CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[whatagoof]

Are curved screens really that much more trouble? I was reading a bit about them and it sounds like they're supposed to make for a much improved image. Then again, I wouldn't really know without seeing, I suppose. Anyway, thanks for the reply!

[grogthegreat]

I haven't seen one. They improve brightness for the person in the middle but are harder to setup and a little to make.
-grog

[Mr. Green]

Too bad you weren't looking about a year ago. Curt had some Barco 808's, 1208's? with modded lenses already to go with a curved screen (from Seos?). I think he unmodded them and sold them, but he may still have the modded lenses kicking around. You should ask him about it. Maybe he'll give you a deal to take the modded ones instead of normal ones. It might also be a huge task to turn a projector back into a curved one too... either way it never hurts to ask.

[Zebu Fellenz]

[Nashou66]

[Mr. Green]

It sounds as though he would like the SEOS version. He wants to be surrounded by the image at a 6 foot viewing distance. Super curved might work nicely for him. I guess it could be time to build a custom super curved screen. At any rate Curt would have to be willing to redo what he undid, which I'd doubt, but then again, SEOS might have a few more curved ones coming. Again, ask Curt...
IF he can get you a curved unit from SEOS, it might suit what I'm reading that you want to do with it. If that's the case you could be in luck. I seem to remember they were a lot less money than a normal one.

[whatagoof]

That sounds like a cool idea! Though I'd sit even closer than 6 feet if I can manage to make it comfortable.

But I won't bug Curt about all of that until I've the $'s to buy something from him.

Thanks for all the feedback and help everybody!

[Mr. Green]

I'd toss the idea out to him anyways if only to see if it's something you want to save for. You don't want him to get one in, have him undo the curved stuff, just to ask him about it a week later.

[whatagoof]

Good point! I PM'ed him about it the other day, we'll see what he says.

[Mr. Green]

I'm pretty excited to see photos of your end result. Lots of guys are aiming for the best setup possible, but I don't think there are many (if any) that use a super curved screen. I'm sure it'll be intense for gaming.

I think of a bigger version of Perisoft's avatar without the hydraulics under the chair when I think about what I think you're trying to achieve.

[whatagoof]

Haha, yeah, I bet it would be good for gaming. I try not to do too much of that these days, but I've still a terrible weakness when it comes to combat flight simulators. But mainly I'm just after a way to lock my attention into a film as fully as possible; a few weeks ago I was researching what was going in the realm of head-mounted displays, but neither image quality, relative screen size or price have advanced to the point where it would be a viable solution for me. Then I became curious about flat panels and projectors, and after reading around and asking on a few forums, it seemed pretty clear to me that CRT projectors could get me the best picture at the lowest price, so here I am. But the fact that a curved screen/projection is a real possibility just sweetens the deal.
I hope I didn't tick Curt off, no reply yet.
Anyway, it'll still be quite a while before I've the $'s, so I'm sorry to say that you'll be waiting quite some time for those pics, sorry.

Anyway, thanks again. Bye for now.

[whatagoof]

Hi again!

I was searching through Curt's site for more info on the SEOS projectors he has/had. The only info I could find pointed to some Barco 1209's from SEOS - at $6500. If those were the ones you were talking about, then I think we should count that option out, since that's beyond my budget.

[whatagoof]

What's a good price for a Barco 1209/2 in fair condition?

[whatagoof]

Sorry to keep bumping my own thread! But I keep thinking up new questions. In addition to the previous one I asked, about what's a fair price for a Barco 1209/2, I'd also like to know please how I can tell what condition a CRT Projector is in based upon first-hand experience for it. For example, if I were viewing one with an option to buy, how could I "check it over" and get some idea of the life left in the tubes and the general condition of the unit?

EDIT: Just writing to let you know that I read the "Tube Wear" section of Curt's FAQ, great stuff! Anything else I might've missed, or should know? Thanks!

Thanks!!

[Mr. Green]

I'm pretty sure they were barco 1208's he had, but I'm not sure. They were not anywhere near $6500 and I'm 90% sure they were under $2000. Hopefully Curt can tell you. I remember wishing I could do the mods myself because the uncurved ones were much more expensive. I think I have an old pricelist printed at work that actually has the seos ones listed. I'll let you know Monday.

Has he replied yet? He's usually pretty good about getting back to you in a day or so. It will depend on how detailed your message is. Maybe just send him a PM and give him the link to this thread. He can quickly browse it and let you know.

As far as your other questions... I think others could answer better. If you aren't familiar with the technology, then other than obvious tube wear it's going to be a little difficult to know what you're getting. There's the hour count to go by as well. You'd definitely want to see it in action. I would still urge you to buy a nice running unit from Curt. For your first one anyways. You don't want buy a lemon that would frustrate you into hating CRT's. Get a good one, learn how they work and if a local guy has a smoking deal on a 1209, then you'll be better prepared to look it over.

As far as your previous post regarding screen-shots. Don't worry, I've had mine almost a year and I just put up a couple pics a few weeks ago. Pictures don't do these beasts justice, but it's part of your pride to put up what has been referred to as the "Cliffy shot" where you stand proudly beside the screen. Here's my 9PG+ (standard DVD in these shots)

http://www.curtpalme.com/forum/album_personal.php?user_id=1175

[whatagoof]

Hi again! What is the "normal" contrast/birghtness setting for a CRT projector? 50 percent?

Thanks for your reply Mr Green. No, I haven't heard from Curt yet - I'll wait a bit longer before I bug him again.
You're right - I misread the prices of those Barcos. They were all between $1000 and $2000.

[whatagoof]

If I wanted to see the amount of wear on the phosphour of a tube, do I need to bring the unit down from its mounting and crack it open, or can I check them just by taking off the lenses, or shining a flashlight in, or something like that? Thanks!

[rpruen]

[whatagoof]

Hi! There's one thing I'm kind of conflicted about now that I've read more about it: video scalers.

My playback sources will be my PC (I play my DVD's on my PC) and my laserdisc player (one of the high-end Pioneer models, but I forget the exact model at the moment.) I don't own anything on VHS that I haven't replaced with a DVD version. So - will a video scaler be a good buy for me? I know that the PC can just use software, but will it have comparable image quality? And what about my laserdiscs - will they benefit at all from it? If so, in what ways?

Sounds kind of like, from what I've read, that I might not get a very good picture without a scaler, but I'd really prefer to avoid the expense of one at first... So what do you think?

Thanks!

[Nashou66]

for the laser disc you will need a way to get the video to the PJ if it doesnt have s video inputs, most are just RGBHV. There is a great lumagen HDP for sale right now on Videogon and it has BNC connectors for RGBHV and it does a great job with laser disc's i have my elite DVL 91. A scaler is amust for a great looking picture on CRT and the lumagen has 11 point gamma adjustment and a full color gamutt control, if you can afford the asking price its juast as important as the PJ. so I think for 1200 about you will have a top notch Video display, then when you add blue ray or HD DVD you'll be floored. When you get to that point look at the LGBh100 on ebay as these are getting harder to find but its a great multi formatt player.


so how is it looking for that Marquee 8500 i told you about?

Athanasios