Our very own Philip Jones recently ordered a 165-inch Stewart Filmscreen Balón Edge screen with StudioTek 130 G4 MicroPerf X², which is a THX Ultra Certified acoustically transparent screen material. I assisted Philip in unboxing and installing the screen. As a residential and a pro AV projection screen, the Balón Edge can be ideal anywhere two-piece projection is needed.
The Balón Edge series features a thin edge, creating a sleek and modern look. In addition, the series includes a range of screen materials optimized for various applications, including ambient light rejection, ultra-wide viewing angles, and more. Philip chose Stewart Filmscreen's proprietary MicroPerf X² THX-Ultra perforation pattern, allowing for improved sound transmission while maintaining image quality.
Stewart Filmscreen Balón Edge
“The Balón Edge is the perfect wall-mount screen for those who want a thinly framed projection screen,” said Adrian Silva, Vice President of Sales for Stewart Filmscreen. “Each Balón Edge projection screen is handmade to match your specific viewing needs and made to order for your particular venue. You know you are getting the best when you choose Stewart Filmscreen, and you’ll know this as soon as you open the box. No other company builds to the exacting quality of Stewart, and no other screen company has the breadth of screen fabrics we do.”
Overall, the Stewart Filmscreen Balón Edge is a high-quality projection screen series designed to provide exceptional image and sound performance, while offering a customizable and visually appealing screen option for home theater, media room, and other high-end applications.
ASSEMBLY
Stewart Filmscreen’s Headquarters is located in Torrance, CA.
Stewart Filmscreen states, “We are proud to manufacture all of our projection screens and screen materials in our production facility in California.” I actually drove to Stewart Filmscreen’s Headquarters located in Torrance, CA and picked up the Balón Edge myself. The domestic crate was 163 7/8-inches x 12-inches x 12-inches and weighed in at 126 lbs. Luckily, the Stewart Filmscreen crew was kind enough to load the box in the cargo van for me.
The Balón Edge cardboard box was easy for two people to carry from the vehicle to its final destination. Once opened, the box reveals the installation instructions and the carefully rolled screen in a tube. The screen is packaged with a hanging bar and mounting hardware. The box also contains the disassembled frame and all necessary hardware to reassemble the frame. Lastly, the box includes the Quick Start Guide.
Following the instruction provided by the Owner’s Manual, we assembled the frame first. It was easy to connect the frame members by matching letters and numbers on the end of the members to each other. Next, we temporarily hung the frame to accurately position the Balón Edge before attaching the StudioTek 130 G4 screen material. We also made sure to install the two included back braces, which are needed for the larger screen sizes to keep the frame’s integrity intact.
The screen came safely rolled up in a rigid cardboard protective tube. Soft padded sponge sheets are rolled up with the projector screen for protection during transport and protection while being assembled on the floor. It’s a nice touch to help prevent accidental damage to the critical side of the projector screen during assembly. We unrolled the screen and got it ready to be attached to the frame, which included laying the frame on top of the screen with the mounting side up.
We started with the snaps on each of the corners. Next, we lifted the screen and snapped the screen onto each snap. Keep in mind, the image size of the screen we installed is 64.625-inches H x 151.875-inches W (165-inch diagonal) 2.23:1. Due to the sheer size of the screen, I was happy I did not affix the screen to the aluminum frame by myself. The screen material is obviously tight for a perfectly flat projection surface, but stretching the screen to attach so many small snaps from the screen and snapping them onto the frame made for sore fingers and thumbs. Philip secured half of the projector screen’s snaps, and I attached the other half.
Black Velux Material
The sore fingers were well worth the price of admission once we saw how we were done attaching the screen to the frame. The Balón Edge looked great, and we didn’t even have it hanging on the wall. We quickly attached the border trim and then hung the Balón Edge with StudioTek 130 G4 material exactly where we wanted it. Lastly, you may want a lint roller to remove particles from the border trim, a black Velux material. It will attract every piece of lint off the floor as you install the border trim to the Balón Edge.
