his thread, although I think he did get his installation issues ironed out.

Gain gets to be more important as you get into larger and larger screen sizes. Most consumer level PJ's are not designed to have the light output to properly light up a unity gain (~1) screen larger than about 30-35 ft² or so. You will see manufacturers claiming anywhere from 600-1600 ANSI lumens for most of these products, but after calibration to D65, actual lumens is usually much, much less. I would say ~700 lumens @D65 is probably best in class for most consumer level PJ's. Additional, the "best picture mode" for most projectors will typically produce lumens output much less than that. If you are really looking to do a large screen (12' or larger scope screen) without breaking the bank on a very bright projector (typically 3 chip DLP = $$$$), then a high gain screen like a DaLite High Power or a Vutec Silverstar can help get you the "punchy" bright picture that most people prefer. There are trade offs in viewing angle and setup of these screens, but you can't get something for nothing. If you are planning to get a reasonably bright projector with a screen that is ≤ 30-35 ft², then stick with a unity gain (1-1.3) screen.

Remember that you may have a different preference for image brightness, so it's best to see the PJ/screen combo's in action (or at least some close approximation) to decide for yourself.

If you have a dark room with complete/near-complete light control, I would stick with a white screen. Grays are supposed to improve contrast for those projectors that are contrast limited, but this is becoming less and less of an issue as PJ technology improves. The majority of people go white.