Rear projection - what (screen & projector) are you using?

[pete]

The powers that be are dissatisfied with our current (wide-angle short-throw + motorised screen in a shadow box formed by the school stage) projection setup in the main hall. It's admittedly getting on a bit and was a compromise due to the terrible layout of the hall (lots of light, very few places to fit a projector and screen).

 

I'm pondering rear projection instead because of the limited ability to fix screens anywhere but inside the stage. Using rear projection would bring the screen forward by about ~20 foot and (in theory) it should be brighter.

 

The current screen is ~12 foot wide and the new screen will need to be of a similar size.

 

So what're you using? I've spotted a few threads about rear projection over the years (including a recommendation to look at Harkness Screens, but I haven't found a "we did X and it was good/bad/daft" follow-up.

[dapaulio]

I have very little experience with rear projection and could not offer any advice on permanent fixture. But on the very few occasion in the last 10 years, I implemented a king size bed sheet fitted with a sewn in pole to allow as a weight with a standard classroom Epson eb x## model behind the bed sheet.

It served a purpose for a drama and dance production which in my opinion looked very professional and was very chuffed about.

 

I am currently looking into tvs for our main hall to swap out our central mounted ceiling projector.

[Oaktech]

I would only really consider 2 manufacturers, Harkness or Da-Lite for screens. They do a good range, but they'll be expensive, rear projection always are.

 

Virtually any projector will do provided it's got enough lumens, the firmware facility to reverse the image is pretty standard. I had a 4.5k Hitachi at my last place, I'd go for more if the room is bright.

[Andrew_C]

Harkness, and Sanyo or Christie.

 

Hope your pockets are deep, this is definitely one of those "to do it right is going to cost, but not as much as skimping" jobs.

[dhicks]

The current screen is ~12 foot wide and the new screen will need to be of a similar size.

 

We have a rear-projection screen about that size in our hall. It sounds like we have similar issues - nice hall (actually used to be the main reception hall of the Dutch embassy) but an awkward shape (a rather irregular trapezoid) and panelled all over with white, listed antique panelling that we can't drill in to to mount anything. We've stuck a stage in one corner with a motorised electric screen that drops down behind, but due to the lack of room we've had to go for an ultra-short-throw Hitachi projector. Tomorrow we are replacing the existing projector with an Hitachi CP-AX3503 - 3,600 Lumens, the brightest ultra-short-throw they do. They aren't really intended for quite such a large screen, but we figure it should just about be okay.

 

When we're sorting the projector out tomorrow I'll try and have a look at the model of the screen we are using. We used ON-AV to supply and fit the screen (a 3.5m by 3.5m electric screen), and I was surprised at how affordable it was - around £1,200, including installation and VAT.

 

We have also bought made-up screens for rear projection from Flints Theatrical Chandlers. Their Twin White material is, seemingly, just as good from the back or front, and you can have it made up in to a screen of whatever size you want, complete with eyelets for attaching bungee cords or zip ties and a chain / weight pocket in the bottom. That cost us around £350 (price includes VAT) for a 3m by 3m screen, I guess the price would scale vaguely with the size. That's more designed to go on a theatre-style fly bar rather than inside a rolled-up electric screen mechanism, though.

[pete]

This is what I'm current working with.

 

The hall is also used for PE (ball games), so anything that can't be protected from that isn't an option. The stage has thick heavy curtains that are closed when things start to be flung about. TVs staggered down the hall have been vetoed from a cost, damage & aesthetics POV.

 

[Andrew_C]

Youch...

 

Any projection is going to struggle, you might even be making it worse by bringing the screen forward. I'd hire a screen and projector in and try it. You might even get someone local to give you a demo if you pitch it as a "trial before you buy".

[pete]

When we're sorting the projector out tomorrow I'll try and have a look at the model of the screen we are using. We used ON-AV to supply and fit the screen (a 3.5m by 3.5m electric screen), and I was surprised at how affordable it was - around £1,200, including installation and VAT.

 

Did you get a chance to see what the model was?

[dhicks]

Did you get a chance to see what the model was?

 

We are now using an Hitachi CP-AX3503 3,600 lumens ultra-short-throw projector. It's not really intended to be a hall-sized projector - we're projecting an image around 3m wide, and the limit in the manual is given as around 2m. It's okay for Powerpoint, but load up a Word document or similar and the bottom few lines look a bit blurry and out-of-focus. The throw distance is very short, though - slightly less than a metre from the front of the projector to the screen for that 3m-wide image.

 

One of the people who installed it does projector setups for interactive displays in museums and so on, and knows a lot about projectors. He reckons he has used a projector somewhere with only a slightly longer throw distance that can properly manage the image size, and at around 5,000 lumens - cost around £1,500. I need to get the details of that projector off him at some point.