Earlier this year, Draper was asked by Commercial Integrator Europe—a publication geared, obviously, toward European AV integrators—to write an article on projection screens and ambient light. Steve Cook, our National AV Consultant Manager, got to work and soon had the piece finished.
It turned out so well that we decided to expand upon the original, shorter piece for CI Europe and develop our own white paper on the subject. The resulting white paper, entitled “The Right Screen for Ambient Light-Commercial Settings,” focuses on commercial projection environments; stay tuned for a version targeted at the residential market in the coming weeks.
Public spaces, multi-purpose areas, churches, and large venues can offer real challenges to a projection system—not least because of ambient light issues and a typical need for wide viewing angles.
One thing these types of installation don’t need is a standard 1.0 gain matt white projection screen surface. White screens aren’t a good choice for rooms with ambient light conditions; they’re very diffusive and spread light in a very wide pattern. Unfortunately, white screens do this with both projection light and room ambient light, so both types of light then compete at the viewer’s eyes.
That’s why if there is a good amount of ambient light in the room we recommend an ambient light rejecting screen.
Because people have been using 1.0 gain white projection screens for so long, however, we still see them in use—even in those multi-purpose rooms with ambient light. Besides habit, cost is a big reason we still see matt white screens being used. This trend is especially prevalent in sectors where budgets are tight, such as K-12 education construction.
To continue reading this white paper, or to download/print a PDF version, please click here.
