Owners of Sanyo PLV-Z1 (1 Viewer)

I have been doing a lot of reading/research and this projector seems like it's the best fit for me. I love that it is native 16:9. Now, for those of you who own one, what is a good screen to go along with it? I want a screen that is not too expensive and that is around 100" diagonally? Thanks.

My advice would be not to spend a lot of money at first on a commercial screen. It is very easy to make a screen, using blackout cloth, a Parkland plastic sheet or a 4x8 tileboard from Home Depot. You can then experiment with different paints to see if you like gray, white, or some sort of metallic paint. Once you see what you like best, you can then research the best type of screen to buy.

Of course, if you are like me, you will end up liking your homemade screen so much, you would not want to replace it. I used a 1/8 inch thick tileboard from HD, attached wood trim and brass chains to hang it from the wall. I painted with a mixture of light gray flat paint, mixed with aluminum paint. I have been quite happy with the image quality using my Z1.

There is a whole section on the avsforum about screens, and detailed discussions about buying and building screens. Check it out.

If you are going to make your own screen (which is not a bad choice in my opinion), go with a metallic aluminium paint. I tried the various grays, pearls, silver paint combinations and I liked the aluminium the best because it simulated the Firehawk more closely, boosted the black levels, brought about deeper colours, and had a nice viewing angle to it.

Neil and Mark,
Thanks for the replys. I am really leaning toward making my own screen. I have done a lot of reading on the AVS forum, as well as the DIY forum here, about making screens. Neil, I read that you used something similiar to the High Heat "Silver" that comes in spray cans. How did you get it evenly coated on the formica? I read a lot of posts about people having a lot of trouble with hotspotting and color problems because they can't get the coats applied evenly.

Any problems with hotspotting with the aluminum paint?

For myself, I bought a cheap tripod-mounted 60" wide screen (68" 16:9 diagonal). It's ok, but it does have a fine grid pattern on it, so sometimes moire is a problem. I think I'll try tileboard next, and store away the tripod for a traveling theater.

I have an RPTV, so I'm thinking of making a screen that can be pushed up onto the ceiling when not in use.

I do not have problems with hot spotting with the aluminium paint I used. As well, it has a wide viewing angle. I did not notice much dip in the brightness from the middle to the sides of the screen and did not notice any dip when I viewed from an angle of about 35-40 degrees. The walls prevent me from going to a wider angle for viewing.

See the following thread...

DIY fixed screen - My quest has ended. In particular, check page 2 of that thread for the final construction and test results, as well as painting techniques.

Neil, I forgot to ask you one other thing. I know you used a piece of formica, but what side of it did you paint? I talked to a professional painter and they said that the one side of the formica doesn't hold paint good at all and the some type of primer would need to be used. Can you please clarify for me? Thanks.

I tried and tested it both ways with no problems on each side. Note that I used 7 layers of spray paint in total and I had no problems with paint coming off. Even the pre-painted side of formica has some texture to it.

I went the parkland plastic route for my 300u and I can't believe how beautiful the picture is...all for under $100 and a weekend of labour. I really can't justify the need to upgrade