Screen education? Panasonic PT-L300U (1 Viewer)

I am getting interested in this projector. I have read the reviews over at Projector Central and find it attractive in my price range.
Only thing is I will need to sit about nine feet from the screen. I am looking for a 90" picture from it with a throw anywhere from 12-15 feet.
I have no clue about the screen except that I do not want to pay a whole lot. Somewhere around $500, does that sound reasonable for a decent screen?
I can achieve total darkness in my HT so outside light is not a problem.

That's plenty money for a screen. Go to www.avsforum, they have tons of info on screens.

The L300U will paint a bigger picture than 90" at 12 feet. Distance to screen for 92" will be 9.0-11.2 feet.

ProjectorPeople.com offers a 16:9 92" da-lite perm-wall screen for $478:

http://www.projectorpeople.com/scree...me=Perm%2DWall

That's a great projector!

Sean.

Many people here have made their own screens, myself included. Mine was cdn$140 in total...

DIY 16x9 screen (96")

Screen construction post

I guess I should have mentioned that I need it to retract, manually is fine. I have a false wall and the screen would have to come down in front of that and retract when not in use.
http://home.hpphoto.com/servlet/Link...37b3ae&size=lg

Sean, how did you come up with that number?
I do not really understand the range that projector central gives you.
What makes a good screen?
What type of surface should I look for?

Also, before linking HTF members' questions to other HTF members to some thread over at AVS why not link them to the appropriate threads here? If they want to search AVS they can go to AVS.

Darrin, I used projectorcentral.com's calculator. Each projector detail page gives you a shortcut to the calculator:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/proj...=1949&metric=0

You provide the diagonal size required, and it provides the distance range for the desired screen size. I assume it utilizes factory specs to determine this distance.

As far as screens go, I have very little expertise - but I'm sure others will jump in and help you out!

Sean.

Darrin,
A 9' throw distance is about right for the screen size you are looking for.
I bought my retractable screen through Office Max on-line
they offer a 96" for $299.00

With light control in a room as you describe, it would be perfect for you.

Good luck,
Bill

16:9 Image Size 90 in. (diag), 45 in. (height), 79 in. (width)
Distance to Screen: 8.8 ft. - 10.9 ft.

With the range maximum at 10.9 feet does this factor in the zoom function of the projector?

With a 9' throw and about the same viewing distance the projector will be right above me.
Are there any drawbacks to that situation?
They say the fan noise for this projector Panasonic PT-L300U is very low.

WRT screens I read a bit about the High Power DaLite screens with this PJ, but what is a HCCM screen?
With the light control should I just go with a High Contrast Matte White screen?