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SubscribeThe new Duet portable screen is a unique offering from Epson. Selling at $250 or less, it offers both 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios without black bars, and stows quickly and efficiently in less than a minute. With both wall and tripod mounts included, the Duet is a great alternative to a full-frame screen that can collapse into a compact package when not in use.
The Duet, unlike most portable screens, deploys from side to side rather than from top to bottom like a standard pull-down screen. It has two click-stops - one for a 65" 4:3 screen, and one for an 80" 16:9 screen, for a very clean appearance in either aspect ratio without black bars.
The Duet includes both a tripod and a wall bracket, for home or portable use. When using the tripod, the screen can be set up in under a minute. The wall bracket requires slightly more forethought but offers a permanent or semi-permanent mounting solution.
The entire package can fold together to form its own carrying case. In this form, the tripod locks into the frame, and the carrying handle attached to the screen's frame makes transportation simple. The stowed screen is 43" long and less than 8" wide. However, it weighs nearly 27 pounds, so it isn't as light as some of the other portables available.
Even when the Duet is mounted to the wall, the screen can still retract into its casing. Since traditional theater screens tend to dominate the rooms they occupy, the Duet could be useful in establishing a low profile home theater in a room with multiple uses.
The Duet uses low gain screen material. Ambient light control is important for best results, but the screen has a very generous viewing angle. For larger audiences, or for a football party where people are standing in different areas, this is useful.
One disadvantage of the Duet over a fixed frame screen is that there is no support at the top of the screen. As such, the top edge of the screen can sag slightly in the center. While this is not a deal breaker by any means, it can be a minor annoyance.
The tripod sits with two legs forward and one leg back, and it needs nearly 30" of clearance from the wall when using the tripod. If you need to place the screen closer to the wall, you'll need to use the included wall bracket.
The Duet imparts a slightly blue cast to the projected image, due to the material and coating used on the screen. However, on most home theater projectors you can compensate for this by accessing the color controls and reducing blue a few notches or adding yellow to the projected image.
Since the Duet is so portable, it is an attractive option for outdoor projection at night. However, if you plan to use it in this manner, remember to account for wind conditions. A light breeze will give the screen some unstability, and if it is coming from the right direction it may cause the Duet to act like a ship's sail, knocking it to the ground and likely damaging your screen.
For less than $250, the Epson Duet gives you a highly portable screen that is ideal for either 4:3 or 16:9 projection, at the office or at home. It is easily stowed when not in use, and paired with a portable projector it can be part of a formidable portable theater. It is an excellent performer for its price, and a fantastic value.
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I'm looking to setup a home theater solution for my bedroom and after measuring how big a screen size can be accomadated, 80" seems perfect. Although everybody seems to be going with 92"+ screens, the size of this screen, as previously mentioned, will suffice. My walls are light blue and I have a stippled white ceiling. I plan on using it mainly in very low light to darkness.
I plan on getting the Panasonic PTAX100 for viewing mainly content from my PC over DVI such as normal browsing, TV and ovie viewing so any ideas, suggestions or comments will be greatly appreciated.
It is very easy to use. I use it with the stand. Most of the time I'm too lazy to put it away in a closet, but then, I live alone. I had tried a 92-inch pull-up (from the floor case) screen, but I returned it, mainly because, if I rested the case on the floor, the screen blocked the sound from my loudspeakers (I have a pair of 6-foot high Magneplanars), and, if I placed the case upon a pair of stools, to let some sound through, it looked too cheesy. For a long time my solution was to stretch a cheap (low thread count) white sheet across my Magneplanars, but that had its drawbacks too (light pass-through, so I hung a black sheet behind the loudspeakers; dealing with clothespins; it was somewhat of a pain to put up, so it rarely got taken down). Wrinkles were actually not a problem, but I wished the screen was less optically transparent. Plus, I wanted to take the screen down for normal stereo listening. With the Epson Duet, there is enough clearance below the bottom of the screen to let a lot of sound through.
It's true about the top edge sagging a bit. Plus, I wish the tensioning were better -- there can be some slight rippling -- something I could stretch out of my old sheet arrangement. But the screen would no doubt cost a lot more if it had some kind of edge tensioning system. I keep mine collapsed into the case when not viewing a movie, if I have it up. And, I do miss the 92-inch screen size (I sit about 11 feet back). But the brightness is tremendous (was not needed). The colors are better from the Epson screen than they were from the sheet.
But the main reason I'm writing this note is to inform potential buyers that, contrary to what is reported in the review, it IS POSSIBLE to arrange it so the tripod can be placed with a leg sticking forward, not backward, so that it can be placed closer to a wall or whatever (in my case, as close as possible to my power amp, which sits between my loudspeakers). All that is required is to drill out a rivet holding the legs in their as-installed orientation. Once that is done, the legs can be rotated to any position. There is even an allen-head set screw clamp in the ring that holds the bottom of the legs, so they are perfectly secure. Why the manufacturer chose to fix the orientation of the legs is beyond me. Making this mod is a no-brainer.
I've attached a couple of 800x600 photos showing my arrangement. Hope this info is useful.
Prfssr
What I haven't been able to find (maybe I just missed it) is how tall the screen can be raised. I'm in a flat classroom and ideally I could raise the top of the screen nearly to the ceiling in order to give a clear view for those in the back.
Will the Duet raise higher than you have it in your pictures?
Thanks.
No real height adjustment; the post is one piece, fixed. The only means for changing the height is by adjusting how much the legs are splayed apart, with concomitant variation in stability. With the legs splayed out as I have them, the bottom of the screen case is 33 inches high. The case is 42-1/2 inches high.
Sorry for the delay in posting this -- I haven't looked at this thread in a while.
Prfssr
