Does the screen material matter? (1 Viewer)

There are all kinds of screens, regular matte, glass beaded, high contrast matte, etc. If I have a good quality projector, how much of a difference would a $2,000 screen make versus a $200 screen?

I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but some screens can make a projector look better or worse, especially at certain sizes.

I read that screens of large sizes (over 100 inches) depending on the screen material used, you can get some nasty hot-spotting where one are of the picture is brighter or more colorful than the rest of the picture, which can be very distracting. For this, experts recommend something with a 1.0 gain instead of having a high gain like 3.0 or more. A lot of people like high gain screens, because it makes the image that much brighter and more colorful (like a real TV) but high gain screens are only recommended, in small sizes (anything under 90 inches).

Also, with glass beaded screens, I read that even though it makes the picture look very incredible, it also reveals the screen door effect that much more, which is never a good thing. Of course, if projectors out there came with higher resolutions (like 1080p) then we would never have to worry about SDE, but since they don't, then SDE can be a huge problem for people with great eye-sight, and/or people who sit too close to the screen.

I have a 127" screen, which I sit 18 feet away from, a projector that does 720p, and I can clearly see the screen door effect at all times. Other members of my family (with less than perfect eyesight) don't see it at all though, not even when they are 2 feet away from the screen. It all depends on how sensitive the individual is, to certain problems that projectors have, like SDE, or DLP rainbows, etc.

I'm sure there is a lot of difference between a $200 screen, and a screen that costs $2,000, otherwise they wouldn't sell for that much. There obviously has to be a significant difference in quality, in order for people to actually spend that much money on a screen. But one also has to worry about if one of those screens, are going to be right for the type of projector they own. There are too many variables.

I'm sorry if this post was long and/or not helpful.

This is not easy to answer and it will require alot of research on your part. There are so many variables to picking the right screen. (I just did it) You have to think about size, what kind of projector you have, if you think your going to be upgrading it, the viewing angles, what kind of light(natural or otherwise)that will be competing with the image, distance from projector and viewer. Also you have to consider what effect(s) you are trying to achieve. Brighter picture, better black levels and on and on. So as you can see the easy answer is there is no easy answer. It really is subjective and a time consuming process.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. But if I could at least help on setting your expectations to the experience I did a little good.

You also have to keep in mind, if you want a really birght picture, and go for a higher gain screen, there is a sacrifice. The sacrifice most of the time is the viewing angle.

How large a screen were you shooting for?

There are quite a few things to consider with screens, and different projectors and settings will demand different types of screens. More info might help, because otherwise it's really hard to add anything...