What do you think is the most important piece of equipment in a Home Cinema?

What do you think is the most important piece of equipment in a Home Cinema?

The spontaneous reaction to such a question might vary according to the person. 

Some might say “the projector” if they are image-minded, while others will mention “the speakers” if they are audiophiles. Others might say “a server” and Grand Dad will opt for the armchairs… and to some degree they are all correct as the beauty is in the eye of the beholder... 

On the other hand,  think a little bit deeper...

What do you see in a cinema room, when the light is off?

The screen

What do you hear when the movie starts?

The screen - sound travelling through the screen

Where does the action happen?

On the screen

This is a fact, once the lights are dimmed, the screen is all you perceive.

The screen is your window to virtual reality, and all the other pieces of equipment are dedicated to support the suspension of disbelief.

The screen is defining the size and the shape (flat or curved) of this window and it will be –for the duration of the show / movie - to support of the whole cinematic experience.

Now, would you regard the screen as an “accessory”? 
Would you accept a cheap screen to be given as a side gift to help promote the sale of a projector?

Definitely not, the screen is really capable of making your Home Cinema great success or a severe disappointment.

How to design your best Home Cinema

Plan your room

The first step is to start from the plan of your room. You will first define the audience area.

From this, you will define the size of the screen so that the rearmost seat provides a viewing angle of more than 36° and the front seat a viewing angle of less than 46°

This gives you a good indication of the screen width. 

Curved or Flat Screen

Now, you have to select between the curved and flat shape. Typically, a curved shape is more immersive and cinema-like. A flat shape will be better suited to sports or TV programs. 

Aspect Ratio

Then you will want to decide a native aspect ratio. Again, the 2.35/1, 2.37/1, 2.40/1 are best suited to most contemporary movies, whereas 16/9 corresponds to the vast majority of TV programs and sport events. So the aspect ration depends on your favourite programs.

Note that a 2.37/1 screen should be wider than a 16/9 screen, typically. So you should aim at a viewing angle of about 45° for a 2.37/1 (WS) screen and rather 40° or less for an HD (1.78/1) screen at the best seat location.

Acoustic Transparency

Now if you are sensible, you will want the sound to come from the image and not from elsewhere. This means that your screen has to be Acoustically Transparent.
Of course, you need to select among screens those offering the best Acoustic Transparency.

Of course you don’t want any spurious moiré effect or any artefact. This discards all perforated or “microperforated” screens that provide a visible regular pattern interfering with the pixels pattern. It also discards coarse woven screens, for the same reason.

Infinite Black Velvet

Not to be distracted by a defect on the whole presentation, you will need to slightly overscan the image so that the screens black borders exactly re-frame the picture. So you need the frame to be absorbing efficiently all the light projected on it.

So your screen needs to provide a frame with a “blacker than black” velvet coating.

Ultra HD

Next, you will realize that Ultra HD (aka 4K resolution) is becoming the new standard in video projection, approaching film-like imaging quality. So you will need a screen projection surface that does not limit the video resolution –in other words, that does not exhibit any visible weave pattern – This is more difficult, but it is what you really need.

Now you “tick all boxes” and you will have the specifications for your ideal screen. 

The good news is that such a screen does exist. It is a Screen Excellence with the Enlightor 4K projection surface.

Enquire now about Screen Excellence, and get your free gift when registering with us.

As you begin your design for the perfect home theatre / cinema - it should start with the screen as that is where all the focus will be placed.