How do I find out what screen is best for my projector?

Question

I have an NEC-HT410 DLP video projector, What kind of screen should I get?

Answer 1

Ask a merchant of projector screens.
They will give you the best advice.

H a p p y
H o m e
T h e a t e r i n g !

Answer 2

In general the conventional guidance is to use a white screen for a high contrast projector and a grey "high contrast" screen for "contrast challenged" projectors.

But let's look at the situation a little closer. The NEC HT410 is an inexpensive projector with OK, but not earthshaking specs (See link). The key one is contrast ratio (1200:1). This is marginal for good picture quality (2000:1 or better is considered adequate and 5000:1 or better is preferable) and therefore anything that a screen can do to help would be desirable. The logical screen choice is therefore a light grey screen rather than white.

However, you might consider that a reasonable quality screen will cost at least $3-400, so given the inexpensive projector unless you require portability it might be preferable to consider a DIY screen.

The AVS Forum on DIY screens (see link) provides all sorts of advice, but in brief I did a screen on a blank wall in my home theatre using 3 coats of a light grey paint mix (based on Behr paint from Home Depot) for a total cost of about $40. And when I compared it to commercial screen material for $1000 screens I basically couldn't tell the difference .... and I have a $5000 projector.

If you really want a screen the article at the third link may provide information to help you decide.

Hope that helps.

Answer 3

To tell you the truth, I would not worry about the screen you buy. Just get one that is as large as you want your picture to be. The bulk of picture quality will be determined by the resolution of the DVD and projector. As a matter of fact, if you have a blank white wall in your home you can project on to that.

If your are really concerned about your projecting surface, a smoother surface will generally look better than a textured one. i.e. a bed sheet vs a white screen.

Hope this helps- have fun!

Answer 4

I would recommend one of these, they will give you a great crisp bright picture and are a very good price.

http://www.mogiz.com/Pages/Browse.aspx?CategoryID=65