CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[angelzxr4ti]

Hi my name is Angel i have a dlp setup right now but i would like to see what these crts are all about i like to get something cheap but dependable any input thanks

[scdg124]

https://www.curtpalme.com/forum_archived/viewtopic.php@t=3825.html

[AnalogRocks]

And these: https://www.curtpalme.com/forum_archived/viewtopic.php@t=5318.html

[AnalogRocks]

And these: https://www.curtpalme.com/forum_archived/viewtopic.php@t=5318.html

[Mr. Green]

It also depends on whether you want 720p or 1080p. Most entry and intermediate level CRT's can't do 1080p (unless you do a lot of fiddling around as many here do).

Can you give us a budget, resolution, room size, etc...?

[angelzxr4ti]

room is 17x13 not big at all and just 1080i is enough for me. around 300 to 400 range

[jask]

You can look on Ebay or Craigslist but in that price range you can run the gamut from burnt out parts machines to the mythical lucky score,most likely you will be looking at toasty tubes and a high hour machine. A number of us started out with a cheap machine and in short order upgraded to a better machine,and in the process wasted a bunch of money on shipping.
See if you can find anything close to you,post here if you have questions.otherwise save up some more! It will be worth the time and money to start out with the best machine you can,as the cheaper old machines have a limited resale market when you upgrade.

[Mr. Green]

<takes a big inhale of breath> Everyone here is always finding these mythical deals on craiglist, etc... I dunno. I bought from Curt and will not likely buy anywhere else unless I can get a sweet projector from someone who doesn't know better or just doesn't care and sells it for a song.

CRT's are mostly old machines around 10+ yrs old. ESPECIALLY if you are in the under $500 crowd (more like 15 years old). You don't want a beat up, high hour, old machine for your first one or you'll inherit problems a newbie doesn't need/want. I bought a near mint $1500 (+ shipping) NEC 9pg+ from Curt and couldn't be happier and I have had a few problems. The point convergence board died after a short while and Curt is honoring it as a warranty issue and replacing it... on a Jan 1995 manufactured machine!!! Need I say more?

I've been reading this forum for a couple years and I'll say there seem to be a lot of "I just got this projector and *** is wrong with it, what now?" posts. Seriously, get a good projector from a good dealer (at least for the first one) then you can figure them out and throw the dice for the so called "deals" that come up near you. That way you'll have some idea what you're getting into.

Klover could comment here, but for the under $500 crowd I'd suggest the Electrohome ECP series under Curts entry level page. They can supposedly do 1080i and 720p, but not as sharply as a higher model. They are also small for CRT's which might be useful for you. ECP-3500: Late model set, tubes in good condition. $450.00 OR double your money and get into an intermediate projector NEC 6 PG: Good condition set, light green wear. $800.00. With these things, generally, you get what you pay for. A couple hundred dollars open up a lot more choices.

http://www.curtpalme.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=44537&highlight=#44537 this is my first post/thread and Klover posted a couple pictures of the ECP. I suggest you read at least the first page as there was a lot of useful advise for the new to CRT crowd. It took me 8 months longer to save up to the NEC, but after everything it was worth it. I will also note a lot of my hair brained ideas in that thread were abandoned and I've moved twice since that thread, so don't take those too seriously. You (and now me) don't have a room size issue. You have lots of space to play in. If you can (and are willing) to ceiling mount it, you have a lot of options. I am still renovating/ moving and can't give you much more info myself until I can sit back and set mine up again. Hope this helps!

[Fujifrontier]

Or you could start off with an inexpensive, garden variety, geriatric sony like mine and be absolutely enthralled

[Sonynut]

Leave it to me to recommend a Sony 1270,1251,1252,1271, or 1272(In ascending order).. They are awesome easy to use starter machines that handle 1080i perfectly, and can do 720p decent with low hours. My last few machines all cost me less than $100 each. Yes it is a crapshoot if they are good, but i havent ever gotten one THAT bad yet. Just be careful and ask alot of questions.

[mike calcott]

Most of my Sony's came from a local University where they did nothing for most of their time there and had very low hours, the one I kept for myself had only 28 hours, the others ranged up to 350 hours