transparent lcd panel for projector pricelist

In the meantime I recently got a MicroVision ShowWX pico projector, it’s very very cool for the size & price, laser light powered so always in focus and playing films through the VGA connection I increase the sharpness on the software player a little and the end result is very good. Only major drawback is you need a completely dark room to get the most out of it when it’s projected 6 foot wide.

Looking forward to the next laser pico projector from MicroVision, if what I’ve read is true then it’ll be 720p and 3D capable through passive polarisation!

The BenQ TH585P 1080p DLP projector is the lower-priced sibling of the TH685P we discuss in Other good budget projectors under $1,000. In terms of picture quality, it looks very similar to the TH685P and has the same performance limitations (mediocre contrast, color, and black-level performance, plus light spill around the screen), plus the built-in speaker is just dreadful—so movie lovers will be much happier if they spend a bit more to get the HT2050A. And for gamers, we like the TH685P’s better complement of features: 4K HDR signal input, 120 Hz refresh rate, better built-in speakers, and slightly short throw ratio and higher zoom for easier image placement.

Epson’s Home Cinema 880, which is the lowest priced model in the company’s Home Cinema line, is a mixed bag. On the one hand, it’s one of the brightest projectors we’ve tested for this guide, measuring 3,160 lumens in the Dynamic picture mode and 2,276 lumens in the Game picture mode, which is also very color-accurate. I had no problem watching movies, TV shows, and sports on my 84-inch-diagonal screen during the day, even with the window blinds open. But the 880 also had the worst black level and one of the worst contrast ratios of any projector we’ve measured, so movies—even in bright scenes—looked flatter and more washed out. Plus there’s no optical zoom or lens shift and only one HDMI input, and the fan noise is loud at maximum brightness. We can’t recommend the Home Cinema 880 for movies, but if you need a more affordable projector for daytime use—especially for gaming and sports—this one might be worth a look. The newer 880X is basically the same projector packaged with an Android TV stick and a carrying case.

The Epson Home Cinema 2200 is almost identical to the Home Cinema 2250 in its features, except it has a lower zoom of 1.2x and no lens-shifting capabilities. In a direct comparison with the Home Cinema 2250, we found that the Home Cinema 2200 had a greenish push to the color temperature and a higher black level, resulting in lower contrast. We think paying a little more for the Home Cinema 2250 is worth it, especially for movie-watching in a dim to dark room—but if you find this model on sale, it is a solid choice for bright-room viewing.

Epson’s EF-100 was the company’s first “mini” LCD projector. It has a small, portable (but not battery-powered) form, a laser light source, and a stated brightness of 2,000 lumens, but only a 1280×800 resolution. It comes with an Android TV stick for streaming video. We did not review this projector, but regular Wirecutter contributor Geoff Morrison reviewed it for CNET, comparing it directly with the BenQ HT2050A. He found that, although it had comparable brightness, its contrast and black level were much worse. The newer EF11 and EF12 (which adds Android TV) have a 1080p resolution but are less bright (a claimed 1,000 lumens). With selling prices around $800 and $1,000, respectively, these mini projectors are quite pricey for what you get. For a similar price, the Home Cinema 2250 is a much better performer.

The Fangor F-405 is a sub-$300 LCD projector sold almost exclusively through Amazon. The picture quality on this one is flawed but not horrible. It didn’t have the major brightness-uniformity and focus issues we saw with the similarly priced Yaber Pro V7, and the black level was decent—but this projector was even dimmer than the Yaber (only measuring 266 lumens) and had the worst color accuracy we’ve measured in a long time. The color temperature (or color of white) is really green—with minimal adjustments available—and this projector can only reproduce 70% of the color gamut for HD video (most projectors come in above 90%). But if you’re willing to forgive the color problems, it’s a watchable image for the occasional movie night, and it comes with features like Bluetooth audio output and Wi-Fi screen mirroring. The biggest frustrations here are ergonomic: The power cord has a big DC brick in the middle that makes it hang heavily and awkwardly, there’s no zoom and lens shift, and the F-405 casts the image 20 inches lower than the BenQ HT2050A—so to get the image up on the wall or screen, you have to place the projector on a higher surface or aim it up and use more keystone adjustment (and there isn’t much of it to work with).

The Optoma HD39HDR is a gaming-oriented 1080p DLP projector. It accepts a 4K signal (and downscales it to 1080p), supports HDR10 playback, and has a 120 Hz refresh rate and a gaming mode with low input lag. This projector is very bright, but its measured contrast is lower than our picks, and it’s not as color-accurate. Plus, it reproduces much less of the HD color gamut than other DLP projectors we’ve tested, like the newer BenQ TH685P. It’s also slow to switch between different frame rates and resolutions.

The lower-priced Optoma HD146X is similar in performance to the HD39HDR, without the 4K/HDR support and 120 Hz refresh rate. It too is very bright, and it offers low input lag, but it doesn’t have the Eco+ lamp mode that helps the HD39HDR produce a higher contrast ratio. Instead, this model uses a Dynamic Black function, which makes darker scenes (especially skin tones) look unnatural. And it has only 1.1x zoom and a single HDMI input.

We did not review the Optoma HD28HDR, a lower-priced sibling of the HD39HDR that has a slightly lower stated brightness (3,600 versus 4,000 lumens). Like the HD39HDR, it accepts a 4K signal (downconverting it to 1080p), supports HDR10 playback, and has a 120 Hz refresh rate and low input lag for gaming. It has no lens shift and only limited 1.1x zoom. Geoff Morrison reviewed this projector for CNET and found that, while it does look good with HDR content if you watch a lot of that, the BenQ HT2050A is a better overall performer.

Vankyo offers a number of sub-$300 LCD projectors, similar to the models from Yaber and Fangor that we tested. While these projectors mostly have small form factors, a 1080p resolution, and Wi-Fi streaming, they have low light output that is not ideal for big-screen home theater viewing. The V630 is one of the company’s “higher-performance” models, and after reading this thorough comparison with the BenQ TH585 (the older version of the TH585P) on ProjectorReviews.com, we decided not to test it.

The Viewsonic PX701-4K is one of the few 4K DLP options currently available under $1,000, and it’s a decent overall performer, delivering a crisp, bright 4K picture. The Game and Movie picture modes have a pleasingly neutral color temperature (or color of white) right out of the box, with less of a greenish-blue tint in brighter scenes than the HT2050A. But the black level and contrast are not as good as our picks, so movies look so somewhat flat by comparison. The bigger concern is that the colors look too dark and undersaturated by default. The PX701-4K uses DLP BrilliantColor technology to improve image brightness at the expense of color accuracy; you can turn the BrilliantColor function down or off to make colors look brighter and more accurate, but you’ll lose overall brightness and contrast in the process. An experienced calibrator could help set up this projector to get the best balance between brightness and accuracy, but the similarly priced Epson Home Cinema 2250 delivers this balance right out of the box, just without the 4K HDR support. Also Viewsonic omits features like lens shift and optical zoom, so this projector has less placement flexibility.

ViewSonic’s PX727HD is a good-performing 1080p DLP projector in the same price range as the BenQ HT2050A. In our tests, the picture was clean and detailed, the color temperature (or color of white) was more accurate than the BenQ HT2050A’s, and its color was almost as accurate. It wasn’t as bright as the HT2050A, and its overall contrast wasn’t as good—but its black level was better than that of many of the other projectors we tested, without the use of a dynamic lamp or iris mode. If you’re looking for a projector to use primarily in a dim to dark room and the HT2050A is unavailable, this model is a good choice.

ViewSonic’s PX703HD is the less expensive sibling of the PX727HD and is designed for use in a brighter room. It puts out more light than the PX727HD, but its color accuracy, black level, and contrast are all worse.

Yaber’s Pro V7 is another low-priced 1080p LCD projector sold primarily through Amazon. Despite its ridiculous claimed light output of “9500 L,” we measured 316 lumens (16.6 ft-L) on our 84-inch-diagonal screen, which is not even a quarter of our top pick’s capabilities and more in line with some of the mini projectors we"ve tested. Its color accuracy is average at best, and the included picture adjustments don"t help much. The 1080p image consistently looked a bit soft and unfocused, no matter how much we fiddled with the manual focus dial. And the brightness uniformity was very poor—when we put up an all-black test screen, we saw large patches of light around the screen (like a low-quality LCD TV screen), and this was evident in dark movie scenes. There’s also no physical lens shift or zoom to help position the image on your screen.

Unlike TVs, projectors are actually one part of a multipart system. The screen, room, and projector all play a role in the final image you see. A projector can be perfectly accurate (more on this below), but the image can still look wrong because of how the screen is affecting it. The main factors we considered when testing a projection screen were: gain, color accuracy, viewing angle, and texture.

Gain is a measurement of how much light the screen reflects. A gain of 1.0 means it reflects the same amount of light as an industry standard white magnesium-oxide board. Screens can reflect less light and have a gain of less than 1.0, or more light and have a gain higher than 1.0. A lower gain will produce deeper, darker blacks but reduce overall image brightness. In the early days of digital projection, this was useful because projectors had terrible (read: grayish) blacks. But that is less of an issue now with most decent projectors.

A higher gain, made possible by special screen materials, reflects more light back toward the center of the room. This creates a brighter image, but it also reduces viewing angles and can introduce hot spots (areas of the image that are noticeably brighter than other areas). It used to be that a higher gain was necessary, but as projectors have gotten more powerful, today a gain of 1.0 is often sufficient.

Color accuracy measures how well the screen reflects the colors projected onto it. The makeup of the screen can result in certain colors being absorbed more than others and introduce a tint to the image that isn’t coming from the projector. Many projectors ship with picture modes that are close to accurate out of the box, but those might no longer be accurate after they hit the screen. A screen that introduces as little color shifting as possible is ideal. The two images below show the same image on two different screen materials. You can easily see the color shifts between the two and the problems a screen can introduce.

Viewing angles influence how wide you can sit from the center of the screen before the light noticeably drops off. With a gain of 1.0, the viewing angle can be close to 180 degrees, since it reflects everything more or less equally in all directions. With a higher gain, the viewing angle gets smaller, as you are in essence “focusing” the reflected light more toward the center of the room. With a high-gain screen, you’ll want to put seats closer to the center of the screen.

Next, my research turned to the main AVSForum and other resources. Here the screen conversations range from the top-of-the-line Stewart to a DIY option for $3 from Home Depot. There are also many small Internet Direct companies that would otherwise go unnoticed without discussions at AVS and other locations.

We also pored over reviews from Amazon, making sure to carefully read what people actually complained about. I also talked to other reviewers and calibrators to find out what they might have used and seen in their work that impressed them, even if they had not formally reviewed that particular screen.

After all that, we set out to review 100-inch, 16:9 screens, as close to 1.0 gain as possible. We figured this was a good-size, average screen that would work for most people. You can certainly go larger, though the image will be dimmer (by an amount equal to the increase in screen area). Since most modern home theater projectors won’t have an issue creating a bright image on a 100-inch screen (and most can even do larger), we didn’t feel anything higher than a 1.0 gain was necessary. Since most content is 16:9, that was also our preferred screen shape, though many companies make 2.35:1-shaped screens as well.

We didn’t test pull-down screens or ambient-light-rejecting materials unless we already had a sample around. Those are more specialized cases, and we were looking for the screen that would be best for the greatest number of people in a semi-permanent home setting.

We were looking for a roughly 100-inch, 1.0-gain, 16:9 screen that had very little color shift, no noticeable texture, good viewing angles, and easy installation and setup. And, ideally, was very inexpensive.

So to sum up, we were looking for a roughly 100-inch, 1.0-gain, 16:9 screen that had very little color shift, no noticeable texture, good viewing angles, and easy installation and setup—and, ideally, was very inexpensive. With that in mind, we ended up bringing in the Silver Ticket STR Series 100″, the Elite Screens SableFrame 2 100″ in CineWhite, the 100-inch Stewart StudioTek 130 and Cima Neve 1.1 screens, three 120-inch screen materials (blackout cloth, FlexiWhite, and FlexiGray) from Carl’s Place, Wilsonart Designer White laminate in an 8- by 4-foot sheet, Goo Systems" Screen Goo Reference White and GooToob, and Home Depot"s Behr Silver Screen. I also included in the testing my personal screen, a 122-inch Screen Innovations SolarHD 4K.

The Stewart and Screen Innovations screens are much more expensive models that are often sold only through custom AV retailers, but we still included them in our tests as references for comparison. Stewart is the best-selling screen brand for custom home theaters, and the StudioTek 130 is the company"s best-selling material. It is the reference standard for a home theater screen and the one most reviewers are likely to recommend if you ask for a single suggestion; I use it when testing projectors. In our tests of screens, we wanted to make sure to pit everything against this reference to see how well they performed.

The Aeon CLR® is an EDGE FREE CLR® fixed frame screen that uses Elite Screens innovative StarBright CLR® (Ceiling Light Rejecting®) material. Its serriform optical surface lens microstructure negates the washout effect of ambient light especially from overhead sources. This … Read More

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If you"re bouncing from place to place making presentations, the last thing you want to do is lug around a heavy LCD projector. Portable LCD projectors are lightweight and easy to transport. Pack them into a small carrying case, sling it over your shoulder, and you"re prepared to make professional presentations on the go.

Contrary to what some people believe, buying a portable LCD projector for the convenience doesn"t mean sacrificing quality. Portable projectors are capable of producing high quality video, photo, and computer image presentations.

Portable LCD projectors weigh anywhere from two to seven pounds. The ultralight models weighing less than five pounds tend to be more expensive than models weighing five to seven pounds.

Portable LCD projectors are sold in several different resolutions:SVGA (600x800 pixels) is the lowest resolution and the least expensive. It"s the best option if you"re going to use the projector for PowerPoint presentations, graphs, charts, and the like.

Aside from resolution, you"ll also want to pay attention to:The number of lumens - a measure of brightness. You"ll want to buy a projector with at least 1,000 lumens.

Did Brad Pitt"s head get really wrinkly or is that just your crown molding? If you have a projector but no projector screen, you"re getting subpar picture quality and are wasting a great machine. Even if your wall is a crisp, spotless white, any imperfections will be obvious. But do you get wall-mounted screen or freestanding? Which size and aspect ratio? Manual or motorized? Don"t worry - we"ve got you covered. Below are the best projector screens of this year, no matter your budget. For more background, see our projector screen comparison table and buying advice below the picks.

We think that right now, the best projector screen needs to be automated, easy to set up and use, and guarantee a particular level of picture quality. In our opinion, the Elite Screens VMAX 2 ticks all three boxes. For starters, not only do you get a very sizeable usable area, but you get a slightly increased aspect ratio, at 16:10. There is a full 180 degree viewing angle, and like many models in this range, it comes ready for both 4K and 3D viewing. Installation is dead simple, as it comes shipped fully assembled (so no electronics knowledge required) and you won"t have to get up to adjust it, either, as it comes with its own remote. It"s a clear choice over screens from Silver Ticket, its big competitor.

That said, we do think the price could stand to drop a little. The Elite Screens VMAX 2 comes in multiple sizes, like most screens here, but to be honest, it"s still a little expensive for what it is. If you"re looking for a less-expensive automated screen, we"d recommend the Spectrum Electric, also from Elite Screens.

Up until recently, we’ve recommended Silver Ticket as the go-to brand for affordable projector screens. They recently discontinued many of their products, and are no longer widely available. Fortunately, there are several other excellent options, and one of them is the Vamvo Outdoor Indoor screen. It’s basic and functional, but it has several key advantages to other screens from the likes of Mdebeddron. For starters, it’s exceptionally easy to put together, and we think the picture is comparable to some of the more expensive screens mentioned here, like the Elite Screens Spectrum 2.

However, despite the Vamvo Outdoor Indoor claiming that it can be used, well, both indoors and outdoors, the reality is a little more complex. Without a very dark environment, such as a basement with blackout curtains, there is a noticeable degradation and picture quality. And while the screen is easy to build (it will be up and running in minutes) it’s also easy to tip over. Fortunately, a few sturdy weights. This from happening, and we think the great picture quality is enough to mitigate these issues. Vamvo have big shoes to fill, but they’ve done well here. This is an ideal screen if you’re on a budget.

When it comes to picking the screen that represents the best value-for-money combined with the most impressive technology, the weightily-named Seymour Screen Excellence Ambient-Visionaire Black 1.2 takes it. For our money, this is the top high-end projection screen pick of this year.

Although the one we have listed here is a 103” screen, Seymour works with a kind of mix-and-match system, allowing you to choose your frame type and size, and pair it with its Ambient-Visionaire material, giving you a highly customisable package. Regardless, we think the combination of specs that we’ve got here will be more than enough for most people, and most people will be utterly awed by the picture quality, which is out of this world. Rich, deep blacks and soaring contrast make this a winner. As a bonus, it’s incredibly easy to put together. It must be said that although it’s not expensive as something like the Stewart Filmscreen Phantom HALR, it’s still relatively pricey, and probably not suitable for those just getting started. For some screens that do fulfill that particular category, just check a little further down the list. They’re still very good, we promise!

This screen includes a power adapter and self-inflates—no need to put your lungs to the test—and comes with a large carrying case to help cart it around. The Giant Gemmy is perfect for an outdoor movie night or sporting event with a crowd of people, but keep in mind that picture quality can’t be expected to match an indoor screen. We should say from the get go that tracking down stats, like again and aspect ratio, is surprisingly difficult for the screen. As we mentioned, go in prepared to deal with a surface that might not be ideal for your projector. All the same, this fulfills a very particular niche.

Any manufacturer can attach a motor to a screen, but only a few can do it really well. Elite Screens Make the best on the market, in our opinion, and their Spectrum 2 proves it. The screen uses a tubular motor, which is much quieter, faster, and smoother than the synchronous motors found in screens like Elite’s VMAX 2. The inclusion of the new MaxWhite FG material not only stiffens this non-tensioned screen, but also enhances the picture. We don’t think it beats the VMAX 2 or other motorised screens like the Screen Innovations Solo Pro 2 for quality, but it more than holds its own.

Portable projector screens can be hit or miss, but the Pyle PRJTP46 is definitely a hit. Its small size (40 inches) and light weight make it easy to take with you, and it sets up in moments. It’s the ideal screen for impromptu movie nights at a friend’s house, or quick presentations while at work. The image is bright and clean and although pricier screens like the Vamvo Indoor Outdoor have the Pyle beaten on clarity, the quality is still good for the price.

One thing to be aware of with the Pyle PRJTP46 is that the design isn’t as robust as we’d like. The portable nature means that it’s somewhat flimsy, and can be knocked over or out of true if you brush against it. The viewing surface also has a tendency to not be completely flat, with more than one wrinkle popping up when we tried it. If you demand absolute clarity, and a totally flat viewing surface, it maybe worth looking at a more permanent option like the aforementioned Silver Ticket, or a model from Elite Screens.

Stewart make some of the most expensive screens available, so it’s a good thing the image quality matches the price. The Cima 135” isn’t quite as mind-blowing as the Phantom HALR, but it’s very good, with a big viewing area matched by some excellent picture quality. It’s relatively easy to set up and use, and we think that were it not for the eye-melting price tag, it would probably snag a spot on the regular list.

They use their own material, Tiburon G2, which has been tuned and calibrated to provide optimal viewing conditions at almost all angles. It rejects 40% of ambient light, and although it doesn’t really handle 3D, the smooth, durable, grey surface provides stunning quality, provided you’ve got a decent projector to match it. This screen and its variants are definitely not for everyone, but you do get what you pay for, and this is an absolute monster of a product. Check it out, if you have the funds.

Inflatable outdoor projector screens tend to be massive— it’s sort of the point— and the SUNCOO Inflatable Movie Screen is no exception. It’s a gigantic 120 inches wide, with 12.5 square feet of viewing area. Inflating it is relatively simple (the package includes a motorised pump) and although it doesn’t match the clarity and sharpness of indoor screens, it’s a perfectly acceptable option for hosting an impromptu outdoor movie night.

The problem is that there are better options available. The Giant Gemmy Airblown is still the leader in this particular category. Although it’s more expensive, by about $30, it’s also larger, and even easier to set up than the SUNCOO. The world of inflatable projector screens is a crowded one, and although the SUNCOO is a viable alternative to the Gemmy, it lacks any killer features to elevate it to a true essential. If you want an even larger option, there is a 200 inch version available, although it is of course more expensive.

One big downside with the Da-Lite Model C is that it doesn’t offer any advanced features for the money. Da-Lite Have a feature called Controlled Screen Return, which allows you to roll up the screen without jerking or damaging the mechanism, but you’ll have to pay an extra few hundred dollars to get it, which we think is kind of outrageous at this price. If picture quality is what matters to you, then the Model C is worth considering. But other screens like the previously mentioned VMAX 2 offer a better overall package.

Screen Innovations live up to their name. For the second version of the Solo Pro screen, they kept what made the previous model successful – the sleek picture and excellent, eye-catching design – while adding in some fresh ideas. There’s now a huge range of size options, all the way up to 160” (we’ve highlighted the 100” version here). The motors are rechargeable, meaning you no longer need to connect this motorized screen to a wall outlet. Perhaps the best improvement of all is that the screen can now be mounted in reverse orientation, which means it can be hung directly above an existing picture or TV screen. The Solo Pro 2 is also one of the easiest screens on this list to install.

EPV made one of our previous favorite screens, the DarkStar eFinity, and the Polar Star is a significant improvement. It has a unique edge-to-edge design, which means that while there is still a very slightly smaller viewing area than the overall size, it"s kept to an absolute minimum. The screen also ships with a backlight, helping to further enhance the already fantastic picture and color. It also helps that it"s fully ready for 3D and 4K, and that installation is a cinch.

But is it really going to beat the Seymour Screen Excellence Ambient-Visionaire Black 1.2, which is available for nearly $1,000 less at the time of writing? Our opinion is, it isn"t. It"s just a little too expensive right now, and we think the Seymour is a better option for most people. This high-end screen is still fantastic, but it should only be bought by those with a little bit of cash to burn. All those who are seduced by that amazing name…

Would you pay over $4,000 for a screen? It seems like a joke, until you read about what Stewart have done to make the Phantom HALR 110” screen among the best on the market. The secret is down to their ambient-light-rejecting technology, which really sets the screen apart. Without getting too technical, it involves the application of multiple layers to the screen body: a highly reflective under-layer, with a light diffusing layer plastered on top. What that means is that any light that isn’t directly projected onto it simply won’t exist.

Or at least, that’s the theory. For while this is an absolutely fantastic screen that delivers some genuinely brilliant picture quality, it does have its issues. Chief among these is its inability to deal with fast pans where the footage is bright – something which leaves behind visible artefacts. It’s enough to knock it down the list a little bit, a fact not helped along by that staggering price tag. Ultimately, this is a great screen with a lot of potential, but it isn’t quite there yet.

The Elite Screens Aeon CLR UST 100” is a screen designed for ultra-short-throw projectors – as in, ones that are directly beneath the screen. This model is one of the better ultra-short-throw (UST) screens available, despite not being quite as assured as the Screen Innovations Solo Pro 2, and costs just over a quarter of the price. It offers outstanding picture, especially in rooms which are not perfectly dark. Although the gray shade might not look great when it isn’t being used, it’s able to push back up to 65% off-angle ambient light. That means that you can get away with just closing the curtains without having to worry about stray ambient lighting sneaking in.

However, to get this effect, you will require a really good projector, which can easily double the total setup cost. Other similarly-priced screens, such as the Stewart Filmscreen Cima 135", are a little more forgiving with low quality projectors. However, we still think that the Aeon CLR UST is a solid choice, especially if you have a room that isn’t ideal for projection.

If you’re looking for a screen that can pull double duty as both an indoor and outdoor system, then it’s worth checking out the Elite Screens Yard Master 2. We think it’s the best ‘double duty’ screen on this list, with a better picture than the cheaper JaeilPLM 100 Inch 2-in-1. The robust construction and high quality materials make the Yard Master 2 a good pick and, as a bonus, it’s exceptionally easy to set up. It comes in a variety of sizes, all the way up to 180”. We’ve flagged the 120” version here, which should be more than enough for most people – the availability of larger versions varies depending on the store.

One thing to note with this model is that it may take a little time and experimentation to get the best picture quality from it. The Elite Screens Yard Master 2 is an excellent screen, but it felt a bit unforgiving. As such, it may be worth sacrificing picture quality for ease-of-use if you are new to home projection. Regardless, this screen definitely belongs on this list.

Usually, we don’t recommend dropping below $50 for a projection screen, as quality can seriously plummet, but we will make an exception for the Mdbebbron 120 inch Projection Screen. No, we don’t know how to pronounce the name either, but there’s no question that the screen has a unique proposition. It’s not rigid, but instead, is soft and flexible, and even ships folded up like a sheet. That means it’s one of the simplest and cheapest ways to get home projection. For example, it’s much easier to manage than the Best Choice Products Manual Projector Screen, which is over double the price.

However, the fold up design of the Mdbebbron comes with some major disadvantages. Unless it’s carefully mounted, you’ll have wrinkles for days, which is not going to do your picture any favors. The mounting solutions that ship with the screen are poor, at best, so it means you’ll need to do a bit of DIY. If you can get past this, however, you’ll find that this affordable screen is a good choice for those on a budget.

Normally, we’d steer you away from screens that cost less than about $30. There’s a massive drop-off in quality. The Akia Screens 120 inch is one of the few exceptions, and it’s genuinely startling how well it manages to perform for under $20. It’s a good, basic screen that will get the job done, although of course it doesn’t challenge even slightly more expensive screens on this list like the Mdbebbron, above. If you are looking for a basic, no-frills solution, the Akia is the one to go for.

The downside is in the construction of the screen. The material is extremely thin, almost see-through. That means that you will need to place this screen against as white a surface as possible to get the best result, which may not be ideal depending on your circumstances. If you want something a little more versatile, but does not cost very much more, we recommend the Pyle PRJTP46. Regardless, the wallet-friendly nature of the Akia Screen makes it a good choice for those who want bang for buck.

The most common question we get sent regarding projector screens is very simple: why can’t I just use the big, white wall that is already in my living room? To answer that question, and explain why it’s a really bad idea, you have to understand how light reacts on certain materials. When you project a movie, what your projector is doing is shining light onto the projection surface. No more, no less. For you to be able to get a high quality image, as much of that light as possible needs to be reflected back at you, so it can enter your eyes. So far so good.

The problem is, walls – even ones painted white – aren’t built to be reflective. There’s a very good reason for that, in that living in an apartment or a house with reflective walls would be pretty unpleasant. More importantly, walls aren’t completely smooth: even the best ones have a slight texture, one which is random – if you look close enough – and will do horrible things to light when it’s reflected onto it. That’s irrespective of how bright white the paint is. Yes, you could still in theory project an image onto it, but it will be nowhere near as good as it would be if you used a dedicated screen. That’s not only due to the fact that screen material is designed to accurately reflect the light from your projector back, while rejecting as much ambient light as possible, but also because most if not all projection screens come with a black border. There’s a reason for this: it’s a psychological trick, separating the image on the screen from the world around it in our mind, and making the image clearer. And no, painting a black square or rectangle on the wall will not give you the same effect. Put that paintbrush down.

If you’re setting up a theater room, you’ll have seats spread across a wide area and you’ll want to get the same picture everywhere. If you’re getting a screen for a theater room, you may want to dip below 1.0 screen gain - gain is explained below). Some grey screens claim a 0.8 measurement, which would help in wider rooms. However, if you’re setting up a conference room, or putting a projector in your living room, getting a higher-gain screen means you’ll be able to project with some lights on or when the sun is out. In general, a high gain is more helpful in a wider range of environments while a low gain is better at accurate color recreation and producing wide viewing angles. If this is super important to you, and all you want is a screen that is easy to set up, then we strongly recommend the Elite Screens VMAX 2, which balances terrific picture quality with very simple setup.

Very obviously, when you’re working with projector screens, you need to be concerned about size. This is not just a simple as two measurements of height and width. For starters, actually getting those figures involves a (sometimes reasonably deep) dive into manufacturer specifications. This is because manufacturers give the size of the screen in a single measurement, which represents a line from one corner to the other, diagonally. It makes for good marketing copy, but it can be a little bit annoying, as it doesn’t actually tell you how much of the screen is going to be taken up with an image.

Fortunately, one of the things many manufacturers do state is what is known as the usable area of the screen – as in, the actual area which can have an image projected onto it, usually contained within a simple border. And because we love you, we’ve dug this out for you. This will give you a general idea of just how big your movie image is likely to be. Remember: size isn’t everything, and you’ll get far more out of a slightly smaller screen made out of high quality material then you will out of a larger screen costs a little less.

Aspect ratio refers to the shape of the projected image, measured in various sizes.16:9 and 4:3 are common, but there are various options. Although 16:9 has stormed standalone TVs, some movie aficionados prefer 2.35:1. However, the HD standard (and the upcoming Blu-ray Ultra High-Definition standard) are for 16:9. If all your media is 16:9, you’ll want to get a screen to match to maximize your screen real estate. Also consider that larger screen need more support, with many large screens coming in at 35 pounds or more.

Gain is a measurement of light reflected off the screen to the optimal viewing angle (the “Zero Degrees Viewing Axis”). A screen gain of 1.0 is equivalent to the light reflected off “a standard white (magnesium oxide) board,” according to Projector Central, who presumably know about these things. The easiest way to think about it is as a percentage. A screen with a gain of 1.0 reflects back 100% of the light shone on it. A screen with 0.6 will only reflect 60% back, and a screen with 1.2 gain will shine back light at a 120% brightness. (For reference, the screen on our list with the brightest gain is the Seymour Screen Excellence Ambient-Visionaire Black 1.2 - unsurprisingly, its gain is 1.2).

Now you might think that, taking all that into account, a screen with high gain is what you want to go for, right? Well, it’s not that simple. High gain screens have problems. For one thing, the higher screens gain, the lower the viewing angle is – we will talk about this in more detail below, but the upshot is that the higher the gain, the harder it is to see a clear image unless you’re sitting directly opposite the screen. If you have a large screening area with lots of seats, especially ones off to the sides, you may want to go for a screen with a slightly lower gain. You’ll need to reduce the ambient light, but you should be fine. If you have a small viewing area, or space to put all the seats directly in front of the projector, then by all means go for a high gain screen.

Imagine yourself sitting in front of a projector screen, watching Mad Max, or Harry Potter,or whatever your favorite movie may be. You are sitting perpendicular to the screen itself, facing it. You are able to see everything. Now, imagine a half-circle, with you at the circle’s apex and the screen directly opposite on the diameter. This – as anybody who has done high school math will know – is a shape of 180°.

In a movie theater, the front speakers are nowhere to be seen. That’s because they are behind the actual movie screen itself. It’s one of those things that makes total sense when you think about it, but you also can’t believe you’ve never thought about it before. This arrangement can work because the material the screen is made out of is acoustically transparent – it doesn’t affect sound, allowing the soundwaves to pass through unmolested. We need the same arrangement in our home cinemas as well. This is especially true in small spaces, where you may need to place your floorstanding speakers or center channel speakers behind the actual screen itself. There’s nothing wrong with doing this, provided your screen’s material is acoustically transparent.

Ah, the beauties of modern technology. You want to get started on projection, but don’t want a boring projection screen hanging around your living room all the time? At the touch of a button, it could just roll away – although you will certainly pay for the privilege. Motorized or automated screens, which roll up into their housing, are typically a little more expensive than static screens, which don’t. You will also have to deal with potential breakages down the line, although it must be said that these are very frequent – especially not for the manufacturers on our list, most of whom make reliable screens. We think one of the best motorized screens, for reference, is the $318 Elite Screens Spectrum 2, along with the VMAX2 mentioned above.

You may have bought a projector because it takes up less space than a TV, so you’d want a screen that hides away too. Or you might be decking out a media room and want a more permanent solution. Above we even suggest portable options that can be taken outside for backyard viewings. If you want something that can be hidden away, consider a ceiling-mounted screen. They can even be pulled down at the push of a button if you opt for a motorized version. However, if you’re setting up a Hollywood theater, get something a little more permanent — these screens are optimized to be perfectly flat and can be attached directly to your wall, mitigating any concerns about the screens getting damaged via wear-and tear.

For the most part, projector screens and their setup instructions/buying advice have progressed to the point where actually purchasing and mounting one of these monsters is relatively straightforward. Unfortunately, this is a product category with a legacy of difficulty when it comes to actually getting the products themselves mounted, so it’s worth pointing out a couple of pitfalls that can easily be avoided.

The first, very obviously, is to make sure that your buying the right kind of projector, in terms of whether you want it manual or motorized. It’s an easy mistake to make, as you’re swallowed alive by aspect ratio and gain stats and viewing area sizes. You will also be wanting to closely measure the area you’re going to mount/display it, as it is super annoying to have to return a screen for a different size once you’ve actually bought it.

One of the biggest announcements at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas was the reveal of 8K TVs from manufacturers like Samsung. 8K is a visual standard that measures 8,192 x 4,320 pixels. It looks, as you can imagine, quite brilliant. But what role is it going to play in the world of home projector screens?

The answer is, at least for now, not much. It’s been the same answer since November 2018, when JVC released the DLA-NX9 projector. It was and still is a monster - an $18,000 beast that could upscale 4K sources to 8K. In other words, the projection industry has been deep in 8K (or upscaled 8K) for quite a while now. While there are currently no native 8K projectors available, to our knowledge, they can’t be far off.

Forget the obvious point that, if you can afford that JVC projector, you probably won"t have any issues buying an enormous screen. There"s the rather concerning question of whether a screen bought today will be able to cope with the images thrown onto it by the projectors of tomorrow. We admit that we don"t actually have an answer to this question yet. Everything we know about projectors and projector screens leads us to say that it won"t be a problem. After all, there"s nothing to stop you reducing the size of the image to fit your screen, and no matter how many pixels are crammed onto it, you should still get an excellent picture. The question we face is how an 8K image from a projector as tooled-up as that JVC would fair on different materials.

Part of the problem is that there’s almost no content produced in 8K. Hell, there"s not even enough being produced in 4K right now! It’s one thing to buy a4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray of Game of Thrones, and quite another to track down a version of the series shot in 8K. You can"t, because it doesn"t exist. But that will change in the next few years. Not only are more Hollywood studios starting to shoot in 8K, but the Tokyo Olympics were broadcast in that format by the Japanese government. It"s televisions that will lead the charge here, rather than projector screens. We will update with more information when we have it.

As the name implies, Ultra Short Throw projector screens are designed to take an image from a projector close to the screen. However, it"s not as straightforward as you might think. Ultra Short Throw is one of the biggest R&D topics in projector screens right now, and there"s a lot you need to consider when buying one.

The biggest issue with Ultra Short Throw (UST) screens has to do with their light rejection, especially with ambient light. These screens tend to spread their light off-axis, thanks to the short distances involved. Unfortunately, this spreads a lot of it out of the viewing sweet spot, making it more difficult to get a good picture. The solution to this problem is to invest in a screen specifically designed for UST projectors - the top one on our list is the Screen Innovations Solo Pro 2. Of course, you"ll pay for the privilege - the Solo Pro 2 goes for $4,079 at the time of writing. However, despite the price, we believe it"s worth it for the convenience and the extra sharpness UST projection provides.

Most of the challenges that outdoor projection faces is with the projector itself. You want to have a projector that has at least 2,000 lumens of illumination and offers controls, like keystoning and lens shift, to help you get the right angle. Either way, once you have the projector setup, and you’ve chosen the right kind of screen, it’s very easy to sit in your backyard on a summer night, enjoying Netflix. We don’t have a list of the Best Bug Sprays, but you can probably handle that yourself.

Electrically operated display devices have developed from electromechanical systems for display of text, up to all-electronic devices capable of full-motion 3D color graphic displays. Electromagnetic devices, using a solenoid coil to control a visible flag or flap, were the earliest type, and were used for text displays such as stock market prices and arrival/departure display times. The cathode ray tube was the workhorse of text and video display technology for several decades until being displaced by plasma, liquid crystal (LCD), and solid-state devices such as thin-film transistors (TFTs), LEDs and OLEDs. With the advent of metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs), integrated circuit (IC) chips, microprocessors, and microelectronic devices, many more individual picture elements ("pixels") could be incorporated into one display device, allowing graphic displays and video.

One of the earliest electronic displays is the cathode ray tube (CRT), which was first demonstrated in 1897 and made commercial in 1922.electron gun that forms images by firing electrons onto a phosphor-coated screen. The earliest CRTs were monochrome and were used primarily in oscilloscopes and black and white televisions. The first commercial colour CRT was produced in 1954. CRTs were the single most popular display technology used in television sets and computer monitors for over half a century; it was not until the 2000s that LCDs began to gradually replace them.

A derivative of CRTs were storage tubes, which had the ability to retain information displayed on them, unlike standard CRTs which need to be refreshed periodically. In 1968, Tektronix introduced the Direct-View Bistable Storage Tube, which went on to be widely used in oscilloscopes and computer terminals.

1968Direct-View Bistable Storage Tube CRT retains static information displayed upon it, written using a steerable electron beam that can be turned off. The DVBST was used in vector displays of early computers and in oscilloscopes.

1984 Super-twisted nematic display (STN LCD) to improve passive-matrix LCDs, allowing for the first time higher resolution panels with 540x270 pixels.

1987 optical micro-electro-mechanical technology that uses a digital micromirror device. While the Digital Light Processing (DLP) imaging device was invented by Texas Instruments, the first DLP-based projector was introduced by Digital Projection Ltd in 1997.