Cinema Screen Unwatchable: What are my rights?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP

Goods must be of satisfactory quality with consideration for price paid (which you appear to have paid top end) and if they aren't you would be entitled to a remedy (repair/replacement then final right to reject/price reduction if not resolved).

If there is an issue then the trader should repair or replace, you've already raised the issue within 6 months so the issue would be taken to be present. 

If the trader refuses to resolve (or it's impossible or disproportionately expensive) then you have the right to reject the goods for a refund or seek a price reduction.

If you seek that right to reject within the first 6 months of delivery then a full refund is due and again it's taken there is an issue, if you seek that right to reject after 6 months the refund can be reduced for ownership and it's no longer taken the issue is present.

If the trader refused to honour their obligations you'd be looking at small claims and obviously the more information you have to support your side the better.

The above very briefly covers your consumer rights in the event an issue is present, there is the question of whether there is an issue or if this is personal preference, I wouldn't waste your time with my opinion as I have zero knowledge on projector screens  

If the trader is currently implying there isn't an issue then first step should be clarify whether it is an issue or personal preference. 

Have you spoken with any like minded enthusiasts about your set up? You could try the avforums

https://www.avforums.com/forums/projectors-screens-video-processors.43/

or there are likely other places to chat with people who know their stuff on projector screens. 

If you know who the manufacturer is you could try speaking with them also to see what their opinion is.

TELLIT01

Has the supplier installer stated that there are 'known issues' or 'no known issues' with this particular screen.  If he was not aware of anybody else having problems he clearly couldn't say anything.

TELLIT01

CaptainRock said:

TELLIT01 said:

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 installer recommended the screen.

If I had chosen the screen, I would not be complaining.

You might be surprised to discover that many don't take that view.

ComicGeek

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Hello OP

Goods must be of satisfactory quality with consideration for price paid (which you appear to have paid top end) and if they aren't you would be entitled to a remedy (repair/replacement then final right to reject/price reduction if not resolved).

Definitely not top end price for that size of screen - a client of ours has paid nearly £8K for one last week. And that was just the cost of the screen - the OPs price appears to include installation as well.

Also partly depends on who set the budget - if the OP gave the budget to the installer, then this might be the best that they could buy. It's not going to be perfect at that price.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

ComicGeek said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Hello OP

Goods must be of satisfactory quality with consideration for price paid (which you appear to have paid top end) and if they aren't you would be entitled to a remedy (repair/replacement then final right to reject/price reduction if not resolved).

Definitely not top end price for that size of screen - a client of ours has paid nearly £8K for one last week. And that was just the cost of the screen - the OPs price appears to include installation as well.

Also partly depends on who set the budget - if the OP gave the budget to the installer, then this might be the best that they could buy. It's not going to be perfect at that price.

Wow £8k! I had a quick Google before posting and they have 100inch projector screens on Amazon for £15.99 so naively assumed £2.5k would be top end. 

born_again

shiraz99 said:

Maybe it's nothing to do with the screen but rather the settings on the projector. Did the installer calibrate this or was he just in to install the screen?

To add to that did the installer supply the projector or did the OP buy it. Given they said I've not used a setup disk.

So is the problem the projector & not the screen.

Jenni_D

If I read right the OP is complaining about "sparkling" from the screen when the projection is white ... would this suggest that there's some metal in the screen composition that is reflecting the white light? If yes then no amount of projector setup is likely to fix that.

But doing the setup is something I would expect the (professional) installer to do ... although if they didn't supply the projector then perhaps it's not their responsibility to do this.

Manxman_in_exile

The_Fat_Controller said:

CaptainRock said:

Manxman_in_exile said:

CaptainRock said:

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.

Don't want to sound too critical, but didn't you think it was a bit of a risk to spend £2500 on a 100" cinema screen without first having looked at one in action.  (Maybe that wasn't possible?)

Didn't your professional installer advise that you should choose from something you had seen and were happy with?

It was not possible to look at a screen before I bought one.

That's why I had a professional to do the work, someone who has been in the business for years.

Surely they would know that certain screens have issues and that the one recommended to me is known to have no issues.

Confused, now you say the screen recommended to you "is known to have NO issues"...

I'm not certain English is the OP's first language.  I think they were trying to say that they were relying on the installer's professional knowledge and expertise to recommend only screens that are known to have no issues, but they expressed it badly and the phrasing is confusing.

The OP also seems to be suggesting that this screen does have known issues - although I don't see how they can know that.

As I say, I suspect English is not their first language.

The_Fat_Controller said:

On exactly what basis do you think you have any sort of legal claim ?

Presumably the OP thinks it was reasonable to rely on the installer's professional knowledge and experience in recommending the screen(s) most suitable to the OP's circumstances, but the one that was recommended was not suitable.  As I said previously, it depends on the OP's budget, the setup in their cinema room, what instructions they gave the installer as to what they required, and what sort of questions the OP asked the installer about their recommendations.  It would also be interesting to know what caveats - if any - the installer gave regarding their recommendations.

The OP obviously thinks it's the installer's fault, but I'm not so sure.

Personally I wouldn't buy a cinema screen - or anything else requiring a subjective evaluation - without seeing one demonstrated.  I suspect the OP may have had unrealistic expectations about the service they were buying from the installer.

The_Fat_Controller

From the website, you appear to have specified a screen with the best SOUND TRANSMISSION, intended for those who place speakers behind the screen.

https://www.screeninnovations.com/materials/maestro/

The Best Sound, in Your Dark Room

It is a woven screen so may not be appear completely uniform with very bright white light, just my opinion as I am no expert in audio/visual setups.

The company certainly have a very extensive screen calculator too !

Did you and the installer do the required calculations regarding ambient light and projector output ?

https://www.screeninnovations.com/tools/screen-material-wizard/

Manxman_in_exile

Further to my previous post, we're currently having to get our boiler replaced because our 30+year old boiler is on the verge of packing up.

Neither my wife nor I know anything about boilers.  We've had four quotes from four reputable and recommended suppliers.  As a result we've received four different lots of advice as to what sort of replacement boiler would or would not be most suitable for our needs

We've made a final decision based on our own research as well as on the four lots of advice we've received.  But if we'd just relied on the advice given by a single supplier, we would in effect have been buying a lottery ticket as to whether we were making the right choice or not.  And it wouldn't be clear whether anybody had given us the "wrong" advice.  Or be liable for giving us the wrong advice.  A reasonable case could be made for all four solutions.

I suspect the OP may have put themself in the position of relying too heavily on a single source of advice.  That shouldn't matter if the advice or recommendation given was clearly wrong, but the advice given by the installer here may have been perfectly reasonable.  The OP just doesn't like the end result.