Projecting the perfect images

The craze for flatscreen TVs may still be in full swing, but for movie-mad customers after the biggest and the best in home cinema even the latest plasma and LCD TVs can be limiting.

With that in mind, bring on the home cinema projector. Capable of images up to 150in in size as well as arguably more wow-factor - and rarity value - than any flat telly, the size advantages of a home cinema projector means it can almost sell itself to the savvy consumer.

But there’s something missing - the projector screen. With profit margins on projectors themselves decreasing at an alarming rate, some retailers are happy to box-shift and move on
to the next sale.

The other approach is to persuade customers of the benefits of having a dedicated screen and make that all-important attachment sale. It can easily double your profit margin. So why are just one-in-five projectors sold with a projector screen? Is the trade missing out on what could be a lucrative - and obvious - attachment sale?

“One of the obstacles comes from the mentality of the dealer selling lower cost installations,” says Bob Wheeler, General Manager, European Sales Operations at Vutec. “The higher-end ones will always supply a screen of some description, but the fact that the screen needs installation, hanging, connected to mains power, controlled with infra red, cables hidden… it becomes a much bigger job for the smaller or less experienced independent dealer.”

The dealer willing to put in the extra hours has science behind him. While some consumers seem happy to use a white wall, such is the importance of a projector screen to the finished image that there’s little benefit in spending thousands on a projector if a consumer then buys a poor quality - or no - projection screen.
That idea is already central to every custom installer’s thinking. David Phillips is Technical Sales Manager at Pulse Marketing, who distribute Screen Research products largely to the custom installation trade. It’s a totally different market with a wide acceptance of the benefits of a projector screen.

“I would say custom installers and dealers are already maximising sales by selling a high quality projector screen with every projector,” he says, insisting that only lower-end ‘data-projection’ sales would be sold without a screen.

“When a customer is interested in installing a good quality home cinema system in a dedicated room or a multipurpose living area, the majority of installs have a projection screen. Every single projector I have helped to calibrate in the last two-and-a-half years has had a screen installed.”

Even if the CI market is generally tuned-in to the importance of a projector screen, that doesn’t always guarantee a sale. “Screen technology changes at a slower pace that projector technology,” says Phillips, “so it’s possible that people would replace a projector, but keep their existing screen in place.”

Where the real opportunity lies is in retail, where consumers often believe that using a white wall is just as good as a projector screen. So how should a retailer dissuade consumers from merely using a white wall?
“Often with inexpensive screens, the customer is probably better off with a wall,” says Wheeler, “but even then customers would have to have enough wall space. If you use a plain wall and take the pictures off, you often find lines around the picture - and the chances are it won’t be a completely white wall, ruining the colours.”

Customers intending to use a wall are unlikely to have spent much on their projector. But the recent availability of cheaper, more versatile projectors aimed at consumers wanting to use them outside of a dedicated home cinema actually increases the need for good quality screens.

“Some customers will expect to use their projector more than a TV, during the day, or with reasonably high ambient light in the room,” says Wheeler, “but there are screens that allow a decent picture in ambient light, such as Vutec’s £1,000 SilverStar, which has a high gain of six.”

It’s this need for versatility and projections in daylight that the projector screen manufacturers are constantly battling against - and it’s what keeps the projector from battling the flatscreen TV for mass-market pole position.

“The only way that it could be a viable option is if someone cracks the problem of a decent picture in ambient light, which the laws of physics make a problem,” says Wheeler.

That problem, of course, is light - the very core of the projection experience. A projection screen in a complete blackout looks black to the naked eye. Any light then projected onto it the creates the best possible image the projector is capable of, with the only real issue being ambient light reflecting off the walls of the room and back onto the screen. If a screen is already black, then the contrast looks a lot better.

Any light coming into the room degrades the image because the screen is not black to begin with. Bright pictures can look fine, but gloomy images seem washed out and can be unwatchable. It’s no wonder that most projectors carry the ‘home cinema’ tag - it’s in dedicated movie lairs that they perform best. Not all installations of projector screens are in separate home cinema rooms with blackout curtains, but a good projector screen can filter out reflections and even host a watchable image during daylight.

The retention of contrast is what makes a projector screen so valuable, none more so when there is ambient light in a room. When it comes to the contrast ratios that they can manage, DLP, D-ILA and LCD projectors can vary drastically - and it’s often an important (though not always reliable) statistic that informs the consumer’s final choice of product. But any comparison between contrast ratios of the actual projector can become meaningless if they then take the product home only to project onto a wall or sub-standard projector screen.

In the first instance it’s a crucial selling point for a projector because visible contrast in the finished image is what lends a cinematic feel. Increased depth, shadow detail and bolder colours are the result of a contrast-heavy image - and a decent projector screen can increase contrast ratio in an image by as much as ten-fold.

There’s also the issue of perceived contrast, which a well-designed projection screen can also offer.
“Another big benefit of using a projector screen is the black border that surrounds it,” says Phillips. “This increases the perceived contrast ratio of the picture, giving you a more vibrant, punchy image.”

Wheeler agrees: “The biggest argument for using a screen are the black borders. If you project an image onto a white surface, you’re relying on the edge of the LCD/DLP panel to give you the edge of the picture. The edges aren’t really that well defined even with a dark image - put a black border around and the eye sees that black and compensates.”

Wheeler explains that the darkest black you will see is the absence of light - and there will always be light in the room reflecting off the wall. A black frame has the same effect as framing a picture; it enhances the image. Because the human eye adjusts to the black surround, it perceives more contrast, with the end result being a more absorbing experience.

When it comes to custom installations, every home cinema situation is likely to demand a decent screen as a matter of course - but there are still issues for the installer to resolve before choosing a suitable screen.

“One of the larger obstacles is when specifying in-ceiling screens,” says Phillips. “If the screen is to be installed into a finished room, it can sometimes be difficult to determine exactly what you will find in the ceiling. Do the joists run the right way? Are there any other issues like central heating piping in the way? This is one reason why a customer would come to a custom installer or dealer - to identify these problems and present solutions that are acceptable.”

And ‘acceptable’ usually means good-looking. “A customer that is willing to spend thousands of pounds on cinema equipment will expect aesthetically attractive products,” says Phillips. “Whether it be the velour finish on a fixed frame screen, or a in-ceiling trap door motorised screen, the quality of finish and ‘look and feel’ has to be right.” He stresses that interior designers now have considerable input into custom installation projects, so screen manufacturers have to address their needs as well as the client’s.

With aesthetics firmly in its sights, Belgian brand Beamax recently announced its Dellegno discrete cinema range. An illuminated projector lift, the Dellegno is a companion product to Beamax’s award-winning Dellegno motorised projection screen. Aimed at customers who do not have a ceiling void in which to recess a traditional projector lift, the Dellegno lift (retail price €1,999) houses the projector in a cabinet that also serves as a stylish lighting module. Its clean lines and a high gloss finish, available in a bespoke colour, aren’t the only design flourishes - the cabinet also features eight spotlights, which can be controlled independently.

“Consumers demanding flexible use of the space in their home are unlikely to want to see their projector when their home theatre system is not in use,” says Otto Tromm, Dellegno designer and founder of Beamax. “The Dellegno illuminated projector lift provides our customers with the means to get rid of the ugly ceiling mount for their home theatre projectors, while making a stylish addition to their room.”

At the other end of the scale is Vutec’s Vision X Retracta-Vu, a motorised screen that rises on command. Mounted in the floor or in a black or white mica custom cabinet, it’s aimed at rooms with high ceilings where a drop-down design would visibly scar the interior design. Controlled by IR or RF remote, the Retracta-Vu is available in sizes up to 25ft diagonal and with either Vu-Flex Pro or SilverStar high-gain screen fabric.

Does the consumer’s choice of projector affect their choice of screen? Or is it more to do with their living space? “Projector screens differ in quality and price greatly, so several things are factors,” says Phillips. “Whether the screen is fixed, in-ceiling, trap door or curved, which lens the projector is using, what aspect ratio the screen is… these are all decisions that the custom installer has to help the customer through. The choice of fabric is also important, depending on speaker placement and ambient light.”

Inventions such as plaster-in speakers that can be painted over are typical of innovations coming out of North America, where the global custom installation market has its main engine. For a good indication of where the UK market for projector screens is headed - especially when it comes to installations - it’s worth taking a look at the more mature US market.

“The big difference between the UK and the US is the size of rooms,” says Phillips. “UK homes generally have smaller rooms, and less of them, making home cinema slightly more challenging.”

“The biggest difference is the popularity of 2.35:1,” says Wheeler. “That’s really getting people hot under the collar in the States. All the manufacturers are producing curved screens. From a commercial point of view, providing the customers is prepared to spend between £7,000-£10,000, it adds margins by adding items to a projector sale.”

Anyone at last year’s CEDIA Show in Denver would have seen proof of the buzz about anamorphic projection in the States. It’s also the case that profit margins on projectors are even smaller in the US, making the sale of a projector screen that much more important to achieve.

Anamorphic projection also introduces a new kind of screen - the curved screen. Put an anamorphic lens in front of a projector and if you have a short-throw (wide angle lens) close to screen it will use-up more width of the anamorphic lens. It introduces some softness and distortion when it’s stretched, the main problem being ‘pin cushion’ distortion. That distortion is greatly reduced if you project onto a curved ‘bow-tie’ shaped screen.

“The primary reason for a curved screen is to overcome the distortion of an anamorphic lens,” says Wheeler, “and they look pretty cool if you have a dedicated home cinema, but it’s a bit more encompassing for the viewer, more enveloping and more natural. It covers the whole field of vision.”

Anamorphic projection also brings in the issue of ‘masking’. Screens are available that have either a constant height or width, and then move black border either from the top and bottom, or sides, to match the shape of the video signal. “With 1080p you’ve got so much more resolution and it’s a shame to lose it,” says Wheeler of masking screens.

For now, the opportunity exists for much bigger volumes of projector screens to be sold. While the UK might be some way behind the US, there’s a definite trend in home automation - and for anyone into home cinema, a motorised or retractable screen is perhaps the simplest and purest example of how an installer can give immediate wow factor to what is too often seen as a functional home cinema necessity.

The result of using a dedicated projector can be stunning in any home cinema set-up - not just for the end-user, but for the profit margins of the savvy dealer.