How do I choose between white and grey?

White materials are usually the best choice for when you have good control over the room lighting - for example if you are showing the screen in a basement with no outside lighting coming in the room.

Grey materials are designed to provide higher picture contrast by lowing the black levels in the projected image. The colors are not as bright as they would appear on a white screen, but grey screens are great for making black in the projected image appear darker and is a great choice for rooms that have some ambient lighting present, since the additional contrast helps overcome image "washout" that happens when unwanted ambient light hits the screen.

Our matte grey material does tend to look more dull than our matte white, simply because of the grey tint on the material - but there is very little color shifting since our factory keeps the tint in the grey range so that the colors themselves do not shift toward blue, red, or any other color shade.

If you have good light control and you are looking for brilliant colors, then you should most likely choose matte white. It is by far our most popular screen material we sell because most people like the way it performs. If you do not have good light control or your projector does not have a lot of contrast, then you may consider matte grey.

Please think of your viewing times.  Some people use their projection screen at night to watch movies. Because the viewing of movies is mainly at night a white screen would be perfect for most situations. You may watch sporting events during the day.  Sporting events are very bright and do not have deep black scenes during the game.  Sporting events look fantastic on a white screen with some light in the room.

 

White Material: 1.1 gain.

Stenghths: Brighter colors and good reflectivity.

Weaknesses: Washout more likely in cases of uncontrolled and ambient lighting.

 

Grey Material: 1.0 gain.

Strengths: Increased ability to retain black level in cases of uncontrolled and ambient light.

Weaknesses: Slight loss in brighter colors.

Are grey projector screen better?

Grey screens can be grey or high contrast screens.  Adding a shade of grey to a projection screen material will lower the white levels and black levels equally.  A high contrast screen will add the shade of grey but also be a little reflective.   With the shade of grey the black levels are deeper, but with the extra gain or reflectiveness the white levels don't drop as much.  This makes the levels of contrast higher than what a white screen can do.  The grey projection screen material will absorb ambient light because any shade other than white begins to absorb light.  A grey screen will absorb some of the light that hits it or reflects onto it better than a white projection screen.   The goal of a grey screen should be to offer better contrast for most projectors.  In some projection applications a screen with a shade of grey may be better because the projector is too bright for the size of screen being used in a dark room.  In rooms that are not completely dark a grey screen begins to have its advantage.  Projector and screen manufacturers recommend a white screen in completely dark rooms (unless the projector is too bright for the screen size and will light up the room). As the room gets lighter and lighter the darker the shade of grey the screen material should be.  This is because projectors cannot project black and the projector screen will help add some black levels to the image.  With this information you may side that white screens are still better or grey screens are better.  Sadly it comes down to personal preference and only you can make up your mind.  Silver Ticket Products recommends testing samples before purchasing a projection screen to see what screen material you prefer - https://www.silverticketproducts.com/collections/all/category_samples

Is matte white screen material the best? Is a white screen good? What is the best color or shade for a projector screen?

Matte white screen material will reflect the truest colors, uniform brightness and the widest viewing angles.  This would make it the best choice for dark rooms with dark walls, but personal preference can't convince everyone that this is the best material.   Projector companies and screen companies both recommend a matte white material for dark rooms and dark walls, but a small percentage of people do like other material options.  Because of personal preference, it is good to test samples before moving forward with a screen purchase - Samples.  If your theater room or living room does not have dark walls and will not be dark during viewing, then it is recommended to find a different screen material that is right for your application.  Projector companies recommend a light material for dark rooms and a darker shade material for lighter rooms.  Usually the screen material gets darker as the room gets brighter since projectors cannot project blacks.  

Why are matte white screens cheaper than other screens?  Does this mean that matte white screens are lower quality?

You may think the price of the screen material makes it a better screen material than a cheaper screen, this is not always the case.  Matte white screen materials are the most universal.  Most projector screens are used in the dark and matte white works great in the dark.  Because most screens are used this way, matte white screen materials are mass produced.  If a matte white screen material does not work for your application then you will need another material.  Other materials are not heavily produced like matte white screen and will have much higher costs because of the low production runs.  Materials like UST Ultra Short Throw or ALR Ambient Light Rejecting screens have special filters and are very difficult to manufacture.  This will make UST & ALR materials much more expensive.  

Which is better white or grey projection screens?

This depends on the application.  Grey screens are made to help maintain black levels in brighter rooms, or help black levels with low contrast projectors. Grey screen materials help maintain black levels if there is ambient light in the room, while white material will wash out quicker.  Grey screens can also be used if a projectors is too bright and will light up the room.  The grey screen can help reduce reflective light to keep the room darker.  It depends on the needs of your application for what screen will be the best screen.  Really no screen material is better than another one, it just depends on what your application is.  Projector and Screen manufacturers recommend white material in rooms that are very dark with projectors that have great contrast ratios.  Light grey screen materials work in rooms that have little light or are dark with projectors that have low contrast ratios.  As the room gets lighter, it is recommended to use a darker shade screen materials.