CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

BrianD73 · Joined: 01 Dec 2007 Posts: 9

This is my first post here, but I've been posting some questions in the "other" AV forum to get information on CRT projectors. I'm pretty strongly leaning toward a Marquee 8500 projector, but I am still looking at all my options.

Having said all that, I just read a thread talking about the Sony VW200 digital projector (again in the other forum). The projector costs about $15,000 and is reported to have a picture that is very close to a CRT and has MOTIONFLOW technology which smooths out motion blurring...which is a result of the digital technology, right? If a $15,000 digital projector is now "close" to a CRT projector...why not get a CRT? I understand that digitals are more plug-and-play, but is that worth between $8000 - $12,000? What am I missing here?

Note: I'm posting this question here rather than in that forum since I'm sure it will start a flame-war tangent.

Zebu Fellenz · Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 2567

Usually a digital can light up a much larger screen. A digital is also very plug and play. to get a 12-15' wide screen with a digital you just pull it back until it fills the screen. with CRT you either need a special high gain screen, stacked projectors or a blend system.

I don't think it is worth the extra 12k though.

Just get the 8500 already Mr. Green

Erik

jask · Joined: 17 Mar 2006 Posts: 10187 Location: kamloops BC

the good points of digital include compact size,"new technology",plug and play-(for the technically challenged),portability, and high light output.All those features are great,for some consumers they are more important than the actual image quality.
Even when they build that stuff affordable and dependable I will still have 7-8 years of life in my projector.

BrianD73 · Joined: 01 Dec 2007 Posts: 9

I get the brightness issues with a very large screen, but my room (that is yet to be constructed) is going to be 13x12 and very light controlled. The largest screen I can probably get will be 92" (for the Marquee, digital could probably go a bit bigger). It just seems that all the complaints I hear about digitals are about the picture quality and the reliability while all the complaints about CRTs are in areas everywhere but picture quality.

Not to be inflammatory, but is seems to be that digital projectors are like cell phones. They are very convenient and flashy, but really none of them have the voice quality of a good old land-line. Form over function I guess...

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10270

Smooth film-like presentation, native On-Off contrast, and Black level are the areas for which analog projection excel. While digital projection technology has exceeded in the areas of sharpness, ANSI contrast (checkerboard), compactness (portability), and expendibility you have to pay for the new model year product as opposed to someone else haven paid for the initial depreciation.

There was a period were analog projector owners feared the future in terms of inability to connect protected sources, but that has gone away in favor of global out-reach initiatives. Until another technology delivers a means to not produce light when it isn't called for (ahem, SED) and delivers that in an affordable 120" size I think CRTs will be around for a few more years.

And its sorry to hear that after three years after stepping away from that other AV forum that they are still comparing the most lauded digital projectors to last millennium technologies. Razz

jask · Joined: 17 Mar 2006 Posts: 10187 Location: kamloops BC

**kal** · Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2007 1:00 am Post subject:

Another unfortunate reason why some are choosing digital over CRT is simply due to ignorance. Digital's are much NEWER than CRT and many people simply assume that newer = better. It doesn't help either that most people's exposure to CRT projectors is usually from a some bar down the street and the setup (and projector used) were just horrible.

I've spoken to quite a few people over the years who just assumed (and it does seem to make sense) that a newer 100% digital projector built in 2007 would look better than some analog beast built 10 years earlier.

Kal

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

well after 5 years I am ready to admit there is one good reason to go with a bulb-machine, 10 foot wide 2.35:1 Constant image height screen. Of course I wouldn't do this with anything below a JVC RS1, and even then your looking at way over $10K with a good anamorphic lens.
I would still prefer a pair of 9 inchers to do this, but only if I could pay someone else to blend/stack them. BTW, we wtached Next last night on HDVD with my MP modded 8500 @1080i. It was very, very good, to the point of holding it's own against an RS1 on a $4K Stewart screen.