Visage Screen Overview, Build Quality, Measurements

Front projection systems are becoming very popular due to the high performance price ratio. Installing a front projector in your home can transform your system from the average run of the mill home theater into a true home cinema. However, the down side of front projection systems is their ability to overcome ambient light issues.

This one obstacle, more than any another, dismisses front projection systems from many rooms and requires the individual to look at fixed panel technology to overcome the ambient light issues. For all of you that have these challenges and you have been dreaming of a front projection system, your day has arrived and your waiting might be over.

Screen Innovations, a company headquartered in Austin , Texas has recently introduced a new revolutionary screen. It is called the Visage (formerly referred to as the'Mirage') and it has the ability to overcome light-filled rooms even with moderately bright front projection systems. The new breakthrough screen uses a patented high contrast filter that covers 60% of the screen surface. This enables the projected image to be reflected by the screen while at the same time absorbing ambient incidental light from other angles produced by windows and room lighting.

The screen image is almost unaffected by the ambient light while simultaneously maintaining a bright, punchy projected image. Screen Innovations claims 10x the contrast ratio and 2x the brightness over conventional screens (2.0 gain). The new screen is compatible with all CRT, DLP, LCD, and LCOS front projection systems. Screens are available in 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios and sizes of 60-inces to 120-inches diagonal.

  The standard finish on the 3.5-inch contoured frame is black felt, but Screen Innovations offers 10 custom finishes and even 4 wood trims to match any decor. Even the most discriminating designers would be pleased with the broad selection available.

For the purpose of this evaluation, we decided to order the Visage Reference 92-inch diagonal (45 舡 x 80 舡 ) standard screen. The screen is very well packed in a large wood crate to prevent damage. This type of packing is necessary because the screen arrives fully assembled and ready to be installed.

Unpacking and Build Quality

Unpacking the Visage screen, we found the build quality meticulously impeccable. We could find absolutely no flaw of any kind in the structure of the screen. The 3.5-inch frame is beautifully constructed and the mitered joints look like something engineered for NASA. Elegant crushed, hammered velvet covers the entire screen frame and the Screen Innovations logo graces the lower right corner. The screen material is solid and this provides a 100% tensioned wrinkle free-smooth screen surface. We were absolutely astounded by the detailed build quality of the Visage. 舠 Gorgeous 舡 would be an understatement.

The Visage screen is very easy to install thanks to the Screen Innovations convenient mounting system. The installer need only be equipped with a low torque screw gun, level, tape measure, and pencil. Mark a level line on the wall at the correct mounting height; the mounting bracket is then installed ensuring the bracket is level using the supplied deck screws .

Installation Note #1: The installer should be able to attach the mounting bracket to the wall studs. If this is not possible, the use of heavy-duty wall anchors can be utilized.

The heavy-duty wall anchors are available at most hardware stores and can support 30-50 lbs each. The anchors are self tapping but drilling a small pilot hole prior to installation aids in the installation. After the wall-mounting bracket is installed, level, and square on the wall surface, carefully pick up the screen and hang it on the wall bracket.

The manufacturer claims one person can accomplish this task, but for safety we recommend using a helper for the installation. Make sure your hands are clean or use clean cotton gloves to prevent soiling the luxurious velvet finish on the frame. Once the screen is mounted on the wall bracket, all that's left to do is check to ensure the system is level and centered. If the screen is not perfectly centered on the bracket, you can gently tap on either side of the screen frame to slide it one direction or the other.

When we evaluate projectors and screens, most often we need to have total light control or wait until it becomes dark to start the evaluation. This is not the case with the new Visage screen. We started the evaluation of the screen during the day with all the widows and blinds open, causing the room to be completely flooded with ambient light.

Projector Screen Measurements (Ambient Room )

Obviously it is much better to have a light controlled environment to perform measurement tasks, but we were curious how the Visage screen would fair in a non-light controlled room using the Sencore 5000 color analyzer. To our surprise we were able to obtain some pretty solid gray scale tracking and color temperature balance at 80, 90 and 100 IRE. Anything below 80 IRE was pretty much immeasurable because of all the light in the room.

Installation Note #2: We noticed that the projector must be installed within 5 degrees of the projected image height either above or below the screen. If the projector is installed outside of this requirement, performance will be diminished dramatically. This is due to the ambient light filtering properties of the screen. This means, unfortunately, that if you have an ambient light source directly behind the projector broadcasting light on the screen it will also affect screen performance, so you'll want to try and limit ambient light interference coming from the same direction as the projected image.

Using the Optoma H-72 1280x720 DLP projector currently under loan from Projector People for an upcoming review, we started with the daytime broadcast of the Winter Olympics and Speed TV . What, you were expecting Oprah or Days of our Lives ?

A word about screen shots: It was very difficult to obtain picture perfect screen shots of the screen with all the ambient light in the room. This had more to do with the limitations of our Olympus digital camera than the Visage screen's ability to display the image.

When we started viewing the projected images, it was hard to believe we were viewing a front projection system. The image looked more like it was being viewed on a conventional CRT television. Colors were bright, punchy, sharp, and vibrant.

The Visage screen did an absolutely wonderful job of overcoming the huge amount of ambient light that was abundant in the room. We did a direct A/B comparison of how well the screen stacked up against our 42 舡 Panasonic LCD TV in the same lighting conditions and were very surprised to find very little difference in the brightness of the image.

No monitoring surface is perfect when having to deal with direct ambient light. The Visage was no different. When the sunlight streamed through the open windows, broadcasting directly on the left side of the screen the image did wash out. It would also do the exact same thing on any monitor placed in that position. Even the CRT monitor, we are using to type this review!

The bottom line is that this is the first screen we have tested that you can view in the daytime and be able to achieve a watchable image. In fact, no other screen material that we have tested to date even comes close to the performance level obtained with the Visage. To summarize the experience with the Visage during daytime viewing, we felt like a vampire that had been cured from the nighttime curse and now free to enjoy the warmth of the sunshine. Watching Nascar and the Olympics during the day on a 92-inch diagonal was an exhilarating experience to say the least.