Page 42 - 2022-08-01 Sound & Vision

test report

ELITE SCREENS KESTREL TAB-TENSION 2 CLR 3 SERIES PROJECTION SCREEN

of around 6 -L at the bo om le , end—showed excellent detail in
while most of the other measured the shots of craggy mountains and
zones were closer to the center old stone buildings, and colors and
target. Color uniformity was also skin tones looked as natural and
very good, with the maximum pure as I expect them to be. There’s
deviation from a 6,520 K center nothing overly dazzling about No
measurement being 6,766 K at the Time to Die’s 4K/HDR transfer,
screen’s bo om right corner. but it does have a solid, visually
How did all that play out in pleasing quality from start to finish.
real-world viewing? With lights off Watching it on the Kestrel screen,
and windows blacked, the image I had no complaints, and found
montage from the Spears & Munsil myself wanting to se le back and
UHD HDR Benchmark disc revealed continue watching.
a slight degree of color tinting at the While Elite Screens’ versatile
corners of the screen in the early Kestrel proved to be a fine option
shots of white sheep and winter for dark room movie viewing, most Test Bench
landscapes, but I can’t say I noticed people use UST projection setups
it again outside of that torture-test for watching stuff like sports in
Measurements were made with a 100 IRE white test pattern
footage. Later shots of a honey more well-illuminated environ-
displayed via an Epson LS500 projector calibrated using Calman
dipper, peacock feather, and cacti ments. The Red Bull TV streaming
measurement software from Portrait Displays (www.portrait.
against a solid black background channel offers a seemingly infinite
com) together with a Photo Research PR- 650 color meter. A
revealed well-saturated colors, but variety of footage of athletes and
Minolta LS-100 luminance meter and a Murideo/AVPro (Fresco
the background was more of a dark daredevils in motion. Watching an
Six-G) test pattern generator were also used during testing.—AG
gray than a true black. (To be fair, extended clip of a gravity-defying
the Epson UST projector, which group of skateboarders doing their
has good, but not mind-blowingly thing in a small Central American Color Luminance
Screen
good, contrast was partially city with my room’s overhead lights Target Point Temperature (K) (ft-L)
responsible for this shortcoming.) on, the image looked satisfyingly
Shadows looked deeper in more bright and punchy, and colors Center 6520 22.7
intricate nigh ime drone footage of the vividly painted buildings
Center Left Side 6544 18.2
of urban skyscrapers, though I still retained their richness. For non-
Center Right Side 6771 19.4
wasn’t seeing a true black. fussy viewing of content of this sort,
Switching to movies on Ultra HD the picture quality of the Epson Center Top 6432 23.0
Blu-ray, I watched a few scenes UST/Elite Screens combo in a well- Left Top 6483 17.8
from Dune that make good use of lit room was be er than acceptable. Right Top 6687 18.0
HDR highlights. These popped It literally looked great. Of course, I
Center Bottom 6584 20.4
fairly well on the Kestrel screen, did have my windows blacked out,
Left Bottom 6738 17.0
and there was good detail in the and when I later un-shu ered them
shadows. Guardians of the Galaxy to see how the screen would fare, Right Bottom 6766 17.9
Vol. 2 has some scenes with vivid, the picture immediately became
trippy colors, particularly the ones washed out. command and then fully retracts Available in
that take place on Ego’s planet. into a compact and visually unas- 101- and 121-in
These came across as rich and CONCLUSION suming case. Like other screens Specs (diagonal)
dynamic on the Kestrel screen, and designed for use with UST projec- sizes, 16:9
the green and blue hues of certain The Elite Screens Kestrel Tab- tors, the Kestrel requires a degree aspect ratio
characters’ skin also had a vivid Tension 2 CLR 3 well exceeded my of lighting control for best perfor-
look. expectations with its solid build mance, but once that was taken
Tossing No Time to Die into quality, versatility, and perfor- care of, I was impressed with the want to deal with the black hole
my Oppo player, early scenes mance. There is something very image quality I was ge ing with my dilemma that a huge, wall-mounted
from Daniel Craig’s final hurrah as cool—magical, almost—about a room’s overhead lights switched fixed projection screen poses, I’d
James Bond where he vacations in screen that rises up from the floor on or off. If you’re interested in a strongly recommend considering
Italy—a trip that comes to an abrupt in response to a remote control UST projection setup, and don’t the Kestrel Tab-Tension 2 CLR 3.

The Verdict

The Elite Screens Kestrel is a well-
made, reasonably-priced, and easy-
to-set-up option for those who want
their projection screen to disappear
when it’s not in use.

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42 August September 2022 soundandvision.com