By Bob Gatton
November 9, 2006—In the last few years front projectors have both greatly increased in picture quality and the cost has decreased dramatically. While not cheap, a system with a really large picture is now in the realm of affordability for many.
If you are on a budget, you could shoot the projector on a white wall. It will work adequately, but screen manufacturers have spent a great deal of time and money developing the coatings they use on their products. The optical properties of the screen enhance the contrast and color of the picture compared to a white wall. With a quality screen the picture will be more vivid, more true to life.
There are many manufacturers of high quality screens. Some screens are wall-mounted, and some retract into the ceiling. One company, Goo Systems, makes a two-step specially formatted, highly reflective, color-corrected acrylic coating in liquid form (Goo-to-English translation: paint) that you can apply to a standard smooth wall.
Using this paint, you can make the "screen" any size you want. My favorite is to paint an entire wall with Goo Systems paint. No matter what kind of television is currently in your home, I am sure that you have experienced black bars on the sides or top and bottom of the screen. Or the picture is stretched or parts of the picture are 'chopped off'. By painting the entire wall you will never have black bars again and can make the picture larger or smaller at will.
Why would you paint a screen on a wall instead of just purchasing a screen? A few reasons include the following:
Cost. The Goo System Kit has an MSRP of $199.00. Virtually all regular screens cost many times this amount.
Flexibility. If you want to change the size of the screen, simply paint more area, or cover up part of the screen with regular wall paint.
Reparability. If the painted screen is damaged, it can be touched up very easily.
Goo Systems sells different types of base and top coat paints (oops, sorry: specially formatted, highly reflective, color corrected, acrylic coatings in liquid form'). On its website, the company has a product calculator to tell you how much you need. Simply enter in the screen size, the projector model and how much light is typically in the room, and it will determine the right product to use for your application.
Goo can be applied to any smooth, flat paintable surface. If the surface is not smooth, it should be sanded down and wiped off prior to applying the Screen Goo base coat. Porous surfaces such as drywall, plywood, particle board and MDF should be sealed with a flat white latex primer prior to applying the base coat. Colored surfaces also should be primed with flat white latex.
Even though the entire process takes several hours—most of that time is spent waiting for the product to dry—the actual application time is about 60 minutes. In an hour, you can create a custom screen. Follow the instructions, and you will end up with a great screen.
For a more finished look, the folks at Goo Systems have recently introduced Screen Flock. It's a four-inch wide, black velvet-finished tape used to frame the screen. Not only does this give the screen a more professional look, but the non-reflective black border also delivers a perceived increase in brightness and contrast.
To Goo or not to Goo? This is definitely one of my favorites. I'll Goo.
Bob Gatton is a Knoxville, Tenn.-based home-theater and electronics consultant and writer.
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