CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[CZ Eddie]

I'm sitting here re-watching the Farscape TV series. It's a low budget SciFi in 4:3.
But a fun show to watch.
I downloaded the 720P rip since I couldn't find it available to stream on my Amazon account.
And the last time I watched the show it was in Standard Def.
I was looking forward to a much improved viewing session.
And about six episodes in, I'm wondering why I'm just not as happy with the video quality as I remembered?
Then it just now hit me.
Depth.
The depth of the image was what impressed me the last time I watched this about nine-ten years ago.
When the show's characters were running through the halls of this massive space ship, I always got the sensation of being there with them. Like looking through a window.
But that was nine years ago on my old modded Marquee 9500LC.
Now I'm on a BenQ W1070. The picture is big, bright and colorful. But so very one-dimensional otherwise.
Gheez I miss my CRT sometimes.

Anyways, hello folks.
Good to see the forum is still here.
Hope Curt and all the gang are well.

From time to time I do check the gov site for nearby CRT's but haven't seen anything in years.
At least not in my budget. 9500's seem to still command big bucks.

Just noticed it'll be ten years next month that I joined up.
So just over ten years that the site has been around. Congrats Curt. :up:

[redfox001]

Yes happened to me with battlestar galactica.

[kal]

A BenQ 1070 is a $700 (street price) projector from 4 years ago. Comparing that to a cutting edge $40k+ CRT from 15-20 years ago (even more money in today's dollars) isn't really a fair comparison.

The fact that the budget digital in any way is watchable and keeps you happy at all is a testament as to how far technology has come (imho).

I went from a less high end crt ($30k zenith 1200 circa 2000) to a reasonably high end digital ($5-7k jvc rs-56) and everything about it is better.

IMHO, if you spent $2k or so on a reasonably good jvc I think you'd be much more impressed


Kal

[kal]

A BenQ 1070 is a $700 (street price) projector from 4 years ago. Comparing that to a cutting edge $40k+ CRT from 15-20 years ago (even more money in today's dollars) isn't really a fair comparison.

The fact that the budget digital in any way is watchable and keeps you happy at all is a testament as to how far technology has come (imho).

I went from a less high end crt ($30k zenith 1200 circa 2000) to a reasonably high end digital ($5-7k jvc rs-56) and everything about it is better.

IMHO, if you spent $2k or so on a reasonably good jvc I think you'd be much more impressed


Kal

[GREG1292]

Eddie can see why you went with dlp after crt. Willing to give up the black but get most everything else right
and I did the same. But went back to crt for the same reason you described. Should be able to get into
a modded 9500 for around 3000.00 or less. It is never to late to come back. Enojed reading your crt posts
back in the day!!!!!!!!!!!

[ecrabb]

What Kal said. The W1070 is a nice little machine, but it's entry-level. Period. Personally, I can't stand single-chip DLP. Coming from CRT, I'd much rather watch a 6-8-year-old JVC than a brand new W1070.

When I went from my G70 to a JVC RS45, I wasn't left wanting at all. The only thing - and I do mean the only thing - the RS45 didn't do better than the G70 was absolute black. Other than that, the RS45 was far superior in every way. ANSI contrast was better, brightness was far better, color calibration was excellent, and it was small so it fit nicely in the room. It was also essentially silent, something the G70 couldn't dream of, and a huge net value increase in my theater in terms of audio performance. I watched it for several years and loved every minute of it.

Right after I took down the RS45 to prepare to move, I hung a used RS2 for the new owner, and was totally surprised. Unless you would have seen them side-by-side, I don't think anybody would have been able tell the difference. The RS2 was that good. It was absolutely stunning picture considering you can find JVC RS1's and RS2's for well under a grand - often in the $600-700 ballpark. Sometimes you can even find newer models like RS20's for not a lot more.

I'm actually watching an Epson 5010 I picked up used right now. Its in my temp/portable living room setup that I set up for movie nights on the weekend on an Epson Duet portable screen. While I don't love it or the black level performance, it looks surprisingly good!

Entry-level single-chip DLP would be my very last choice, only if I couldn't watch LCoS or LCD.

Welcome back, CZ Eddie!

SC

[garyfritz]

RS2 looks basically as good as your RS45?? Wow. You can get a 200-hour RS45 for $1500 or a refurb for $2200 ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B006CR3N04/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&tag=curtpalmecrtp-20&linkId=UIYU5BCSIDKGURYG ) but if an RS2 is that good and they're available for $600-$700.... hmm. That's mighty tempting. I don't need absolute total black. Never had it with my 8500 anyway... I don't see any RS2's available but I might have to watch out for one!


Link updated to support our forum at no additional to you - thank you!

[ecrabb]

[kal]

[kal]

[ecrabb]

[kal]

Yup! 4K or possibly HDR may sway me. But we need a lot more content first!

Kal

[kal]

Yup! 4K or possibly HDR may sway me. But we need a lot more content first!

Kal

[cmjohnson]

I was just looking at the 1997 manufacturing date on the label on my Marquee, and frankly find it marvelous that this projector is almost 20 years old and can deliver a full HD picture with a combination of clarity, punch, intensity, and finesse that is matched even today by very few digital projectors.

And we may not be done yet! The best 9" LC machines have the capacity to resolve considerably better than 1080p and some of us are on the quest to find those limits. Is 4K possible? Maybe, maybe not. But I think 3K is quite achievable with some work, that work varying according to projector type.

Get back into CRT. Because it's not just a way to watch a movie, it's a hobby in and of itself!

[Spanky Ham]

Figures that digital Steve and digital Kal would come in and sing the praises of JVC. My opinion is if you can't potentially die from the pj falling on you, then you have no business having a HT.


I am in a larger market than you guys, so I got lucky. I picked up a RS25 and a Firehawk screen for $500 or $600. I can't remember the exact price. Steve Smith gave me some spare bulbs and after a good cleaning it really looks good.

That being said I am a brightness junkie and the new JVCs really throw out the lumens. The fact that the bulb is theoretically supposed to last 4k hours is icing on the cake.

Of course, I did let Rocco take my pre-order. He says he likes the image of the RS400, but still prefers the Marquee for movie watching. Unfortunately after his recent debacle, I am not sure if he is running the Marquee or not.

[kal]

[kal]

[CZ Eddie]

Wow look at all the names still around!
Ecrabb, congrats on the moderator gig.

Yeah, CRT is definitely a hobby and a fun one at that.
I got lucky back in the day when I buddy'd up with a 3D imaging warehouse guy who was letting his Electrohome Marquee gov returns go at decent prices.
I probably owned and flipped a dozen or so 9500's and another dozen 8500's. Got to refurb them all into working order and flip them at great prices to other hobby guys like myself.

These days though, my hobby is my house. And it's still quite torn apart with dozens of projects still waiting for me to complete. My immediate concern is putting a ceiling back into my kitchen. But it's hard because every time I think I'm done running HDMI and Cat5 and RG6 to various locations, I think of something else I want to run. hahahh. My house may take twenty years to complete (DIY the whole way) but it's going to be soooo wired!

I *wish* I had time for a CRT hobby of constantly tinkering with the image.
Which really isn't necessary but we all know it's fun and impossible to stop playing around because every time you tweak that CRT image you notice an improvement (or downgrade) somewhere and you keep going at it over and over. hahah

Well, the W1070 was nice and bright on my ~130" (I forget the size now) 2:40 screen.
But the lack of black level was killing me.
I went ahead and ordered an Epson 5030UB three LCD projector. Supposedly it has the best black level and shadow detail under $3000.
My Dell preferred card took care of the purchase. Too bad you can't get interest free on used purchases or I may have given a JVC or Sony a closer look.
And Dell doesn't sell either brand.

[Spanky Ham]

@kal,
Yeah, I can't get enough. Everytime I think an image is bright enough, I see something brighter and think "Wow". The Barco demo at Cedia was running IIRC 90 ft/lmbs.


@CZ,
I know what you are saying about DIY house. I am actually getting tired of it though. My latest project is a concrete countertop. Unfortunately it has turned into a cluster. Oh well.

[CZ Eddie]

[Spanky Ham]

Congrats on the Epson. I still think you would have been better off with a used JVC, but this should hold you over until the onslaught of 4k.


My concrete countertop started out good, but turned into a nightmare. I will flesh it out later if you want but I am about to hit the road for an 1600 mile round trip in three days. I will tease you with I used a "high performance" concrete that cured to quickly. I didn't have enough time to work with it.

[tanwn1]

Coming from a crt guy, you got to admit that jvc has surpassed crt in many ways.. Kal and ecrabb couldn't have said it better is a testament to it as well[/list]

[kal]

[kal]

[ecrabb]