How to Compare Projector Screens

Home theaters are increasingly popular, and one of the biggest decisions consumers have to make is what type of television to buy. If you are going the projector route, you have two difficult decisions to make as you must choose a projector and an appropriate projector screen. Projectors have many advantages over traditional LCD or plasma TVs, and the right projector screen can accentuate a projector's quality.

Instructions

1. Determine the size of room you want to place the projector in and compare the various sizes projectors come in. Projector screens can be range from 120 inches across diagonally to 10 feet or more. Know the size of your space and the particularly the size of the wall you are going to place it one.

2. Compare aspect ratios. Different aspect ratios are used for different things. A square 1:1 screen is primarily used for data display such as PowerPoint presentations. A 4:3 aspect ratio is a traditional TV aspect ratio and is primarily used for video display. 16:9 is the aspect ratio that most films and HDTV content are displayed on and is best used in a home theater.

3. Compare manual and electric models. Manual models require you to pull and wind up the screen by hand while electric models have motors that automatically fold and unfold the screen. Both varieties come with tensioned screens, which stretch the screen flat for optimal viewing, and non-tensioned screens that hang in the air.

4. Compare a screen's gain and viewing angle. Gain is a measure of the screen's reflectivity of light, so a higher gain means the screen reflects more light for a better picture, but can result in a bright spot in the middle of the picture from the projector's lens. The viewing angle is the optimal angle of view. A wide viewing angle denotes that the screen is visible by large distances off-center. If you have a large room, you will want a wider viewing angle.

References

• Projector Screen Store: How to Select a Projector Screen
• Practical Home Theater Guide: Home Theater Screens

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish