Summary
Be it a lavish home theater or a modest setup for the occasional movie night, there’s more to picking the best projector screen than size. You have to consider aspect ratio, projector material, even the very space the projector is placed, too.
Your Screen Should Be the Right Size and Aspect Ratio
Size and aspect ratio go hand-in-hand when deciding on the best screen projector for your home theater. The size you need ultimately comes down to available space and the throw distance of your projector.
TheBenQ YK700ST, for example, has a throw distance of 7.8 feet—its maximum—and is capable of displaying a screen size of 150 feet. However, size and throw distance depend entirely on the projector.
There’s actually an easy way to calculate the size of the projector screen you should pick. Take the size of the screen you have in mind and multiply by 1.2, which gives you the ideal maximum distance to watch movies comfortably. For example, a 100-inch screen would mean sitting 10 feet away is most comfortable.That said,short-throw projectorsare particularly handy for projecting large screens in small rooms!
As for aspect ratio, screen projectors come in all shapes, like 4:3, 16:9, 2.35:1, and 16:10. In the case of 4:3, it’s almost square, but the rest are variants of widescreen. Luckily, I can make this easy for you—just go with 16:9. While 2.35:1 is the most cinematic, it’s also a pain to have to constantly adjust content shot at 16:9, which you’ll do a lot. The same goes with 4:3 projector screens, a ratio most common with older films. It’s much easier to project 4:3 films on 16:9 with minimal adjustment, if any, since it fits nicely within the frame.
The Right Material Can Make a Difference
When you think ofprojector screens, what probably comes to mind is a stark white material, but there are gray screens and black screens, too. While each has its own pros and cons, you have to consider your environment to find the material. It can make a serious difference to the colors and contrast ratio, and is more or less a spectrum.
Touching on gain once again, you should be considering it on any color projector screen you pick. A gain of 1 will reflect virtually 100% of the light back to you, while a gain of 0.5 will reflect 50% of the light. For example, a 1000 lumen projector would actually be 500 lumens against a 0.5 gain white projector screen. Now, this can also be beneficial if, say, you have an 800-lumen projector and want it to appear brighter, you could pick aprojector screen with a gain of 1.2, which would give the illusion of a 1000-lumen projector.
Don’t Forget to Prep Your Environment, Too
While it’s tempting to place your projector screen anywhere, there is a right way and wrong way of doing it. You’re already aware there’s a science to the distance of seating arrangements, but it’s also important to place seats away from the projection, unless your projector is mounted on the ceiling.
More importantly, lighting obviously plays a massive role in screen quality. Too much light coming in means you’ll have trouble even seeing the action. Other than axing the lights, windows are the biggest source of unwanted light pollution, especially if you’re using blinds. For that, I recommendblackout curtainsand positioning the projector as far from the windows as possible. That’ll dramatically cut down on light and improve your viewing experience!
Elite Screes Aeon CineGray 3D Projector Screen
Having a projector screen, as opposed to your wall, can be a really nice upgrade to your home theater. It’s smoother, has fewer blemishes, and improves the overall picture. When you can, definitely opt for one.
