$1,500 screen vs. $500 screen (1 Viewer)

[Russell Volz]

Is it really worth spending $1,500 for a screen? Or will a $500 screen do well?

 

[ChrisWiggles]

There are lots of very cheap DIY solutions. And then there are some relatively cheap very high quality solutions. I surely wouldn't spend 500 on a screen, but that's just me. Maybe a 200-300 max for a goo screen, but certainly not a grand or more...

 

[RANDY FISHER]

You can build a frame and buy the same material you get in a pre-made screen from Stewart, Da-lite or Draper and the end result is a fraction of the cost. I built a 70" diag. 16:9 screen with a grey "firehawk" clone material from Da-lite (High Contrast Cinema Vision) for ~$125. It looks awesome. Head over to the AVS screens section and do some searches. You can even buy your choice of screen material from the AVS guys....I got my piece of HCCV for ~$80 from Jason there. It's is sold by the square foot. Hope this helps.

Randy

 

[Bob Maged]

Russell:

I am going to answer all three of your current threads here. You have asked whether you will notice a big difference in a $4000 PJ vs. a $1000 PJ, a $1500 screen vs. a $500 screen, and a $2000 sound system vs. a $400 sound system. The obvious answer is yes, the more expensive options will all be better, but the real question is how much better and what is it worth to you? Personally, I have opted for the $1000 PJ (Panasonic PT-L200U), the $450 sound system (Kenwood HTIB) and a DIY $50 blackout-cloth-on-wood frame screen. Sure, I could have spent a lot more to put together my home theater, but I am extremely pleased with my results and you absolutely cannot beat my bang-for-the-buck. Assuming this is your first foray into HT, and considering your smallish room dimensions, I heartily recommend you go cheap at first, and maybe upgrade piecemeal over the coming years.

 

[Neil Joseph]

After buying my current projector (Sony 11HT), I contemplated buying a 100" 16x9 screen (firehawk) from Stewart. The cost would have been around cdn$2-3K at the time. I made my own screen for cdn$150 and never looked back.

 

[Eric A]

I will hit a middle ground here. Check out Carada screens a www.carada.com . Best bang for the buck out there and David Giles is fabulous to work with. The screen is great and the fram is as good as or better than anything I have seen at any price.

 

[DaveGTP]

I've been wondering about screens myself. Right now I'm shooting on my bland white wall, which has a few big smudges and dings in it (and a couple of nail holes). I've got a piece of paper taped over a big ding in the wall. Definitely a temporary solution.

Thanks for the Carada link - perhaps I will do that, as I'm not a particularly good carpenter (more of an electronics/computer guy).

 

[Chester II]

Russell dude,

The simplest answer to making sense of the world of home theater is...THE LESS YOU KNOW THE BETTER YOU'LL FEEL. In other words a $500 screen will look great to you until you install a $1500 screen next to it. You'll find yourself saying, "Wow, it's brighter and the colors are better". Unless there is something obviously defective with your equipment you will adapt to it and be content. If money is an issue then PLEASE....keep it simple and don't ask too many questions or you'll feel the need to upgrade everything every six months. Ignorance is bliss

Dude,

Chester II

 

[joey mr]

amen to that

 

[Jack Briggs]

Russell, pardon my suspicious nature (happens in this gig), but you've posted variants of this question in three different equipment categories (vis. "sound," "screens," and "projectors"). Are you planning on truly contributing, or do I have this all read wrong? Please advise (your threads are depending on it). Thanks.