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ALR and what “Angular Reflective” means

by on July 14, 2017 with No Comments

Ambient Light Rejecting (ALR) materials are essential in creating TV panel brightness even with a high presence of ambient light. However, ALR materials can enhance your overall video experience.  It can also allow your projector to still provide a good image at a lower output  (Power-save / Eco Mode) setting . In addition to this, there are two major categories of materials that are identified as “ALR”.  These are “Angular” which reflects light at the opposite point of obliquity to that of the angle of incidence.  This is the best choice for ALR in a commercial setting and for “Informal Home Theater” or “projected TV” applications in residential settings.

*The discussion below is based on actual chat transcripts with the omission of any personal/confidential material to protect the customer’s privacy. An example in this case is to change the contact’s identification name/number  to “Customer” or a generic name.

 

Transcripts:

  • 4:00:00 PM          Johnny – Thank you for contacting Sales department.  This is Johnny, how may I help you?
  • 9:46:27 AM         Keith – Hello I have the Epson 5040 projector and enough space to fit a 110″ screen.  I was thinking of going with your Aeon edgeless (edge-free) screen but I’m unsure if I should get a white or grey material.
  • 9:47:05 AM         Johnny – Thank you for your interest.  Do you have controlled lighting in this room ?
  • 9:47:17 AM         Keith – I have a designated theater room but the walls are not painted black, almost a cream color and I was told even though I can control the light I can’t control the reflected light from the projector onto the walls. I have full control over the ambient light but the walls are light colored.
  • 9:48:24 AM         Johnny – Your decision is entirely up to your personal preference here.  Since you can control your room lighting, a matte white screen will work just fine for most viewers.  However, it is correct that light reflecting off the room’s light colored walls will produce ambient light and to some, that’s just not good enough.  Many video-aficionados would prefer either painting the walls in a dark color or using an ambient light rejecting (ALR) screen to maximize true image clarity, color temperature and dynamic range.
  • 9:48:47 AM         Keith – Is Cinegrey “matte grey” the same thing as “Cinegrey 3D”?
  • 9:49:19 AM         Johnny – No, Cinegrey is a basic matte grey that works well with older (higher gain/lower contrast) projectors.  Cinegrey 3D® is an actual ALR material that boosts picture brightness even with the room lights on. Its angular reflective design is ideal for an “Informal Home Theater” or “projected TV” applications in residential settings.  Since it reflects at the opposite angle of incidence, its perfect for ceiling mounted projectors in homes, sports bars or the best resorts.
  • 9:49:26 AM         Keith – Now why is the grey advertised as 3d? Does 3d not show up as well on the white?
  • 9:50:41 AM         Johnny – Active 3D uses electronic-powered 3D glasses. It will work with either a polarized or matte white material  because active 3D glasses never allow more than one eye to see the 3D image.  It just flashes so fast, you don’t notice it’s happening. Cinegrey 3D® is actually polarized so that it will work with Passive 3D as well.  Passive 3D has both the right and left eye images appear on the material at exactly the same time.  In order for this to work, a polarized material is necessary to separate the contrasting imagery so that each eye can comfortably receive a different signal to create the optical illusion of the image literally coming off the screen.
  • 9:50:49 AM         Keith – So would you recommend a Fixed screen and Cinegrey 3d material in my case?
  • 9:52:14 AM         Johnny – The CineGrey3D® material will give you the best performance overall.  It will maximize your image quality in the light or dark.  Cinegrey 3D® will work better with your light walls and you can use it in lieu of a large TV panel…and dwarf even a large flat panel at a fraction of the cost.  It also handles either passive or active 3D as we discussed.
  • 9:52:46 AM         Keith – sounds like you are not worried about the light from the projector hitting my walls
  • 9:53:18 AM         Johnny – If you are thinking about a matte white material, it’s worth consideration.  I just want you to have the best choice for your installation and I feel in this case, an ALR would still be best. Since you are concerned about the effects of ambient light, here is an article we provided on the subject: http://elitescreens.com/front/front/newsdetail/news/269
  • 9:53:20 AM         Keith – So if I paint my walls a darker color and I’m not that interested in Passive 3D, a matte white material would be fine even by professional standards?
  • 9:53:29 AM         Johnny – It certainly would.  Our CineWhite matte white material  is cheaper in cost but high in quality even if it does not provide the specialized performance of the Cinegrey 3D materials. Our CineWhite material, is one of our best and most popular brands.
  • 9:53:48 AM         Johnny – I can always send you material swatches if you’d prefer.
  • 9:54:37 AM         Keith – Thanks, one last question.  If cost isn’t an issue is there any drawback to getting the acoustic pro UHD over the standard white? I was just thinking in case I put speakers behind the screen in the future. I wasn’t sure if it’s not as good.
  • 9:55:31 AM         Johnny – Our Acoustically Transparent (AT) materials  are excellent in sound and picture performance but even though the fabric  has no holes, the acoustically transparent weave allows some light to bleed through so it’s not quite as bright as the CineWhite material.  It won’t be an issue in your environment though. Should you install wall speakers, an AT material will work nicely in your media room.
  • 9:56:15 AM         Keith – Perfect, thanks Johnny. How does the sample ordering process go and how big are the samples
  • 9:56:5 AM            Johnny – That’s easy.  The samples are almost the size of a sheet of paper, and you can order from this link here: http://shop.elitescreens.com/material-sample.aspx
  • 9:57:17 AM         Keith – I appreciate the help, thanks so much.
  • 9:57:26 AM         Johnny –  It’s my pleasure. Thank you for choosing Elite Screens.
Link: http://elitescreens.com/front/front/cms/slug/request-a-call-back