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That said, some enthusiasts do prefer a retractable home cinema screen either to showcase some artwork or design behind it or protect the screen surface from dust or kids. Every projector screen works by reflecting the light of a projector off the surface and to the audience's eyes. The right screen size is determined by a combination of how big your space is and how bright your projector is. You can use this projector screen distance calculator to help you determine the best size. Selecting a home cinema screen is not a one size fits all endeavor.
Most of the theaters I go to in LA were still masking before the pandemic . I've only been to a couple since reopening, and the AMC at the Citywalk is the first one I've seen that has actually removed masking that was in there before. Regal has taken over what used to be the Arclight Sherman Oaks, and I've heard that they've stopped masking, but can't confirm. The closest theater to me is a Regal (although I haven't been in a year and a half).
Masking Changes the Shape of Your Home Theater Screen
A multiformat screen with masking capabilities is the go to option if you want to watch both TV and movies but really hate any kind of letterboxing on your screen. These versatile film screens can transform to the correct dimensions using blackout curtains to mask the unused part of the screen. A huge percentage of my yearly rewatches are IMAX titles so being able to make my screen bigger for that is what’s going to yield me the most visceral, immersive experience I think.
The light is very dim on that end of the room, so maybe I can try with a flashlight . Since my projector doesn’t have a motorized lens, I needed something that could adjust to any size from 2.76 to full height 1.78 with the picture centered. I also have side masking for non-widescreen movies, it’s just velvet hanging from curtain clips on a curtain rod mounted on the ceiling.
Cinemascope Home Theater Screens
Also leave about 4 or 5 inches on each side for the motor and idler pulleys. Lisa Montgomery has been a member of the Electronic House editorial team for nearly 20 years; most of that time as the Editor. Options include 2-way masking (side masking panels for constant height, or top/bottom panels for constant width) or 4-way independent masking. Image widths range from 160 inches to 350 with custom sizes available.
4K projector pixels reflect uniformly off of a smooth UHD projection surface giving your home cinema the incredibly detailed video display you want. The UPPER limit has been reached at this point, and the motor is still in 'programming mode', even though it is stopped without any power applied. The next step will be to press the DOWN button, which will set the UPPER limit into memory (you'll hear a confirming beep sequence), and it will also start the shade moving in the opposite direction. Do not press STOP until it gets close the LOWER travel limit.
The Motor and String
As annoyed as I am when they leave the 3D lens over a 2D movie, that at least can be chalked up to laziness or cheapness. But now they're spending money to actively worsen the theater-going experience for their customers. Pretty much all the newer cinemas in Toronto have no masking of any kind. Even worse, they're all 1.85, so 'scope films are always smaller and letterboxed.
I wish this didn't bother me so much, but it really is incredibly distracting; it's almost like setting the house lights to dim only part of the way down. And I can almost guarantee it bothers more people than just us, even if they're not sure how to articulate it. These screens are particularly useful when there is not enough space in the screening room to have the speakers placed on the side of the screen and one does not want to get a smaller screen in order to leave room for the speakers on the side. For a home theater screen you typically want to get a screen with a 1.0 gain or below. Note that since we are controlling curtains, in this case up and down actually mean open and close limits.
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It fits my screen with a inch of overthrow onto the masking.....just right. I am sorry I missed your post in the other thread about doing something like this. A wonderful example of not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. When/if I can dedicate a room to my projector I plan on doing the same thing. In either configuration the mask is used to create the illusion of a full matted wall.
Many of the "premium" auditoriums at AMC were apparently designed without it in the first place, but apparently some places are actively removing masking apparatuses that were already there . It’s recommended that you have a viewing angle between 30 to 40 degrees for optimal viewing. At wider angles the image will appear dimmer and washed out because the light reflecting of the screen isn’t reflecting as much at that angle. At EluneVision, much effort was spent designing a projection material that is texture-free. The result is the Reference Studio 4K 100 family of materials have an extremely smooth and pit free surface, perfect for 4K projection. The same optical filters that reject ambient light from above, below and on the sides of Black Diamond also function to eliminate reflected light from spilling back onto the walls, ceiling, and floor.
After experimenting with several possibilities here is what I came up with. The fabric is a matte felt which I purchased locally and cut to size. When I want to watch widescreen content the mask is installed as below and the image is adjusted to mate with the top screen border using the motorized lens shift function of my projector. While the white surface doesn’t provide the deep black levels and contrast of grey or black screens the wide viewing angle and accurate color neutrality make it a great home theater projector screen. Picking the absolute best home theater projection screen from our selection of over 17,000 high quality screens is a truly difficult endeavor. However our projection experts put their heads together to give you their picks for the best projector screens for home theaters.
The foam core board is stiffer and more durable than cardboard and not nearly as heavy as wood. I thought about that but there are so few films I watch that are 2.76 that I feel it’s not worth sacrificing size on the majority of less wide films that I more routinely watch. Too much effort for too little gain for my selection of films. I wonder how much it cost AMC to physically take out the masking apparatus from all those rooms.
