EPSON | Presenters Online : Basics > Visuals > Quick Info on Projector Screens

A projector screen is a projector screen is a projector screen, right? Not quite.

While you may be fortunate enough to have a knowledgeable audio-visual professional at your disposal, it is always a good idea to be familiar with the "basics" of screens. You never know when you may have to become the audio-visual professional.

Over the past few years, screens have become quite sophisticated. Today’s screens are designed for optimal performance in specific settings. Depending upon audience size, room specifications, and the type of media shown, audiovisual professionals use various types of screens to achieve peak performance.

The four main types of screens are high gain, low gain, silver lenticular, and rear projection. Below are the basics of each type of screen.

High Gain

A high gain screen has a reflective screen surface designed to provide optimal brightness for images. It is an excellent screen to use for small groups in a brightly-lit room. However, the main disadvantage of this type of screen is that it has a narrow viewing area (60 degrees). So, if you are in a large conference room or have audience members at a sharp angle from the screen, you may want to use a low gain screen.

Low Gain

A low gain screen is matte white. This type of screen is used for larger audiences because it provides a much larger viewing area (100 degrees). With this type of screen, you may need to dim the lights for your presentation in order to achieve the same level of perceived image brightness as a high gain screen.

Silver Lenticular

Silver lenticular screens are designed for bright rooms with larger audiences. The main disadvantage of this type of screen is that transparencies and video do not project well.

Rear Projection

Rear projection screens are used when the projector is placed behind the screen. These types of screens tend to be more expensive and fragile. They are typically used in fixed placement applications such as conference rooms and movie theaters.