Da-Lite vs. Grandview....?!?

[rana_kirti]

Hi fellow members,

thanks for the extended discussion on this thread which has been very helpful to me... and i'm sure to many others.... there's a lot of technical details in this thread...

So i decided to do some test run on the wall with my projector today in search to decide the perfect screen size for me... I went through many threads, forums, discussions but realsed i had to test it for myself as to what size i like best. Here are my findings and i'll let you all know straight away that i'm little clearer on this but still confused....

Projector is a Optoma HD65 720P.

I have the option to sit from around 12 feet upto 15 feet. I sat at 15 feet.

I first marked on the wall different sizes diagonal 110" & 119".

I started with a 1.78:1 movie. From 15 feet this looked quite big at 110" and looked humongous at 119". I think in this situation i liked the 110" better.

Then i tried a 2.40:1 movie. From 15 feet this gave letter box on my screen/wall marking and the image height reduced.

I tired an action sequence with fast moving scenes and from 15 feet i think i was able to absorb a 110" sized marking better than a 119" sized marking.

Then i tried a slow scene with people talking and in that also i found my eyes were able to absorb a 110" sized marking better than a 119" marking.



My Observations/Findings....

1. I seem to be able to absorb entire frame more completely of a 110" screen within my vision from 15 feet. The 119" screen seemed slightly more than i could handle.

When i re-watched the same scene again and again changing back and forth to 110" and 119" i just felt that i can see more in the smaller screen and also more clearly.

Like in action sequences when i first saw a 119" and then a 110" i felt i saw some things on 110" which i missed seeing on the 119"

Also in slower scenes which just involved the face of the person i could see the whole face better and more clearly on a 110" than a 119"

2. The 110" did sometimes feel that i was watching a large plasma because everything was withing my vision where as the 119" felt more like a movie hall.

3. The price difference between a 110" screen and a 119" screen is less than 5 % and the mind always says get bigger though that might not always be a correct thing to do.

4. Installing a 119" has a benefit that i can keep mount the projector beoyond where the fan is on the ceiling. If i do a 110" then the mount rod comes in the path of the fan in which case i'll have to remove the fan or do some other thing like redcing the blade size.

5. My wall allows 119 as max size and my viewing distance allows 15 at max although the room is 19 feet in length so my minds saying go as big as you can go.

6. I also wonder what what kind of effect the 119" will have compared to a 110" as far as "Bulb Brightness" is concerned. Will the image get dimmer sooner on the larger screen as the bulb gets older and will i have to replace the bulb sooner with a larger screen. I mean is 119" very big vs. a 110" when considering "Bulb Brightness" ?

From the replies i have seen above i can see that a lot of people are siiting much closer to a larger screen than what i found myself to be comfortable with with my brief 3 hr experiment.

Do people always wish they had got a bigger screen a few months after getting thier screen because they eventually get used to the screen size they got.

Could it be that i get a 110" screen and 3-6 months down the line have a feeling that i should have got a 119" specially when my wall allows that size ?

 

[sidvee]

Hi fellow members,

thanks for the extended discussion on this thread which has been very helpful to me... and i'm sure to many others.... there's a lot of technical details in this thread...

So i decided to do some test run on the wall with my projector today in search to decide the perfect screen size for me... I went through many threads, forums, discussions but realsed i had to test it for myself as to what size i like best. Here are my findings and i'll let you all know straight away that i'm little clearer on this but still confused....

Projector is a Optoma HD65 720P.

I have the option to sit from around 12 feet upto 15 feet. I sat at 15 feet.

I first marked on the wall different sizes diagonal 110" & 119".

I started with a 1.78:1 movie. From 15 feet this looked quite big at 110" and looked humongous at 119". I think in this situation i liked the 110" better.

Then i tried a 2.40:1 movie. From 15 feet this gave letter box on my screen/wall marking and the image height reduced.

I tired an action sequence with fast moving scenes and from 15 feet i think i was able to absorb a 110" sized marking better than a 119" sized marking.

Then i tried a slow scene with people talking and in that also i found my eyes were able to absorb a 110" sized marking better than a 119" marking.



My Observations/Findings....

1. I seem to be able to absorb entire frame more completely of a 110" screen within my vision from 15 feet. The 119" screen seemed slightly more than i could handle.

When i re-watched the same scene again and again changing back and forth to 110" and 119" i just felt that i can see more in the smaller screen and also more clearly.

Like in action sequences when i first saw a 119" and then a 110" i felt i saw some things on 110" which i missed seeing on the 119"

Also in slower scenes which just involved the face of the person i could see the whole face better and more clearly on a 110" than a 119"

2. The 110" did sometimes feel that i was watching a large plasma because everything was withing my vision where as the 119" felt more like a movie hall.

3. The price difference between a 110" screen and a 119" screen is less than 5 % and the mind always says get bigger though that might not always be a correct thing to do.

4. Installing a 119" has a benefit that i can keep mount the projector beoyond where the fan is on the ceiling. If i do a 110" then the mount rod comes in the path of the fan in which case i'll have to remove the fan or do some other thing like redcing the blade size.

5. My wall allows 119 as max size and my viewing distance allows 15 at max although the room is 19 feet in length so my minds saying go as big as you can go.

6. I also wonder what what kind of effect the 119" will have compared to a 110" as far as "Bulb Brightness" is concerned. Will the image get dimmer sooner on the larger screen as the bulb gets older and will i have to replace the bulb sooner with a larger screen. I mean is 119" very big vs. a 110" when considering "Bulb Brightness" ?

From the replies i have seen above i can see that a lot of people are siiting much closer to a larger screen than what i found myself to be comfortable with with my brief 3 hr experiment.

Do people always wish they had got a bigger screen a few months after getting thier screen because they eventually get used to the screen size they got.

Could it be that i get a 110" screen and 3-6 months down the line have a feeling that i should have got a 119" specially when my wall allows that size ?

My 2 paisa on this - I have the epson 8350 and an oppo blu ray player. Almost all the blu rays I have (about 50+) are in 2.4:1 ratio and sitting about 14' away from my Elite 106" pull down gray screen with the extreme letter boxing of 2.4 ratio I find the image is too small for my liking. So my intent down the road is to move upto 120". Before I was using the panasonic ptae900 which allowed some uniform zooming of the 2.4:1 image to provide a better fill (of-course this a 720p proj./and epson being a 1080p does not allow any zooming of native 1080p content),which though it still had black bars was bigger than the 2.4:1 image and was comfortable for my viewing distance. So I would caution you to continue testing the larger screen area with 2.4:1 ratio movies for a while before you take the plunge.
Cheers
Sid

 

[sanjay0864]

1. I seem to be able to absorb entire frame more completely of a 110" screen within my vision from 15 feet. The 119" screen seemed slightly more than i could handle.

You will get used to the 119" picture in a few days.

2. The 110" did sometimes feel that i was watching a large plasma because everything was withing my vision where as the 119" felt more like a movie hall.

The idea is to recreate the 'cinema hall' experience in your 'home theater', is it not?

3. The price difference between a 110" screen and a 119" screen is less than 5 % and the mind always says get bigger though that might not always be a correct thing to do.

In this case, 'bigger' is most certainly better.

4. Installing a 119" has a benefit that i can keep mount the projector beoyond where the fan is on the ceiling. If i do a 110" then the mount rod comes in the path of the fan in which case i'll have to remove the fan or do some other thing like redcing the blade size.

5. My wall allows 119 as max size and my viewing distance allows 15 at max although the room is 19 feet in length so my minds saying go as big as you can go.

Listen to your mind, it knows what it's doing.

6. I also wonder what what kind of effect the 119" will have compared to a 110" as far as "Bulb Brightness" is concerned. Will the image get dimmer sooner on the larger screen as the bulb gets older and will i have to replace the bulb sooner with a larger screen. I mean is 119" very big vs. a 110" when considering "Bulb Brightness" ?

Ofcourse a larger screen will require a brighter lamp/bulb. But then as long as your projector can proivide the required brightness, this should not be an issue. The lamp/bulb life will remain the same irrespective of screen size. The only thing that may make a difference is that with a smaller screen size you may be able to run your projector lamp in the 'economy mode', whereas with a larger screen size you may need the extra brightness provided by running the lamp in the 'normal' mode.

Do people always wish they had got a bigger screen a few months after getting thier screen because they eventually get used to the screen size they got.

Could it be that i get a 110" screen and 3-6 months down the line have a feeling that i should have got a 119" specially when my wall allows that size ?

I can almost assure you, that after watching the 110" screen for a few months you will you had gone in for the 119" screen. Invariably this almost always happens with most people. Bottom line, always get the largest screen size, that y9our room and pocket can accomodate. Personally, I have never come across anyone who has ever complained of having a screen that is too large.

 

[rana_kirti]

a week ago i did the whole 110 vs 119 experiment all over again and at 15 ft i just preferred the 110 over 119. The 1.78:1 movies at 119 just looked too big at 15ft and looked perfect at 110.

the 1.85:1 movies looked good at 110 and i can move to 14 ft if i want to have a similar size to distance ratio as compared to 1.78:1 movies.

an important factor is that there are just too many movies at 1.78:1 and at 119 it was just to big for my eyes at 15 ft.

yes if the all movies only existed at 1.85:1 then i might have gone for 119. It's quite strange that i find a smaller image more comfortable at 15 feet as compared to a lot of people here.

So i called my mom and dad to do this experiment with me. And after 30 mins of playing 1.78:1 and 1.85:1 movies back and forth at both 110 and 119 size even they felt they were more comfortable with 110 and found the 119 too overwhelming.

So it's gonna be 110" for us.

Thanks to all for their inputs on this.

 

[srinisundar]

Not gone thru the first page of this thread...But what sanjay is telling is right. More the size, more the pleasure. However the pleasure is only enhanced by the width of the room.

However my views if you have 10 ft width room it can give 120" almost tightly. Sitting in 15 feet in an 10ft width room with 120" screen gives uncomfortable view and pleasure. Only 110" is right.

If you have more width say more than 12ft(i.e) and sit in same 15 feet you have the said pleasure with 120". Only the size/width of the room makes and give the viewing pleasure.

 

[jayad08]

well for me it is quite the opposite..
i have 120" and i am still not satisfied...seated at 12'-18'
as i was forced to do renovations to the AV room due to unavoidable reasons i have thought of spending the extra buck of making myself a fixed frame of around 150"
Last time the material was draper..
any thoughts on the material which gives me improvement over draper and is VFM?

 

[rana_kirti]

Not gone thru the first page of this thread...But what sanjay is telling is right. More the size, more the pleasure. However the pleasure is only enhanced by the width of the room.

However my views if you have 10 ft width room it can give 120" almost tightly. Sitting in 15 feet in an 10ft width room with 120" screen gives uncomfortable view and pleasure. Only 110" is right.

If you have more width say more than 12ft(i.e) and sit in same 15 feet you have the said pleasure with 120". Only the size/width of the room makes and give the viewing pleasure.

my wall width is about 13 feet. and room length is 19 feet but furthest i can sit is 15 ft.

well for me it is quite the opposite..
i have 120" and i am still not satisfied...seated at 12'-18'
as i was forced to do renovations to the AV room due to unavoidable reasons i have thought of spending the extra buck of making myself a fixed frame of around 150"
Last time the material was draper..
any thoughts on the material which gives me improvement over draper and is VFM?

Call up Ashish @ 9910041260 Lakozy Delhi. He can help you with VFM custom sized screens.

 

[rana_kirti]

guys, who would be the most reputed dealer in New Delhi for Original Da-lite Screens ?

Anyone have a idea who is the official distributor for da-lite in New Delhi/India ?

 

[Kittu]

guys, who would be the most reputed dealer in New Delhi for Original Da-lite Screens ?

Anyone have a idea who is the official distributor for da-lite in New Delhi/India ?

Howmuch more time we have to wait to see your setup ? fast fast fast :licklips:

 

[rana_kirti]

lol... its all ready man... i need to order the screen. i read there's just too many fake da-lite screens being sold around...

i really got to know who is the most reputed Da-lite dealers in Delhi... any one bought Da-lite in Delhi ?

 

[raj691]

what is the cost of a 16:9 100 " fixed screen

 

[jitubisht]

hey rana

about getting the projector screen.. have you considered getting this from the US?

Here is what I did.. bought this screen from amazon and got it to india through borderlinx.. the total cost incurred was 27k. This same screen was quoted by the Elite Screens dealer for 42K+Vat.

I am yet to open the screen and install it (as i am waiting for the room work to complete), however its an option you can toy with considering you are doubtful if the original would be delivered to you or not..

 

[rana_kirti]

jitu,

i'm open to getting from US and thanks for the link. i have a few concerns about getting from US though...

- what if at delivery there are faults with the screen like roller mechanism not working properly, torn screen etc. ?

- or what if the screen develops a problem over a period of time ? say 2-3 months. ?

- where could you get it serviced and how practical is it to send to US for service ?

These are the things holding me back. Did you consider these things ?

 

[jitubisht]

well.. i didnt consider the service or the problem part..

mine being a fixed screen, there was no question of roller mechanism going bad.. i thought you were looking for a fixed too.. so thats why i suggested that..

the only thing i was scared of was the screen being damaged.. and i had confirmed that with one of the guys who reviewed it on amazon.. he explained it quite well here.. so that alone convinced it.. and i am happy in the way it was delivered to me.. the box looks solid.. however, i havent opened it yet.. i will probably even call you when i unbox it since you live so close to me.. and you can be the guy who assisted me put it up

as far as service goes, i couldnt think of any ways i would need it serviced.. cleaned? yea.. i would want to get it cleaned.. but i would be doing that my self..

2-3 month thing did cross my mind.. but i guess i overlooked it and order.. if this goes wrong.. i will have to source just the screen from somewhere as i would already have the frame with me..

 

[sanjay0864]

guys, who would be the most reputed dealer in New Delhi for Original Da-lite Screens ?

Anyone have a idea who is the official distributor for da-lite in New Delhi/India ?

Sight & Sound (M Block Market, Greater Kailash I) are the official distributors for Da-Lite products. In case you need any help in dealing with them, such as reference or contact person etc., PM me.

 

[rana_kirti]

i'm gonna call up Sight and Sound and ARN Systems and get quotes from them.

 

[rana_kirti]

update....

I've decided to purchase a Da-Lite High Power 2.4 110" Model C # 94368 screen for my setup.

I received quotes from both Sight & Sound and ARN Systems. the quotes are quite close to each other.

Now here's the interesting part. I spoke to Da-lite customer service and they informed me that all their screens are manufactured in USA.

Sight & Sound told me they can deliver the screen to me in 45 days and ARN Systems told me they can deliver the screen in 15 days. I wonder why there is such difference in delivery times for both these dealers.

So i'm ready to order the screen and i'd like feedback from you guys as to your experiences with either of these dealers if you have bought a Screen or any other products from them.... I'd like to order from a dealer who has high levels of customer service.

So guys Sight & Sound or ARN systems....?

 

[techcheat]

Ok I built perhaps the most VFM screen (under 100 dollars). I was in US and had ordered the DA-Lite 84" screen with roller. However the airline guideline doesnt allow to carry such a large (height) screen, anything over 62 inches not allowed. So was left with no choice. I ordered professional grade screen material from ebay US for under dollar 100. Even cheaper blackout cloth was available for 20-30 dollars onward.
Came home and built a fixed screen from my carpenter in 1000 Rs (he used pinewood). In total the damage was less than 100 dollars combined. The only drawback, I cant roll screen up and put a regular Plasma or LCD behind as I had planned. Now its a fixed screen but I end up watching all matches in HD using HD setup box and watch movies through my WDTV. I can garantee the image quality is the same as you would be getting in the costly screens due to high import cost.
My suggestion, just order professional grade cloth from ebay US for under dollar 100 and build yourself a fixed frame or even roller screen (my carpenter was charging 2000 rs for roll up screen, but the rolling mechanism would have lost its quality over time). I can upload pics if someone is interested.

 

[jitubisht]

thanks for sharing.. would love to see the pics of the screen (and the whole setup if you're willing)

 

[rana_kirti]

update....

I've decided to purchase a Da-Lite High Power 2.4 110" Model C # 94368 screen for my setup.

I received quotes from both Sight & Sound and ARN Systems. the quotes are quite close to each other.

Now here's the interesting part. I spoke to Da-lite customer service and they informed me that all their screens are manufactured in USA.

Sight & Sound told me they can deliver the screen to me in 45 days and ARN Systems told me they can deliver the screen in 15 days. I wonder why there is such difference in delivery times for both these dealers.

So i'm ready to order the screen and i'd like feedback from you guys as to your experiences with either of these dealers if you have bought a Screen or any other products from them.... I'd like to order from a dealer who has high levels of customer service.

So guys Sight & Sound or ARN systems....?

guys.... your brother needs some feedback on this....