Cinema Screen Unwatchable: What are my rights?

CaptainRock

I have  a small extension (size of a garage) that I turned into a cinema room.

Most of the work was done D.I.Y. so wasn't completely perfect, so I decided to get a professional company in to sort out any problems so that it was as perfect as possible.

One of the problems was the D.I.Y. screen.

I was given two options and chose one of them, which was an American company.

The screen was made specifically for me.

It was installed and the installer then played a few movie clips.

Straight after the clips had finished I said the picture quality was not good, it was unwatchable.  During white backgrounds the screen would sparkle which was extremely off putting.

I was told to give it a bit of time.

Over the coming weeks I watched a few more movies and I was still not happy.

I contacted the UK installer and was told the screen was made specifically for me I can't send it back but he will try and find a buyer for it.

I have also contacted the manufacturer in America and not got anywhere with them.

I'm thinking of using the smalls claims court to sort this out if the installer who recommended this screen does not sort it out.

Where do I stand?

powerful_Rogue

Who did you purchase the screen from, the UK installer or the American manufacturer? When did you make the purchase and when was it delivered? How much was it and how did you pay?

elsien

You were told to give it a bit of time for what reason? So that you’d get used to it? That seems to imply they consider the issue to be with you as the viewer rather than with the TV itself.
What did they say specifically about the cause of the issue you raised? 

Sandtree

What projector are you using? Did you use the projector before using this screen? What screen is it? What gain does it have? Have you used a setup disk to ensure the brightness/contrast on the projector is correct?

CaptainRock

powerful_Rogue said:

Who did you purchase the screen from, the UK installer or the American manufacturer? When did you make the purchase and when was it delivered? How much was it and how did you pay?

I purchased the screen from the UK installer.  The UK installer then ordered it from the American company.

I paid on the 14th October 2021.

It was delivered to the Installer's address some time late November, early December 2021.

The screen was installed some time in January 2022 (I can't remember the exact date).

I paid £2500.00 by Bank Transfer. 

The installer uses Sage to send his invoices.

CaptainRock

elsien said:

You were told to give it a bit of time for what reason? So that you’d get used to it? That seems to imply they consider the issue to be with you as the viewer rather than with the TV itself.
What did they say specifically about the cause of the issue you raised? 

The installer did not really say much about the issue, just to give it a bit of time and see if I get used it.

When I originally said I was not happy he was not pleased and implied that I had chosen the screen and it can't be sent back as it was made specifically for me, as if it was all my fault!

Manxman_in_exile

CaptainRock said:

... One of the problems was the D.I.Y. screen.

I was given two options and chose one of them, which was an American company.

The screen was made specifically for me.

It was installed and the installer then played a few movie clips.

Straight after the clips had finished I said the picture quality was not good, it was unwatchable.  During white backgrounds the screen would sparkle which was extremely off putting...

What exactly do you mean "One of the problems was the DIY screen"?

Do you mean that you'd originally installed your own screen but it wasn't right, and that you had to have it replaced professionally with a new screen?

Assuming it's a completely new replacement screen, had you seen a demonstration of it to see how it performed before choosing it?

CaptainRock

Sandtree said:

What projector are you using? Did you use the projector before using this screen? What screen is it? What gain does it have? Have you used a setup disk to ensure the brightness/contrast on the projector is correct?

The projector is the Sony VPL-VW290 4K, which was new for the cinema room.

It replaced my SONY VPL-HW45ES, which was not 4K.

The screen is:

Screen Innovations Acoustically Transparent Series 3 Maestro woven screen
100" diagonal 16:9 screen

Gain: 1.1

I've not used a setup disk.  This is why I got a specialist in to do all the work as it's way too difficult for me to understand.

I don't know if they used a setup disk.

TELLIT01

Did the installer recommend the screen or did you tell the installer the screen you wanted?  If you stated the screen you wanted, without input from the installer the responsibility for the problem is entirely yours I'm afraid.

The_Fat_Controller

Do you think that there is actually a fault with the screen or are its properties just not to your liking ?

If the screen and projector have been installed correctly then I can see why the technician was a bit miffed as they did not recommend the screen to you.

CaptainRock

Manxman_in_exile said:

CaptainRock said:

... One of the problems was the D.I.Y. screen.

I was given two options and chose one of them, which was an American company.

The screen was made specifically for me.

It was installed and the installer then played a few movie clips.

Straight after the clips had finished I said the picture quality was not good, it was unwatchable.  During white backgrounds the screen would sparkle which was extremely off putting...

What exactly do you mean "One of the problems was the DIY screen"?

Do you mean that you'd originally installed your own screen but it wasn't right, and that you had to have it replaced professionally with a new screen?

Assuming it's a completely new replacement screen, had you seen a demonstration of it to see how it performed before choosing it?

The DIY screen I had was not perfect so I wanted to replace it with a professional screen, one designed for a cinema room.

I did not have a demonstration.

I left it up to the professional to choose the screen.  He did not mention that there could be problems with it.

I'm no expert in these matters  and thought that the only difference as you went up the range was slightly better picture quality.

I did not realize that there could be issues which I now have.