September 2007—SmX Cinema Solutions, a new player in the field of front-projection screens for high-end home theaters, has unveiled an exciting new line of extremely strong audio- transparent screens created with a proprietary patent-pending material that offers incredible projected image quality and audio pass through without distortion. SmX has also introduced its innovative frame designs, masking systems and the unique ProCurv™ multi-radius fixed-curve screening system.

CineWeave™ HD, Star of the Show
The star of the show is CineWeave™ HD, a proprietary, patent-pending woven material—the first acoustically transparent projection screen to provide clear, consistently bright and vibrant images from edge to edge, pure color accuracy, and increased contrast and sharpness, all without degradation of audio quality. The SmX CineWeave™ HD screen is the first woven video projection screen to combine high reflective gain (1.16); acoustic transparency that requires zero screen EQ; 160° hotspot-free viewing angles; and total freedom from reflective artifacts or “sparklies.” And thanks to its unique, easy on-site adjustability, SmX guarantees CineWeave to be entirely free of moiré-pattern artifacts.

CineWeave™ HD has already made a name for itself in a number of high-end installations—and at several high-profile post production facilities in Hollywood, where industry pros caught the SmX buzz in the early stages of its development. “The CineWeave™ HD technology allows for loudspeaker placement behind the screen—the same method Hollywood uses when they mix the dialogue/soundtrack for movies for cinema release. This localizes the dialogue to be heard as Hollywood intended—not above or below the screen,” says SmX founder and designer Ruben Ortiz.

In addition to the phenomenal CineWeave™ HD acoustically transparent screen material, SmX also offers CineMatte Plus, a solid projection-screen material. CineMatte Plus boasts a 1.35 gain providing extreme uniformity of color and brightness as well as a full 160°viewing cone. This aids the end user to get the same impeccable quality screen systems SmX offers but without the acoustically transparent screen material.

Pro-Line and ProCurv Framing Systems
SmX has also introduced its Pro-Line framing system—a highly engineered, custom-tooled, extruded-aluminum channel system that is the world’s strongest, stiffest, and most stable. It’s also the world’s most acoustically inert, thanks to unique injected-foam insulating material that quells any possible resonances. Progressively curved bevel edged frames and genuinely, “blacker-than-black” velvet trimming (instead of the inexpensive flocking found on most frames) do superior jobs of controlling light bleed and increasing perceived contrast. Pro-Line and ProCurv assembly is fast, easy, and accurate, thanks to laser-mitered corners and a powerful snap-lock joining design. What’s more, Pro-Line’s unique locking T-spline screen-fixing solution allows easy on-site adjustments, so even end-users can later tweak screen positioning—for example, to eliminate moiré patterns revealed by a subsequent projector upgrade. Pro-Line and ProCurv frames also include a secondary, spaced installation channel to accept an acoustically transparent black backing to add “bounce back” light control - although SmX has observed that in most setups its new CineWeave™ HD material does not require one.

Pro-Curv, a fixed-curve screen-framing and installation system for Cinemascope-type front-projection installations, is another SmX innovation. Pro-Curv is available in 40-foot-radius curves (the most widely used), plus curves of 30- and 20-foot radius. Having a choice of radii provides the installation professional the means to truly design the application to the installation requirements. Curved-screen applications are fast gaining popularity among high-end home theater aficionados for their more immersive effect, excellent light performance, and superior geometry with the latest high-performance anamorphic lenses. (A curved screen also promotes better sound, since toed-in speakers maintain parallelism to the screen for best acoustic transparency.) Pro-Curv incorporates all of the benefits of SmX’s Pro-Line flat screens, including their exclusive extruded-aluminum, complex-channel framing and genuine-velvet “blacker-than-black” trim. SmX offers Pro-Curv screens in widths from 80 inches to 24 feet and in all aspect ratios, with virtually unlimited custom sizing and scaling.

ProMask and ProMaskcurv
The final impressive new product from SmX is the new four-way Pro-Mask system. ProMask can mask down to every possible aspect ratio without confining the viewable screen to a constant image height or width. Engineered to be extremely quiet, ProMask incorporates all of the technology advantages of SmX Pro-Line frames, including acoustic insulation and true-black velvet. ProMask integrates easily into home automation systems including dry-contact, RS-232/serial control, IP network command, wall-panel control, IR, or RF remote systems. The ProMask system is the first of its kind to offer six preset aspect-ratio settings with a standard remote, and up to 99 aspect ratios with home automation systems. Of course, ProMask accommodates SmX’s new CineWeave acoustically transparent projection-screens and CineMatte Plus solid screens and offers a choice of acoustic and non-acoustic masking-panel choices. SmX can deliver ProMask in native 16:9 (1.78:1) aspect ratio up to 20 feet wide which can mask literally any aspect ratio down to 4:3 and up to 2.70:1 or higher. These ratios can easily be programmed including dropping the bottom mask for subtitles.

The same superbly effective masking system is available for curved screens in SmX’s ProMaskcurv, a constant-height, fixed-curve masking system with all the virtues of ProMask adapted to curved screens—and logically enough, the ideal companion to SmX’s ProCurv projection-screen systems.

For much more information on these and all SmX developments, and to request availability and pricing information, please visit the company’s website: www.SMXscreen.com.

SOURCE SmX Cinema Solutions