CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

Videodrome · Joined: 22 Feb 2023 Posts: 56

First off, thank you for this incredible resource.
After leaving crt’s behind for about 2 decades, I recently jumped back in, and forgot how superior they are.
Bought a small pvm and instantly remembered how sharp motion looks on crt.

Right now I’m using the Sony VPH-D50.
I replaced the exhaust fans and power supply fan but it’s still very loud for my taste.
So I might mod it even further, get some short fan ducts and replace the exhaust fans with 200mm fans + dremel a bigger hole in the PSU for a 80 mm fan. A hushbox is sadly not an option in the way that it’s mounted.

Now for my first question, can I remove the entire input A board, and have the projector still boot up without any problem? Reason would be to get rid of one 40mm fan. I’m using the moome hdmi card + htu adapter, so it wouldn’t need the input A anymore.

My second question is about a noise that seems to come from some electrical parts. Could this be a capacitor in the PSU? It seems to be coming from the front, near the PSU.
On a full white screen it makes sound, while on full black it doesn’t.
On 85hz it is noisier than on 60hz.
Would this be ‘easy’ to replace, as in solder a new capacitor?

Third question, the plastic smell…
Any way to get rid of this? Wipe it with some solution?
The projector was new, so it might need time to wear off, but any tips would be appreciated.
The projector is used in a fairly small room on a 90” screen. I’m using an airfilter and open windows to get rid of it.

Fourth question.
On the top of the screen (and bottom inside the tube) there is a bright line. See attached picture.
When I checked the guide on this forum of used tubes, I always saw some kind of rectangle with no line. Is something wrong? I’m not sure, I need to check, but when I used a svhs input before, I didn’t have this line.
Resolution used is 1280x720 @ 60hz.
(The picture shows a faint reflection at the bottom, this is not on the tube, I think it's the lens reflection.)

Thank you

**kal** · Last edited by kal on Wed Feb 22, 2023 4:07 pm; edited 2 times in total

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Some comments / recommendations for you on a few things:

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2023 4:01 pm Post subject:

I would recommend putting the original fans back in. Especially if they flow less than the originals.

Once you are in a movie with all the sounds going the fan noise "fades" out of your mind. You get use to it.
I ran a D50 for 12 years. Once in the Movie/game/TV show I didn't hear the fans anymore.

Videodrome · Joined: 22 Feb 2023 Posts: 56

Thanks for the feedback and resources.

Disabling ABG(huge drop in brightness) and messing around with the gain/bias + moome gamma solved it!

I really want to reduce the noise though, the projector sits 1-2 feet away from me at near ear level...

I replaced the exhaust fans with a higher CFM so it should be fine?
To be precise the "SilenX ixp-34 – 76 – 14"
http://www.silenx.com/quiet.fans.asp?sku=ixp-76-14

I'm tossing ideas around, I might go for a 3x120mm to one single duct, and connect that to a 'large' exhaust fan some meters away with more than enough cfm. However I'm more bothered with the 40mm fans, so I'll look at that first. Maybe use a dremel to make the hole bigger and put a 80mm fan on it.

Removing the input A board gave me an error code '00', so sadly I can't get rid of that fan.

@AnalogRocks, what contrast/brightness setting did you use and for how many hours?

**kal** · Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2023 6:15 pm Post subject:

Videodrome · Joined: 22 Feb 2023 Posts: 56

Thanks for doing that temp. research with the fans.
I've replaced the fans back to stock to be safe.
Damn...took me so long to get the SilenX working because somehow I would get code 72 (fans) when I'd install all three, two would be fine. Eventually with some middle wire 'duplication' I could get it to work.

I know how brightness and contrast is different for any situation. I have mine set at 60, just wondering if that's generally safe for longevity. I have a G70 in storage in case this ones every breaks down, or I move to a larger house. But since I'm hoping to enjoy crt projectors until the day I die Wink

, I don't want to burn through the tubes unnecessarily fast.

**kal** · Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2023 11:18 pm Post subject:

I don’t know if silenX fans are still very underrated/can’t push much air (it was quite some time ago when I used them) but figured I should mention it. Test it yourself if you like.

Kal

Videodrome · Joined: 22 Feb 2023 Posts: 56

A simple 'hand check' on the back always made me wonder about the SilenX effectiveness.
Stockfans did feel like it moved more air than the SilenX, but I was hoping the CFM numbers and larger blade depth (25 vs 38mm) would speak for themselves. They were also recommended in the fan replacement guide on the site so I thought it was a safe bet.

**kal** · Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 12:53 pm Post subject:

**kal** · Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 1:02 pm Post subject:

This might be a bit like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted (as I didn't think anyone was still reading the guides on this website), but I've added a longer disclaimer to the start of the G70/G90 fan replacement procedures that were originally provided by forum member JohnHWman indicating that "generally speaking CurtPalme.com doesn't recommend fan mods":

http://www.curtpalme.com/G70_fan_mod1.shtm
http://www.curtpalme.com/G90_fan_mod1.shtm

Kal

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 7:44 pm Post subject:

Hey just a heads up, don't run the video streaming boxes continuously sitting there on the screen idling. CRT's are subjust to burn in. You will leave an after image burnt into your tubes that will never go away. People coming from LCD flat screens don't realize this.
The new steaming boxes are particularly bad for this.They don't go to a screen saver or black screen when idol.

I just got a cable company streaming box. All it does is sit there putting up adds continuously . No screen saver or black screen available.

This also applies if you have a Plasma set. It will but into a plasma set too.

I always liked the DVD/Bluray players that will start bouncing a logo arouns the screen or a fade in - fade out logo on the screen in different places. Protect the tubes.

If you want to leave it up hit the video input to an unused one or use the tube mute feature on the projector. Your video box will still be at the ready but the projector will have a black screen until ready

Likewise if you have a DVD with an annoying animated menu that loops and doesn't allow the DVD player to go into screen saver make sure you don't fall asleep with that on the screen.

Videodrome · Joined: 22 Feb 2023 Posts: 56

Thanks for the advice, I wasn't aware projector tubes would have burn in fairly quickly.
From my younger days going from 11" to eventually 21" crt's I never found it to be a real issue.
I take good care of my screens nonetheless, my only concern would be long game sessions with a static UI.

Small update, I was able to upgrade my powersupply fan to an 80mm, which got rid of the annoying whine near my head. Very happy with this!

Now looking for a manufacturer to make me a square to round 200mm duct so I can remove the exhaust fans and replace it with a big duct fan I can put a few meters away. I might put some temperature sensors inside to monitor things.

And, I realized I bought the wrong projection screen Thumbs Up

.
It was 1.0 gain(0.95 to be exact), always thought it looked a bit dark and washed out, now I know why.
Hoping my ordered 1.8 gain screen will fix this and I can reduce the contrast setting a bit.

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12088 Location: Fort Collins, CO

1.8 will hotspot noticeably. I have 1.3 and I can see a hotspot, but it's not really enough to notice if I'm not looking for it. Not sure about 1.8. Any chance you could curve it a bit?

I ran with a 1.0 for years before I made my 1.3 screen, and that was a 100" screen. However my projectors (Dwin 700, NEC XG852, Sony G70, Ehome 8500) were all rated 1100-1200 lumens. Your D50 is rated 800. So it might be a bit dark on a 90" screen.

Or the CRT may just have a darker look than you expected. Digitals have full output on the whole screen, and can light the entire screen with full-on white. CRTs can't -- they're current-limited, so if the image has a lot of bright areas, there aren't enough electrons per area of phosphor to light it as bright as it should be. A white movie like Ice Age looked kinda dingy on my CRTs.

Videodrome · Joined: 22 Feb 2023 Posts: 56

Curving won't be an option.
I'm the only one using the projector and I'll be sitting dead center so viewing angles shouldn't be a problem.

The washed out look is what I want to improve.
Now when I set my contrast to near max. it looks great, but that means the tubes will have an extreme short lifespan. Not an option, since they aren't made anymore. I'm hoping to get 10k-15k hours from this projector. So for now I put everything at 60 contrast and use a warm temperature setting to make sure the blue tube doesn't prematurely sh*t the bed.

If hotspots are going to be a problem, then the worst case scenario I'm hoping for is turning down the contrast with the 1.8 gain screen while having the same look as the 1.0 gain one?

If you are certain 1.8 will give problems, let me know.
Then I might cancel that order (if possible). Wink

garyfritz · Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 12088 Location: Fort Collins, CO

I don't know. I've never seen a screen higher than 1.3. (Except a retro-reflective High Power screen, but that's a different animal.) I forget where they say you really need to curve it, but somewhere between 1.5 - 2.0 sticks in my mind.

It will still be watchable, and it will be brighter. But you won't have uniform brightness across the screen. It'll be brighter in the center.

10-15k hours is a lot. If I remember right, Sonys tend to run hot and the green & blue get worn quicker than other brands. I only had a G70 for a little while so I'm no expert. Maybe one of the Sony guys here (AR?) could offer some insights.

**kal** · Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 1:21 pm Post subject:

Videodrome · Joined: 22 Feb 2023 Posts: 56

I'm hoping the new cooling solution will keep the projector at lower temperatures than stock ventilation, which should help its longevity.
After projector shutdown I can keep the ventilation moving for a few minutes, I believe that's the moment where the tubes suffer more than usual. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I'd rather make sure the tubes last as long as possible.

I cancelled the 1.8 gain screen and ordered a few screen samples from another company.
It seems quite challenging to get a 1.3-1.5 gain screen in this country, so I might have to look internationally.

I can deal with a minor hotspot, as long as it's not distracting on 'normal' content.

**kal** · Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2023 1:25 pm Post subject:

Videodrome · Joined: 22 Feb 2023 Posts: 56

Thank you for the information, appreciated.
So the only thing that makes tubes last longer is a lower contrast and/or brightness setting..

And, since you probably know your projectors Smile

, is there any technology on the horizon that comes close to the motion clarity of CRT's? I've read about laser projectors, claiming no lag and no motion blur? Haven't seen on in action though.
What would be your verdict vs. crt projectors? I don't really care about HDR or 4k, it's all about having no motion blur and latency for me.

**kal** · Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2023 3:26 pm Post subject:

The less you excite the phosphor, the longer it will last. That's usually the contrast setting. Tube bias/G2/gain will affect your light output too (or more directly how much the contrast setting changes light output).

Brightness is is your black level. Doesn't have an affect on tube wear as it's black level cutoff (assuming brightness isn't completely set incorrectly of course - though an elevated black level to the point of causing extra tube wear would result in a completely unwatchable image).

As for what technology to use, I'd suggest you view a few different ones yourself and decide. I went from CRT to JVC LCoS (DILA) back in 2013 and haven't looked back. Still using the same projector in fact. I enjoy it considerably more than any CRT I've had. You can read about my thoughts here where I describe going to LCoS after years with CRT: https://www.curtpalme.com/forum_archived/viewtopic.php@t=32973.html

If I had to buy again today it would still be a JVC, probably laser.

Kal