Once again, Once again, our staff at Pointed Magazine is dedicated to bringing its readers the hottest products for the Year 2003. This time we have taken the time to bring our readers a review of one of the best screens to hit the consumer product market in the Home Theatre category ever.  There are many who have tried to be them, but none that have beaten them to wall.

Stewart Filmscreen is a two-time Academy Award winning manufacturer of large screen products.  Stewart is also looked at as the Industry leader in innovation and setting the benchmark for optimal viewing pleasure.  Stewart's latest screen the FireHawk, has been specifically designed for DLP (Digital Light Processing) projectors. These screens are hand made and comes with a serial number for tracking and quality control purposes. In addition, a sample of each screen made is stored away for reference in the event a customer has a problem. If there's ever a problem with a customer's screen, Stewart can pull and material out and verify any problems.

FireHawk

The FireHawk screen is the ideal choice for today's DLP projectors. The screen material has been engineered to provide excellent black levels and superior color saturation which is one of the biggest downsides from DLP. This technology is rapidly improving however with the newest generation chips from Texas Instruments.  However, black levels are not rival of CRT based projectors.  Stewart actually engineered this screen to overcome the deficiencies in DLP based technology. The screen is designed by preserving image by dampening cross light reflections as much as 90 percent even with some ambient light entering the room. We have used the Stewart Firehawk as our “reference screen” in evaluating recent DLP projectors using a 100" diagonal Stewart FireHawk 16:9 screen mounted on a Luxus Deluxe ScreenWall frame. The frame is made from solid aluminum based material that is sturdy and is finished with a handsome black VeLux material that eliminates over-scanning from the projector. The FireHawk screen is available in many different configurations including both motorized retractable housings and fixed wall frames

Setup

The Stewart Filmscreen FireHawk arrived first packed meticously in a long, tall box. It contained the screen, which was rolled up in a protective tube and the black metal deluxe frame with associated parts. The frame is very appealing on the wall. Each side of the 4-piece frame easily fit together, and the screen itself has buttons that easily snap into the frame

FireHawk screen has a gain of 1.35 with a viewing angle of 100 degrees and half gain viewing angle of 28 degrees. Stewart recommends a minimum throw distance of 1.6 times the screen width with the projector mounted from the ceiling. Our screen installation was smooth and went up on the wall without any issues.

Performance

The black level proved to be excellent with our projectors and the color saturation and accuracy was impressive with a side by side with a white matte screen.  The Firehawk ‘s white levels were just as clean and bright as the white screen.  The biggest enhancements were in the black levels.  There was greater contrast and definition almost film-like quality. 

Another great feature to the screen is it is very tolerant of ambient light.  However it performs its best in controlled lighting situations. The build quality of this product is as impressive as the performance. Our staff will say that the Firehawk is a dramatic improvement.

What impressed us the most about the Stewart Firehawk  is the way the screen performed. It tested extremely well.  It will make a noticeable difference in your black level, boosting contrast somewhat without hurting brightness or color fidelity.

Using the same innovative gray screen technology as the popular GrayHawk screen material,, Stewart Filmscreen corporation engineered a new front projection material specifically for DLP technology.

The FireHawk has a gain of 1.35, which means the screen's reflective ability makes images appear 35% brighter than that of a neutral screen, which has a gain of 1. Images looked best in a totally dark room. Although, video is still viewable with some room lighting on. Too much ambient lighting will quickly drown out the contrast.

If you own a DLP or D-ILA projector  and have a white screen.  The Firehawk is worth purchasing and is the ideal choice in any high end home theater.

We would also like to offer a special thanks to Lisa Ortega and the Stewart staff for assisting us in this editorial.  The customer service and technical help was outstanding.  Nothing short of what we expected of such an outstanding company.

For more information on Stewart Filmscreens and other lines of screens and accessories please call 1.800.762.4999 or visit www.stewartfilm.com