If you've been wrestling with whether to buy an LCD or plasma HDTV, Stewart Filmscreen president Grant Stewart has some advice: For the same money, you can get a better viewing experience with a front projector and screen. Jamie Sorcher talked to Stewart about how his company, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary, has continued to be the industry leader in projection screens.
What impact has the popularity of inexpensive high-quality front projectors had on your business?
In part because of the lower prices for front projectors, people now realize they can afford a high-quality projection system for a price equal to or better than that for a flat-panel display. For example, a 65-inch plasma TV currently costs $10,000. You can get an even larger, higher-quality setup with a front projector and screen for significantly less.
To get the very best picture from a two-piece projection system, you need a high-quality screen that actually enhances the projector's performance. We're very fortunate to provide several models that do just that, such as our industry-leading gray and white screens. The gray screen trend began with our GrayHawk. We then developed the FireHawk screen, which has received multiple awards from high-end home theater experts. It's an amazing product that offers the best image dynamic range in the industry.
Also, as higher-quality projectors become less expensive, there's more money to spend on higher-quality screens. So we anticipate that our business will grow as the total cost of the system remains the same and people buy a higher-end screen to go with a lower-price high-quality projector. We've already experienced this with our FireHawk G3 1080p screen material, which was designed specifically for 1080p projectors.
