CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[plicht]

After many years without any kind of television or projector, I recently picked up a Barco Data 800 to play DVDs in my theater (I have a mini-performing stage theater already set up in my house). I don't have any type of video source or sound set up yet, but I do have a PA already and several spare speakers available.

Am I right in assuming I can get a DVD Player (I was considering an oppo) and an S-video Cable to connect to the Barco and feed the sound into an 5.1 or similar receiver and I will be good to go? I read the primer and am a bit confused about the necessity and/or benefit of transcoders, scalers and different types of cables. I would like to keep it as simple and cheap as possible to get started, but on the other hand, if there is a sensible economical way to get a better picture, I would like to go that route.

Finally, since I am mostly interested in movies, does a 6'x8' screen make sense? I could make it wider but not taller. It is my intention to ceiling mount the projector about 12 feet away (but could be flexible).

Thanks so much

Pete

[loribates]

Pete.. welcome to the CRT world. I've only had a sony and a marquee so I couldn't tell you the specs on the Barco, but go to Curts projector specs page and check out what your pj will handle, what inputs are available to you on the machine. If it has s-vid or composite in, you can at least get up and running and get your feet wet with regard to setup and learning your way around.

Others will be able to help you in determining the best sources for it, and the max it can handle. You'll also need to be aware of the proper throw distance for the pj. One of the most common mistakes people make is to just arbitrarily find the most convenient place to put the projector, and if that ends up being twice the proper throw distance, you won't be able to maximize your rasters.... thereby wasting tube face, decreasing light output and resolution, and after a long enough period of time, will create a wear pattern that will keep any subsequent owner or yourself from being able to maximize the rasters in an optimal setup later on due the need to stay inside the wear pattern.

You'll also need to check the current situation on the tube faces. Is there noticeable wear? This may limit you with regard to sizing your rasters to avoid a demarcation line on-screen.

So...... first things first, get the specs on your pj, determine what sources you are going to be feeding it. Are you going to be watching mostly widescreen movies? Chose your aspect ratio and then determine the best size to suit your pj.

Good luck. There's plenty of help here to get you going.

[plicht]

Thanks for the quick reply!

I have s-video and RGBHV inputs. I think there are about 7000 hours on the tubes and they look ok to me (but what do I know?).

I was figuring that 12 feet away would be 1.2xscreen diameter (10feet)

Pete

[Brooklyn]

You can buy a cable to convert the RGBHV to VGA. Your projector will likely look best at a 1080i resolution, but it can do 720p decently as well. Barco sets tend to need negative sync signals on the RGBHV input however. You can buy a sync converter to fix that, or get a scaler that can output negative sync.

Also, does your projector have the port 3 board installed? If so, you can use port 3 to input positive sync(common) VGA signal, with a cable that costs $35. You can also buy a box to convert component video to VGA. The RGBHV or port 3 inputs will provide a much better picture than S-video, which is limited to 480i.

http://www.curtpalme.com/Barco500_Layout1.shtm

[Zebu Fellenz]

Welcome To The Forum,

With 7000 hours on a set of ES tubes I would run the set at 1080i, I don't really know the oppo player, I know it is an upscaling player but I'm not sure on the outputs. If it has a VGA output I would use that with a breakout cable and a sync box to the RGBHV on the Barco.

Erik

[Ile]

Buy progressive scanning dvd player with vga output if you can find one, then just vga->5*bnc cable is fine. Usually these have negative syncs and don't need sync converter box. Then you don't need any other devices than receiver and cable for sounds.

If you buy oppo, you need hdmi->vga(rgbhv) device like Fury or component->vga(rgbhv) transcoder like RTC2200. And vga->5*bnc cable.

[plicht]

Thanks for all the help.

It does not seem that Port 3 is an option with my projector (Data800).

So I should be looking for a way to feed the best signal into the RGBHV port, right?

Ile's suggestion has the most appeal to me: find a dvd player that has a VGA output. Is there a specific one you would suggest? I was thinking oppo because they seem to have good reviews, but if I have to buy a Fury, then that almost doubles the price.

Also if my source material (standard DVDs) is 480, is there a big benefit to upscaling and using the RGBHV input, or do I need higher quality (HD DVD) source material to see a difference?

Cheers,

Pete

[draganm]

[plicht]

Thanks Draganm. That looks like just what I need to get going. I am looking forward to upgrading and tweaking in the future, but for now I would be happy with a picture and some sound!

Since I intend to use the VGA output from the dvd player, I will get 1080i signal, should I just get the Helios 2000 instead of the 4000?

[jkruger]

Oh Man... Do yourself a favor and buy the Toshiba HD-A2 or A3 and the HDFury. It's the best picture for the price. $150. for the fury and $120. for the A2 and you can do HD-DVD and it upscales all the older dvd's too. I've got a lowly sony 1272, and with a little bit of tweaking the picture is just fantastic.