Know all Your Measurements Before Installation

This customer is doing it right. He wants to perform a DIY install of an electric projector screen in his house but rather than going strictly on what the website and printed material says, he reaches out to Elite’s service department just to make sure he isn’t missing anything. The chat proved successful because team member, Rick had a plethora of knowledge to share. In this discussion, Rick walked the customer through the full process of measuring a projector screen’s actual dimensions so that it is neither too large nor too small for the installation. Disaster was averted and the customer found a size that is ideal for his wall instead of the oversized model he had planned.

*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 Rick – Thank you for contacting Elite Screens Technical Support. This is Rick, how may I help.
8:08:40 AM Matt – I’m planning to install an elite motorized screen on my own
8:08:51 AM Matt – The wall I have is 99 inches wide
8:09:01 AM Matt – Can I go with this screen from elite?
8:09:02 AM Matt – (URL for Spectrum 106 16:10 electric projector screen selling online)
8:10:59 AM Rick – This will be a good size for your home in general, but I don’t recommend this unit if your wall space is only 99″ wide. The screen’s viewing surface is 90 inches wide but the whole unit is 103.1 in overall size. I recommend either a smaller projection screen or another installation location like the ceiling or another wall.
8:11:11 AM Rick – 106-inch Diagonal, 16:10 Aspect Ratio. View Size: 56.2″ H x 90.0″ W. Overall Size: 66.2″ H x 103.1″ W. Black Case.
8:11:25 AM Matt – What does overall size mean
8:11:34 AM Matt – is it the black bar at the top?
8:12:30 AM Rick – It means the oversize of the unit meaning including the width of the metal housing that the screen retracts into; the projection surface itself plus the black borders that matte each side and even the counterweight (weight bar) at the bottom of the screen. All of these must measure within your allotted space or the installation won’t work.
8:12:56 AM Rick – 56.2 high x 90 wide is the white portion (projection surface) of the screen. This is the actual view size.
8:13:05 AM Matt – cant I install on the ceiling?
8:13:39 AM Rick – Yes, that is the next option I recommend if you are set on not buying a smaller screen.
8:13:39 AM Matt – So the way the room is laid plays a big role…
8:14:27 AM Matt – Will the screen (white portion with black borders) hang out of the wall?
8:16:26 AM Rick – Depending on how far you would like to mount it on the ceiling if you have it close to the wall the screen will protrude about 2 inches wider than the wall at either end. When mounted to the wall, the screen material is about a ½ inch from the wall itself.
8:16:44 AM Matt – So here are my room dimensions…
8:16:52 AM Matt – 99 inch wall
8:17:07 AM Matt – and then 25 inch entry way
8:17:52 AM Matt – so the top portion is 99+25 inches
8:18:03 AM Rick – So one edge will protrude about 4-inches out into your entry way. It’s not my preferred ideal. I recommend either a smaller screen or another point of installation. Here is the dimension table to reference from. Maybe this can give you some more options.
8:18:04 AM Rick – http://elitescreens.com/images/download/material/DimensionsTable/spectrum_dims.pdf
8:20:14 AM Matt – According to this, the case length is 103” correct?
8:22:38 AM Rick – Yes, that is correct. 103 inches.
8:23:26 AM Matt – I mean is it the top black bar>
8:24:30 AM Rick – the top black bar is the distance between the bottom of the housing and top of the viewing screen.
8:27:36 AM Matt – Okay, I see now. Well, my heart is set on no smaller than 106” and even though I’d like the screen to drop down in front of my 32” flat screen TV, that extra 4 inches of casing sticking out into my entry way won’t look good. I think that what I should do is rearrange my whole living room turning all the furniture 90 degrees to face the side wall since it is over 10 feet wide. There is a connection there anyway so I can relocate the screen and TV to that wall instead. I have a ceiling joist that I can (Ceiling) mount the projection screen to and it will give enough spacing to drop down the screen in front of the TV without either getting in the other’s way. Also, I can rotate the projector 90 degrees and maybe move the install a couple inches, and the throw distance will be perfect. Thank you for helping me think this through. I have already run cable for my ceiling mounted projector so the hard stuff is done. Looks like I’ll be doing a little re-decorating now.
8:28:10 AM Rick – It was my pleasure to help. If you need anything else, we’re here to answer more questions. Thank you for your inquiry and thank you for choosing Elite Screens.