28/08/2014
Projection screens - better than a plain white wall?
Projection screens cost money. So every day we get emails and phone calls asking, "Can't I just use a plain white wall and save the screen expense?" The answer is simple: Absolutely you can! And you can save money by putting regular gas in your Porsche also. It will run, you just won't get the best performance out of it.
Projection screens have optical coatings that enhance their reflective properties. White walls don't. You can certainly use a wall if you want to, and you will get a watchable image. However, compared to the image you'd get with a screen, highlights will not be as brilliant, contrast and colour saturation will be reduced, and (depending largely on the texture of the wall) sharpness will be reduced as well. You will end up with an image that is not as good as your projector is capable of delivering.
Furthermore, one very important but often ignored benefit of a screen is not actually the screen, but the frame. A solid black frame around a video image substantially boosts the visual quality of the image itself. So unless you paint a black rectangle on your wall, by foregoing the screen you will lose this vital component in the overall visual experience.
If you are serious about good image quality, consider hiring a Projection Screen with your next hire
