Gaming With Projection Screens Blows You Away.

The first time I played a computer game on a projection screen, it was totally accidental. I was setting up the audio-visual system in a hotel ballroom, for an office event to be held the morning after.

As I figured out the proper distance between the white mounted screen and projector to produce the optimal gain, and coordinating with the audio technicians, my colleague opened a pc game and left the room. Having finished the setup, I sat down by laptop and started tinkering around with game.

It was then that I realized a humongous game screen was in front of me. As I blasted the little furry fellows to bits, the audio system of the ballroom also came to life.

My eyes goggled. My heart raced. The normally cute (read: lame) game took on a different level of excitement! I was totally blown away with the size, the rich colors and the volume of the game on the projection screen.

The combined visual and audio overload left me smitten with the experience.

If you close your eyes and imagine yourself playing your favorite simulation game, and find your favorite characters much bigger (maybe as big as you are), with clear colors, and less eyestrain (than when playing on your regular HDTV) wouldn't you give it a go?

What do you need to game this way? Aside from your gaming unit, of course

1. Projector. A lot of projectors can be rigged to your gaming unit. Ask your electronics dealer for details
2. Clear audio system. Surround yourself with the game music. Sound should be as clear that you can actually inhale the sound
3. Space. You need space to set up your screen and projector, and space to hang out and jump around as you win.

· Projection Screen. Comes in different set-ups, sizes and materials that will suit your preference and space situation.Fixed Screens – perfect if you have space specifically allotted for gaming and watching movies. Fixed screens are installed in one place and left ready to use anytime

· Motorized Screens – space savers. Casing (with rolled up screen inside) is usually installed on ceiling or high up on the wall. Does not block the view until the screen is to be used. Every time you will play your game, just press a remote control button to let the screen out. After you are done playing, press the button again for screen to roll up uniformly and neatly

· Manual pull down screens – Can also be mounted in one place, and when needed, just reach up and pull down the screen.

· Pull up screens – Very handy and portable. Screen is kept in a base casing when in storage. When it is game time, pull the base casing out of storage, set up in desired place on the floor, then pull up the projection screen.

Projection screens come in 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio. 4:3 aspect ratio is similar to viewing TVs and pc monitors. 16:9 is similar to viewing cinema movies.

Gain is the brightness in the middle of the screen. A gain of 1.0 is the standard measurement, because viewers can view the same brightness as it is first projected to the screen.

Screens come in gray and white. Gray absorbs ambient light better, dark colors seem darker, thus contrast is higher. A lot of games have dark colors or uses black a lot, so a gray projection screen may be desirable for gaming. White, however, is classic and can be used just as effectively.