SI Launches New Black Diamond™ II Projector Screen

Austin, Texas, March 2, 2009 – SI (www.sicreens.com) is proud to announce that it will launch the new Black Diamond™ II projector screen during the Spring 2009 Electronic House Expo, held in Orlando, Fla. from March 12-14 at the Orange County Convention Center, demo alley room 230D. Black Diamond II is scheduled to ship in March 2009 (SI is currently taking pre-orders).

“Our award-winning Black Diamond projector screen is a winner of an Electronic House 2008 Product of the Year Award and a ‘Best of Demo Alley’ award-winner during the Electronic House Expo Spring 2008 trade show, as well as being named a 2008 CEDIA Manufacturer’s Excellence Awards Finalist,” explained Tim Freemyer, SI product development manager. “Now, we have updated Black Diamond for an even greater viewing experience in 2009. The new gain offerings coupled with greater performance makes Black Diamond II the most appealing projector screen on the market today.”

According to Freemyer, using projection in brighter environments remains a challenge because of the limited projector lumens available on today’s projectors. The new Black Diamond 1.4 gain screen was engineered to address the brighter environments such as living rooms, game rooms, commercial environments, and even outdoors. The truth is, most customers simply like a brighter picture, especially after viewing flat panel TVs. For customers who like “bright”, Black Diamond 1.4 gain offers a bright, punchy image with excellent contrast in both dark and light environments.

Out in the field, Black Diamond II’s benefits have been realized. According to Todd Spelman of Spelman Data Services (Austin, Texas), he compared Black Diamond II with two competing samples side by side. “I turned the projector on and immediately noticed a huge difference between all three. And then I opened the blinds…the Black Diamond blew our minds. Black Diamond II is awesome.”

Like the .8 gain, the 1.4 gain offers the same benefits in the dark. Black Diamond is the only screen material that eliminates the need for black masking. Black Diamond has become extremely popular when used with 2.40 and 2.35 aspect projector lenses. If you have a 16:9 screen, you can watch wide aspect movies without the need for top and bottom masking.

Having trouble keeping your customers projection systems ISF calibrated? A common problem with most customers occurs when an installer calibrates the projection system only to find out that the customer is now using the room with “yellow” sconces on…sconces that were not on when the system was calibrated. The colored lights shift the color accuracy of the ISF calibrated picture by adding a yellow color push to the picture. Black Diamond greatly reduces color shift by filtering out the unwanted ambient light in the room. Benefits are seen when customers change their wall color, change lighting, watches TV during the day, etc.  Black Diamond was engineered to preserve the projectors’ color, contrast, and sharpness by eliminating the outside elements that destroy most projection systems.

“We recently had a ‘sneak peek’ for Black Diamond II during the recent CES, and the response we received was even greater than we had hoped for,” Freemyer added. “We are looking forward to exhibiting the new Black Diamond II at EHX Spring along with some of the newest projectors that are now offering ‘more’ brightness and even better contrast. The new projector technologies, when paired with the new Black Diamond screen, create the most stunning projection images to date.”

Black Diamond has dramatically changed the home theater landscape by delivering dramatically higher picture quality at sharply competitive prices. Black Diamond enhances projector performance by creating the ultimate contrast (blacker blacks, whiter whites), color accuracy (with added vibrant color delivery), depth of field, and video immersion in both “dark” and “bright” environments. This represents a quantum leap forward in combined performance and versatility. Black Diamond II furthers this commitment to the best possible viewing experience possible.

Black Diamond II features include:
•    Dark Environment; dramatically reduces light scatter, increasing viewer immersion and contrast by minimizing the room washout that exists with standard front projection screens.
–  eliminates the need for masking by creating deep black bars when used with wide format projection screens
•    Bright Environment; allows for viewer use in brighter environments versus standard screen surfaces. For use in applications such as lighted living rooms, game rooms, and theater rooms
•    Truly black native screen material color; higher aesthetic appeal when the projector is off – the screen material looks like a flat panel display
•    Future compliant with resolutions greater than 2K
•    Recommended projectors: all types
•    Maximum Seamless Size
–  2.35:1 & 2.40:1 142-inch diagonal
–  16:9 113-inch diagonal
–  4:3 90-inch diagonal

•    Gains available: 0.8 & 1.4
•    MSRP: TRFBD1001.4 $2,699.00

See the Black Diamond II VIDEO www.siscreens.com.

Siscreens.com on-line product features and tutorials:
•    Screen Calculator: http://www.siscreens.com/calculator/getstarted.php
•    Multimedia Gallery available at: http://www.siscreens.com/gallery.html

For more information on Black Diamond II and all SI Screens, visit the web at www.siscreens.com or call 512-832-6939.

About SI
SI is a technology based U.S. projector screen manufacturer focused on delivering “state-of-the-art” performance. Each motorized, fixed, and curved projector screen we produce meets exceedingly tight tolerances and must deliver all the stunning HD visuals we require.

Our mission is to develop the most advanced projector screens that effectively address evolving consumer demands for performance, value, and visual appeal-each strategically aligned with today’s demanding high definition HD projector screen trends.

#   #   #