I’m stoked to finally be in a position to pass on a review about the Par2Pro SQ Beta Custom screen.
I ordered the screen early in my build process, and whilst I still have a few final touches to complete the build and post a more detailed summary along with thanks to many people on this forum, I have now played a few times in the sim and feel I can give some fair and honest feedback on the screen.
First, like many others who have commented on their purchases from Par2Pro, I must compliment them on their outstanding customer service. Until very recently, I did not deal with Cory himself, but instead was working closely with Preston. I bought several items other than just the screen, and throughout the process Preston, and more recently Cory, Denise and Dawn have all been exceptionally helpful.
As this is my first screen, I have no other screen experience to compare this with, so the following information should be read with that in mind.
Screen Info: I have a 15’ x 10’ screen area, but due to the projected image size (16x10), and needing space around the screen for fixing it to the wall, I ordered a screen with 8'9"h X 14'w viewable area. I ordered the “finished” screen with seams on all sides, and grommets on 3 sides for attaching to the walls and ceiling. The screen came with bungees for attaching it to the wall.
The screen is heavyweight and the finishing (seams and grommets) is excellent quality.
The screen arrived loosely folded in a box. Unfortunately I was not able to hang the screen when it arrived, and it sat in the box for several weeks. I am not sure if this was a factor, but when I hung it, the screen had several major creases in it. The horizontal ones have subsequently “dropped out” with gravity, but the vertical creases remain. I have not had access to a steamer, but feedback from other people on the forum is that steaming the screen does not remove the creases. My suggestion would be that you hang any screen you purchase as soon as possible, or if not, try and roll it at full length and store it somewhere. For Par2Pro, it would be great if they can save folding screens until just before shipping to minimize this issue (they may already be doing this).
The screen does not prevent sound transfer from speakers installed behind the screen. I have a surround sound system in my sim room, with centre and front right and left speakers installed behind the screen. Whilst I am not an “audiophile” (and someone with more experience may notice some loss of quality) I have not noticed any loss in the sound volume or quality projecting through the screen.
As far as “noise” goes from hitting balls into the screen, it is excellent. Any sound is minimized. As I mentioned, the screen is made of heavyweight material and there is a dull “thud” when any ball hits the screen. For anyone who has neighbours or kids, and are worried about noise from their sim room, I cannot believe that there is a screen that will deaden noise more than this one.
There is very minimal bounceback from the screen. I am seeing balls come back to my hitting position (9’ from the screen) at worst. Most stop a lot shorter. I do, however, believe that this is because I have a memory foam mattress mounted close behind the screen and this is increasing bounce back (rather than minimizing it). My plan is to move the mattress further back from the screen and see if this has a beneficial effect. There is also a chance that I have the screen mounted too “tightly”. I am going to experiment with this too and will update this post with any findings.
One of my considerations when choosing a screen was the projection quality as I wanted to use the screen for viewing movies, as well as photo slideshows. The image quality is excellent. Close up it is not perfect (as you would expect) but from 9’ + away from the screen (sensible viewing distance) the quality is very good. Not to the level of a monitor, and probably not quite as high quality as a dedicated projection screen, but for a combination product, it is as good as I could ask for.
When I bought the screen I was told it was opaque, and that nothing would show through it. As mentioned above, I do have a memory foam mattress mounted very close behind the screen and it is possible to see this quite clearly when there is a projected image. My plan is to first try moving the memory foam mattress backwards (with two benefits in mind, as outlined above), and if that does not work, maybe to mount a second screen (on order from direct from the mill thread) behind the Par2Pro screen to see if that solves the issue. This is likely not a concern for 90% of users, but worth mentioning.
As I have only used the screen for a short while, I cannot comment on the longevity of it. Ball marks appear each time the screen is hit, but they seem to disappear each time another ball strikes the screen, and they have not affected my opinion of the quality of the projected image.
Quality Rating 5 stars plus exceptional customer service.
I hope this helps anyone trying to make an informed decision.
I ordered the screen early in my build process, and whilst I still have a few final touches to complete the build and post a more detailed summary along with thanks to many people on this forum, I have now played a few times in the sim and feel I can give some fair and honest feedback on the screen.
First, like many others who have commented on their purchases from Par2Pro, I must compliment them on their outstanding customer service. Until very recently, I did not deal with Cory himself, but instead was working closely with Preston. I bought several items other than just the screen, and throughout the process Preston, and more recently Cory, Denise and Dawn have all been exceptionally helpful.
As this is my first screen, I have no other screen experience to compare this with, so the following information should be read with that in mind.
Screen Info: I have a 15’ x 10’ screen area, but due to the projected image size (16x10), and needing space around the screen for fixing it to the wall, I ordered a screen with 8'9"h X 14'w viewable area. I ordered the “finished” screen with seams on all sides, and grommets on 3 sides for attaching to the walls and ceiling. The screen came with bungees for attaching it to the wall.
The screen is heavyweight and the finishing (seams and grommets) is excellent quality.
The screen arrived loosely folded in a box. Unfortunately I was not able to hang the screen when it arrived, and it sat in the box for several weeks. I am not sure if this was a factor, but when I hung it, the screen had several major creases in it. The horizontal ones have subsequently “dropped out” with gravity, but the vertical creases remain. I have not had access to a steamer, but feedback from other people on the forum is that steaming the screen does not remove the creases. My suggestion would be that you hang any screen you purchase as soon as possible, or if not, try and roll it at full length and store it somewhere. For Par2Pro, it would be great if they can save folding screens until just before shipping to minimize this issue (they may already be doing this).
The screen does not prevent sound transfer from speakers installed behind the screen. I have a surround sound system in my sim room, with centre and front right and left speakers installed behind the screen. Whilst I am not an “audiophile” (and someone with more experience may notice some loss of quality) I have not noticed any loss in the sound volume or quality projecting through the screen.
As far as “noise” goes from hitting balls into the screen, it is excellent. Any sound is minimized. As I mentioned, the screen is made of heavyweight material and there is a dull “thud” when any ball hits the screen. For anyone who has neighbours or kids, and are worried about noise from their sim room, I cannot believe that there is a screen that will deaden noise more than this one.
There is very minimal bounceback from the screen. I am seeing balls come back to my hitting position (9’ from the screen) at worst. Most stop a lot shorter. I do, however, believe that this is because I have a memory foam mattress mounted close behind the screen and this is increasing bounce back (rather than minimizing it). My plan is to move the mattress further back from the screen and see if this has a beneficial effect. There is also a chance that I have the screen mounted too “tightly”. I am going to experiment with this too and will update this post with any findings.
One of my considerations when choosing a screen was the projection quality as I wanted to use the screen for viewing movies, as well as photo slideshows. The image quality is excellent. Close up it is not perfect (as you would expect) but from 9’ + away from the screen (sensible viewing distance) the quality is very good. Not to the level of a monitor, and probably not quite as high quality as a dedicated projection screen, but for a combination product, it is as good as I could ask for.
When I bought the screen I was told it was opaque, and that nothing would show through it. As mentioned above, I do have a memory foam mattress mounted very close behind the screen and it is possible to see this quite clearly when there is a projected image. My plan is to first try moving the memory foam mattress backwards (with two benefits in mind, as outlined above), and if that does not work, maybe to mount a second screen (on order from direct from the mill thread) behind the Par2Pro screen to see if that solves the issue. This is likely not a concern for 90% of users, but worth mentioning.
As I have only used the screen for a short while, I cannot comment on the longevity of it. Ball marks appear each time the screen is hit, but they seem to disappear each time another ball strikes the screen, and they have not affected my opinion of the quality of the projected image.
Quality Rating 5 stars plus exceptional customer service.
I hope this helps anyone trying to make an informed decision.