Screen Material FAQ’s

A: In general, the Airbight 3D2 material is beneficial to use with Active 3D projectors to combat the following.

• Active 3D projectors lose brightness when 3D mode is activated (approximately 50% of lumens is lost)
• More is lost when the active shutter glasses are put on. The dark tint of them block the projector's lighting. It's like trying to watch a movie with sunglasses on.

The 2.0 gain on the Airbright 3D2 material helps regain brightness levels in 3D mode, and the high gain avaialble on the Airbright 3D2 allows for some ambient light to be on without washing out the projected image as typically experienced on matte white surfaces. The loss of brightness impacts the true home theater experience by producing a dim and bland image.  We recommend using the Airbright 3D2 for this reason.

A: The Airbright 3D2 is a dedicated 3D front projection material with high gain angular reflective properties. It’s surface coating incorporates a proprietary silver powder compound for amplified brightness with enhanced contrast and Passive 3D polarization. The greater brightness also compensates for the 50% light loss that accompanies the shutter function of Active 3D presentations. As an added value, the Airbright 3D2 enhances regular 2D presentations with superior brightness and contrast levels. Due to the highly-reflective properties of this material, speckling is typical. Although it may be visible in 2D mode, it will not be visible through the 3D glasses.

A: Actually, the Airbright 3D2 material can be used for active 3d technology to make up for the brightness and contrast loss while in 3d mode.

A: The Airbright 3D2 retains 96% of polarization.

A: 3D imaging occurs at a lower level of brightness than regular 2D presentations. Also, it is difficult to maintain polarization on regular projection screen materials. The benefits of Passive 3D polarized silver projection screens are that they increase the brightness of projected 3D images while allowing them to  maximize retaining image polarization levels. Lastly, its diffusion layer enhances contrast. Although passive 3D imaging can arguably be performed on other projection materials, the polarized silver materials optimize overall 3D performance with the best results. Yes, the Airbright 3D2 and Airbright 5D projection screens are passive 3D polarized silver projection screens made for the specific reasons specified in the first part of this answer. The Airbright 3D2 is the standard retail model  while the  Airbright 5D has added contrast levels for enhanced contrast and diffusion moderation.

A: Passive 3D occurs in real time with both eyes seeing an actual picture as opposed to the alternating right-Left eye flickering of active 3D technology. The advantage in this is that the image is brighter because it is simultaneously shown to both eyes. With Active 3D the glasses obstruct the vision of one eye while allowing the other to see the picture alternating at about 60 exposures per eye per second. Essentially the viewer is blindfolded half the time without really being aware of it. The “flickering” of Active 3D technology is that  cross-talk and shadowing artifacts occur more easily. It also has a higher tendency to create eye-discomfort in viewers. Passive 3D allows viewers to see the image more comfortably  with greater brightness and clarity. Passive 3D glasses are also inexpensive so that they may be easily obtained in quantity and do not suffer from mechanical malfunction like the electrically powered active 3D glasses

A: The CineGrey is a matte grey painted projector surface. It is ideal for older projectors that have a lot of brightness but not so much on adjustable contrast levels. The Cinegrey 3D® is a specialized material that is ambient light rejecting. This means you get superb dynamic range in color and black levels in either a light or dark room. Screen Material Comparison (Click Here)

A:  For a complete side-by-side comparison, please Click Here.

A: Projecting on a matte white screen material in a dedicated Home Cinema, typically requires a dark room environment for a great theatrical experience. Matte White materials diffuse light in all directions since that is their nature. This means that light will scatter everywhere in the room.  That is why a dedicated Home Cinema room should try to have as much black walls and light absorbing materials to reduce the amount of scattered light.  This scattered light eventually reflects back to the projection image and degrading the contrast ratio, color, and black levels which affect the fidelity of the picture. The CineGrey 5D’s CLR/ALR technology allows the projector’s light to reflect back at the mirror opposite end.  This greatly reduces the amount of light scatter and instead focuses the light to the viewer’s sweet spot.   In addition, the black microscopic layers improve black levels and color purity to increase the contrast ratio vs a matte white screen material.

A: A brighter projector (higher lumens) will help with image brightness but it does not help with color contrast or black levels.  Since the projected image performance is important here, a contrast-enhancing material such as CineGrey 5D® is essential.  White materials will reflect all of the light in the room; the projected light, indoor lighting, and sunlight through windows and doorways, everything.  Because of this, the ambient lighting will still spoil image performance even with a bright projector.  Ambient light rejecting (ALR) screens such as CineGrey 5D® filter out indirect light allowing your projected image to be what your audience will see instead of the extra glare.  In addition to that, the screen’s filter layers enhance black levels and color contrast.  This means that shadows, textures and slight variations in color shading in the projected image can be easily seen.  Without an ALR material, such detail and clarity will not be visible. As you can see from the photos below, a bright projector does not enhance contrast.      

A: Matte grey was an earlier effort by projection screen manufacturers to enhance projector performance when projectors had limited performance ranges in need of a little help.  Matte grey materials added a darker shade to projected images that would enhance black levels to a degree.  The down side is that a projector with a high lumens output and interior light control was required. The next generation materials we offer now are CineGrey 3D / CineGrey 5D. The CineGray materials are ambient light rejecting. This means that the new materials will give you flat panel display brightness even with high levels of interior lighting. The old matte grey materials are washed out by interior lighting. Also, the Cinegrey series of ALR  and ceiling light rejecting (CLR) screen materials give reference grade quality that is world class certified by the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) for its professional grade abilities to provide accurate color rendition, contrast, and black/white dynamic range. The CineGrey 3D® has a wider diffusion range while the CineGrey 5D® is brighter. Comparing either CineGrey 3D/5D materials to the old matte grey is like comparing a couple of souped-up Ford Mustangs to a Model T.

The CineGrey 5D® and CineGrey 3D® is great for dark room environment also, but we must understand its limitations. First of all, both materials have narrow viewing angles.  So if you wish to have a wide seating arrangement after 80 degrees, you will notice a drop in brightness. Second, because they are higher gain screens they reflect more projector brightness.  This may tire your eyes, so we recommend using a less brighter mode if your projector has a such setting. If that is not a problem, then these materials will work.  And the best thing is, because they are angular reflective material, the projector’s light will not diffuse in all directions like a matte white material.  Meaning that they will not scatter the projector’s light and create side lighting. Thus, eliminating the need to absorb it with black velvet or paint a room really dark. Third, because both of these materials are made with a neutral gray substrate, the color balance and temperature will be exceptional.  The dark gray also enhances contrast and great color saturation.

A: Actually, the CineGrey 3D® /CineGrey 5D® material can be used for active 3d technology to make up for the brightness and contrast loss while in 3d mode.

A:  The ambient light rejecting properties of the CineGrey 3D®/5D® make the materials incompatible with short throw and ultra-short throw projectors. The recommended minimum projector throw distance for these materials is 1.5 times the viewing image width. There are two main reasons behind this:

1.  The CineGrey 3D®/5D® are high gain and angular reflective screen materials. These types of materials require proper projector and screen alignment as hot-spotting may occur if not set up correctly.
2.  Due to the CineGrey 3D®/5D® materials being angular reflective, the angle of incidence from short-throw and ultra short-throw will be too close to the material and the viewer will not experience the optimal projector/screen performance. The material will treat the projector’s light as ambient light and thus it will reflect it in the wrong direction.

A: Our CineWhite® material is an excellent screen material that is highly recommended when you have either a really high output (+3000 lumens projector) and/or are able to control the light in your media room (i.e. a dedicated home theater).  However, under conditions when a lower output projector, uncontrolled ambient light, or  light colored walls and/or ceiling, the CineGrey 5D® has four key features that result in a better overall viewing experience. Video review of the CineGrey 5D® by AV expert Andrew Robinson  

1. The CineGrey 5D® material has an ambient light rejecting surface. The material has an angular reflective material that incorporates a diffusion layer over a highly reflective surface.  This causes direct light from the projector to reflect squarely into the viewer’s field of vision while the outer contrast layer enhances image quality while absorbing indirect ambient light.
2. The CineGrey 5D® contains elements of a silver screen despite its dark appearance. These both work to enhance the contrast ratio and color reproduction in either a well lit or a dark room. With most standard white materials, the image will become washed out when ambient light is present. The ambient light reflecting properties allow the CineGrey 5D® to maintain the image quality even under conditions where there is a high amount of light. In light controlled rooms, there are still certain reflective surfaces that may interact with the projected image such as the colors of the walls/ceiling. The grey/silver properties of the CineGrey 5D® reduce the impact the reflective surfaces, such as light colored walls and ceiling, have on the screen image. Although a white surface is recommended in completely controlled designs, the difference in grayscale between the CineGrey 5D® and CineWhite® surfaces are so slight that they may not be noticeable to most human eyes.
3. The CineGrey 5D® is a 1.5 gain screen material that improves the image quality when active 3D projectors are used. There is approximately 50% loss of brightness when 3D is activated and there is even more brightness (aka lumens) being lost when the tinted shutter glasses are worn. The 1.5 gain of the CineGrey 5D® reflects the image at 1.5 times the original brightness of magnesium carbonate which is the standard industry control for creating a 1.0 gain white projection screen.
4. The CineGrey 5® is also a polarized material that allows for true 1080P 3D content when using a passive 3D projection system (i.e. dual projectors with an AFlex5D passive 3D video processor). The CineWhite® material is not polarized and thus the only 3D content that can be displayed on that surface must be from an Active 3D projector. In general, passive 3D is easier on the eyes as the viewer is able to see the image with both eyes at the same time rather than the left/right split that occurs during Active 3D.

A:  Elite Screens’ CineGrey 3D®/5D® is a color neutral smooth surface with sparkling elements to increase screen gain in an ambient light room environment. These special characteristics incorporates a diffusion layer over a highly reflective surface which scatters ambient light while improving picture performance with a brighter image. The projector itself, however also plays a big part in creating a hot spot.  Projectors highest brightness levels are focused in the center, and only about 70% to 80% in the corners.  In other words, the uniformity itself is not spread entirely even across the screen, thus creating a brighter spot in the center area. To combat this, we recommend the following.

1. Reduce the projector’s light output by choosing an economy mode
2. Install the projector further away from the screen, minimum of 1.5 x the image width
3. Go with a lower gain screen

A: Although matte white materials such as CineWhite® are ideal for environments where room lighting can be controlled, the image is easily washed out by ambient light. Ambient Light Rejecting (ALR) materials such as the CineGrey 5D®  are suitable for environments where there are high levels of indirect (ambient) light. This material trades off on the wide diffusion uniformity of white materials in favor of a brighter (angular reflective) image. Elite’s CineGrey 5D® incorporates a diffusion layer over a highly reflective surface which scatters ambient light while improving picture performance with a brighter image. This includes color neutrality with enhanced black levels and improvement over Active 3D presentations. Andrew Robinson, an industry expert, shared his thoughts with Elite Screens about the performance of the CineGrey 5D® ALR material, “…of all the features, the one that gets me and really speaks the most is the fact that the CineGrey 5D® material from Elite Screens is the most cost effective ambient light solution on the market today. This is why I use it and this is why I recommend that you check it out for yourself. Because, at the end of the day, we all want performance but we also want incredible value  and these are two things that the CineGrey 5D® delivers in spades.”  Andrew Robinson’s endorsement of the CineGrey 5D®

A:  The CineGrey 5D™ retains 88% of polarization.

A: In addition to the sticker labeled “Back Side” placed along the edge of the material, the backside will be slightly shinier and has material folded outward.

A: *Disclaimer:  As great as ambient light rejecting screen technologies are, there are still certain laws of physics that define what should and should not be done with a specialty material such as this. Main Answer:  Ambient Light Rejecting (ALR) projector screens are specially formatted to reject the majority of off-axis lighting from the top, bottom, and side angles. However if a strong light source is hitting the ALR material at roughly the same angle as the projector does, it will wash out the image. There is an easy solution.  I strongly recommend light blocking curtains or blackout shades to shield your room and to rely on the interior lighting that ALR screens work with.

A: The CineGrey 3D®/CineGrey 5D® are angular reflective front projection materials that reflect at the mirror-opposite angle.  If an ultra-short throw projector is used, the material will reflect the steep narrow light and reflect it upwards instead of to the viewer’s eye level.  As you can see from the picture, the image looks foggy and unwatchable due to the projector’s light being reflected in the wrong direction.  The material is reflecting and absorbing and treating it as ambient light.

 

  The image appears to look good, but is still reflecting the projector light upwards and causing a hotspot in the middle of the image. Overhead lights are being absorbed/reflected off the material while providing great color saturation, image brightness, and black levels for a contrast rich presentation. Model# AR100DHD3 – CineGrey 3D® EDGE FREE 100” Diagonal 16:9 Fixed Frame with JVC LX-NZ3B 4K HDR Laser Projector

A: Elite Screens offers replacement CineGrey material for 16:9 fixed frame screens. Here is a complete list of the model number for replacement CineGrey Screen Material: ZR84H1-M, ZR92H1-M, ZR100H1-M, ZR106H1-M, ZR120H1-M, ZR135H1-M, ZR150H1, ZR85H1-Wide, ZR96H1-Wide, ZR103H1-Wide, ZR115H1-Wide, ZR138H1-Wide Decoding the model number: ZR92H1-M

• ZR- Replacement Material
• 92= Diagonal Size of 92"
• H= 16:9 Aspect Ratio (Wide= 2:35:1)

A: Ceiling mounted UST projectors will not even work with a Starbright CLR® material because the material is specifically orientated to reject “ceiling light” or any type of lighting from above. This means that the screen will reject any overhead light, even from a compatible projector. Theoretically, you could invert the Starbright CLR® material to match with an inverted UST projector but the alignment will still not likely align properly with the human eye to deliver the ideal “sweet-spot” picture performance.

A: In general, the Airbright 3D2 material is beneficial to use with Active 3D projectors to combat the following.  

• Active 3D projectors lose brightness when 3D mode is activated (approximately 50% of lumens is lost)
• More is lost when the active shutter glasses are put on. The dark tint of them block the projector’s lighting. It’s like trying to watch a movie with sunglasses on.

Both high gains on the Airbright 3D2 and CineGrey 5D® materials helps regain brightness levels in 3D mode, and the high gain available on the Airbright 3D2 allows for some ambient light to be on without washing out the projected image as typically experienced on matte white surfaces. The loss of brightness impacts the true home theater experience by producing a dim and bland image.  We recommend using the Airbright 3D2 for this reason.

A: Elite Screens’ MaxWhite® and MaxWhite® FG are excellent screen materials for front projection presentations. The materials have a multi-layer weave and textured surface coating that offer perfect diffusion uniformity, color reproduction, and black and white contrast. Both have a 1.1 gain that allows for 180° viewing angles (90° left and right) and are black-backed which avoids light penetration. They are also easy to clean, mildew resistant, and GreenGuard® Gold UL 2818 certified. MaxWhite® B on the other hand, while maintaining the wide 180 degree viewing angle, has a unity 1.0 Gain that reflects 100% projector light as opposed to 1.1 Gain (110%).  It is also formulated to be utilized in our most commonly used front projection screens.  This allows more flexibility in our offerings of cost-effective products for mass production. The key difference between the MaxWhite®/MaxWhite® B and MaxWhite® FG is that the MaxWhite® FG has a fiber glass backing. This is beneficial as the embedded fiber glass improves rigidity which results in a more stiff material. Thus, the MaxWhite® FG provides the flattest possible surface a non-tensioned screen can offer. Additionally, the fiber glass backing eliminates any side curling non-tensioned materials are susceptible to, especially under cold temperatures. Lastly, the MaxWhite® FG is also flame retardant and complies with NFPA 701 Standards.

A:  Elite’s MaxWhite® FG and Spectra White FG are very comparable as they both are self-supporting matte white front projection screen surfaces with fiberglass backing. Having a fiberglass backing is beneficial as the embedded fiber glass improves rigidity which results in a more stiff material. Thus, the fiberglass backing provides the flattest possible surface a non-tensioned screen can offer. Additionally, the fiber glass backing eliminates any side curling non-tensioned materials are susceptible to, especially under cold temperatures. Both the MaxWhite® FG and SpectraWhite FG will provide an excellent quality image in light controlled environments. The main difference between the materials is that the MaxWhite® FG utilizes a more neutral white material for better white levels. Both the Spectra White FG and MaxWhite® FG have viewing angles of 180° (90° left and right). The wide diffusion uniformity on both the materials maintain luminance levels throughout the entire surface. The MaxWhite® FG is also offered on many more of or products, whereas the SpectraWhite FG is solely available on the Starling and Starling Tension. The Spectra White FG material is also slightly thicker than the MaxWhite® FG.

A: Click Here for Instructions

A:  No, the microstructure of the StarBright CLR® requires a minimum projector lens throw ratio 0.3x the image width

A: Ceiling mounted UST projectors will not even work with a Starbright CLR® material because the material is specifically orientated to reject “ceiling light” or any type of lighting from above. This means that the screen will reject any overhead light, even from a compatible projector. Theoretically, you could invert the Starbright CLR® material to match with an inverted UST projector but the alignment will still not likely align properly with the human eye to deliver the ideal “sweet-spot” picture performance.

A: Both CLR and CineGrey 3D/5D are Ceiling Ambient Light Rejection Screen fabrics, however the CLR fabric is especially designed for Ultra Short Throw (UST) Projectors to reject ambient light. The CineGrey 3D/5D are typically made for standard “long-throw” projectors and require the projected light (angle in) to reflect (angle out) at the same angle to the viewer's eyes, "sweet spot".  

A: Ceiling mounted UST projector will not work with CLR®/ CLR® 2/ CLR® 3 flipped upside down because the material is specifically oriented to reject “absorb” lighting from above.  In addition it is designed to properly accept tabletop mounted UST projector light and direct it to the viewer’s sweet spot. If the material is flipped upside down and there is overhead light, that light will not be rejected but instead reflected which would degrade the picture quality. In addition, the ceiling mounted UST projector light will still not likely align properly with the human eye to deliver the ideal “sweet-spot” picture performance.