Projection Screen Retrofits

We have an older building in our stake which has never had a projection screen installed. There is a free-standing screen in the library, but it seems small by today's standards for use in the chapel when webcasting.

My Stake President has asked me to kick off the discussion with the FM in terms of what can be done. We have a near term need (stake conference in October), but a question of what would be best long-term.

There are essentially no flat surfaces above or behind the rostrum of the chapel. The ceiling is peaked/sloped (with all kinds of lights up there) - so a ceiling mounted, power drop down screen would be difficult to execute. The wall behind the choir seats is pretty dramatically sloped and not totally flat, and there is brick on some of the wall as well.

So, I'm asking what all you've seen done in these older buildings so I have plenty of suggestions for our FM. Any tips? Anyone ever seen a retractable floor mounted screen or large freestanding screen used in a chapel?

The chapel next door to the Boston temple has a floor-retractable screen that tucks below the rostrum. It was designed primarily to allow for a screen without interfering with the pipe organ behind the pulpit. To operate, you remove some floor panels, then switch on the actuator that lifts the screen out of the floor.

However, I have always considered that setup a bit clunky and limiting as far as seating, availability, and ease of "deployment." I guess if it's down to using a clunky screen instead of getting rid of the wonderful organ, I'll keep it.

sammythesm wrote:So, I'm asking what all you've seen done in these older buildings so I have plenty of suggestions for our FM. Any tips? Anyone ever seen a retractable floor mounted screen or large freestanding screen used in a chapel?

We've had a couple of screens added to older buildings; nothing quite as challenging as what you describe, but not simple, either.

In my experience, the FM groups (who manage many buildings) have a lot of experience in this area. I've always been impressed with what they manage to pull off. So although it certainly wouldn't hurt to gather some ideas first, it's entirely possible that you'd be wasting your time. The FM group may very well know everything they need to know in order to install it already. Getting it done for stake conference in October may be a little tight in terms of time and available FM budget, but it never hurts to ask.

sammythesm wrote:There is a free-standing screen in the library, but it seems small by today's standards for use in the chapel when webcasting.

Just as a technical note, doubling the size of the screen will cut the brightness by one-forth since the same amount of light is spread over 4 times the area.

As you are considering where to place the screen, consider the placement with respect to lights. It would be nice to leave some lights on to allow the members to safely move around and not have any of them shine onto the screen. Some re-wiring may be necessary to control what lights are used.

We have a building that was built a year before a lot of the new AV stuff was put in standard. This year we needed to start splitting our stake for meetings and went to the FM group to ask for a screen to be put in and they said no. But they did offer up a huge screen that fits in the choir seats. We set it up last night and it is indeed huge. It's like 10x10. Took 3 guys like 30 mins to put together. I'm sure it will be faster next time now that they know what they are doing (I was off doing other stuff).

Looks to be something along these lines. At least the way the stand looks and the rolling case look right
http://da-lite.com/products/product.php?pID=302

BarkerAJ wrote:. . . a huge screen that fits in the choir seats. . . . Took 3 guys like 30 mins to put together.

With four people you can do it in about 15-20 minutes. [grin]

But one person cannot do it, which is why we still use the standing screen from the library most of the time if only a small group and the satellite operator are going to be there.