Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: 2D screens

This is topic 2D screens in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Bob Ezra (Member # 841) on 08-04-2013, 09:59 PM:

Any thoughts on 2D screens and digital projection? Best quality Harkness Hurley MDI? Mini Perf? Moire? Harkness seems to be popular but they are thin and seem vulnerable to tears,

Thanks

Posted by Harold Hallikainen (Member # 5405) on 08-04-2013, 10:15 PM:

I'd be interested in hearing if anyone has tried "woven screens." I'm hearing these are pretty much acoustically transparent and do not have the severe high frequency rolloff and other effects of perforated screens. I understand the optical gain is pretty low and that they are available in limited size (not big).

Harold

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 08-05-2013, 07:20 AM:

I used it in my Home Theatre. I had a microperf Harkness before. I could see the holes. The woven one was great but moiré was still an issue, I should have installed the fabric diagonally.
I'm not sure what would the difference be when installed in a big auditorium though.

Posted by Antti Nayha (Member # 4980) on 08-05-2013, 11:23 AM:

Last winter, I had this tiny one-screen cinema installed with Screen Excellence's Enlightor 4K woven screen.

My main reason for the material selection had more to do with picture than sound. It's a 45-seat room, and the front row is so close to the screen that the holes in the original macro-perf screen were really distracting. Even micro-perf would have been clearly visible.

The Enlightor 4K is expensive stuff, but the cinema in question could afford it because the screen is only 4 meters (13 feet) wide. The material is really good - no sign of moire with DCI projection, and the 35mm screenings also look much better now. There is a fine texture, but it's not really visible unless you really look for it. Less visible than microperf, anyway.

The gain is supposed to be 1.0, but I measured it at about 0.9 or even a bit less. Highly recommended for small venues and screening rooms if you can afford it.

And yes, the sound was audibly improved as well.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 08-05-2013, 02:13 PM:

Years ago when I was looking for that material, I found a post or a page where one of the sellers said that that fabric was actually the fabric used for sun loungers!
You can still find the fabric at a reasonable price from a supplier.

Posted by Sam D. Chavez (Member # 1841) on 08-05-2013, 03:14 PM:

These are used at a few of the mix rooms at Skywalker. Everyone involved loves them. Pricey though.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 08-05-2013, 04:48 PM:

The only downside - at least with mine and at 3m distance - you could see a sort of texture. Much better than holes and anyway the manufacturer has developed a fabric much more dense, which I have never tried.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 08-05-2013, 05:54 PM:

I've done one room that had a woven screen. No sound issues and didn't notice any moiré on a 2K image. Though we didn't sell/install it, it was from Screen Research http://www.screenresearch.com/website/fabrics_clearpix.php

Posted by Antti Nayha (Member # 4980) on 08-06-2013, 03:31 AM:

Also see this excellent comparison of different woven screen materials. They found out that the Enlightor 4K had the finest texture and recommended it for a minimum viewing distance of 8 to 9 feet. They also measured the gain to be 0.84.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 08-06-2013, 12:55 PM:

Excellent indeed.

Mine was the previous version of CenterStageXD.

Posted by Lindsay Morris (Member # 1430) on 08-12-2013, 05:13 AM:

Very interesting information indeed...just what I wanted re solid screens and how they stack up against perforated screens.