HiDef Projector Screens: Home Theater Showdown – Battle 1

This is the first post in our hometheater showdown where we take two of our bloggers “home theaters” and compare a specific item. In this “Home Theater Showdown” series, you will find out who has the biggest, the baddest, the cheapest (inexpensive), the loudest, the brightest, the highest quality-ist home theater out there. Get ready for one HECK of a battle!

Home Theater Showdown – Battle 1: High Definition Projector Screens
Fighters: J.J. vs. Brandon

Competing Products:
Brandon’s – 120 inch Generic Screen
J.J.’s – 100 inch Saaria Screen

Battle Overview:
Battles are formatted in such a way where the owners talk about the Pro’s and Con’s of their product in each round. Each round has either e heme or a question. At the end of each round there is a winner declared by both competitora and an additional 3rd party. Whoever wins the most rounds at the end, is declared the winner of the battle.

The Specifics of the Projector Screens:
J.J.: My screen is a 100′ inch Saaria Grey Magic II with a gain of 1.1. It is a fixed velvet lined screen.
Brandon: My screen is 120 inches an it is sweet!

Round 1 – The Price and Size of the Screen (Cheapest):

J.J.: I bought my screen on ebay for $262 and that included shipping. My screen is 100′ inches diagonal. To be geeky, I paid $2.62 for each diagonal inch for my screen. I did a lot of research for my fixed screen and this is the one I found, it was a great price in my opinion!Brandon: I also bought my screen from ebay. Ebay is the best place (in my opinion) to go to find great deals on screens. Mine was $220 shipped. My screen is 120 inches (10 feet) on the diagonal. Pretty sweet deal for a fixed screen of this size.

Round 1 Winner:
Brandon and his 120 inch generic projector screen

Round 2 – Screen Quality, Construction / Image Quality:

J.J.: When I received the box in the mail I was surprised by its size! IT was recommended that 2 people do this job, but I was too eager to wait, so I tore into the set-up process. The construction of the screen was very impressive. The metal used as the frame for the screen was very sturdy. The assembly of the screen took about 30 to 45 minutes, but the instructions were clear and as the screen took form, I was glad to see that my $200 screen was not just a piece of junk, on the contrary, once fully assembled, the screen has a lot of physical integrity. The saaria logo on the bottom set’s it apart from generic screens. Saaria also has a very unique way of getting the projector screen material stretched across the frame. It usees metal rods that are then snapped around plastic holds that stretch the screen to it fullest extent without leaving any indentations or stress marks on the sreen. The end result is a water like surface of the screen. Very impressive!Now on the image quality side. It is tough to say how the quality of the image is, because it depends on more than just the screen. But since my competitor and I have almost identical projectors, I would say that my gain is higher. And for my room and my projector (Sony vpl-hs60) that is great! I think the importance of a brilliant picture is important. I know a lot of people talk about how the grey screens are much better for DLP and LCD projectors because the lumen’s are enough, but I think that is bull. I think the picture should be bright and that the colors should be distinct and not washed out. And my screen does just that! It is bright and vibrant while watching it at night, the colors are deep and the blacks are black enough. Needless to say, it is impressive.

Brandon: First off, mine came in like a 10′ box. I had to pay like $90 somthing to ship this bad boy. It was pretty confusing because the screen came with two sets of instructions and they both were very ambiguous. Needless to say, I was up to the challenge. After about 1 hour of battle (and almost cracking the plastice L-joints) my screen was finally assembled. I would have been able to do this by myself, however the wife wanted to help, so we did it together. This was a battle in itself. j/k (if my wife is reading). When it was all said and done, the screen hung on the wall in all its 120″ glory. My only complaint is that it barely fit in my little 10′ x 11′ room.

Mmmm high def goodness… ahhh…… I honestly can’t see a quality difference between screens as far as picture goes. The only drawback to mine, is the frame appears to be made of cheap flimsy metal and plastic. Also the metal is fairly reflective, it’s not covered in velvet like JJ’s is. Overall, I think this screen is great. It would be hard to find a better/larger screen for the same price.

Round 2 Winner:
J.J.’s 100 inch Sarria Projector Screen

Round 3 – The PRO’s & CON’s:

J.J.:
PROs’ – The PRO’s for my Saaria screen are endless! I have been 100% satisfied! The image quality is great, is construction is sturdy, it hangs perfectly flat on my wall and it was easy to assemble and install The back of the screen has a black back so that no light can be transferred from any blocked out windows or anything else. The velvet trim on the frame blocks almost all light so that any overscan (projector light that does not fit inside the screen) is not visible. The screen looks professional and receives compliments all the time. I have been 100% satisfied. Also, keep in mind that other projector screens like dalite, stewart filmscreen, infocus and others start around $700 and go up to $3000 for a screen this size, so to get one this size for $200 is amazing!CON’s – Well, I guess the only CON would be that I wish it was bigger. Even though I already get motion sickness playing video games on this thing, but as a guy, we always want the biggest and the best. Besides that, i would say that there has been NO downside to this screen whatsoever!

Brandon:
PRO’s: Uhh do I even have to say. If you don’t know the pros of having a 120″ widescreen, you probably should not be reading this post. This thing is freaking huge and it’s great.

CON’s: The screen does feel a little flimbsy when not hanging on the wall. May be hard to transport when I move. Thats my only complaint.

Round 3 Winner:
It is a Tie!

Conclusion:

This was a tough decision. Do we take the 120 inch generic mammoth, or the 20 inch smaller quality Saaria. Well, it comes down to what you want. Do you prefer quality or size? They are about the same price, Brandons screen was $1.83 per diagonal inch and J.J.’s was $2.20. Either way, these are a great buy! Sreens this size for this price, you simply cannot lose!!

Winner of the Home Theater Showdown – Battle 1 is…
Brandon’s 120 inch Generic Monster (He Barely won)