UltimateAVmag.com: Conventional Wisdom, Unconventional Results

In the past, I've never actually tried using an ordinary wall as a screen for a video projector. Never really had to. Conventional wisdom states that a good screen is an equal partner with the projector in producing a great image. Or nearly equal, that is, if you're a projector manufacturer and not a screen maker!

But recently I was in the process of breaking in an Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 6500UB projector for an upcoming review in the print edition of Home Theater. Projection lamps tend to be a work in progress until they settle in, and I like to put as close to 100 hours on them as possible before getting serious. Instead of tying up my home theater space to do this, however, I placed the projector on a table in a smaller, adjoining room (a room often used for flat panel reviewing), fired the image onto the wall, and let 'er rip. This setup wasn't designed for serious viewing, much less serious evaluation, so I wasn't expecting much.

The source material was good (mostly high definition cable), and the projected image was just under 4' wide. But the wall not only had that mildly goose-bumpy texture common to nearly every piece of domestic sheet rock in the land, it was painted a mid-to-light, matte-finish brown. Or, as it's known in the right circles, medium beige.

What I saw was not what I expected. After a little tweaking to get the basic picture controls right (but no serious grayscale calibration—this was, again, a temporary setup) the picture was shockingly good. While the "wall gain" was clearly less than 1.0, the relatively small image was not only plenty bright in the dark, but also highly watchable on most material in more typical (but not sun-bright) room lighting. And from ten feet away I could not spot the wall's texture.

The beige wall color was apparently neutral enough to work well; the tint had no obvious effect on the image. White looked white, flesh tones were believable. Flashier colors such as orange or blue would probably not have been nearly so innocuous. I was also surprised at how good the blacks were, even with so small an image—well-deserved kudos here to the Epson projector.

Overall, the result was so impressive I spent two long and late evenings watching a wide range of HD and SD material with virtually no complaints. With the caveat that screen shots are never a perfect representation of the real thing, the image at the top of this blog is of a film trailer on cable HD as shot directly from the on-wall projection. Apart from slight cropping and exposure correction, it was not processed in any way.

Nothing in this anecdotal experience refutes the need for a good screen to get the best out of any projector, particularly with a larger image. And I don't Stewart Filmscreen to announce a new BeigeHawk model any time soon. But as a temporary measure you might be surprised at how good a projected image can look when aimed at a humble patch of painted sheetrock.

An audio-related observation also came out of this. At present, the audio system in this small room is a simple 2-channel setup, since there are sometimes as many as three different sets under review in this 13' by 16' space, making a 5.1-channel system too cumbersome to deal with. At the time of this experiment, the two speakers flanked a flat-panel display in the middle, with the on-wall projected image to the left of the left speaker and another flat panel on the right of the right speaker.

You would expect that this setup would produce a serious spatial shift when watching anything but the center screen. But it didn't. With the center display in use, the soundstage was, as expected, anchored to the screen. But when I viewed the left display alone, the left speaker (the one closer to the left display) appeared dominant. And when I viewed the right image, the right speaker (closest to the right display) sounded louder. In neither case did the overall audio image appear to shift as much as might be expected from the physical position of the speakers. The visual senses here dominates the obvious audio disconnect.

The home theater game is full of surprises. We don't always see, or hear, what we expect.

< Previous Post | Blog Home | Next Post >

Reader Comments

Posted Fri Apr24, 2009, 8:32 AM — By Scott

Hi Tom: I am not surprised by your audio result. On several occasions, I have tested the spatial listening acuity of my guests. Unbeknownst to them, I have switched my preamp to mono and its balance to full left or right. While listening to music, without video, some would detect the image shift and lack of soundstage. The ones with the most success had their eyes closed. With video on, so their was a strong visual component, almost all of the subjects failed to detect the issue. I believe we are so visually dominant that our eyes tend to override our ears. Regards, Scott

Posted Fri Apr24, 2009, 8:12 PM — By David Vaughn

Tom, great blog.

It's amazing how our senses work, isn't it? At night with all the lights out, houses will tend to have their own noises that are absent during the day. But if you close your eyes and concentrate, you can hear these subtleties that seemingly disappear during the daytime. Try it at your own home and see :)

David

Posted Sun Apr26, 2009, 12:47 PM — By Greg DiMascio(Dr)

Dear Mr. Norton,2 things:PLEASE BLOG MORE OFTEN.As what you people call an Anaesthesiologist,living in the Styx,with a Degree in Engineering(Electronics Technology)1978(!),I have used your wisdom/advice over the years to GREAT EFFECT.Thanks to you and Joe Kane I have tweaked projectors to look accurate on walls of ANY colour(yes,I'm afraid,that's how is's spelled).The sound-thing is similar.In one sentence:people with few resources can make ANY equipment sound as good as possible with the proper information.Regards,Greg DiMascio(Dr),Ireland.

Posted Fri May 1, 2009, 3:38 AM — By Will

Hi, Tom, After a move, and prior to a forced upgrade to a tab-tensioned, motorized screen due to new media-room constraints, I am currently forced to watch my (aging) LCD projector on eggshell-white painted drywall. As in your case, the image size is constrained (a door on the HT's otherwise ideal front wall necesssitates the size reduction--and highlights the need for the motorized screen). With 1000+ hours on the (second) bulb, the PJ gets a lot of help in terms of "pop" from the size reduction relative to my old setup. (Image size is currently about 78" diagonal, down from 96"). As with you, I perceive no detrimental textural effects from a seated distance--although my walls are smoothely textured, my distance to "screen" is quite close, at 9 feet. Regarding "believability" of colors: while I try not to be overly critical, knowing fully the shortcomings of the present temp setup, I find myself amazed when I do notice and reflect about just how immersiv

Posted Sat May 2, 2009, 11:19 AM — By Millard Jones

Hi Thomas, Over the last ten years I have read so many of your reviews I almost feel we know one another and I really respect your opinions, so here goes. I have a question regarding the Integra AV processors. I believe I read you are going to review the DHC-9.9. When and where? How well do you like your DTC-9.8? I'm trying to decide on Onkyo or Marantz AV8003. Can you say anything about these? Thank you, Millard Jones

Posted Mon May11, 2009, 1:32 PM — By Mahmood Batasi

Really interesting blog Tom. Thanks for sharing your results. I am using a 5ft 'wide' 16.9 Stewart ST130 screen and a Sim2 HT300E projector. Small screen for a 'normal' HT set up but the max i can go at 10ft viewing distance. The picture i see from a 720 image is glorious and i have seen demonstrations of 1080p projectors with big screens and the conclusion i came to is that i am not missing out on that much as what i am seeing is not wanting me to change as i am seeing such a good 5ft wide image. On a 6 or 7 ft wide screen i might be able to tell the differences a 1080p pj makes instead of a 720p pj. I used a wall painted with matt white paint and that lasted me a few months when i first got the Sim. BTW, that screen shot looks amazing!

Posted Mon Jun22, 2009, 9:12 AM — By Wirral cosmetic dentists

X-men Wolverine is the best movie made with extreme graphics and other special effects. wirral cosmetic dentists

Posted Thu Nov26, 2009, 1:12 PM — By heereohiree

OMG loved reading your post. I added your feed to my reader.

Add Comment