Most of the thought about a home theater goes into selecting the projector and the screen is usually an afterthought. But the screen selection can have a huge impact on image quality and should be a principle part of the decision process.

Chris Chinnock
Senior Analyst and Editor
for Insight Media

Can a great screen make an average projector look great? Maybe not great, but it can probably make it look quite good. Can a poor screen make a great projector look bad? Maybe not bad, but certainly compromised. Low quality screens may not maintain the illumination uniformity or color uniformity over the screen and can have low contrast with ambient lighting.

In the US, there is more opportunity to have a room that can support a dedicated home theater, but outside the US, this is usually not the case — a projection solution needs to fit in the living room and become a more integral part of the space. Therefore, features like style, ease of use, roll-up screens and high performance are increasingly important attributes. Fortunately, progress is being made on all these fronts.

For example, DNP just announced the release of the latest version of its Supernova Flex Screen, a retractable, motorized screen that disappears into a stylish wall mounted enclosure when not in use. The remote can control the screen and the AV equipment - nice. And, DNP’s Supernova technology incorporates a proprietary filter system that allows the projected image to be reflected with high contrast, picture detail and color accuracy, while at the same time effectively absorbing ambient light from other sources such as windows and room lighting. As a result, the screen is virtually unaffected by ambient light.

DNP says screens of such design are actually much less stressful to the human eye, resulting in a more comfortable, pleasurable viewing experience compared to lower quality screens. They clearly create a higher contrast image, but less stressful? Hmm.

And to make the screen enclosure look snappy and match the user’s decor, users can choose the color of the enclosure. Options include black, white, silver-grey aluminum, blond maple and cherry wood, or the cover can be stained or painted.

The only problem (at least for most of us) is the price: These screens start at $6,600, which means they can cost more than the projector.

Screen Innovations, now called SI, has just introduced their new Black Diamond projection screen (excellent name). SI claims its Black Diamond projector screen represents a breakthrough in picture quality for home theater applications by creating the ultimate contrast (blacker black, whiter whites) and color accuracy (with added vibrant color delivery) in both "dark" and "bright" environments. How they do this is not so clear, however.

What is also nice about the screen is that it looks black when not in use. And even better is the price - $2,599 for a 100-inch screen. It is available in various sizes and aspect ratios with screen gains of 0.8 to 1.4.

Of course, these and many other companies offer screens of various shapes and sizes with performance and price points all over the map. You can choose what you want - just choose wisely.