I have reviewed a lot of screen materials and design DIY screens as well.

Painted screens are often looked at with disdain and as the 'poor man's' screen, and for some DIY offerings that may be true. An interesting point to ponder though is all vinyl based screens actually start out in a liquid form- not really much different than paint in a sense (but construction and ingrediants are very different). The liquid is formed into vinyl sheets and then additional coatings are applied. That makes it sound easy and of course there is a bit more involved, but the interesting note is it started out in a liquid form.

Some (not all) commercial screen paint companies use specially developed and engineered vinyl polymers that can be rolled or sprayed like paint, but it isn't exactly the same as common house paint. Goo Systems and DIY Theatre commercial screen paints use these specially developed polymers and they actually do make expectional screens contrary to what many may initially think. I dare say that compared to a similar commercial screen material that is the same shade and gain, a person would be hard pressed to identify which is the material screen and which is the polymer 'paint'.

Not only do these types of screens offer consideralble savings, they are also quite flexible in terms of installation requirements. Say you desire a 2.35:1 aspect ration... you can get a custom cut piece of screen material or commercial screen in that AR, but they tend to be a little more expensive. Odd size screens also come to mind, meaning instead of a 120" diagonal screen an installation desires/requires a 132" diagonal screen. Aside from having a custom built commercial screen, these systems easily allow a screen of any size.

Another intriguing use is for an 'invisible' screen. It is possible (but also requires more of the product) to paint an entire wall so when the projector is off it just looks like an ordinary wall. Turn the projector on and you instantly have big screen viewing! Turned off by the thought of no black borders or masking? It is also possible to prime the wall with a magnetic based primer and then have a magnetic border that simply 'sticks' to the wall and can be put up or removed without damaging the surface.

So my point is not to dismiss these companies as inferior, they are just a different method is all and they work surprisingly well too.

Cons: Goo Systems can be tricky to apply, especially if a person isn't a good painter. If you can't paint a room without making a mess or ending up with roller marks and imperfections, I'd opt for a material based commercial screen setup.

Second con is the price. At $200 plus for Goo Systems, it is getting into the cost area of some very good commercial fixed frame screens and depending on the size screen desired there may not be as much price difference as a person thinks, and there are some very good fixed frame screens out there in the $300-$400 range, so like anything in life, check out all the options and see what fits your needs and budget the best, but also and more important- your skills.

Commercial screen paints aren't as low performance as many think they are, but they do have some special installation requirements.

Bill,

Great to see you posting here.

While I am not as much of an enthusiast of DIY screens as perhaps you are - I know industry people who use the Goo screens with great results.

I would rather someone start with a good entry level 1080p projector (think Epson, Panasonic, Sanyo) and a Goo screen than a cheapie plasma or LCD from Costco. Much like a successful crack dealer - I want them hooked on our kind of rock because they will certainly buy more and more in years to come.