Vintage HiFi Audio Forum
The Home Theater Corner => Home Theater Video => Topic started by: OldiesButGoodies on July 29, 2014, 08:05:45 PM
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I am now using a 100" screen made of this material, replacing a traditional 1:1 120" screen. Sound-wise, this is an excellent setup for me. The L/R and center speakers are now behind the screen, and signals come through just fine.
On the video side: be aware that you will lose quality relative to a "normal" screen. The woven screen allows some light to pass through and the light will reflect on whatever surface is behind your screen and come back again to be seen by the viewer.
If the screen is directly in front of a wall with in-wall speakers this is not a big issue - the primary screen surface is close enough to the wall behind that the reflection back to the viewer will be in focus with minimal harm to video. However, if the back wall is a couple of feet behind, the reflected image will be somewhat out of focus relative to the screen image. I tamed this to a degree by painting the back wall flat-black to minimize reflections. In my case I have an LCD panel mounted on that wall to use when the large screen is not needed. I had to mask the the frame of that LCD panel with flat-black gaffers tape to avoid reflections from the shiny black bezel.
Net-net, I am happy with this screen (my priority is good sound from the music speakers, and this screen enabled that), but I paid a "video price" in moving to this model in the Elite line up. Be aware...
OBG
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Glad it is working for you.
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Thanks STAL. Maybe I should be more explicit. Unless you are using in-wall speakers, I do not recommend using the Elite "acoustically transparent" screen material. Any significant separation between the screen and the back-wall will degrade the video, especially if the back wall is painted in a reflective color. ;)
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I had read on the AVS site I think, that guys are using the acoustic screen then backing it, in the majority of the screen area with (where the speakers are not) a second material/ panel or painting the screen back in those areas to get better visuals. just a thought.
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My wife helped me experiment with some of that yesterday, using contact paper in some areas. The issues with that are:
- The profile of the areas that have been masked will show very clearly on the screen.
- If you use paint, it is is irreversible so the speaker positions for that screen are "set" - would lower the resale value
That said, a "backed" screen looks better and is clearer, IMO.