Hey Austin Texas Buddies? Can anyone help me out? - Page 4

Hey Mike, did you already order your Dazian cloth? I was just reading this thread over at AVS and noted that this cloth seems primarily suited to people who are looking for an acoustically transparent screen that will not be used against a wall. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that doesn't sound like your installation. Are you sure this is the best material for you?

I wasn't going to say anything regarding Dazian CC screens, in fear it would cause Mike to have yet another 180 degree turn, but Dr. J is absolutely correct and in fact CC screen material is designed for huge commercial theater screens such that the holes from the perforated material are much more noticeable up close than perforated screen material designed for HT use. This is also why CC screens leak a significant amount of light and frankly would have a severe impact on the PQ of Mike's Sanyo Z1 clone, which has few lumens to work with in the first place.

Still, for just $50, it may be worth at least trying it out, but considering there are far better choices for even less (blackout material and PLAS-TEX being the most obvious), that $50 may not be such a great investment.

The only reason I would even suggest considering Dazian is if all of the following were true:

1) The screen placement was such that it has to cover one or more speakers.

2) The projector being used has more than 1000 calibrated lumens.

3) The viewing distance is at least 12 feet.

4) I was unable to find a perforated screen specifically for HT use for less than $250.

Mike, I admire your tenacity and 'seize the day' mentality. Its refreshing to see someone who doesn't spend eternity always on the fence infinitely contemplating and evaluating decisions - and therefore unable to make any.

On the other hand it may quite possibly be that you have swung to the opposite side of the extreme and as such are pulling the trigger too fast on all these HT decisions before you have had a reasonable chance for evaluating the impact.

Well, looks like my L300U shipped and I didn't even know it. It should arrive on the 13th!

Chad Anson: thank you for your kind offer to demo your PJ for my wife and me. I appreciate it, but at this point we'll have ours before we could schedule anything anyway.

Jeff,
No problem, hope you enjoy it! Do you have a screen yet? I'm going to build a frame but order Da-lite screen material (HCCV to be more precise). The material is a little more expensive than some of the DIY materials, but not unreasonably so (~ $4.50/sq. ft.)

I ultimately want to build a fixed screen in a dedicated room, but current we have to use a pull-down in front of a window in the living room for now. I'm using Da-Lite Matte White.

Mike,

A couple important things to keep in mind.

Screen shots are practically useless and very misleading as they tell more about the photographer and the camera and almost nothing regarding the image quality of a projector and/or screen. I can promise you that if you gave me two different cameras and I used them to take a photo of the exact same screen shot - they would not look identical. Not only that, but when looking at screen shots you are adding even more variables (different lighting, screens, equipment). Screen shots are more like eye candy and using them to evaluate the performance of a projector, screen, etc would be extremely risky.

The other thing to keep in mind is that while these forums can offer some seriously valuable information and advice, unfortunately there are far too many messages from people with very little experience and yet will gladly offer reviews how "spectacular" their equipment is. I would bet that the far majority of those types of posts are not intended to mislead anyone, but rather they are from people who have not compared their equipment to many other similar products.

For instance if someone had Bose speakers and had not compared them to many if any other speakers, then I have no doubt they would feel comfortable about posting a highly positive review of them. Of course we all know better than to use "Bose" and "quality speaker" in the same sentence, but that's because we have compared them to others.

It is no different than these posters claiming that the Dazian CC screen is fantastic. In the fact that that is what they are using and haven't compared them to other screen material then I can understand their sentiment.

BOTTOM LINE: Mike, by all means, make yourself a Dazian CC screen and as long as you never compare it to another screen while you own it, I suppose you will be satisfied, but if you do and are disappointed with the Dazian - just remember we all tried to warn you.

Hey Nils, I think it's time to update your .sig for St. Patrick's Day. Let's see the little one with a pint!

I'm not getting the Dazian CC myself, but came across the following that might be helpful



You could probably get a sample for free from Dazian.

<--- biting my tongue

Chad, I don't know who authored that message you quoted regarding using black velvet backing to a CC screen and witnessed improved "vibrant colors", but he/she is either pulling some serious legs or sniffed to much adhesive prior to posting that message.

Come on peeps, you are starting to worry me... Is it that hard to understand why CC material makes for lousy HT screens? I mean to think that someone is suggesting putting a backing on a perforated screen defeats the only advantage this screen has to begin with. Oh my, someone stop the insanity!

(working on it Jonathan) lol


How's this?

http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/users/f1d0b...EU9b.AfYcXL2H4


This is what happens when the dads host play groups.

Nils, I'm pretty sure the Coated Celtic is not perforated. Dazian has a few other materials that are perfed and agree that those would look awful for HT use.

Nils, the following is why I think you have the CC confused with another of Dazian's fabrics. One interesting point is that his frame of reference is a Parkland Plastex screen.

From http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=209654


Keep an eye out for a comparative screen material review by a user named "Tryg" on AVS. Supposedly he's gotten ahold of many of the popular DIY materials and is putting them through the paces.

Mike and Nils, the pictures you posted show as small white boxes with a red "x" in them. I know I've pointed that our before, but I have yet to get any good advice on why this is happening. I'm on a Windows 2000 Professional network with all Bill Gates software on line. Nearly all photos attached and included in forum posts are viewable, but every once in a while, as on Mike's and Nils' last posts, the photos are not viewable, so I surmise that there is some file format that is not viewable, or a photo file is occasionally corrupted as it winds its way through the firewall and fiber.

Nils, I want to see Eric with a pint in his hand, or at least wearing an appropriate green hat. BTW, my new official Indiana Jones hat arrived!

Hank, the most likely reason you can't see the photographs is because the domain on which they reside has been put on the restricted list by your company's IT security group. Usually this happens when the domain also hosts material that may be of an offensive, sexual, or criminal nature. If you log on at home you will probably be able to view them.

Dr. J, here I am at home, running Windows XP and am hooked up via EV1.net, and the pics on Mike's and Nils' posts are those darned little white boxes with small red "x's" in them. Go figure. Could it be the spam filtering that EV1 includes?

...until your next 180

This is getting fun Hey Mike, every DaLite pull down screen I have seen has wrinkles in it and distorts the picture. We have dozens of them at the office and they're all wrinkled. Colin has one too that he no longer uses because of the wrinkles.

There are very few drop down screens that wont wrinkle, and those that don't cost some serious dinero. Even then they will never be as flat as a fixed screen.

On the other hand, if a HT can't accommodate a fixed screen then obviously this is a compromise one might have to make.

If you do go with a drop down screen it is important to remember that air movement will cause the screen to 'ripple' which can be extremely distracting while trying to enjoy the picture. To avoid this be very conscious of where your HVAC registers are. A common technique is to take a bed sheet and hang it where you would like to put your drop down screen. Then crank up the HVAC and if the sheet shows movement, find another location or change the direction and air flow of the registers.


Mike,

Take three deep breathes, count to ten, and step away from the ledge...


I guess this whole scenario reminds us why professional AV designers, installers, and calibrators have excellent job security. (and why many retailers charge restocking fees)

Mike,

Also, last we heard, even though it wasn't advised, you were planning on a screen width of about 8'. This is even more important now because the larger the drop-down screen the worse the wrinkling and rippling will get.

If you do stick with a pull-down, and with a 96" wide screen, and with a Da-Lite Model B, then what ever you do, do not go with their Matte White material. It is a low gain screen (1.1) and with your projector's (Z1 clone) low lumens (700 spec, +/-450 real) you are going to seriously benefit from a high gain screen. Of course I have already advised you on this issue on at least two or three separate occasions, so I guess maybe I'm wasting my time here, but I'll try one more time...

Low Lumens + Big Screen + No Gain = Low Ft Lamperts = less than ideal PQ (yes, CRTs have low lumens, but that's like comparing apples to oranges - I'll explain later)

Because of the size of the screen, you don't need to worry about off axis viewing so I would recommend using Da-Lite's 'Glass Beaded' material (2.5 gain). This would effectively give you about 30 ft lamperts.

If maintenance is a concern (Da-Lite's Glass Beaded screens can not be washed) and you want a little more punch to the picture even when moderate lighting is used, then you may want to even consider their 'Hi-Power' material (2.8 gain). This screen can be washed and will give you about 35 ft lamperts which is still low enough to avoid hot-spotting while at the same time provide an excellent picture even with considerable lighting.

I'm trying to come up with some good dry humor here, but there's not much more to say.

So, I'll tell you about the hot mid-20's babe I encountered at HEB. I was in the chip isle (one of the food groups, right?) and she was bouncing (literally) toward me, searching the shelves with a tad of frustration evident, so I said: "Just buy one of each, they're all good". She smiled and said: "I can't find the baked Doritos, they've moved them". I spotted them and pointed them out and she said: "So you're pointing me to the top shelf where I can't reach them?" Being the chivalrous Texan that I am, fetched her the chips, to which she smiled BIG and said: "Thanks, you ROCK!" To which I said...

Now, wasn't that more interesting than another screen explanation? (Jalapeno and Dr. J: avoid temptations for smart-mouth replies - keep the thread on topic, which was...ummm...uhhh...)

Aren't glass beaded screens retro-reflective? Which would explain why the sales rep said not to ceiling mount the pj. Will hot spotting be an issue? Come on guys, let's get Mike so confused his head explodes! We can film it high def for demo material.

PSMoFo, "hot mid-20's babe" is an entirely insufficient description. If you fail to provide a more evocative description again, I'll start a campaign to revoke your Guy card.

If it was me, with that same projector, same desired screen size, and was only considering a Da-Lite, then I would get the High Power. You can ceiling mount, is relatively easy to maintain, and for someone who changes their mind alot, the High Power will hold its value significantly better than Da-Lite's Glass Beaded.


And to think we have yet to discuss components, speakers, sub woofers, cables, lighting, and the big daddy of them all.... dreaded acoustics!

(I can already hear Mike's temples beginning to expand.)

Room Acoustics...is there an evil laugh emoticon?