Hi-gain front projection screens have come and gone since the sixties going back to the curved brushed aluminum monsters that bedecked some boardrooms. The idea has always been the same-to allow a projector with modest light output to overcome inherent ambient light and provide an image with adequate contrast. Of course, the tradeoff has always been with the viewing angle. Even trade-offs in vertical and horizontal viewing angles have been with modern versions. With the increasing interest in digital signage and casual home theater, Elite Screens, Inc. (Cerritos, CA; www.elitescreens.com) has entered the fray.

John DiLoreto
Analyst and Editor for
Insight Media

Last week, the company announced its StarBright ultra-high gain material with an on-axis gain of 7. The material also includes an ambient-absorbing top coating to boost contrast. Insight Media caught up with Elite Screens marketing manager David Rogers by phone this morning to discuss the new product.

"The main reason the company developed the screen is because in many commercial settings, as well as in some home theatre settings, high ambient light is still a real problem," said Rodger. "However, many dealers don’t carry ultra-high gain screens, which makes some people nervous about using projectors in conference rooms or living room because of ambient light from windows," added Rodgers. "With a StarBright screen, we offer a lot more creative options."

Elite’s StarBright material is designed with what the company calls "cutting edge technology." The back surface of the screen is a micro-textured metallic layer that reacts most to directly incident light giving it a roughly ±20° half-gain angle. A partially absorptive front layer is added to decrease the effect of ambient light. Light coming from the side (ambient) passes through more of the material than on-axis incident light from the projector. Unlike light rejecting screens from dnp (Supernova) and Planar (XScreen) the ambient rejection is not directional - vertical in the case of Supernova and horizontal in the case of XScreen.

According to Rodgers, the screen material was developed in the 4-year-old company’s R&D facilities in Korea and Taiwan and is manufactured in their own plant in China.

At InfoComm, Rodgers said that a number of Japanese start-ups came to them pushing a similar product from small R&D or OEMing from multiple parties. Idea guys with samples, he called them, looking for a manufacturing and/or marketing partner. So, the competition is out there. Acceleroptics presented a similar high-gain metallic front-screen technology for digital signage at the Projection Summit. But that was a rigid product fixed at 100 inches.

Starting at $1999, Elite Screen’s StarBright material is currently available in a variety of fixed and roll-up packaged formats. It comes in standard and custom sizes of 84 to 800 inches in 4:3 or 16:9 format. Custom sizes are also available.

So, how much gain do you need? Clearly that depends on the combination of projector lumen power and ambient light intensity. In public settings for digital signage, another challenge is not just contrast, but creating a high-enough brightness level to compete with other signage. Historically, rear projection has been the best alterative for dealing with ambient light application, but high-gain front projection screens will now be better, thinks Rodgers. I guess we will have to wait to see if he is right.

David Rogers, Marketing Manager, davidrodgers@elitescreens.com, 1-877-511-1211