Latest News
Marquee Anti-Banding Mod now available
December
12, 2011
The Marquee banding problem
as seen on a convergence grid
Fix the banding issues on your Marquee,
Vidikron Vision One/Two, or Madrigal CRT projector
with this mod!
The
Marquee Anti-Banding Mod removes bunching and
spreading of scan lines that appear as lighter and
darker bands across the image, especially on white.
If you find that your Marquee picture has waves or
an picture with uneven brightness, this mod is for
you.
An additional custom programmed EPROM chip is
added to your control (CLM) board to give rounded
waveforms in place of sawtooths. We also store your
settings, replace the lithium backup battery, and
restore settings so nothing is lost.
This mod is available for all Electrohome Marquee
CRT projectors and clones, including:
- Marquee 8000,
8110, 8110+, 8500, 8500LC, 8500LC Ultra, 9000,
9500LC, 9500LC Ultra
- Accurate
Imaging Technologies Accurate 8, 9, XL
- Accurate
Imaging Technologies Integrated 8
- Accurate
Imaging Technologies Modular 8,9
- Accurate
Imaging Technologies Ultimate 8-X, 9-X
- Crystal View
CV-1, CV-2, CV-3
- GTT Audio Video
HT Reference 8, 9
- Madrigal MP-8,
MP-9
- Reference
Imaging CinePro 8x, 9x, 9x Elite
- Spatz Tech
RE8000, RE9000, RE9500
- Theater
Automation Wow (TAW) HD-800, HD-900
- Vidikron Vision
1, 2, 3
- Visual Dynamics
Reference 8/9
For complete details see our
Marquee Anti-Banding Mod page.
More Information »
ChromaPure and Radiance are winners in the Best
of 2011 awards!
December
5, 2011
Secrets of Home Theater & High Fidelity
recently announced their
Best of 2011 awards,
and a big congratulations
goes out to:
- Tom Huffman and
his team for winning in the 'Best
Calibration Software' category with
ChromaPure 2! Two years in a row!
- Jim Peterson and
his time for winning in the new category 'Best Video
Processor' with the new
Radiance Mini 3D!
We've always thought the two make a killer
combination and the editors at Secrets seem to
agree:
"Initially, we were very impressed with
ChromaPure and are happy to say that with the latest
version that still holds true. The interface is
still very clean and straightforward, making it easy
to get started for anyone. The additional features
offered in the new version have added more power and
customization than was previously available, yet
without added complexity.
Overall,
ChromaPure is still my choice for calibration
software and what I plan to continue to use. When
combined with the
Lumagen Radiance, the results that
I was able to achieve were even better. I had
thought that an external CMS was somewhat outdated
now that most displays and projectors included some
sort of CMS, but I was certainly wrong in that
regard. With the Radiance I was able to achieve
results far beyond what I could do with the display
controls, and a far better image as a result of it.
Given all of the issues that we have found recently
with Blu-ray players, receivers, and processors with
how they handle colorspace information, adding an
external CMS can resolve all of these issues, and
give you a far better image to boot. It’s a piece of
gear that I didn’t want to return, and that I hope
to pick up for good in the future."
- Chris Heinonen of HomeTheaterHiFi.com
Links:
Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity best of
2011 awards
ChromaPure software and meters at CurtPalme.com
discounted prices
Lumagen RadianceMini3D video processor - currently
on sale until Dec 31
Complete list of awards »
RadianceMini 3D Video Processor SALE - Save an
extra $200!
November 22, 2011
Save an additional $200 off our already
discounted Radiance video processor,
now only $1395! That's $600 off the regular price!
Free US/Canada shipping and equivalently discounted
international shipping. Sale ends Dec 31, 2011.
ORDER NOW »
The RadianceMini 3D features the same award
winning video processing as the bigger
units but simply reduces the number of input/output connections
available. Perfect for today's home theaters where you route
and switch everything through a receiver or pre-amp anyway!
As with the other members of the Radiance line,
proprietary No-ring™ scaling, linear-Gamma
RGB-color-palette CMS, 21-point parametric grayscale
calibration, video deinterlacing, MPEG artifact
reduction, temporal noise reduction, and other
features, combine to provide the best video quality
available.
HDMI 1.4 3D is also supported, including scaling
and aspect ratio control for 3D Blu-ray movies for
use with an anamorphic lens, such as those produced
by Panamorph®. For dual-projector 3D, two units can
be used with each receiving 3D and outputting video
for either the left-eye or right-eye.
Combine it with the award winning
ChromaPure
software to auto-calibrate any display: Anyone with
little or no training in video technology can now
calibrate their display in just 5-10 minutes.
Buy once, use
forever! The Radiance 3D is the only video processor that we
know of that, over the years, has kept up with new
features and offered upgrades to existing users -
often through completely free software upgrades!
Most other companies we know of do not do this.
Instead, they make you buy a new model as new
features are introduced.
You don't hear this often but CurtPalme.com is
comfortable in saying that the Radiance is the one
true "buy once, use forever" video processor that
has stood the test of time. The Radiance is
completely over engineered with processing power
that has proven that it can take on just about
anything. Truly phenomenal support from Jim Peterson
and his crew!
See our
Radiance order page for more details
and pictures!
Questions? Email us at
lumagen@curtpalme.com
More Information »
Sale on select HDMI cards - Limited time only!
November 15, 2011
Moome's having a limited time sale on his HDMI cards
for Electrohome
Marquee projectors & clones (Madrigal, Vidikron,
etc) and NEC XG / Runco 991 projectors.
These cards are a must-have for enjoying Blu-ray
1080p Full HD on your CRT projector!
Both feature two HDMI inputs, IR remote control,
adjustable gamma boost for perfect black details,
and more. Installation takes 5 minutes (plug and
play).
Sale ends January 15, 2012.
For complete details visit the
Marquee VIM-FULLHD or
NEC XG-FULLHD order pages.
Questions? Email us at:
moome@curtpalme.com
More Information »
Mid & high end projector blowout
October
28, 2011
See our
CRT Primer to read why CRT projectors are still used in home
theaters where picture quality is paramount. Our
Projector Rankings page will show you how they
stack up. Not sure what
projector is right
for you? Email Curt
for help!
It's time to blow out some of my mid and high end
projectors at great prices!
Marquee 8500: I have two only with excellent
condition tubes, very low hours on them. 1200
lumens, 1080p capable, filament and other
reliability modifications done to the sets. $1500
each.
Sony
G90: Brand new green tube, no wear on the R
and B tubes. New Dallas chip. Original Sony remote
included. Fantastic condition overall, a phenomenal
1080p image. $3500.00
Marquee 9500 Ultra: October 2002 build date,
all new tubes in the set. Rare HD10E lenses
included, which are equivalent to the HFQ900 lenses.
The Ultra build date has all the latest performance
mods in it. $6500.00
Marquee 9500 Ultra: Also a 2002 build date,
very light wear on the tubes, a low hour (<2000)
chassis and on the tubes. $3500.00
Barco 909: Two sets available. Mint
condition, these were re-tubed literally 100 hours
before they were pulled out of service. HFQ 900
lenses, the best possible CRT lenses. 2500 X 2500
resolution possible. Nice blue cases in great shape.
P43 LUG tubes makes these sets ready for 3D to boot.
Original shipping cases and remotes included. It
doesn’t get better than this! $7000.00 each
See our
eBay listings for additional items. Interested or have questions?
Email Curt!
See All CRT Projectors »
ChromaPure 2.2.7 now available
October 13, 2011
ChromaPure 2.2.7 is now available for immediate
free download for existing customers.
New features:
- PRO meters now
include corrections for LG LED backlit LCD and
LG standard LCD displays for even greater
accuracy.
- In consultation
with X-Rite, we made an adjustment to our
i1
Display Pro III support that provides
significantly better repeatability at low light
levels.
- The Color
Management module now includes a CIE chart.
- The Advanced
Color Management module now includes support for
the
Lumagen Radiance as a signal generator.
- When
initializing the
JETI 1211 spectroradiometer,
the application now automatically measures and
sets the cycle rate of the target display.
Bug fixes:
- The
AccuPel
signal generator would lose default settings
after working in the Advanced Color Management
module. This has been fixed.
- Connection to
the selected meter would be lost when cancelling
out of the Options module. This has been fixed.
- If the user
neglected to initialize a meter before selecting
auto-advance, the system would become unstable
when taking grayscale readings.
- The system
allowed users to select a null value from the
signal generator drop-down. This has been fixed.
To download, visit our our
ChromaPure
order page.
Confused about meters? See our
FAQ: Which meter
is right for me?
Questions? Email us at:
chromapure@curtpalme.com
More Information »
Projector parts
blowout: Part 2
August
19, 2011
The "Almost Free Stuff"
OK, over the next few weekends I'm clearing out a
whole bunch more CRT stuff to make room for the
higher end stuff coming in.
I've mentioned this a couple of times, but this
time I'm serious! I'm going to be getting rid of
most of my ES focusing stuff, 7" tubes, and anything
to do with the older CRTs. I'm virtually giving this
stuff away, just cover the packing material,
postage, and a couple of bucks for my teenage
helper(s) (girlfriend's son) to pack the stuff.
This applies to, but is not limited to:
- AmPro 2000,
4000, any Ampro sets prior to the 2000 (1500,
etc.)
- Barco ES
focusing analog projectors, including 400, 600,
1000, 1001, 1500, 1600, etc.
- Barco 500, some
800 boards
- Electrohome ECP
- Vidikron 7"
stuff (same as ECP)
- Zenith PRO
851/Runco 750/GE Image 150, 160, etc.
- NEC GP3000, NEC
DP1200 (select parts are still here)
- Sony 1000
series, all of it.
- Some Sony 12XX
stuff (email
for details)
- Any SD 130,
SD187 and 07MS tubes showing any signs of wear.
Most of the boards are good, some are labelled as
'defective', some might have minor damage (bent
transistors, snapped controls on the Sony 10XX
boards, for example.
The "Not Free Stuff"
- The 'more'
valuable ES focusing items, like ECP HV and LV
supplies. Cheap, but not quite free.
- I do have some
new R and G SD187 and 07MP tubes that I'll be
selling at attractive pricing, ditto for used G
and R tubes showing no wear.
Email
for details. No good blues left in stock as far
as I know.
If you're still running these sets, here's your
chance to stock up on spare parts, as I won't be
buying any more sets unless someone gives them to
me, and they are local.
Email me
if you think I should be giving away some ES stuff
not listed above.
Sony Qualia 004 Digital Projector Repairs
The Sony Qualia 004 projector is the high end,
$27K USD SxRD projector that Sony came out with in
about 2003 that was the first digital projector
image that I thought was reasonable. Although
marketed to the broadcast and pro industries
originally, a lot of high end home theaters were
also outfitted with this projector model. Subsequent
to the Qualia 004, lower end models were introduced
at lower prices, but they never looked like the
original Qualia (in my opinion).
Well, the day has come that it’s now in excess of
7 years since Sony discontinued the Qualia 004, and
I have had two calls in the last week from customers
that have defective Qualias as Sony no longer
supports the product. Sony allegedly won’t even take
the units in for repair. Now that the Qualia is a
few years old, the power supplies are dying often,
resulting in intermittent operation, or a dead set.
Fortunately, I’ve repaired a few of these now,
and I can repair a Qualia power supply for far less
than Sony was charging for a new board. I’ve
identified the weak spot in the power supply, and
upgrade the parts so a repeat failure is unlikely.
The better news is, I only need the power supply PC
board, not the whole 100lb projector to complete the
repair.
Please pass my name on to anyone owning a Sony
Qualia, as it is likely that it will need servicing
at some point in time.
Interested or have questions?
Email Curt!
See All CRT Projectors »
High End Barco 909
CRT projector available
July
6, 2011
See our
CRT Primer to read why CRT projectors are still used in home
theaters where picture quality is paramount. Our
Projector Rankings page will show you how they
stack up. Not sure what
projector is right
for you? Email Curt
for help!
We've got one Barco 909 CRT projector available!
This is a top
of the line set, 1080p capable and beyond. It's the
highest end CRT projector Barco ever made with 9"
tubes and a completely redesigned chassis. The 909
is the industrialized version of the Cine 9. Both
have identical specs:
- 3200x2560
max resolution (nearly x4 the resolution of 1080p)
- 180Mhz
bandwidth
- 180Khz max
scanrate
- 9" tubes with
advanced 6-pole beam correction
- 81 zones of
convergence
More information is available on the
Barco 909 brochure/spec sheet. The Cine 9 /
909 is rated #1 on our
CRT projector rankings list.
The Barco 909 is hard to find and this one's
in good shape with only 1100 original hours. Case is
blue with a couple of minor scuffs, the keypad cover
is intact (the ones that always break off), comes
with original remote. Top of the line HFQ900 lenses
installed. Zero tube wear, mint condition all around
electronically, $8500.00 plus shipping.
Interested or have questions?
Email Curt!
See All CRT Projectors »
The
new EyeOne Display 3 colorimeter: A true game
changer!
June 22, 2011
Buy direct from our ChromaPure partner at
prices lower than buying off their own website! Same
product, same support, just more money in your
pocket at the end of the day.
ORDER NOW »
dis·rup·tive tech·nol·o·gy: "a new
technology that unexpectedly displaces an
established technology by providing substantially
new or improved functionality or similar
functionality at a significantly lower cost."
The new
X-Rite
Display 3 colorimeter is truly
groundbreaking and certainly disruptive: It performs
three times faster and is able to read lower light
levels than our previously recommended general
purpose meter, the
Chroma 5.
Better features, better performance, and at a
substantially lower cost as well!
Features
- Excellent
low-light performance (real-world performance
shows good results down to approximately 0.003
cd/m2)
- No dark reading
- Built-in tripod
mount
- Built-in hinged
high-quality diffuser
- Very good
accuracy
- Extremely fast
- Available in
PRO configuration, which enhances accuracy even
more
The new
X-Rite
Display 3 offers near professional
performance at a price affordable to any enthusiast.
In fact, its performance is so close to professional
colorimeters, such as the Klein K-10 or X-Rite’s own
Hubble,
than it has become extremely difficult to justify
purchasing such devices that come in at 10-20 times
the cost of the
Display 3.
When it comes to home theater calibration, the color analyzer is often the weakest link in
measuring and adjusting a display device. Because of
the unprecedented price/performance ratio of the
Display 3,
it is most certainly one of the most
important products ever developed for display
calibration. Technology marches on!
A new Display 3 PRO is
also now available for order that takes the meter one step further and offers
substantially enhanced accuracy across multiple display types with colour and
white point accuracy that in most cases exceeds that of the
EyeOne Pro
spectroradiometer.
When someone needs to choose one single sub-$1000
meter for video calibrations, the Display 3 PRO
is now the number one choice as it offers professional grade
performance at a price affordable to the amateur
hobbyist or enthusiast. No other single meter even
comes close. This title used to be held by the Chroma
5 PRO, but with the introduction of the Display
3 PRO, we see no reason to suggest the Chroma
5 PRO anymore.
For complete details on the performance of the
new Display 3 including videos, see our new
Display 3
order page.
Confused about meters? See our
FAQ: Which meter
is right for me? (newly updated!)
Questions? Email us at:
chromapure@curtpalme.com
More Information »
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