What are electric projector screens? They’re projector screens that electronically drop-down or retract like a window on a modern car. They cost a lot and require maintenance but they’re worth every penny.
The projector screen is the surface you use in order to see the projector’s projection or image in full fidelity and without distortions. This screen gives you the best and most faithful results for projection-based viewing because it’s a huge reflective surface that’s usually colored white.
It’s also usually hanging on a wall at some distance from the digital projector for the purposes of home entertainment, business presentations, training, education, or marketing. At any rate, what are electric projector screens?
What are Electric Projector Screens?
An electric projector screen or motorized screen is a screen operated by an electric motor. It’s capable of storing or retracting itself so that it’s out of sight and out of mind until the next time you want to use it to fulfill your projection needs.
The motor lowers and raises the screen at the push of a wall switch or remote control button. There are certain models of an electric projector screen with a plug-&-play design. There are others that require a significant installation process, which is the case for the ceiling-recessed screen.
What Does the Electric Projector Screen Offer?
A projector screen installation consists of a support structure and a shiny surface where you’re supposed to display your projection or projected image for the sake of a viewing audience. It produces images much larger than even the biggest plasma or LCD HDTVs for sure.
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Way Better Than Using a Wall
Compared to the wall, the smooth screen affords a high reflectivity value. Therefore, the image ends up brighter on the screen compared to the wall. The screen also enhances the image by giving it a smoother surface to play with, resulting in a truer color rendition than even a white wall.
As for what an electric or motorized screen brings to the table, it’s most convenient. It’s more convenient to have a screen that stores itself away at the push of a button rather than a screen you have to put away manually when not in use.
The ABCs of Shopping for an Electric Projector Screen
When shopping for the best electric or motorized projector screen for your specific make and model of projector, you need to take into consideration the size range, viewing surface type, and mounting method, among other things.
Electric Projectors Screens—A Versatile Solution
The electric projector screen is a versatile solution because the motor retracts the screen back into its casing so that the space it once occupied could now be used once more, like in the case of university or conference room blackboards.
The screen is also protected from dust or dirt because it’s retractable and only used when you want to do a movie screening, TV show marathon, or presentation. There are various ways to mount the device as well.
Wall Mounts vs. Ceiling Mounts
Which is better? Wall mounts or ceiling mounts? With drop-down or retractable projector screens, you can go either way.
- Wall Mount: A wall-mountable electric projector screen is the ideal setup for flat-level wall spaces. It’s also the most common type of screen application. It represents the majority of both residential and commercial screen and projector applications.
- Ceiling Mount: Meanwhile, a ceiling mount attaches the projector and screen to the ceiling so that the floor space isn’t cluttered. Just turn the ceiling-mounted projector on with the drop-down screen and you’re good to go.
A number of people favor the ceiling mode of electric projector screen installation over wall mounting because it’s so handy in large venues such as classrooms, banquet halls, conference rooms, churches, and sanctuaries.
What Type of Motor Should You Go For?
When looking for an electric projector screen, get one with a quiet and power-saving motor. Otherwise, if you require larger screen sizes, you instead need the raw power of a tubular screen motor.
At any rate, electric projector screens can be used for home theater or commercial applications. Thusly, the type of motor you should use depends on the size of the venue and the size of the screen itself for it to be usable.
What are Your Control Options for Electric Projector Screens?
Most projector screens include remotes to control them. Otherwise, they use a wall switch instead (that you need an electrician to install into your home’s or building’s internal wiring). Most remote controls are of the infrared (IR) or radiofrequency (RF) variety.
You can also avail of Electronic “Eye” Receivers as well. You need 12-volt batteries to power these remotes and make them synchronize with the screen and projectors if you’re buying an electric screen and projector combo.
Choose from a Variety of Projector Screen Designs
There are various electric projector screen designs to choose from among many manufacturers. They differ in motor power, materials, color, and reflectivity. Make sure you get certified electric projector screen products to ensure safe indoor air quality emissions to boot.
Classrooms and youth facilities in particular require OSHA compliance as well as IP33 or UL certification to make sure you get only the safest products possible. This is true whether you’re getting a wall or ceiling mount for your motorized retractable screen.
Does the Screen Matter for Your Projector to Work?
A wall can be too rough, too dirty, or too imperfect to view the image produced by your projector in full quality FHD or UHD. It could also rob the brightness of your projector compared to the highly reflective surface of an electric projector screen. To wit:
- The Screen Itself Matters: The electric projector screen matters in terms of its texture, color, and material type because these factors all affect your image quality in their own way. A white screen gives you the best fidelity while the gray screen gives you the best contrast.
A black screen, meanwhile, gives you less observed screen gain which works to really make colors pop off. Certain materials reflect or absorb the light in different ways too. Some materials are better outdoors while others are best used indoors in dark rooms.
- Superior Image Fidelity and Smoothness: Although projectors have become bright enough to allow decent wall-based screenings because of their sheer LED lamp intensity and pixel-dense image sharpness that overcomes wall distortions, screens are still better.
After all, the biggest advantage of any white screen with a slight gain is that its perfectly smooth surface allows you to see the highest-quality version of your projector image. Besides this, these electric screens give you more control in terms of placement and storage.
- The Best Screens Work in Tandem with the Projector: Most screens include a black border so that you can perfectly align the projector image with the borders of the screen at the exact throw distance required. This assists you in framing your TV show or movie videos.
Furthermore, the best screens are available as a combo deal with the projector or they give your projector the least amount of adjustment possible. Then again, even if your projector or screen placement is less than perfect, you can adjust via keystone correction and lens shift.
- The Projector System is the Future of Home Entertainment: A projector system delivers superior display sizes not achievable with even the most expensive plasma or LCD flatscreen HDTVs. The electric projector comes with the extra bonus of retractable storage.
It truly is the “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” screen solution that makes you less worried about screen storage and upkeep. When bundled with a decent projector, they’re truly an unbeatable duo that makes your movie-watching or video-gaming experience truly cinematic.
- Why Electric Projectors are Worthwhile: The main advantage of buying a motorized or electric projector screen is that it’s able to store itself away at the push of your remote control button or wall switch. This leads to less cleanup, storage, and maintenance on your part.
There’s less space wasted on your floor or your wall in case you want to use it for other purposes (like there’s a blackboard or whiteboard behind the screen). Just pull the screen out when needed in tandem with your wall-mounted or ceiling-mounted projector.
Final Thoughts
When searching for electric screen models for your projector, you should pay attention to their specs and how fast they’re able to retract the screen surface using their motor. Look at how powerful the motor is and how quietly it runs.
You should also make sure it comes with a range of control options for good measure. From the wide selection of viewing surfaces in the industry, we’ve narrowed down what we consider the best electric projector screens to two models.
The Top Electric Projector Screens
We recommend YODOLLA 100inch Motorized Projection Screen as the higher-rated and more cost-effective electric or motorized projector screen choice. It’s characterized by its ultra-quiet motor that smoothly lifts or drops down the screen at the push of a button of the wired controller.
It’s an excellent product that’s 100 inches diagonally and supports 4K UHD, 3D, and 1080p FHD video projections for indoor and outdoor use.
Meanwhile, the slightly more expensive Kayle 110″ Motorized Projector Screen has a slightly bigger diagonal measurement of 110 inches, thusly explaining why it costs a whopping about $140 (give or take).
It’s also that big because it can be used beyond the home theater. It’s also availed by businesses for presentation purposes or schools for educational purposes. It also costs an extra about $10 because of its wireless remote and included wall/ceiling mount.
References:
- “Electric Projection Screens“, Draper Inc., Retrieved June 29, 2021
- “Electric Wall/Ceiling Screens“, EliteScreens.com, Retrieved June 29, 2021