July 2006 Reviewed by Jeff Van Dyne	Grandview Signature Projection Screen

Description Model: Signature Price: $450 USD Dimensions: 85"W x 49.9"H (80"W x 45"H viewing area) Weight: 20.5 pounds Warranty: One year parts and labor	Features Black velvet-covered alloy frame Fixed-frame design Tension bar system to secure screen PS Series screen material rated at 1.0 gain

My journey through the construction of a dedicated home theater has certainly been educational. The variables involved in selecting and installing a projector alone were far greater than I ever expected. It turns out that selecting a screen isn’t a whole lot different, except that the information available about screens is considerably less reliable.

As with projectors, there’s no single best screen for all situations. You must take into account your viewing conditions, your projector, and, of course, your own preferences. Perhaps most important, don’t buy a screen until after you’ve bought and installed your projector. Once that’s done, get screen samples from as many manufacturers in your price range as possible and put them all to the test. This will quickly weed out screens that are entirely unsuitable, and narrow down the list of contenders. It will also give you an idea of what your preferences are, given your particular set of circumstances.

Before you order screen samples, you need to decide on the type of screen and budget level you’re interested in. This will partly determine what screen materials are available for you to choose from. The first thing to decide is whether to use a permanently tensioned fixed screen, or a manually or electrically retractable roll-up screen. The least expensive are manual roll-up screens, which start at less than $100, but the nontensioned models can develop ripples over time. At the other end of the spectrum are fixed screens with automatic masking systems for various aspect ratios, but these can cost thousands of dollars.

The screens made by Stewart Filmscreen, which are impressive and expensive, have traditionally set the standard by which all screens are judged. The most popular screens are sold by such companies as Da-Lite, Vutec, and Draper, which provide quality screens at more affordable prices. More recently, Carada and Severtson have joined the fray, with lower prices and excellent customer service for screens of comparable quality. Finally, a group of newer companies -- Elite, Saaria, and Grandview -- has emerged to provide the least expensive screens, though their levels of customer service and reliability are still unknown. Reviewed here is Grandview’s Signature fixed-frame projection screen ($450).

The decision

My requirements were driven by a Panasonic PT-AE900 LCD projector in a completely light-controlled room -- I began my search already knowing that the Panasonic is capable of average light output with excellent perceived contrast and good black levels. I looked at everything from Da-Lite and Draper on down, but found that I balk at spending a grand or more on a screen for a projector that cost only $1500 after rebate.

I also found that all of the gray screens, with the exception of the Severtson HC Gray and Da-Lite HCCV, either absorbed too much light or introduced some odd color shift that I found unacceptable. The Severtson and Da-Lite both use coatings to increase the gain to near neutral, but also introduced some sparkling grain similar to, though not as pronounced as, the glass-bead screens of years ago. Some people never see this, but, like pixel structure, it’s something I find terribly distracting. The only time I noticed the phenomenon on the Severtson was with extremely brightly lit scenes, such as the one in Spider-Man 2 in which Spidey (Tobey Maguire) speaks with his dead uncle. However, with the Da-Lite HCCV screen the grain was visible in all but the darkest scenes, and was incredibly distracting during motion pans. The upside of these screen materials is that they help increase contrast and black levels, particularly if you have high ambient light levels. Many people will never see the problems I’ve just described, but this only underscores the importance of getting screen samples before purchasing a screen. I would never consider purchasing a gray screen without first seeing a sample.

Description

The Grandview Signature fixed-frame screen in question measures 85"W x 49.9"H, with a 80"W x 45"H viewing area, and weighs 20.5 pounds. It arrived in a large box containing three smaller boxes, these in turn containing the long frame pieces, the short frame pieces and hardware, and the screen itself. Everything had been carefully packaged to reduce the likelihood of damage in shipping, and my sample arrived unscathed.

Considering the Grandview’s low price, I was expecting some problems, or to discover that some part of the screen looked cheaply built. I was wrong -- the frame rails are made of reasonably heavy aluminum extrusions covered in black velvet flocking in which I found absolutely no wrinkles or imperfections. The rails are only about 2.375" wide, as compared to the 2.75"- or 3"-wide frames of much of the competition. This would reduce structural rigidity somewhat if Grandview hadn’t compensated by not bringing the bevel all the way down to the screen. Instead, the bevel squares off about a half inch above the screen, providing a thicker cross section on the inside of the frame. While this increases structural rigidity, it may also cast a slight shadow along the edge of the screen if you have a light source at one side.

Grandview rates the screen material at 1.0 gain, though I place about as much faith in manufacturers’ screen gain figures as I do in their claims of subwoofer low-frequency extension. The screen is a smooth matte-white vinyl with black backing that feels a bit thicker than most of the competing screen samples I have in-house.

Assembly and installation

The first step in assembling the Grandview is to slide a series of nylon pins and four hanging buckles onto the frame rails. There are red arrows on the backs of the rails to indicate roughly where the pins go. Make sure the buckles are oriented in the proper direction or you’ll have to disassemble the entire frame and start over. Once this preassembly is completed, building the frame is a simple matter of connecting each corner with the heavy L-brackets provided and tightening down all the screws. To attach the screen, you slide four tension rods through pockets at the edge of the screen and stretch the whole thing over the nylon pins you earlier slid onto the frame rails. The instructions suggest that you might want help with this part of the process, but I had no trouble doing it by myself. Even though I stopped every so often to take a photo, it took me less than half an hour to assemble the screen.

Hanging the screen on the wall was a different story entirely, and the only weak point in the design. The hanging buckles are smallish aluminum parts with large keyhole slots in them so the screen can hang from screws anchored into the wall. The first problem with this arrangement is that you have to get the screws exactly level when you anchor them into the wall -- this system provides no means for fine-tuning afterward. Second, while the buckles do slide across the frame rails, getting two buckles at the top and two more at the bottom to exactly line up with the screws in the wall is an exercise in frustration. Even with a second person helping, it took me more than 20 minutes and no small number of four-letter words before the screen was secured to the wall. However, once it was up, it was very secure, and it’s safe to assume it shouldn’t have to be taken down for some time.

Viewing

The real test of a screen is how it performs with movies and video. The Grandview Signature was among the best of the various screens I had on hand for comparison. The first thing I watched was the Superbit version of Spider-Man 2, and it was instantly apparent that the colors were much more vibrant than on my matte-white wall. The Panasonic projector already provided good color saturation against the white wall, but the red of Spidey’s suit really popped with this screen. Putting other samples of white screens up against the Grandview proved very revealing. All the neutral-gain screens were a little dull in comparison; the only screens I liked better in terms of color saturation and brightness were the Carada Brilliant White and Severtson Bright White. Still, the margins of difference were very slim, and noticeable only in direct comparison.

The next film was Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith. Again, color vibrancy was the big story, the most immediately noticeable being the more intense glow of the light sabers. However, it was in the backdrop of stars and the night city scenes that I began to notice improved contrast and black levels. I had assumed that a marginally brighter screen would come at the expense of contrast and black levels, but this was not the case with the Grandview Signature. The black of space was deeper, and the stars shone brighter against this backdrop. The same was true of the city lights, but there was also more detail in the shadows than with the matte-white wall or neutral-gain screen. Most gray screens do a better job with black levels than white screens, though often at the expense of color saturation and white levels. The only real contender among this group of gray screens was the Severtson High Contrast, which performed exceptionally well during the space and night scenes in Star Wars. Among the white screens, the Carada and Severtson were again too close to call.

As I write this, I’m watching a ball game in high definition with the lights on. The picture is watchable if somewhat washed-out, and the colors are a bit dull, but the room is pretty well lit at the moment. The improvement made by the Grandview over the plain white wall is astounding. You would still need a good gray screen to counteract a room with a lot of daylight, but with some lighting control, the Grandview will work well enough for casual viewing.

Conclusion

In absolute terms, the Grandview Signature is very close to similar screens from Da-Lite, Carada, and Severtson. The frame construction is a small notch below each of these but should present no long-term problems other than a small amount of shadowing from a light source off to one side. My only real complaint with the screen is the hanging method, which was a truly painful experience.

A search on the Internet found this screen available from a handful of reliable retailers at prices ranging from $350 to $450, delivered. At the top end of this scale, the screen approaches the price of the Precision Series from Carada, whose outstanding reputation for customer service alone probably justifies the slight premium in price. However, at the bottom end of the scale, the values will be very difficult to ignore for those of us with budget projectors, or who may be considering moving within a few years. For those of us who like to build things on our own, the price and performance of the Grandview Signature made me ask myself: "Why DIY?"

Overall, the Grandview Signature fixed-frame screen is very close in quality to many screens that cost two or three times its street price. Customer service is still a big question mark, but if I were one of the established manufacturers, I’d be worried. Don’t look now, but they’re gaining on you.

Manufacturer contact information:

Grandview Crystal Screen Canada Ltd.
11-3751 North Fraser Way
Marine Way Business Centre
Burnaby, BC V5J 5G4, Canada
Phone: (604) 412-9777
Fax: (604) 412-9796

E-mail: info@grandviewscreen.ca
Website: www.grandviewscreen.ca

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