Best Overall
Silver Ticket STR-169120
Key details
- Gain
- 1.1
- Frame
- 2 3/8 in beveled aluminum
- Diagonal
- 120 in
- Viewing Angle
- 160°
A fixed frame stops being equipment the moment it goes on the wall. The 2 3/8-inch beveled aluminum border is wrapped in black velvet, the 104.5-by-58.875-inch surface is held by tensioning rods rather than by gravity, and the result is the flattest, most even picture in this guide.
The velvet does more work than it looks like it is doing. A projector throws more light than the screen's edges catch, and a matte black border absorbs that overshoot instead of bouncing it back as a gray halo around the image. The 1.1-gain white surface is the sensible middle, too: bright enough for a projector that is not a light cannon, low enough gain that the seats at the ends of a wide couch are not staring at a hot spot, with a 160-degree viewing angle behind that.
For a room that is yours to change, this is where we start. Nothing else here produces a surface this flat or an edge this clean, and the top and bottom mounting brackets come in the box, so you supply the wall and the drill. What it asks in return is permanence: no legs, no roll-up, no carrying it to the yard, and a projector whose throw fills 104.5 inches from wherever it can sit.
Project an image on the bare wall first, at the height you intend to hang the frame. Four holes are hard to un-drill, and the one thing worse than a screen that is too small is a frame that is too big for your throw distance. This is the pick that rewards measuring twice.
Pros
- Tensioned surface stays dead flat
- Velvet-wrapped frame absorbs overshoot
- 1.1 gain suits wide seating
- Top and bottom brackets included
Cons
- Wall-mount only; no stand or roll-up
For a room you can give a wall to, this is the best picture in the guide and the simplest recommendation we can make.