Screen Technologies...

Front projection screens have been offered in a variety of materials as technology changes over time.  In the past, screens were offered as glass beaded or pearlescent surfaces, to help boost the brightness of low powered projectors. However, these surfaces were shown to have their limitations.  Grey projection surfaces were also popular to boost blacks which LCD projectors had difficulty reproducing.  Now, new 'black' screens have arrived which offer brighter images in rooms with higher ambient light.

Matte white screen material is currently the best choice for modern projectors in darkened cinemas or home theatres.

Black projection surfaces are best for modern high powered projectors in rooms with high ambient light.

In a darkened room, matte white ensures:

• True colour reproduction.
• Highest possible resolution capacity.
• Widest possible horizontal/vertical viewing angle.
• No glare and no hot spotting.
• Can be washed if soiled.

But, in high ambient light, a black projection screen offers the best images.

Other screen materials will compromise image quality in one way or another to increase the screen's gain:

Grey screens - There has recently been a lot of marketing hype about grey front projection screen materials which improve contrast.  Unfortunately, with front projection, this results in a colour shift to the blue spectrum - not a problem with black and white projectors but can produce unexpected results with colour, particularly skin tones.

Glass beaded screens have a higher gain however you will experience a dramatic loss of viewing angle and a loss of resolution.  Glass beaded screens are retro reflective, that is their preferred direction of reflection is to the light source.  With a ceiling mounted projector, the brightest image is under the ceiling........ hardly the place to watch your DVD or videos.  They are also mechanically unstable in that the beads can move or fall off entirely, creating very distinctive dark spots.

Pearlescent screens have a higher gain, however colour shift to red occurs and there is a tendency to hot spot.  They also have a narrow viewing angle, are not readily available and expensive.

In summary:

• Dark Room = Matte White Screen.
• Light Room = Black Screen.

See the Links section for some examples of good Matte White or Black Projection Screens.