ALR vs CLR screens
CLR screens are for ultra-short-throw projectors, ALR for the rest — and their gain ranges overlap, so the figure cannot tell you which you are buying.
The two are not grades of the same thing, they reject light arriving from different directions, and the right one is decided by where your projector sits. A **CLR** (ceiling-light-rejecting) screen has a horizontal sawtooth structure that only works with light coming from below — that is, from an ultra-short-throw projector on a cabinet. An **ALR** screen rejects light arriving off-axis and suits a short-throw or standard projector further back. Put a UST projector on an ALR screen and you get a washed-out hotspot. Of the 110 projectors we track, 29 are ultra-short-throw (throw ratio below 0.4) and need CLR; the other 81 do not. And the number on the box will not help you tell the materials apart: across our 24 screens, CLR runs 0.5–1.0 gain and ALR runs 0.8–1.65, so 9 of them — 38% — sit in the 0.8–1.0 band where both types exist.
The practical consequence is a buying order, not a preference. Find your projector's throw ratio first; that decides the screen type, and only then does gain become a question you can answer. Within CLR the gain choice is mostly about how bright your projector is, because a CLR screen at median 0.6 gain is giving back barely half of what a matte-white surface would — which is why the UST projectors sold alongside them are the brightest in the catalogue. Within ALR, a higher gain narrows the useful viewing cone, so a wide sofa argues for the lower end of the range. The mistake worth naming: a screen advertised as "ambient light rejecting" with a 0.8 gain could be either type, and the listing often does not say which. Check whether the surface is specified for ultra-short-throw; that, not the gain, is the dividing line.
Which screen type each projector class needs
| Screen type | In our data | Gain range | Median gain | The projectors that need it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLRFresnel / sawtooth | 13 | 0.5–1.0 | 0.6 | 29 ultra-short-throw models |
| ALRlenticular / angular | 11 | 0.8–1.65 | 1.2 | 81 short-throw and standard models |
Frequently asked questions
Related guides
Projector screen gain explained
Gain is how much light a screen reflects back compared with a reference matte-white surface, which is defined as 1.0. A 1.5-gain screen sends about 50% more light toward the centre seat; a 0.6-gain screen sends 40% less. The counterintuitive part: **most ambient-light-rejecting screens have gain below 1.0**. Across the 24 ALR and CLR screens we track, 15 of them — 63% — are darker than plain white. CLR screens for ultra-short-throw projectors sit around 0.6. They buy contrast by rejecting light from the sides and ceiling, and they pay for it in brightness, so they need a brighter projector, not a dimmer one.
GuidesShort throw vs ultra-short-throw vs standard
The three types are set by throw ratio: ultra-short-throw (UST) is below 0.4 and sits inches from the wall; short throw is 0.4–1.0 and sits a few feet back; standard (long) throw is roughly 1.0–2.0 and sits across the room. For a 100-inch screen that is under 3 ft, about 3–7 ft, and 7–15 ft respectively.
GuidesProjector vs TV
A projector wins on sheer size and cost-per-inch — 100 to 200 inches for the price of a much smaller TV — but needs controlled light or an ALR screen. A TV wins on brightness, convenience and lifespan. For movie nights on a big screen, choose a projector; for all-day bright-room viewing, choose a TV.
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