CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[LDV33]

Hi everyone!

I new on the message board and I am seeking advice on where to start with CRT's. I have light experience with LCD projectors and still currently use one for watching concerts and what not. I'm primarily into audio until recently I got bit buy the HT bug after hanging out at my dad's the last couple of weeks. He's got one of those new Samsung LCD screens that look absolutely marvelous watching blu ray movies. Since then I have been wanting to get an equal or better picture. Sadly it makes my current Sanyo LCD projector look like a cheap piece of junk. I currently get HD cable tv, have a blu ray player and my question is: What projector should I start with? I want my picture to look comparable to my dad's tv or maybe better? Just for reference its a Samsung Series 6 55". At 1080i the picture is amazing! Can I achieve a picture of the same quality? I talked to a friend of mine, whose dad (recently passed) had a huge home theater and has a lot of leftovers equipment. He has two projectors a Sony VPH 1272 and a Sony G70. I'm not very familiar with them and don't know which one to pick. He's not very knowledgable on this stuff either, so he doesn't know what to ask for them. I don't want to pull a fast one on him, but give him what its worth. They both work as far as he knows, has no idea how long they were used for.
Which should I choose, and how much should I offer him?

[dvh99]

the sony g70 is the better 1 but how much you have to pay depends on tube wear.
offer him 200$ and look what he says about that.
curt sells this unit with new tubes for 3100.

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

tube wear chart link.
if you really want a nice picture get a 9 inch liquid cooled with em scheimpflug and astig.

[ecrabb]

Greetings, and welcome to the forum!

First things first, no front projection setup is going to look as bright or as sharp as a 55" LCD TV does. They're wickedly bright and sharp. Of course, the flip side to that is that no 55" LCD TV is ever going to properly recreate the "theater" experience... To most of us here, it's just a big TV and should be relegated to "living room" duty. I just thought I should point out a significant downside since you said you wanted a picture "comparable to my dad's tv or maybe better". In some ways, it won't be as good, but some ways it will be better. Go big or go out!

As for the two projectors you mentioned, the G70 is by FAR the better of the two. It's a serious projector, in the top 5-10 or so best CRT projectors ever made. It has excellent mechanical focusing, good electronic controls, and good brightness and color reproduction.

Just so you know what you'd be getting into, though... CRT projectors are not like LCD projectors. They require a significant time investment, both in setting them up to obtain the best picture possible, and in learning to do so. It can be worth the time investment, though as the picture can be quite stunning, offer a very smooth, colorful, film-like image without pixels, screen door, gray blacks, dithering, mosquito noise, rainbow effect, or any of the other nasty artifacts that inexpensive digital projectors exhibit.

Read Curt's CRT Projector Primer/FAQ to give yourself a good base to start asking intelligent questions:
CRT Primer

As for price, it totally depends on the condition. On the used market, at arms-length, a nice clean G70 with mint condition tubes might bring $800-1000. OTOH, if it has to be shipped and/or it has a little wear on the tubes, maybe more like $500. If it's in rough shape, with burnt tubes, it's really only a parts machine and probably worth only a few hundred dollars. Of course, it wouldn't be a good candidate for home theater in that case. Curt's price for his machine is much higher because he goes over the machines before he sells them, he offers a warranty, service and support after sale, and has overhead costs in acquiring, maintaining, storing, etc.

Cheers,
SC

[ecrabb]

Oh, and what part of the country are you in? There may be somebody nearby with a similar setup so you could see what you're getting into.

SC

[LDV33]

Thanks for the welcome guys!
I'm in Northern California in the Sacramento area.
I just downloaded the manual for both the 1272 and the G70 so I can check to see how many hours are on the tubes.
Other than that to answer you question ecrabb, yes I am aware that a lot more tinkering will be in place. I'm an audio nut and have been tinkering on the audio side for a long-long time. Recently, I aquired two sets of Altec Voice of Theater A7's that I restored and have them set up together with my LCD projector. It's not a bad picture, honestly. But After watching Blu-Ray on an LCD screen, I noticed how much detail I was missing out on. Is it possible to get this level of detail? I'm going to be using it in a room without any windows, with only low ambient light coming from the audio gear. So I should be okay with brightness, no? It's really the detail I'm after. Meaning, the things you don't see watching a mediocre setup.
What will be the biggest differences between the 1272 and the G70 when it comes to 1080i and a dark room?
By the way excuse my terminolgy as I'm still learning, the lingo.

[LDV33]

by the way, I do plan on getting some of the products advertised on Curt's Main Site to get to 1080i.

[draganm]

[LDV33]

Aww pooo!
I got beat to it. One of my buddy's co-workers expressed a lot of interest in the G70 and so he sold it to him for $600. He said he wasn't aware that I had my heart set big on the projectors so he kinda feels bad about it. He said since he made a lot on the G70 that he's willing to just give me the 1272 for free.
Should I be excited? yes? or no?
I'm heading over to his place after work to pick it up. What should I expect?

[Bucketfoot]

I was perfectly happy with my 1270 for several years. It is pretty easy to setup and is a well built & reliable projector that you should still get quite a bit of enjoyment out of.

[ecrabb]

Well, that sucks. That's nice that he's giving you the 1272... Really... But, they're really not worth much. A hundy or two (if that), depending on condition. It's a very large step down from the G70.

Here's the deal with the 1272... It was my first CRT projector. It'll throw a very nice SD picture, and a decent (if modest) HD picture. I'd say it's far superior to practically any older XGA digital, so it should still be step up compared to what you're used to. Still, it's what we'd consider around here "entry level". It's electrostatically focused, air coupled, has no Scheimpflug (flapping focus), and depending on condition, is pretty soft. Even in nice shape with low hours, with a 1080i source, it's probably displaying something much closer to 960x540, and a not-so-sharp 960x540 at that. It is very film-like, and the colors are good, though.

Still, I'd go ahead and grab the 1272, play around with it, see how you like CRT. Use it as a learning experience, play around, do a few mods. Then, if you like what you see and you want more, then start shopping for a big step up 8" EM/LC machine like a G70, NEC XG LC, or a Marquee LC, or if you have the budget, go straight to a 9" machine.

SC

[dturco]

I'm with SC on this go get it for free if you can. Play around with it to see if you like the format, then after you get it go strait for a 8" or 9" L/C machine.

And no matter what, this forum is the place to be if you need any kind of techy assistance. I've used plenty of it.

[LDV33]

Thanks guys!
I'm really excited to get into this new hobby, I'll keep you all updated on the outcomes..

[draganm]

[LDV33]

[jkruger]

I'm picking up a Marquee 8501 today and have a Barco Graphics 800 and Sony 1271 that you can have if you feel like driving to San Diego. PM me for details.