Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Projector Screen Borders - Does a Black Projector Screen Border Really Matter

If you are purchasing or creating a projector screen you might be wondering whether or not you should care about if there is a black projector screen border on the edges of the screen. It may seem like such a small detail that you should not need to care about. Here is why you should care, and what type of border you will want.Why The Projector Screen Border MattersWithout a border on the screen the edges become clearly visible, and could appear brighter than the rest of the image. This effect can be extremely noticeable. With a black border around the edge of the screen the excess light is absorbed, provided that the material the border is made of is not reflective. Metal edges can sometimes make things worse even if they are black so ideally it would be some sort of fabric on all edges of the screen. Wood edges also can be extremely reflective, and painting any surface flat black will likely not provide enough light absorption.The image can appear more washed out without a black border. This can be something that is difficult to see in pictures as this difference is more so in your mind than anything. Having a black border makes the image appear brighter, and the colors just seem fuller. I have had a homemade screen without any border, and then decided to add some black covering over the edges of the screen. It was a very noticeable improvement, and really added to the experience.How Big Should The Black Border Be?Ideally the size of the border around the screen will be at least two inches. If the screen is going to hang a ways down from the top of the ceiling the entire area above the reflective portion of the screen should be black. If the screen is white it will be very distracting. Velvet is the ideal material for this border as black velvet is fantastic for absorbing light. There are also glue backed black fabric tapes especially created for use with painted projector screens.I hope that you now understand why you should have a projector screen border. It is really difficult for me to show you exactly how much of a difference it will make, and is something that you will need to experience for yourself. It is very much like a picture frame, you could just stick the picture out there without any frame, but just as a good frame enhances a photograph it will enhance the image from your projector.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Projector Screen Material

There are different types of projector screens and they all stand for something ells but the projector screens are just a projector screens without the projector it self therefore it is very important which projector you get, I am going to talk to you about these different projector screens. The light reflecting properties of the projector screens is the material it is made of, now for the discussion on the different projector screens. When someone talks about a screen having a gain of one it means that the screen reflects all the light equally over the room in comparison with other or regular white boards.First on the list is the Diffusion screen: The Diffusion screen reflects light right all across the room making it possible for everybody to see the same image at the same time and at the same quality of the picture or video. The projector screen is illuminated and therefore reflects the light of the image with an equal brightness from all the different angles in the room inside the cone of the projection screen. Because the light is equally spread in the room it makes the light of the image a little bit darker but no one knows or recognizes it because everybody sees the same brightness of the image.Second on the list is the Reflective screens: reflective screens are mostly used when there is a high ambient of light in the room and needs to reflect that extra light away so that it do not interfere with the image on the screen and should not be used on the rear end projectors because it reflects light like a mirror.These reflective screens work the best with projectors that are in front or on a higher projector gain, maybe round and about a gain of 2, which is the finest for the projectors mounted on the ceiling of the house so that they can reflect the light of the image in a slimmer screening angle. Reflective screens as you already know has a gain of 2 and because of the high angle of the projector the screening angle is much smaller if compared to the diffusion screen.Third on the list is the Retro-reflective screens: This retro-reflective screen is almost the same as the reflective screen also favorable in high ambient light, but the retro-reflective screens reflect the light directly back to the source of the light and have a high gain The retro-reflective screens are not very suitable for ceiling mounted projectors because the light would be reflected in a upright angle to the source making the image weak for the persons sitting in the front of the room near the retro-reflective screen and it these retro-reflective screens work the best with portable projectors which can be table mounted.Fourth and final on the list is the Rear projection screens: The rear projection screens are suitable for all the different conditions and these rear projection screens are used with back projection projectors. Because of the projector mounted at the back of the room the ambient light does not have an effect on the image quality at all.With the rear projection screens have a gain of 6 which is very high and produces some of the top quality images even if it is in the lightest bright light. As you already thought this rear projection screens comes with a price and are not recommended for someone who are only going to present presentations it would be a total waste, it is for professional use only.If you are looking for a projector to deliver great results for more or less 20-50 people you should look at the diffusion and reflective projector screens which will be right for you.