CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

wildchild22 · Joined: 16 Aug 2008 Posts: 185

First off I am a strickly digital( so far) projector owner. I have had an infocus X1 and Sp4805, and a benq w500.
I am happy with my digitals but am intriqued with crts after reading the primer. I have an approx 100" screen made out of black out cloth. I watch blurays and HDTV 99% of the time.

What would be a good crt projector that is future proof, reliable and enough for my needs ( really do not want to buy and down the road buy something else as shipping is expensive)?

There are so many models , I know a 9500LC ultra or G90 is the king but maybe a lower priced crt may be good enough for me. I am not a critical viewer but I can easily tell my blacks are more grey on my digital. I quess what I am asking is for a non critial viewer what would the best bang for the buck be with crt's.

( I emailed Curt and he recommended barco or marquee for me but after reading all the specs I am more lost than when I begin)

I quess I need 1080p

macgyver655 · Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 8508

You only think you need 1080p because your digitals need at least that to show something thats not as painful to watch.

Crt is fine with 1080i or even 720p. This would still make your digitals look shameful. Hell, 480i on a CRT still look better then a digital, lol. Laughing

Sparky015 · Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 2:00 am Post subject:

It all depends on what you want to spend. If you want to future proof, I would get yourself a 9" machine. Personally it feels like 8" CRTs are dying out in favor of 9" machines, but I could be wrong. You can't go wrong wiht a Marquee. Parts are plentiful. Heck, check out the buy/sell forum, you can get a new set of loaded tubes for less than $2K. Get a 9500LC and trick it out. It will rival a Barco 909. To be honest, even a stock one will be an improvement over your digital.

dturco · Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 2:05 am Post subject:

Well I'd say Curt is right. A Barco 808s or 808.. whatever other suffix is a great P/J. I would also agree with the Marquee 8500. Both have ample parts available and many other forum members to help you with tweaking them.

You might also consider an Ampro 9" machine in the same price range, but parts are becoming a bit scarce, and well the machine is looked down upon for some reason, but the one of the designers of that machine still uses it as his personal machine, so it can't be all bad.

For my part I'd say Marquee,but I have one so I'm swayed a bit.

Welcome to the Forum.

km987654 · Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 2:13 am Post subject:

wildchild22 · Joined: 16 Aug 2008 Posts: 185

thanks for all the suggestions.

**kal** · Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 2:58 pm Post subject:

There is no such thing as a 'future proof' projector - digital or analog.

Kal

ecrabb · Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 3:54 pm Post subject:

No kidding. Nothing that has anything to do with technology is "future-proof".

If you're used to watching a Benq W500 and you want try CRT, then I'd say try to find a nice 8" EM/LC machine like a G70, XG, Cine 8/808LC, or an 8500LC - any of those would be a nice upgrade from the Benq, and for not much more money than you spent on the Benq. With those machines, you could run 1080p to get more spatial resolution, get far superior black levels and on/off contrast, better color, and better motion resolution. Of course, it'll take some learning and some work to get there compared to what you're used to. No plug-and-play with CRT.

Now, if you're thinking of spending more money, then it gets trickier. The digitals at the ~$2000 price point are getting very good now - far superior to your 2-year old entry-level 720p Benq. The CRT guys here are going to hate me for this... But, if I were going to replace my projector right now, and I were going to drop $2000, I don't think I'd go G90 or 9500 anymore - not unless I could get it so cheap I couldn't resist. I'd either pick up a used JVC RS20/25 or a new Panasonic AE4000 at this point. Neither is ideal in every aspect of PQ, but then neither is even a 9" CRT.

Besides being throwaway construction with depreciation to match, the disadvantages of the digitals are a slightly elevated black level, lower on/off contrast ratio, and slight banding in certain scenes/dark colors. But, in return, you get a MUCH smaller projector with WAY lower visual impact on the room, it's much quieter, way easier setup, and zero maintenance. You also get easy flexibility to run scope movies on a scope screen and zoom 1.85 movies in full resolution pillar-boxed... which is very slick.

Just my humble opinion.

SC

Sparky015 · Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 4:31 pm Post subject:

We are certainly in that gray zone, where CRT is starting to get towards end of life. Although I hate the fact my Marquee is a flipping tank and noisy despite fan mods, not sure I would touch a digital right now unless it was a LED PJ. And even then, I couldn't afford one that provides as good a picture as what I have right now anyway. The technology is still not quite there, but it seems it's getting very close. Now it's a matter of affordability.

You have to decide if you can afford a 9 inch or 8 inch machine. Either way, no pj is future proof. A 9" machine will give you a shot at future higher resolutions, IMHO.

macgyver655 · Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 8508

ecrabb · Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 4:52 pm Post subject:

ecrabb · Posted: Fri Apr 16, 2010 5:02 pm Post subject:

macgyver655 · Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 8508

stefuel · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 12:07 am Post subject:

Whatever you do, don't buy a friggin AmPro
We're trying to keep the prices down Wink

Sparky015 · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 12:30 am Post subject:

Are their any AmPro's left? I think I saw me one of those in the historical TV section as the science museum. It didn't look to be for sale though Laughing

stefuel · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 1:35 am Post subject:

Mr. Green · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2010 2:20 am Post subject:

Welcome to the forum!

It's what you want to put into it/ get out of it. If you are interested in toying with one on the cheap and just to see what you can do with them or to just try setting one up for kicks, go for a cheapo 8" set locally and have at it.

I have a NEC 9PG+ which was a great entry point for me as it is hard to set up so now everything else is easy. I now have a Marquee 9501lc and I like the Marquee waaaaay more. Easier to set up for sure. The downside is cost (not as sharp either).

Do you have a budget? If comparing to the digitals you currently have like the X1, almost any mid range 8" set should be an improvement. I used an X1 for a while and the screen door was really noticable.

Personally, I'm waiting for the LED projectors to be fine tuned and come way down in price. They won't have the bulb replacement issue other digitals have and should last a good long time. Long enough you'll want to upgrade by the time it dies anyways.

Let us know what you want out of it and budget. Lots of guys watch for cheap projector sales and might find something close to you. Of course if budget allows you could always buy form Curt. That warranty on these old beasts is a very good thing.

wildchild22 · Joined: 16 Aug 2008 Posts: 185

I am doing lots of research.

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

Spanky Ham · Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 5643 Location: Comedy Central

You have never given your price point. If you want to spend less than $1k, then you can get a good 8" LC. You could use that for then next two to three years until LED pjs become inexpensive. The other option is go for a 9" and use it for the next five years. THe problem is tubes. Since you say you are happy with digitals, I would say go for the former.