CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[Jester]

Hi guys,

I would like to start by thanking everyone and especially Curt for the tons of info and knowledge that is this site. That being said, I need a few questions answered and maybe some local help. I have an existing theater and I have converted from DLP (infocus 4805) to a CRT. I am a handy and technical person. So, I look forward to endless tweaking and learning.

It is obvious that projector placement changes dramatically ( I have a low ceiling 7ft) so its a floor set (I think). I wonder what kind of enclosure is most common. I read something about using a mirror and setting the CRT vertical, so thats my next research project. What is the best setup for screen/crt for both 16x9 and 4x3 viewing (16x9 will be dominant). I need to remodel and reposition my furniture to accommodate. I currently have a Greyhawk 106 diagonal screen. I will probably replace it. Thus, recommendations are welcome. I'm leaning towards the laminate screen floor-to-ceiling as wide as possible with the CRT 10 ft from the screen.

I know this is a bit of a scattered post, but if I wait till I get a perfect post...I'll never get one

So thoughts or more questions to clarify are welcome.

Thanks


Jester

[jkruger]

Welcome to the club! Hope you have many hours of fun with your Sony and those that will follow.
I'm a 12xx owner and have found that a throw distance of close to 8 ft seems to work best with mine. When I went bigger it seems to need a very dark room. I'm using a 90" diagonal at 96" throw distance and it looks great.

[Joust]

First of all , Welcome.
Second, what model projector is it?
If that Screen is made for DLP or LCD you probably want to get rid of it. that is for Projectors that cannot show black. Yours can now.

You can build a table over your PJ.
There is a move afoot to use a curved mirror to squash the height of the projected image. this allows you to use more of the tube height.
the results remain to be seen....

[Joust]

Throw distance will change with lenses. You could change them.

[AnalogRocks]

[AnalogRocks]

[AnalogRocks]

[AnalogRocks]

[Jester]

Thanks for all the reply's. The model is a 1271q. I like the 21 point convergence..... I'm learning a lot, I've set it up 4 times now and I can see how each step effects the next. This is a direct result of moving the CRT around the basement trying to find a good spot. That task is not for the faint of heart, not like draggin around an 8lb DLP for set up lol.

As far as changing lenses or bulbs , or anything else for that fact. ..... how do i know what will fit this? Seems a lot of different ones will and are not always clear when i see them for sale . I know its in the sellers best interest to list it but Ive seen it not spelled out. I think the screen I have is a non issue as I am going with the laminate. I listed it cuz you never know, someone will say "Thats the perfect screen".

I also didn't mention that the theater is completely light controlled. This unit has about 8000 hours on it, so I'm currently looking for a second for parts or as a replacement. Am I correct in understanding I should get about 10,000 hours out of them? And that they wont all go bad at once ? I think the blue is weak on it now. not having enough experience it may just be me.

Thanks again for all the replys

Jester

[Joust]

you can look on the barrel of the lens to see its model. I believe they have the same footprint as the HD8
you could put better lenses on there but why not play with those for a while. you probably have coloured glycol in the tubes too. that will help colour filtering.

[ecrabb]

Welcome to the forum, Jester.

Yep, the 1271 is glycol color-filtered, so no color-filtered lenses necessary. Your 1271 likely has either Delta HD8's or Sony PT-65's. PT-65's are better, but not by a large margin. It kind of depends on the condition and hours on the projector.
Now, your machine has 8,000 hours on it - if that's true for the tubes as well as the chassis - that's quite a few hours. Though the tubes will run for 10,000 hours and beyond, the ES (electrostatic) focusing tubes as used in 12xx and many other projectors of the same vintage lose focus as they accumulate hours. 2-3,000 hours and they'll be pretty sharp (similar to when they were new). 4-6,000 hours, and they're still decent, but losing focus. Over that, they continue to lose focusing ability and the image gets softer and output gets lower (dimmer). 8-10,000 on ES-focus tubes is a lot of hours. The tubes will definitely not focus like they once did, but there's no harm in using and enjoying the projector as-is - just don't be surprised if it won't get as sharp as you hope. Of course, even a high-hour 12xx will probably still kick the 4805's ass with a good HD source - seriously.

There is an upgrade path to HD144/145 lenses with Joust's adapter plates, but considering a set of lenses and adapters will probably cost as much or more than the machine cost, it's probably not a very good move. With that number of hours on the tubes, the improvement would likely not be noticeable, either. Don't worry about lens upgrades right now and just keep working on nailing your setup per the setup tutorial - mechanical alignment, maximizing rasters, optical and electronic focus, and convergence.

Laminate screen is great and cheap.

SC

[AnalogRocks]

[AnalogRocks]

[Steve Coelho]

Another good mod for your 12xx would be the "spring mod" instead of stock spacers to adjust the toe-in for the red and blue crts. I found that I can center and maximize the rasters a lot easier.

[AnalogRocks]

[AnalogRocks]

[ecrabb]

I corrected my mistake. Shouldn't write big long posts when it's past my bed time.

Spring mod... Some people have trouble finding the right springs. If you're careful not to over-tighten, you can substitute the springs for a second nut and a couple of rubber grommets or washers to interface with the flange on the tube so you don't over-stress the flange. If you're careful to keep things aligned, I think two nuts and rubber washers actually work better than the springs. Unlike the springs, the nuts keep anything from moving around later.

Don't anybody get my wrong - these old machines rock. Like I said, I'd take them over any number of digital projectors - even with a lot of hours on them. They're just plain awesome. I LOVE my 1271 and 1272. I don't even want to get rid of them considering what they're worth. I need the room, though...

Given the great pic you can get out of them with nothing more than the spring mod, maxed rasters and a decent screen, I just question how much sense it makes to spend upwards of $300 on lenses and lens adapters when there are nice G70's going for close to a grand now - especially when I highly doubt that the lenses will be the weak link in a high-hour 12xx. I realize there's a big difference between $500 and $1000+shipping, but you get my point.

SC

[AnalogRocks]

Yes I do but I'm strange so normal rules don't apply to me ( What IS normal anyways? ).

I plan on getting a set of HD-144's and a set of HD-145's which ever ones work best with the 6PG in my office for gaming will stay there. The other set will go on the Sony just for fun. I can always put them on something else latter.

[AnalogRocks]

Yes I do but I'm strange so normal rules don't apply to me ( What IS normal anyways? ).

I plan on getting a set of HD-144's and a set of HD-145's which ever ones work best with the 6PG in my office for gaming will stay there. The other set will go on the Sony just for fun. I can always put them on something else latter.

[Jester]

I truly appreciate the advice. I do see this as a starter CRT. I will upgrade after 6 month to a year. Once I learn the basics of CRT ownership ( man the 60+ winds and snow are beating the house, Blizzard they call it , glad I'm posting and not out in it) I am willing to do mod simply for the sake of learning. So maybe a lens change isnt in the cards but who know what you find cheap. I do want to swap tubes.... if nothing more than for the experience.

So am I to understand that all 12xx series Sony's are modded the same? if its good for a 1250 then its fine for 1271? I understand the difference in these CRT is the boards. 9 point vs 21 point convergence.

And what does "maxed rasters " mean ?

Thanks

Jester

[ecrabb]

It just means enlarging the image on the tube face as much as possible (and therefore shortening the throw) to utilize as much of the tube face as possible. Doing so, you can maximize both light output and resolution.

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

Read all the setup materials, the manual for the projector, and all the this stuff will start making sense.

SC

[Joust]

Sounds like you are looking for a box to do even more tweeking.
the Electrohome Marquee has 45 zone convergence and geometry.
I've heard that the NEC has even more tweeks

[MYoung]

I have a Sony D50 as a beater projector in my basement for HD DVD and Xbox 360. I have it on side-by-side heavy duty plastic storage shelving with pieces of wood elevating the back-end up so the guns line-up with the screen. It sits high enough for an average height person to sit behind without their head blocking the picture. I'm thinking of building a wooden stand for it to get it even higher, yet still keep it floor mounted.

In my basement setup I hung-up queen-sized black sheets all over the place and put in black carpet (all materials from Walmart and costing maybe $150 total). It's amazing how much of a difference blacking out your room can make for the picture! The less light that's reflecting back on your screen the more punch your picture will have. Now I want to move my 1292Q down there and see what kind of eye candy I can get on a 8' wide Wilsonart screen in a blacked-out room!

[jkruger]

here's a link to the springs I used on my 1272:
https://www.curtpalme.com/forum_archived/viewtopic.php@t=8401.html

[james69]

i bought a mount for my 1292 but the holes were all in the wrong place

my wife said she knew how the plate felt...

i ended up drilling some new ones but i broke 3 drill bits doing it