Letterbox bars are the tax every fixed 16:9 screen levies on widescreen movies — and Severtson is at CEDIA Expo 2026 this week to collect a refund. The Arizona-based screen maker is showing its Proteus Series projection screens at Booth #1225 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, where the show runs through September 4.
The pitch is refreshingly simple. Proteus screens carry a built-in masking system that switches the viewing surface between 16:9 and 2.39:1 aspect ratios at the push of a button. Watch TV programming and sports in 16:9, then reframe the very same screen to 2.39:1 for movies — with no projection bleed-over and none of the visible gray bars that pull you out of the picture.
“The Proteus Series is the ultimate in home theater and permanent installation flexibility, designed with a built-in masking system that allows the aspect ratio of the screen to be changed at the push of a button for superior viewing versatility,” says Aaron White, Home Theater & Pro AV sales lead at Severtson. The masking material, he adds, “is designed to absorb all spill-over that results from the projected media and the viewing surface being in different native formats. This gives the viewer a razor-sharp viewing edge.”
Severtson says the line — first launched during InfoComm 2024 — is the result of several years of research and development, with the stated goal of “providing the ultimate adjustable-aspect ratio screen in the industry.” The company backs that flexibility with its signature, U.S.-made projection surfaces and optical coatings, and every optical coating is also available in a micro-perf version. The options include:
- Cinema White (1.3 gain)
- Cinema Grey (1.0 gain)
- Stellar White (1.3–2.6 gain)
- High Contrast Grey [HCNC] (0.7 gain)
- Grey Vision (1.3–2.2 gain)
- SAT-4K (1.00 gain)
- TAT-4K (0.93 gain)
- Bright White Acoustically-Transparent [BWAT] (1.0–1.1 gain)
- SēVision 3D GX (1.4–3.0 gain) — Severtson’s advanced, water-based optical coating, recommended for passive 3D projection
The one number Severtson isn’t publishing is a price. There is no suggested retail pricing for the Proteus Series; the screens are built in customizable sizes, and the company asks prospective buyers to contact it — or an authorized Severtson dealer — directly for sizing and quotes. For a product aimed squarely at dedicated home theaters and permanent installations, that bespoke approach fits: this is a screen you spec for the room, not one you pull off a shelf.
If you’re walking the CEDIA floor in Denver this week, the push-button party trick is at Booth #1225 — and it’s the kind of demo that’s hard to unsee once you’ve watched the gray bars disappear.
