Front Projection Owners

Serendipity

Hi,

Just wanted to know, are you guys satisfied with your FP setups? Is there anything you would like to improve (black level, lamp life, color saturation, etc.)? Do you feel you are at a point where there is no need to upgrade?

Just wanted to know.

Sami

Not satisfied at all. Going from CRT FP to LCD FP...well, you guessed it, black levels. Once I get a projector where I'm playing the opening scenes of LOTR it's **** black in the room, then I'm satisfied with the black levels.

I will soon get one of those 1080p's, would prefer a DLP over LCD but we'll see which projector it will be when the time comes.

Serendipity

Sami wrote: »

Not satisfied at all. Going from CRT FP to LCD FP...well, you guessed it, black levels. Once I get a projector where I'm playing the opening scenes of LOTR it's **** black in the room, then I'm satisfied with the black levels.

I will soon get one of those 1080p's, would prefer a DLP over LCD but we'll see which projector it will be when the time comes.

I can see where you are coming from. Why did you change to an LCD projector? CRT projectors are pretty amazing machines, with a good calibration they pictures they produce are mind boggling.

Sami

Mine was a low-end 6" that only could refresh to 480i resolution. For DVD's it was still pretty good, although at over 100" you could see the lines on bright scenes. Also, the convenience to set one up, CRT's aren't for everyone as it took a whole weekend to get even close to final calibration. Then fine tuning almost every weekend... No thanks, I just left it to my tenants to enjoy when I bought a new house.

A friend of mine has a 7" Sony that is capable of 720p, beats the snot out of my 720p LCD but even he is going to move into 1080p digital soon. Now, if I could get my hands on a low hour, cheap 9" locally I wouldn't even bother with digitals.

Serendipity

Sami wrote: »

Mine was a low-end 6" that only could refresh to 480i resolution. For DVD's it was still pretty good, although at over 100" you could see the lines on bright scenes. Also, the convenience to set one up, CRT's aren't for everyone as it took a whole weekend to get even close to final calibration. Then fine tuning almost every weekend... No thanks, I just left it to my tenants to enjoy when I bought a new house.

A friend of mine has a 7" Sony that is capable of 720p, beats the snot out of my 720p LCD but even he is going to move into 1080p digital soon. Now, if I could get my hands on a low hour, cheap 9" locally I wouldn't even bother with digitals.

Have you checked out www.curtpalme.com? He has a lot of 9" sets and is highly regarded in the CRT community. No affiliation though.

Which brings a point - I'd suggest everyone to read his CRT primer (http://www.curtpalme.com/CRTPrimer.shtm). Not many people going into Front Projection know that CRT is an opion, and IMO can produce some of the best pictures available with no pixellation, black level issues, motion blur, or any other artifacts found on LCD and DLP projectors.

Again, I have no affiliation with Curt but just want to let guys interested in HT know that CRT projectors are another (and often overlooked) option.

66chevyIISS

I love my front projection! If you have a room you can dedicate to it then there isn't any other option.

The only thing I hate is I already WANT (I definitely don't need) to upgrade to a new model (1080p) and I've only had mine for a little over a year.

Sami

I'd love to get my hands on Sony G90 or Marquee 9500 but it would have to be < $3000 with near perfect tubes in it. Locally so I can check it (or from reputable seller like Curt). Not going to happen...

If I had a large theater room, that's what would be in there. Now I'll just settle for small digital box.

Sherardp

CRT is awesome, however they are big bulky machines. The G90 stacked would throw a sick picture however youre looking at big money. If black level is what you want and its 1080p then you should take a look at LCOS projection, the JVC DLA HD1 and the Sony VW60(black pearl) are both superb machines. If you after LCD then check out the Epson 1080 which is the cheapest of the lot however it throws a very nice picture. You can see screenshots in Grimsters showcase. The JVC/Sony are expensive machines, with the JVC being priced the highest. Look around for deal in the 4k price range, I bought mine for 4799 with the 2 yr replacement warranty. Now the prices have gone back up to around 53-5600 for both models, it all depends on what you after. Carada, Elite, Accuscreen,Da-lite are excellent screens for those on budgets however want quality product. If money isnt an issue, SMX, Stewart, Vutec are among the top of the line. Carada is favored because it is right on par with stewart screens for allot lower cost, In Japan the Studiotek 130 screen sells for 5k in 120 inch size, I ordered the same screen slighty larger in a 126 inch from Carada paid 1050 shipped to japan, awesome screen. Go for it and go as large as you can.

engtaz

I love mine. The only thing I would change would be my screen, otherwise I love it.

engtaz

Serendipity

Sami wrote: »

I'd love to get my hands on Sony G90 or Marquee 9500 but it would have to be < $3000 with near perfect tubes in it. Locally so I can check it (or from reputable seller like Curt). Not going to happen...

Not going to happen, but may be a possibility in the future.

Remember you're trying to buy a $43,000 CRT projector for like 10% of the price. A Sony G90 or Marquee 9500 usually runs $6000 and up, try Videogon.

Serendipity

Sherardp wrote: »

CRT is awesome, however they are big bulky machines.

Do you really need to move your projector every day? If so, consider a digital.

The bulkiness and weight of CRT projectors is sometimes a good thing - in my area which has a high crime rate I'd be concerned about a thief walking away with a digital projector if I had one.

kingkip

appadv wrote: »

Do you feel you are at a point where there is no need to upgrade?

Is that even possible? If it is and you know how to feel that way could you show me? I am pretty sure that I could spend 100K on an ubelievable setup and the next year still find something new and shiny to flare up my upgradeitis.

Please help.

bikezappa

FP is the way to go. It has the best Square Foot/$ ratio.

My only problem with my NEC FP is trying to get all of the printing on the screen, like during sporting events with a HD picture.

Serendipity

bikezappa wrote: »

FP is the way to go. It has the best Square Foot/$ ratio.

My only problem with my NEC FP is trying to get all of the printing on the screen, like during sporting events with a HD picture.

Is this a CRT Projector? NEC XG or PG series?

Or is it a LCD/DLP?

bikezappa

appadv wrote: »

Is this a CRT Projector? NEC XG or PG series?

Or is it a LCD/DLP?

DLP about 3 years old. I have DVI and component input for the HD.

I think it's a NEC 4000.

Serendipity

bikezappa wrote: »

DLP about 3 years old. I have DVI and component input for the HD.

I think it's a NEC 4000.

You should be able to adjust the overscan, usually it allows up to 5% in the menu.

That's one of the things I like about CRT projectors - you can adjust the overscan as much as you want. Same thing with convergence, R/G/B bias and R/G/B gain.

Systems

appadv wrote: »

Hi,

Just wanted to know, are you guys satisfied with your FP setups? Is there anything you would like to improve (black level, lamp life, color saturation, etc.)? Do you feel you are at a point where there is no need to upgrade?

Just wanted to know.

FP is here and its here hard. I have been utterly amazed how nice my 133" screen looks in all aspects with my Panasonic FP. I had 20ish people over for game 4 of the World Series and I believe each and every one of them were also utterly shocked at it. I have a 60" Sony SXRD TV and my 133" screen looks every bit the same as the 60" RP SXRD. Absolutely phenomenal, you would think you were looking at a 133" CRT. These new 1080P projectors are friggen amazing. I have absolutely no complaints and its the best thing I have ever done. I now have a set of people who will be over every weekend for football (Seahawks).

If you can do it, do it... but do it right... hit the AVS forums and learn up real good what you need to do to get a room ready for FP. Here is the best example of how nice it looks. A computer screen 10 foot wide that looks the same as the 20" LCD in my face typing this now.

Sherardp

I envy that 133 incher, oh well the 126 should do just fine. Look at all the little cute Outlaws in standby in Silvertis pic. Silverti how high your ceilings, reason I ask is because Im thinking of a rack in the front but the 126 inch screen doesnt give me allot of room to do so. My other option is put the rack on the back wall and run the cables to the front. That would give me a clean look up front though. What PJ is that?

Systems

Sherardp wrote: »

I envy that 133 incher, oh well the 126 should do just fine. Look at all the little cute Outlaws in standby in Silvertis pic. Silverti how high your ceilings, reason I ask is because Im thinking of a rack in the front but the 126 inch screen doesnt give me allot of room to do so. My other option is put the rack on the back wall and run the cables to the front. That would give me a clean look up front though. What PJ is that?

Standard ceiling height down there in the basement, its actually about 8' 1". The screen comes down to the perfect height.

I bought my front racks at a real specific height and width to fit down there. You can see my centers to high right now, I still need to come up with a solution to mount my Onkyo 805 and keep it cool. I'll then pull the 2 racks apart a bit and put the center on a stand that will drop it down about 3 inchs or so.

PJ is the

Panasonic PT-AE1000U



But now they even have a better model out the

Panasonic PT-AE2000U

Which looks a lot better in specs.

Systems

Lights on (with flash which washs out the image, besides the fact that my digital camera is dying on me), these pics might help you figure out hight.

Serendipity

Silverti wrote: »

Absolutely phenomenal, you would think you were looking at a 133" CRT. These new 1080P projectors are friggen amazing. I have absolutely no complaints and its the best thing I have ever done. I now have a set of people who will be over every weekend for football (Seahawks).

Wow that screen is awesome.

And yes, it looks VERY MUCH like a 133" CRT! In fact I'd have to say it's probably on par with many CRT projectors!

Nice!

Sherardp

Have to admit that 133 is sick. Any screenshots of Transformers or SPidey 3 in action? Pretty please.