Choosing the Right Screen for Your Home Theater

When designing a home theater, most people don’t think farther than buying a projector, but you also need to take the screen into account. Throwing the image up on a wall doesn’t result in a good picture and using a sheet just looks tacky. Take some time instead to consider what kind of screen will fit your situation and your viewing needs. With the right screen, you can get the most out of your projector.

Below are some of the most common kinds of projector screens that you can put in your home. Read the explanations of each with your own home theater needs and budget in mind. Keep in mind that price can directly reflect quality. Higher priced screens, generally speaking, will reflect more light and produce a better image.

An Acoustically Transparent Screen

These screens are designed to let sound through easily, in other words, they are “transparent” to sound but not light. Acoustically transparent screens are an enormous advantage in a small room because you can place the speakers behind the screen to save room and still get good sound. These are also popular for people who want an easy way to conceal speakers so they don’t make the room look cluttered.

A Fixed Screen

These screens are also known as permanently tensioned screens. These are a permanent fixture in your home; they don’t roll up. This feature makes them good only for rooms that are a dedicated home theatre since the screen can’t be put away. These screens have a distinct advantage over collapsible or rolled screens because there is no rippling or warping of the screen’s fabric. The screen has been tensioned so that it is taut and smooth. This provides the best picture.

A Manual Pull Down Screen

These screens are designed to be stored, making them perfect for rooms that aren’t solely used as a home theater. These are the cheapest projector screens, but that is the only real advantage. The screen is rolled up inside a protective case and is unrolled manually when put in use.

A Motorized Screen

The motorized screens are similar to the pull down screens except for one major factor: The screen is unrolled automatically by a small motor. This makes motorized screens a little more expensive, but they reduce wear and tear on the screen. They are also perfect for use in places that might be hard to reach, for instance, if you want to mount the screen high up on a wall.

A Gray Screen

Gray screens can come in any of the formats listed above. They are simply different in that they are colored gray instead of the standard white. The gray color is designed to improve the contrast ratio in bright areas. The gray color makes the blacks look darker in an image if you can’t block out all the light in a room, improving the viewing experience.

A Rear Projection Screen

Rear projection screens aren’t very common because they require you to use two rooms as part of your home theater. The screen is translucent and is part of the wall separating the two rooms. The projector throws the image on the screen backwards from one room, making it show through into the other room correctly. This is an expensive setup, but the advantage is that the viewing room can be lighter than the projector room and still get a good image. This type of home theater also reduces noise associated with the projector because it is kept in another room.

Completing Your Home Theater

After you know what screen is best for your home theater, you’ll be well on your way to having a home theater that rivals the Cineplex down the road. If you need more information about projectors, look at our review of home theater projectors including DLP, LCD and LCoS. You can view side-by-side comparisons of leading products and read expert reviews of the best projectors. At TopTenREVIEWS— We do the research so you don’t have to.