Generic Retro reflective ALR screen

[danielnaveen2003]

I recently purchased a generic Retro reflective screen from Ali express for about 30 usd. I see lotta queries on screens on the forum, so yes this is another option to consider of you don't have a dedicated theater room with all black walls. The only limitation with a retro reflective screen is the viewing angle. Viewing angle will be restricted to 20 degrees. The screen comes folded I have not removed the fold marks yet for now I've just temporarily stuck it to the wall so that I can align my projector correctly.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/D9PzAtKMgxRmiMv48

 

[tuff]

That looks nice with all that ambient light spilling in. What projector have you got?

 

[elangoas]

I recently purchased a generic Retro reflective screen from Ali express for about 30 usd. I see lotta queries on screens on the forum, so yes this is another option to consider of you don't have a dedicated theater room with all black walls. The only limitation with a retro reflective screen is the viewing angle. Viewing angle will be restricted to 20 degrees. The screen comes folded I have not removed the fold marks yet for now I've just temporarily stuck it to the wall so that I can align my projector correctly.

Looks good..Please share link to product..

 

[danielnaveen2003]

That looks nice with all that ambient light spilling in. What projector have you got?

The projector is still my xgimi H1.

Looks good..Please share link to product..

The item I bought is no longer listen but there are lots of listings for the same product

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32803...32803628047&shortkey=3MVJziMJ&addresstype=600

 

[elangoas]

The projector is still my xgimi H1.



The item I bought is no longer listen but there are lots of listings for the same product

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32803...32803628047&shortkey=3MVJziMJ&addresstype=600

Would you mind posting an other pic with image on half of the new screen Vs DIY grey paint.. Just for a comparison, on how much is the improvement with light in the room..

 

[danielnaveen2003]

Would you mind posting an other pic with image on half of the new screen Vs DIY grey paint.. Just for a comparison, on how much is the improvement with light in the room..

The improvement is pretty dramatic as the screen's gain is very high. I'll try to take a pic tonight. I have the projector's led set at 1 for day light viewing

 

[bizarre]

I recently purchased a generic Retro reflective screen from Ali express for about 30 usd. I see lotta queries on screens on the forum, so yes this is another option to consider of you don't have a dedicated theater room with all black walls. The only limitation with a retro reflective screen is the viewing angle. Viewing angle will be restricted to 20 degrees. The screen comes folded I have not removed the fold marks yet for now I've just temporarily stuck it to the wall so that I can align my projector correctly.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/D9PzAtKMgxRmiMv48

I have a dedicated room with absolutely dark walls (very dark grey) and almost no ambient light. The projector is Espon 2100. The screen is a white paint on the wall. All is well except black levels. They are so off that the deepest black is mid-dark grey at best. And I crave for good black levels.

Do you recommend going for the screen you've used? Seeing your pic, the price-to-result ratio is so lucrative that I feel like hitting the purchase button and be done with it.

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[danielnaveen2003]

I have a dedicated room with absolutely dark walls (very dark grey) and almost no ambient light. The projector is Espon 2100. The screen is a white paint on the wall. All is well except black levels. They are so off that the deepest black is mid-dark grey at best. And I crave for good black levels.

Do you recommend going for the screen you've used? Seeing your pic, the price-to-result ratio is so lucrative that I feel like hitting the purchase button and be done with it.

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you.

If there is no ambient light an ambient light rejecting screen is pointless (in fact it will make your problem much worse and make your screen so bright that it'll hurt your eye), so don't waste your money.

Now coming to your specific problem, entry level Epson LCD projectors have poorer black levels in comparison to entry level DLP projectors (so first you will need to keep an open mind on the black levels). How big is the screen you are projecting on? It seems to me that you might just have too much brightness. Before you do anything have you calibrated the brightness level for the "source you are using" calibration is source dependent which means you can't play test patterns from a computer and then switch to a blu ray player and use the same calibration settings.

If your sure brightness levels are calibrated perfectly then go to projector central's screen size calculator and check the foot Lamberts (16 is ideal) for your screen size (a white screen will have a gain of 1). If its far higher than 16fl then you will need a lower gain screen.

As per the calculator you need a 152 inch screen if using the lamp in normal mode and 125 inch screen if using eco mode (for a unity gain screen)

 

[arunkvivek]

Awesome price! Must be great value for money! Is there a way to get this screen into a pull down design?

 

[bizarre]

If there is no ambient light an ambient light rejecting screen is pointless (in fact it will make your problem much worse and make your screen so bright that it'll hurt your eye), so don't waste your money.

Now coming to your specific problem, entry level Epson LCD projectors have poorer black levels in comparison to entry level DLP projectors (so first you will need to keep an open mind on the black levels). How big is the screen you are projecting on? It seems to me that you might just have too much brightness. Before you do anything have you calibrated the brightness level for the "source you are using" calibration is source dependent which means you can't play test patterns from a computer and then switch to a blu ray player and use the same calibration settings.

If your sure brightness levels are calibrated perfectly then go to projector central's screen size calculator and check the foot Lamberts (16 is ideal) for your screen size (a white screen will have a gain of 1). If its far higher than 16fl then you will need a lower gain screen.

As per the calculator you need a 152 inch screen if using the lamp in normal mode and 125 inch screen if using eco mode (for a unity gain screen)

View attachment 29299

Thanks for the quick and elaborate reply. Really appreciate it.

I'm projecting a 120" image from a distance of about 14.5-15'. My seating is close to where the projector is mounted, so about 15' from screen.

The paint used is this one, which claims a gain of 1.1 (this could be the problem then).

Earlier I had painted half the projection area with Asian Paint Winter Moon (RGB: 202, 206, 208) and the other half was the regular ivory paint of my walls. In fact the room was painted very light (ivory) colour then. I was satisfied with the black levels of Winter Moon then. But after painting the room dark and using this higher gain (probably) paint, the blacks have gone for a toss.

Couple of reference pictures here.




Wondering if I should just repaint it with Winter Moon and live with it?

 

[bizarre]

This is how the room / screen looks post dark paint.

 

[danielnaveen2003]

Would you mind posting an other pic with image on half of the new screen Vs DIY grey paint.. Just for a comparison, on how much is the improvement with light in the room..

This is the diff between the black widow paint and this screen. Black widow is a milder retro reflective paint so it has better viewing angles

https://photos.app.goo.gl/2uWJrvVQ8gz2nRrV6

 

[danielnaveen2003]

Thanks for the quick and elaborate reply. Really appreciate it.

I'm projecting a 120" image from a distance of about 14.5-15'. My seating is close to where the projector is mounted, so about 15' from screen.

The paint used is this one, which claims a gain of 1.1 (this could be the problem then).

Earlier I had painted half the projection area with Asian Paint Winter Moon (RGB: 202, 206, 208) and the other half was the regular ivory paint of my walls. In fact the room was painted very light (ivory) colour then. I was satisfied with the black levels of Winter Moon then. But after painting the room dark and using this higher gain (probably) paint, the blacks have gone for a toss.

Couple of reference pictures here.




Wondering if I should just repaint it with Winter Moon and live with it?

if your entire room is grey, then try projecting it on a grey wall (calibrate brightness) and see how it looks. Then based on that shade you can evaluate how dark the screen needs to be to keep black as dark as possible and still be able to see shadow (near black) detail. I use the movie "the intern" for this, as De Niro wears a whole bunch of dark suits in the movie and the scenes are all well lit so you can see if the suit lapels are clearly distinguishable.

 

[danielnaveen2003]

Awesome price! Must be great value for money! Is there a way to get this screen into a pull down design?

Technically this is the same stuff used in hi visibility vests. But getting such a large section of the material was hard, luckily someone in china was smart enough to sell it as a screen

 

[elangoas]

This is the diff between the black widow paint and this screen. Black widow is a milder retro reflective paint so it has better viewing angles

https://photos.app.goo.gl/2uWJrvVQ8gz2nRrV6

The screen looks awesome..

 

[madhanmss]

How was it fixed? wooden frame or tapped to wall? Looks really good..

 

[danielnaveen2003]

How was it fixed? wooden frame or tapped to wall? Looks really good..

It's just taped for the moment. I'll build a frame in a while I'm feeling a bit too lazy this week

And on a general note, the insane gain on this screen makes 3D content look incredible it's like watching it on my Panasonic plasma.

 

[bizarre]

if your entire room is grey, then try projecting it on a grey wall (calibrate brightness) and see how it looks. Then based on that shade you can evaluate how dark the screen needs to be to keep black as dark as possible and still be able to see shadow (near black) detail. I use the movie "the intern" for this, as De Niro wears a whole bunch of dark suits in the movie and the scenes are all well lit so you can see if the suit lapels are clearly distinguishable.

Thanks. Shall try a grey paint again this week. Let's see how it goes!

 

[danielnaveen2003]

Thanks. Shall try a grey paint again this week. Let's see how it goes!

Oh and just a quick tip, once you bring your black level to where you like it, if you find the contrast lacking then change the projector zoom to max. All projectors will gain quite a bit of contrast at the max zoom.

 

[danielnaveen2003]

Built a frame and stretched it. That's got rid of all the fold marks.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/vxEzz4NtgutKWCZRA