In part 1 of my Home Theater on a budget series, I reviewed the Boxlight SE-13HD Multimedia Projector. In part 2, I will cover the actual screen that the projector shines upon, the Da-Lite Perm Wall screen.

With the arrival of the shipment, I was pleasantly surprised at how small the box was. With a screen that's overall almost 9' wide, I expected to have a huge box that was cumbersome and heavy. What did arrive was about 8"x8"x5' and weighed about 20lbs. The frame itself was disassembled into 4 pieces with 4 corners. The screen was carefully rolled in between padded tissue paper, which did a great job to protect it during shipping.

Assembly was relatively easy, but the directions had to be followed to a "T" in order for the whole thing to work. Since its a permanent screen, the frame needed to be drilled through and screwed into the wall studs. While the bottom half was secured, the corners had to be measured to make sure the frame was plumb (i.e. perfect 90 degree corners), otherwise the screen would not fit. If you take your time, then this is a relatively easy process.

The screen itself snaps into place with several dozen snaps located toward the edge of the screen. These served to pull the screen tight and if done properly leaves no wrinkles. The snaps on the outside are painted black and aren't attractive. The solution I came up with is to make a small wooden frame and cover it with black felt cloth. This can be attached via velcro and adhesive and does a nice job of finishing the overall appearance of the assembly.

The overall dimension of this screen when assembled is roughly 55" x 95". Approximately 1 1/2 inches surrounding the border is unusable, leaving a projector screen measuring 52" x 92". This 16x9 screen (the ratio of the width to the height) produces a diagonal screen length of 106". I can hear people now as they ask themselves "why would I need a TV that's almost 9 feet wide". Well, the answer can come only after you see it in person.

Once the projector was installed, the screen showed its true magic. It has an overall gain of 1.3 which makes it easy to view in all light sources. For best picture, I highly recommend that you use blackout screens for any windows that might be in the room. You can, however, watch while there is indirect lighting in the room (i.e. flood lights or anything that doesn't shine directly into the screen). This way, you won't have to fumble for the remote if your night vision isn't the best.

This screen is slightly gray in appearance as it is designed to accentuate black levels in LCD and DLP style projectors (these style projector's weakness is their inability to show true black.....this screen helps to fix that problem.)

With the previously reviewed projector, you achieve a true life like picture that is sometimes awe inspiring. When you combine the cost of the projector, screen, and wires, you get a very affordable setup that compares with many new rear projection TVs. If you are in the market for a larger than life, movie style picture, then look no further than this cinema screen. You'll thank yourself for this every time you sit to watch a movie.

Recommended: Yes