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Elite Screens Kestrel - Remote Controls
Normally, we’re just talking about a single remote control for the product being reviewed. However, in the case of the
Kestrel, there are a number of included options to raise and lower the screen. First, there are two identical-looking
remotes to control the screen. One works via IR (infrared requiring a line-of-sight between the remote and the screen)
and the other works via RF (radio frequency which works through walls and a greater distances). These remotes have
buttons to raise, lower and stop the screen at
any height. Also provided is a universal IR
remote that allows the user to control not
only the screen, but seven other components
as well. This remote has an LCD screen and
glow-in-the-dark buttons and can learn commands
from remotes for components that
are not in its built-in database of commands.
If that’s not enough, a wallbox-mounted
remote pad is also included. By running a CAT5 cable from the wallbox to the RJ45 jack on the screen, the user now
has a wall-mounted solution to control the screen.
Not really a remote control per se, but also included in the package, are RJ45 connectors to allow a 5-12V screen
trigger to activate the screen and an IR eye extension that allows you to use an IR remote with the Kestrel, even if the
base is hidden.
Operation
Once it’s set in place and plugged in, the Elite Screens Kestrel rises smoothly into position when the “Up” button is
pushed. The mechanism uses scissors-style (think car tire jack) steel parts to raise and lower the screen, which is unrolled
from a tube inside the case. The top cover of the case has the screen attached to it and the scissors raise it into place.
Operation is fairly quiet and the screen rises to its full height in less than 30 seconds. The screen can be stopped at any
point during the raising operation. If opened fully, there is a 32” black drop below the screen surface. This puts the
screen at the proper height for viewing when seated.
It should be noted that the drive motor has an overheat protection sensor. If the screen is consecutively raised and
lowered within a 3-4 minute period, the motor will automatically shut-off to prevent the motor from overheating. If this
happens, the user must allow 30 minutes cool-down time before resuming operation.
Gain
The Kestrel’s CineWhite screen is listed with a gain of 1.1, which is typical for a matte white screen. I compared it with
my Carada Brilliant White screen, which has a listed gain of 1.4, but has been measured closer to 1.3. Taking readings
of a 100 IRE (white) screen on both, the CineWhite material came in at about 1.12, which puts it right at its rating.
Color Accuracy
I then measured a 100 IRE (white) window both from the projector and the screen for the balance of red, green and
blue components. The Kestrel displayed an increase in blue (not unusual for many white matte screens) of about 3%.
This is not excessive and a full screen white field did not have any blue tinge to it in the projector’s THX mode. This shift
toward blue was slightly more noticeable using one of the projector’s brighter settings, which tend to overemphasize
blue anyway. By comparison, my Carada screen (which is one of the more neutral ones out there) actually has a
reduction in blue of about 1%.
Overall, the slight blue shift of the Elite Kestrel can easily be accounted for during calibration, such that the resulting
image will look no different than it does on the Carada.
Tensioning
The screen uses the cord-type tensioners normally found in motorized wall screens. These cords are attached via
loops at various points along the screen’s height to keep horizontal tension on the screens, thus minimizing any
distracting “waves” in the screen surface. While our test unit still had a few small waves along the top edge of the
screen, it wasn’t noticeable in normal viewing and will likely tend to smooth out further the longer the screen remains
fully open. I also saw one of the non-tensioned Kestrels and it had some noticeable (albeit small) waves in the screen
surface. For that reason, I would highly recommend paying the extra money for the tensioned version, especially if
the screen is going to be used for a home theater.
Uniformity and Overall Image Quality
Placing the Kestrel in front of my wall-mounted Carada Brilliant White screen for comparison, I fired up my Epson
8500UB and projected a full screen image. The Kestrel did a fine job with a variety of Blu-ray material, both movies
and test disks. The CineWhite screen material had a very natural appearance and under normal viewing the slight
leaning toward blue was not noticeable. Overall, the Kestrel screen did not noticeably appear to favor any particular
color. There was no noticeable grain or other visible indication of the screen surface and the few aforementioned
waves one the top right edge of the screen surface were a non-factor.
The Kestrel displayed a bright, clean image from any normal viewing distance. As you would expect from what is
essentially a neutral gain screen, there is no hot-spotting and the viewing angle was quite wide. I’m not sure you’d
want to watch it at the extremes of its claimed 160 degree viewing angle, but it’s just fine at the normal limits of 120
degrees.
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