Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Need help buying new screen

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Posted by Gunnar Johansson (Member # 1661) on 01-17-2004, 07:21 AM:

Hi!
We´re updating our cinema to finally have a perforated screen hopefully and are now in the process of looking around. Our suppliers deal with Harkness Hall of UK, but so far we´ve only been discussing amongst ourselves.

The specifics are not standard. It´s 9x6 m projection area. We need to be able to roll it up and down, as the room is not only a cinema. Our current one rolls from the top, but we understand that it might be better if it rolls itself from the bottom so to speak.

What kind of perforation is desired? There seems to be a difference between perforation sizes?

What do we need in reflections? What´s good or bad and what difference does it make?

What kind of prices should be expected?

Is there anybody who has any opinions or help to offer? What is the most important thing that we can´t miss when looking around (apart from size and that we nedd some sort of perforation)?

Posted by Gunnar Johansson (Member # 1661) on 03-06-2004, 12:00 PM:

*Bump*

Still need help, no deadline yet (that I am aware of) but might be anywhere from here to eternity.
Please help

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 03-06-2004, 02:13 PM:

If there will be no person sitting closer than one screen height away from the screen then normal perforations will be fine. If you are worried that people will be sitting very close then order microperfs. Microperfs will lower your high frequencies just a bit. If you are planning to show video, then microperfs may be the way to go as well. Some chart I saw from MDI stated that microperfs only attenuated high frequencies 1db, I could live with that.

Your screen gain should be 1-1.5. Anything higher than that will look funny off center.

Harkness makes great screens. Rolling up from the bottom should be fine. Flying the screen stretched is even better. Rolled screens sometimes have uneven surfaces, waves or ripples.

Transitioning from a screen without perforations to a screen with perforations there will be a loss of light for the same gain screen. But the fact that the new screen is new and clean will off set that a bit.

But I'll bet there is a guy at Harkness that can talk your ear off about their screens.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 03-06-2004, 04:08 PM:

We've sold quite a few Harkness roll up screens and they are great. You will not have any of the rippling effect that Ian is talking about if you buy a Harkness. Its literally impossible to tell if its a roll down or permanent screen with the Harkness. One of the larger ones is installed at Bruce Willis's Liberty theatre in hailey Idaho. They've also never given any mechanical problems either. warning! They are VERY expensive.

Mark @ CLACO

Posted by Dick Vaughan (Member # 540) on 03-07-2004, 04:35 AM:

Gunnar

The roll from the bottom type of screen,what HH call the Denham range,is very good.

We use one for our flat screen in front of the fixed Cinerama screen at Pictureville.

It's been in 12 years now and still working fine.