You have invested in a great projector to finally bring real cinema feeling into your home. But now you face the next challenge: the screen.

It can be frustrating. You encounter a jungle of technical terms like "gain factor," "ALR," "tension," and "UST." Prices range from under €100 to several thousand euros. Where do you start? And maybe a plain white textured wallpaper would suffice after all?

This guide is your map. We will lead you step by step from this confusion to a clear decision. We decode the technical jargon and show you how to find the one screen that unlocks the full potential of your projector and perfectly fits your room.

Here is a quick overview to help you grasp the main differences at a glance. Details on each point can be found further down in the article.

Quick overview: The 4 most important screen types compared

More than just a white wall: Why a screen is indispensable

Let's start with the most common question: "Isn't a smooth, white wall enough?"

In short: No, if you care about image quality. Even the smoothest wall has a texture that scatters light uncontrollably. Textured wallpaper is even more problematic. The result: colors appear washed out, details blur (especially at high 4K resolution), and the black level is more of a dull gray.

The most important, often overlooked factor is flatness. A screen is designed to provide a perfectly flat surface. Wrinkles, waves, or "ears" (rolling edges), as seen in cheap solutions, distort the image geometry and make fine details blurry.

A dedicated screen is a specially developed optical surface that reflects light precisely, maximizes contrast, and reproduces colors as the director intended.

The 4 main types of screens: Which one suits you?

The first big decision concerns the design. This depends almost exclusively on your room and usage.

Type 1: Fixed frame screen (The permanent cinema solution)

A fixed frame screen is like a painting permanently mounted on the wall. The fabric is permanently stretched over a rigid frame.

• Advantages: Offers the best possible, permanently perfect flatness. Often equipped with a black velvet frame that absorbs stray light and increases perceived contrast.
• Disadvantages: It is always visible and permanently takes up wall space.
• Ideal for: Dedicated home cinema rooms where the screen can be a central design element.

Type 2: Manual pull-down screen (The flexible classic)

This is the classic screen manually pulled down from a case on the ceiling or wall.

• Advantages: Disappears completely when not in use, frees the wall, and is usually the cheapest option.
• Disadvantages: Highly prone to waves and rolling edges ("ears") over time. This lack of flatness significantly impairs image sharpness.
• Ideal for: Occasional use, conference rooms, or budgets where price is more important than perfect image quality.

Type 3: Motorized screen (Comfort meets integration)

Similar to a pull-down screen but retracts at the push of a button (remote control or trigger). High-quality motorized screens are often "tension" or "cable tension" screens.

• Advantages: Very high comfort. Tension systems use side cables to actively stretch the fabric, ensuring much better flatness than normal pull-downs.
• Disadvantages: Requires a power connection, more expensive than manual versions.
• Ideal for: High-quality living room home cinemas where the screen should be invisibly integrated without compromising flatness.

Especially innovative models are so-called floor-rising screens, which rise from a slim floor-standing case when needed. This is ideal if ceiling or wall mounting is not possible.

Type 4: Tripod & portable screens (For on the go)

These screens are designed for transport.

• Advantages: Maximally portable for presentations or movie nights in the garden.
• Disadvantages: Lack of stability and often the worst flatness.
• Ideal for: Anything except a serious home cinema setup.

Understanding the screen fabric: Gain, color, and contrast

After choosing the design, the most important part comes: the fabric. This determines how good your image really looks.

What is the gain factor? (And why 1.0 is often perfect)

The gain factor measures how much a screen reflects light compared to a standardized white reference surface.

• 1.0 (matte white): This is the universal standard. The screen reflects light evenly in all directions (wide viewing angle) and is color neutral. In a darkened room, this is often the best choice.
• >1.0 (high gain): Amplifies light and makes the image brighter. The downside: the viewing angle becomes smaller and "hotspots" (visibly brighter spots) can appear.
• <1.0 (gray/contrast): These fabrics "absorb" light to improve black levels. They are a good compromise for living rooms with some ambient light.

White, gray, or black? The fabric color and your room

• White fabrics (gain 1.0 - 1.2): The first choice for dedicated, completely darkened home cinemas. Here they can fully exploit their potential for color fidelity and brightness, which is especially important for HDR in home cinema .
• Gray fabrics (gain <1.0): These "contrast screens" are the classic trick for living rooms. They absorb some ambient light and improve black levels, since "black" on a screen is just the absence of light.

The revolution in the living room: ALR & CLR contrast screens

For most people, a completely dark "cinema basement" is not an option. We want to watch in the living room, with dimmed light or even during the day. This is where modern technologies come into play.

The problem: Ambient light is the enemy of contrast

Stray light from windows (side) or ceiling lamps (above) hits the screen and brightens the entire image. Contrast collapses, the image looks dull and washed out.

The solution: ALR (Ambient Light Rejecting) screens

ALR screens are a technological masterpiece. They are no longer passive reflectors but active optical filters.

They have a special surface structure (e.g., microscopically small louvers or lenses) designed to actively reject or absorbambient light from above or the sides. At the same time, the light coming from the projector is specifically reflected.

toward the viewer. The result: An amazingly contrast-rich, vivid, and TV-like image – and a real answer to theprojector-or-TV

question.

Special case: Why short-throw & laser projectors (UST) need special screens A trend in home cinema isultra-short-throw projectors (UST)

, also called "laser TVs." These devices stand directly in front of the wall (or on a lowboard) and project the image at an extremely steep upward angle.

This poses a special challenge that many buyers overlook.

The problem of the shallow angle

If you point a UST projector at a normal matte white screen, it will mostly reflect the light upward to the ceiling – away from your eyes. If you point it at a standard ALR screen, it will also block the light because it is trained to interpret light from "below" (the projector) as stray light.

The mandatory solution: CLR & special UST-ALR screens

For UST projectors, you absolutely need a screen optimized for this shallow angle. They are often called CLR (Ceiling Light Rejecting) or simply UST-ALR.

These screens use a special, usually lenticular or Fresnel-based microstructure. It is designed to block light from above (ceiling lamps) while capturing the steeply upward light from the UST projector and precisely directing it horizontally to the viewer's eyes. For example, the AWOL Vision Cinematic ALR or Fresnel Daylight ALR screens

are specifically designed to precisely capture the light from a projector placed below and absorb stray light from above or the sides. This enables a brilliant image in daylight. Important note: Using a normal screen with an expensive UST projector leads to massive quality loss. If you wonder whether a4K projector is worth it

, the answer is: Yes, but only with the right screen.

Checklist: 4 steps to the right screen

Still feeling overwhelmed? Use this checklist to quickly narrow down your choice.

• Step 1: Where is your projector located? Standard projector (placed at the back or ceiling-mounted):
• You have free choice. Proceed to step 2. Ultra-short-throw projector (placed in front on a lowboard):

Your choice is simple: you absolutely need a CLR / UST-ALR screen.

• Step 2: How bright is your room? Dedicated, dark home cinema:
• A matte white screen (gain 1.0) is perfect and often the cheapest. Bright living room (with ambient light):

You absolutely need an ALR screen (for standard projectors) or a CLR/UST-ALR screen (for UST projectors).

• Step 3: How much space do you have? (Format & size) Format: For movies, series, and modern gaming, 16:9
• is the universal standard. (Older formats like 4:3 are for business presentations, 21:9 is for absolute cinema purists). Size: A good rule of thumb for a cinema-like (immersive) experience:Viewing distance (in cm) / 1.5 = optimal screen width (in cm) . (Or use a calculator to determine the exact).

screen size

• Step 4: Permanent or invisible? (Choose design) Can the screen always hang? -> Choose a fixed frame screen
• for the best flatness. Does the wall need to stay free? -> Choose a high-qualitymotorized screen
• , ideally with a tension system (cable tension). No wall or ceiling mounting possible? -> For maximum flexibility in the living room, there are also motorized floor-rising screens, like theAWOL Vision Cinematic+ ALR Motorized Screen

, which extend from a slim case when needed.

Conclusion: A screen is an investment, not an expense

Choosing the screen is just as important as choosing the projector. It is the component that turns the projected light into an image. Don't skimp at the wrong end. The best screen is always the one that fits your room (bright/dark) and your projector

(standard/UST) exactly. A modern contrast screen (ALR/CLR) may seem expensive at first glance, but it is the decisive factor that turns a good projector into a real, TV-bright cinema experience – right where you live: in your living room.

Frequently asked questions

What is suitable as a screen for projectors?

A dedicated projector screen is best because its surface (fabric) and flatness (evenness) are optimized for light reflection. A smooth, matte white painted wall is a makeshift solution, but textured wallpaper is unsuitable due to its uneven structure.

Which screen type is best for a projector?

It depends on the room and projector. In a completely dark room, a matte white fixed frame screen (gain 1.0) is often ideal. In a bright living room, an ALR contrast screen (Ambient Light Rejecting) is the best choice. For ultra-short-throw projectors (UST), a special CLR/UST-ALR screen is absolutely necessary.

How big should a screen be for a projector?

It depends on the viewing distance. A common rule of thumb for home cinema immersion is: divide your viewing distance (in cm) by 1.5 to get the recommended screen width (in cm). For a detailed calculation, read how to calculate your screen size.

Do I need a special screen for a laser projector?