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Topic: Advice on what screen to buy for my UST. Formovie?
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Joined: Aug 12, 2023
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Hello all! I am new here, so sorry for any mistakes.

I've just snagged the Formovie Fresnel screen, but realized after ordering it that it has a 50-degree view angle (whoops, my mistake). Wondering if I should reconsider.

Here are my room/usecase specifications:
- Room size: around 27m² (4.8m x 5.5m) with the screen on the 6m side
- Viewer-screen distance (from the main key viewing area which is a sofa directly perpendicular on the center of the screen): 4.5m
- Room width from screen center: 4m right, 2m left
- Another key viewing area: Dining space, 3m right from screen's center
- Ambient light: Glass door and window to the screen's right (on the same wall as the screen) and 2 overhead ceiling light (one in the dining area and one on the same area as the screen is, just on the ceil).

Given my setup, including a Philips Screeneo U5 UST projector with 2000 ANSI Lumens, would this screen suit my needs, or should I consider buying another screen? What are your thoughts? I am interested to keep as much as possible around 70-80% image quality from almost any position in the room (if something like that can be quantified).

In the case I should change the screen - what are your suggestions in the same price range (fixed frame is fine)? I think at least a fain of 1 is needed.

I was thinking that fresnel is the best once since I have both some ambient light and ceil light - and I saw that the Formovie one is really good. But in the same time I was not aware of the restrictive viewing angle.

To add more (hopefully helpful) context - The usecase would be something like this -https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TuYi9X9fWK0scxw8M2w22qRi2AutIvaF/view?usp=drivesdk.Red being the 50 degree and blue the 120 degree (as a simulation). I am not sure how bad it is when you get out of the 50 degree.


Thanks in advance for the help!
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Joined: Mar 28, 2005
Posts: 13,328
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50 degrees is the half gain viewing angle left/right of a central position. Your drawing seems to indicate a 25 degree viewing angle, totally 50 degrees, but it is actually a total of a 100 degree viewing angle for half gain.

This is very typical of these types of screens. The non-Fresnel lens screens will have a wider half gain of the viewing angle, but will do worse with rejecting ambient light.

As is ALWAYS the case: These are band aid products to a bad room. What they do, they do well, but it is always (ALWAYS!) far better to control the light in the room. UST projectors with their matching ALR screens do a much better job with light rejection as well as delivering a good on screen image compared to long throw models. The steep projection angle is very helpful in this regard.

In a room with ambient light, at the end of the day, do whatever you possibly can to eliminate ambient light NEAR THE SCREEN. That last part is important because you can still have pretty good light in the room and maintain a great on screen image as long as you are doing what you can to keep light off the screen area.

See: http://www.avintegrated.com/lighting.html

That's a 106" grey screen in a room using a fairly dim Panasonic PT-L300U projector from 20 years ago. The actual lighting is described on the page.
AV Integrated - Theater, whole house audio, and technology consultation during the build and installation process in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.