The biggest reason to get a projector is because its image can be, well, big. When you first experience watching a blockbuster movie, or playing a game, or cheering on your local sports team in your living room with the picture taking up most of your wall, it’s exciting and intoxicating. But if you’re watching that wall-sized picture on the literal wall, you’re not only visually doing yourself (and the money you spent on an excellent projector) a disservice, you’re affecting the projector’s performance. Potentially to a drastic degree.
Now, if you’re using a pico projector or something that’s designed for its portability that only costs a few hundred dollars, by all means use a wall for some quick temporary viewing or to have on in the background. But if the whole idea was to replace your TV with a projector, it’s important to understand why you should stop using a wall as your screen surface.
Why you shouldn’t use your bare wall
As you step back and admire your wall — and maybe the effort you put in to that new coat of paint — it probably looks pretty decent. Even coverage, a nice solid color, and no extra markings (until your kid get close with a crayon). Look closer, though, and the texture from the paint and the drywall becomes quickly apparent. With the paint job in my living room, I can even see the texture from a normal viewing distance. When you project on to that texture, it in turn affects the texture and sharpness of the picture, degrading the image and reducing perceived resolution.
A projection screen, on the other hand, has a significantly smoother surface. Even older or less expensive screens that have a small amount of texture are miles ahead of a painted wall. You can see below a comparison of the wall a few inches to the left of my screen (left image) and the Stewart Filmscreen GrayHawk screen surface, both taken from about a foot away.
It’s not just unwanted added texture that a painted wall instills on the image. Projection screens are designed to be neutral and not affect the color of the image being projected onto them (I’ll admit, some screens are better at this than others), as well as boost the brightness of a projected image and improve contrast, depending on the screen material. A painted wall will do none of that (at least on purpose). This is even more important for ultra-short throw (UST) projectors that work best with an ALR (Ambient Light Rejecting) screen that is designed to reflect the light being projected at it from below or above towards the viewer’s eyes at their seating position.
The contrast performance is the biggest concern to me, as projectors already have issues with contrast when compared to other display options (e.g. TVs). By projecting on a painted wall that reduces brightness or lifts black levels — or both — a projector that could be getting 1000:1 will underperform. (As an aside, most contrast measurements published by manufacturers are drastically inflated and shouldn’t be taken as accurate.)
Really what it comes down to is this: You’ve spent hard-earned money on a projector, but by projecting on a wall, you’re diminishing the value of that purchase. So what can you do?
The best projection screen options
You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to get something better than your wall — although you absolutely can. If you’ve spent up to $2,000 on a projector, I’d recommend budgeting at least $200-300 for a screen. And as the price of the projector goes up, increase the screen budget. If you’re planning to drop $16k to equip your home theater room with a JVC DLA-NZ8 or Sony Bravia Projector 8, you’ll definitely want to consider something like the Stewart StudioTek 130 (a bit of an industry standard for quite some time). But for the rest of us, what are some of the options out there?
- Screen paint: If you’re dead set against hanging a screen on your wall, there are different types of screen paint you can use, but expect to spend a bit of sweat equity to get it right. And if your wall isn’t already smooth, the texture will likely show through the screen paint.
- Fixed-frame screen: This is what I currently have. The screen is attached to a frame that mounts to the wall, so it’s similar to wall mounting a TV.
- Retractable screen: This is what I’m considering upgrading to. The screen housing is a long tube that mounts to the ceiling or the top of a free-standing stand and can be pulled down when needed. There are also motorized versions that can be connected to a control system, so when you turn on your projector, the screen automatically descends for viewing.
- Portable screen: These are usually retractable screens, but can be broken down and put away in the closet when not used. They also don’t need to be mounted on the wall or the ceiling, and if backyard movie nights are in your future (and with summer coming, I hope they are), a portable screen is the best option for periodically setting something up outside.
Which option is best will depend on your current situation, but the most important thing you can do for your projector is get it off the wall and onto a projection screen.
