5 (lousy) arguments used by solid screens promoters

1) “I have seen a fantastic home theatre installation with the L & R front speakers on either side a solid screen and centre speaker being below.”

• This set up maybe impressive on some action scenes but the dialogue is detached from the screen breaking the illusion. Simply, this makes you lose the suspension of disbelief.

• Solid Screens does not allow the centre channel to be placed behind the screen, thus the illusion vanishes. This problem is eliminated only by using an Acoustically Transparent screen.

2) “I am a videophile; I don’t want anything but a perfect image. This can only be achieved with a solid screen”

• You don’t have to sacrifice anything ! Enlightor 4K screen material provides both the ultimate imaging your projector can achieve: When looking closely at it, you wouldn’t guess it is an Acoustically Transparent fabric.

• Still, it is Acoustically Transparent and will give you the ultimate theatrical experience at home.

3)“Acoustically Transparent screens are too expansive when compared to solid screens.”

• The price difference is relatively small compared to the whole installation. There is no point in spending a lot of money on high-end gear and missing a crucial element.

• If you’re on a limited budget saving a little bit on other equipment and installing it properly with an Acoustically Transparent screen with centre speaker behind it, will give the most satisfying performance you can expect.

4)“In most recording studios, the control monitors are used without front grille as the sound quality is critical. I want the best possible sound, and I don’t want to spoil it with a screen in front of the speakers”

• True for music recording studios but in cinematic (movie) studios, the speakers are always behind an A.T. screen, exactly like in commercial theatres.

• Screen Excellence screens have excellent acoustical transparency

• Never a centre speaker is placed near to the floor in a recording studio

5)“There is no point in making all that fuss about the location of the centre speaker, as long as the main speakers (Left and Right) are properly located on each side of the screen, in a good acoustical environment.”

• In the world of Cinema (Movie Theater) the centre channel is the main channel !In typical surround material the centre channel carries 70% - 90% of the information.

• The centre channel is the most important speaker so it’s worth getting its location right: In the centre of the screen and behind it !

Image by courtesy of Beyond the Invisible

5 Good reasons to use an Acoustically Transparent projection screen

1) All commercial theatres use an Acoustically Transparent screen with three front loudspeakers placed behind it. All cinematic studios monitor loudspeakers are installed the same way. The sound is recorded as it is intended to be played back.

2) When you see the image of an actor speaking on the screen, you expect the sound to come from the actors’ mouth, not from somewhere below or above the screen.

The whole theatrical experience relies on the “suspension of disbelief”. Sight and hearing are, for most of us, reliable perceptions. Displaying a visual image coincident with the corresponding sound has a tremendous power to create the illusion of reality.

If the sound and the image are not merged together both in time (lip-sync) and in space (speaker location) this illusion is broken.

Since the early days of talking movies the cinema industry has used Acoustically Transparent screens to give the best illusion and involvement.

3) When the image of a sounding object is travelling from, say, left to right of the screen, the sound is supposed to follow the same path.

Here (above) is what is supposed to happen, and how the sound engineer designed it.

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And there (below) is what actually happens with a solid screen:When the sound source crosses the screen, it dips as it nears the centre instead of faithfully following the path of the source.

This effect is quite funny (even ludicrous !), but it inevitably makes you lose the illusion of reality:

You immediately realize that you are not in the action, but watching a movie played back by a system that has its (serious) inherent flaws.

4) Acoustically transparent screens allow you to place the centre channel at ear level and to get the best fidelity avoiding nasty short path-length reflections.

5) Just think it’s one or three less loudspeaker(s) for your wife/girlfriend/interior designer to ’admire’ !

Don’t just take our word for it ! Try the comparison yourself.

• ·Select good quality program with a singer or a close speech. Avoid dubbed soundtracks.

• ·Ensure delays are correctly set to give proper lip-sync and get the best result.

• ·Use a system with an Acoustically Transparent screen and two centre speakers, one below the screen and the other centrally positioned behind the screen.

• ·Then playback dialogue scenes and switch from one centre speaker to the other.

A good dealer or installer should be able to organize this test for comparison.

Now, run the test and make a decision which system gives the most involvement and dramatic impact !