CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

dturco · Last edited by dturco on Sat Sep 12, 2009 7:42 pm; edited 1 time in total

Ok so I have a choice to make.

I can buy a new screen for $1198, Hurley 120" 1.8 Gain,

Or,

Look for a new digital P/J for the same price. There are quite a few for $999 and lower but most of them are 720p 2 are 1080p.

How would you spend this money?

The $1200 represents my "Mad Money" for the next 3 months.

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

1198 ? that mist be with a frame correct? I was quoted about 400 bucks for a 2.4 aspect 13 foot wide lace and grommet screen. Build the frame yourself and save the cash $$$$

Athanasios

dturco · Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 6:33 pm Post subject:

Yes with frame. I was thinking about that option too. 2 .4 aspect ? or gain? I have their samples and the 2.5 gain is silver and throws red shift like crazy.

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

I have the unity gain sample and its just right.

Athanasios

Tom.W · Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 6635

I bought a used 96 inch wide Stewart 1.5 gain screen on e bay with the frame for $185. The condition was perfect. Granted it took awhile to wait for the right auction but it was well worth it IMO.

dturco · Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 7:48 pm Post subject:

I edited the post the gain was Hurley's 1.8 Superflex which will insure no seams on the screen at 61" 108".

It is much more expensive than the 1.5 gain with the seams. 2.42 times as expensive. Shocked

for just the material.The frame remains a constant.

dturco · Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 7:52 pm Post subject:

ecrabb · Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 8:04 pm Post subject:

I guess I don't exactly understand the question given your current projector. It's a little like you had a 1991 Ferrari Testarossa, and asking if you should put $20,000 worth of new wheels, tires, brakes and suspension upgrades into the Ferrari, or should you just buy a sporty new Hyundai. I'm exaggerating, but you probably get my point.

Do you like CRT? If you do, you're going to have a hard time going to a $1200 digital. A new 1080p digital in that price range is going to be crap. Depending on the projector, a 720p model might work well, but probably not without a lens, and you'll probably still want to go scope - mo money. What's your viewing angle with that big screen size?

SC

MikeEby · Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Posts: 5237 Location: Osceola, Indiana

It that 120" wide or diagonal?

Mike

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

I think he wants a digital for a second PJ and not for the main movie watching unit.

Athanasios

dturco · Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 8:24 pm Post subject:

120 Diagonal screen size, viewing angles do not exceed 40 degrees, The digital is for a secondary unit while GOZER eats parts or gets upgraded or I break it Embarassed

.

More so the ease of use when GOZER pisses me off.

And so far I like CRT's picture the best, time involved, not so much.

I know I would have to spend well over $3000 to even come close to what a CRT can do. So replacing GOZER with a comparable Digital would be hard to do sell GOZER wait, Then order new digital, wait.

Then set up new digital and find out it isn't that great ... sh*t..... wait...... start over .

Screen with gain = Brighter.

Digital = Brighter.

I want a Brighter image. Neutral

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

Bat cave equals Brighter with CRT.

Athanasios

ecrabb · Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 10:04 pm Post subject:

draganm · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 8990 Location: Colorado

the hurly's pricey. If all you really want is a brighter image, something better than that gray , (almost as good as paper) screen you have now Laughing

just get a Dalite HP. Half the price of the Hurley. Put the $500. difference in the bank at a whopping 1.2% interest. Or better yet get the HD mods for another boost to pic quality/performance

http://cgi.ebay.com/DA-LITE-PERM-WALL-FIXED-PROJECTION-SCREEN-54x96-NEW-HP_W0QQitemZ360124407295QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item53d9165dff&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1262

dturco · Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 10:10 pm Post subject:

I have a Batcave, only 2 windows, covered with blinds, black-out curtains, and drapes in front of that. It's almost as dark at 3 O'clock in the afternoon as it is at 9" O'clock at night. Almost.

Light control is not the problem at all. The latest M/P mods have brightened it a bit but the picture is still not quite right.......
I'm sure this is just me being anal.

dturco · Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 10:21 pm Post subject:

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

Am I misunderstanding something here. I thought the Dalite was a reflective screen, and not a retro-reflective screen. Wouldn't the HP hotspot like a bandit?

draganm · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 8990 Location: Colorado

perisoft · Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 2920 Location: Ithaca, NY

I'm snagging an Optoma HD20 for work... For those purposes, I care about:

-Resolution
-Brightness
-ANSI
-Low weight
-Ability to be pummeled around at 2gs for hours at a time

Those are all areas in which CRT does not excel. Wink

But when I get it in, I'm planning on hauling it down to the HT and doing a quick setup to see just what a $999 digital looks like. Should be interesting.

I'm not sure if the HD20 can do 24p - meaningless for my work but a dealbreaker for HT use if it's locked to 60hz.

On the other hand, if it does 24p... well - you're left with accuracy of primaries and black level. With VideoEqualizer, if the primaries are there, anything else can be fixed. I made a 960x540 Mitsubishi LCD PJ from 2005 look pretty good color-wise, with an earlier version of VE that was really hard to work with (I didn't spend much time at it).

What I'd really like to do is get absolute dead-nuts comparison shots - set up the camera on a tripod, and run both PJs from the computer at the same time so they're each getting the exact same frame, and eliminate the variables between cameras/setups/etc etc. Done that way it should be possible to at least get a valid COMPARISON between the two color-wise, even though you can't use a screenshot to judge colors absolutely...

Of course, that all depends on free time...

dturco · Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 4:11 pm Post subject: