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Unsupported Vinyl Projection Screen Material Color Comparisons

The following is a representation of select Draper and Da-Lite projection screens. The intention of this demonstration is to show the color shift and brightness of each material side by side. Please keep in mind that the eye is much more sensitive than a camera so some of the subtle differences between the materials are hard to see in the photos. We tried to take photos of a projected black screen but the images just would not come out presentable.

 

Camera:

Minolta DiAmage 7Hi: Photos have been taken in complete manual mode with a digital camera. The settings of the camera were held constant for both the dark room and ambient lighting conditions.

Positioned at app. 10 feet from samples at same height and perpendicular to the samples.

Pictures were NOT adjusted with software.

Lighting:

The ambient lighting setting was pretty high and one could easily read a book. Eye fatigue may set in after a while as lighting levels still were not what one might normally use for reading. We attempted to take photos at lower ambient lighting conditions that might more normally be used but the changes in appearance were not picked up by the camera so the lighting levels were increased.

The dark room setting was nearly blacked out

Projector:

Sim2 Domino 20 DLP Projector 2000:1 Contrast Ratio, App. 1000 lumens Diluted over a 110' Diag. Area

Worth Noting: If your projector has the same or similar specs it does not mean that the colors will appear the same.

Mounted over head at app. 10 deg angle to screen. (Used Lens shift)

Projection Screen Materials:

All unsupported vinyl materials offered by Draper and Da-Lite both of which are projection screen MFG.

These projection screen materials are stretchable, typically used in DIY screens, fixed wall screens and tensioned roller screens.

You will see some ripples in the images below as we were not able to stretch the samples.

Draper: M1300 Gain, M2500, HiDef Gray

Da-Lite: Da-Mat, Cinema Vision, Pearlescent, High Contrast Da-Mat and High

Each Swatch is app. 8" x 8"

  Dark Room Ambient Lighting

Projected

White

White in Dark Room White in Moderate Ambient Lighting

Projected

Red

Red in Dark Room Red in Moderate Ambient Lighting

Projected

Green

Green in Dark Room Green in Moderate Ambient Lighting

Projected

Blue

Blue in Dark Room Blue in Moderate Ambient Lighting

Projected

Cyan

Cyan in Dark Room Cyan in Moderate Ambient Lighting

Projected

Magenta

Magenta in Dark Room Magenta in Moderate Ambient Lighting

Material

Index

Index of Projection Screen Materials

So what do we think about these comparisons. If you need extra brightness from your projection screen the Draper M2500 would appear to be the screen of choice but beware of angular reflectivity issues and there still is loss of color in this material in ambient lighting conditions. For all around use with a decent projector we like the Da-Lite Da-Mat. It seems a little brighter than the Draper M1300, the colors look good and the angular reflectivity is good. The HCCV does have it merits. The colors do look a tad better in ambient lighting and the black levels are improved (Photos don not work for projected black) in normal and ambient lighting conditions. The darker gray projection screen materials: Draper HiDef Gray and Da-Lite High Contrast Cinema Vision just don't suit our projector. these materials are really design for higher brightness projectors with poor contrast ratios. Our low output projector could not overcome the darker color of these materials.

45 Degree 20 Degree Center 20 Degree 45 Degree
Red +45 Red +20 Red in Dark Room Red -20 Red -45
Green +45 Green +20 Green in Dark Room Green -20 Green +45
Blue +45 Blue +20 Blue in Dark Room Blue -20 Blue -45

Here we took pictures at angles at both side of normal to the screen because 45 to the left is not the same angle for all of the samples at the same time. Our angle measurements are from the center of the sample so there is a variation in angle that needs to be accounted for in all of the above images. The only real significant thing we can say about the above is that the M2500 could potentially have a gradient in the brightness of the image at angles wider than 15 deg. If you choose this material keep in mind it has a narrow viewing cone which may result in a variance in brightness across the screen. There are variations in the other materials as well but they do not seem to be as significant.

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