I have a home-made projection screen in my basement, and a somewhat mediocre SVGA projector projecting on to it. Partially due to inconvenience (the projector is propped up on an old medical dictionary) and partially due to less than stellar quality, I don't really use it.

However, I found a fellow selling an Electrohome ECP-4500 projector for $100 on Craigslist. It looks like a pretty good projector - what I read suggests it will do 720p without breaking a sweat, and while it produces no more than 700 lumens (and quite likely somewhat less), that's not a big problem in my window-less basement. And it even includes a ceiling mount.

It's also very cheap - suspiciously so. I'm more of an audio junkie than a home cinema enthusiast, and if these projectors are anywhere near as time-consuming as my various speaker projects, I doubt I'll ever use it at all.

Can anyone give me any information on the size, operating costs, reliability, and maintenance required for this model of projector? I'm aware that projectors of this type work better with HTPCs than DVD players - will I need anything fancier than a VGA output?

An ECP was my first projector and I still think they're great starter units, especially a local ECP 4500 (best and newest of the ECP line) for $100... great deal.

1080i is perfect for it... 720P will be slightly softer.

Any PC playing DVD will look fine and will be easy to hook up using a VGA->5BNC cable ($10 from ebay).

A component transcoder and/or a HDMI converter like the HDFury will be very useful. This would allow you to connect pretty much any video source... cable/satellite, XBox, PS2/PS3, blu-ray, any $50-$75 upscaling DVD player, etc. Lots of CRT connection options are discussed, reviewed, and linked to at curtpalme.com

$100. is not suspiciously cheap, in fact, because I don't like ECP's personally, I'd say that its a bit over priced. BUT, an ECP should make a great picture for you, much better than your mediocre digital in a lot of ways. It should have 07MS tubes in it being a 4500, which are bright enough to produce 700lumens or more light output.
Be warned, setting up a crt projector is a whole different kettle of fish compared to a digital, you'll need more than just a medical dictionary to get the best image from it.
Start with any manuals you can find on line, particularly the installation manual and operators manuals.
Go look at it, what can it hurt ?
ECP's are relatively small for crt projectors, they weigh about 100 lbs, I think(on the low side for crt projectors). They were designed for military applications, and as such have a very high "mean time between failure" rating. They "should" last a long time with very little input from you. They are completely modular in that you can swap out various plug in boards for repair, and the parts are very plentiful and cheap to find used because many, many ECP's were sold. They are old though, last produced in 1997, I think. This isn't that big a drawback though, just makes them cheaper to buy.
You pretty much can't get a better, super cheap crt projector, the 4500 is about the best of the lower end crt projectors.
When you consider they cost less than the cheapest replacement lamp for pretty much ANY digital, who really cares about operating cost, when it doesn't work any more, just throw out the carcass...

Spast

...with the current going rates on a 8500 marquees, I would consider jumping straight to a marquee! I don't believe you would regret it!

...but then again for 100 bucks you can't really go wrong,specially if it has decent condition tubes (no burn ins, good emission and such!)

for a starter set it will be a great one!

and if you do go for it, let me be the first to congratulate you on coming to the dark side!


Good luck


Martin

1080i is perfect for it... 720P will be slightly softer.

A component transcoder and/or a HDMI converter like the HDFury will be very useful. This would allow you to connect pretty much any video source... cable/satellite, XBox, PS2/PS3, blu-ray, any $50-$75 upscaling DVD player, etc. Lots of CRT connection options are discussed, reviewed, and linked to at curtpalme.com

Aside from DVDs, I don't have much to play on the projector anyway.

Having never owned anything but LCDs and unable to afford anything better than standard DVDs (though HD-DVDs may soon be in my price range - huzzah for obsolescence!), I really don't need anything better than 480p. That said, 1080i capability would be nice.

I'm also a bit confused as to resolution. Would I be better off leaving the projector in 480p, or upscaling to either 720p or 1080i? In your experience, how good is a computer at upscaling DVDs?

Spast


and if you do go for it, let me be the first to congratulate you on coming to the dark side!




I really hope you're referring to the contrast ratio.....

Go 1080i


Athanasios

Spasticteapot, yes i was referring to that!
as far as lumens are concerned i feel that a crt has more than enough for a pitch black room, which is the way it should be anyway! (Unless you are giving a presentation to a room full of execs from a crappy little bulb machine!)

I also agree with nashou...1080i should be better!

Martin

My first crt projector was ecp4500.
This projector is difficult to adjust, because much adjust point do with trimming resistor.
I don't recomand this projector first user.

Fantastic unit. It was my first CRT. I got it to replace my Infocus X1 which I enjoyed and it blew the X1 out of the water. Combine it wish Zoomplayer pro with FFDShow and Unsharpen mask and prepare to be blown away once you calibrate it well.

Here's an animated GIF (Which can't truly show the amazing quality you see in person, but it'll give you an idea) of The Descent on my torus screen with a little ambient light. Ignore the red rope lights and the flickering which the camera sees.

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/4571/decent65copy1qb8.gif

hi Spasticteapot,

Buy the projector that is within your budget now. You are missing all the beauty and majesty that CRT brings to the universe!!! :D I have an entry level projector but I am totally/extremely ecstatic about the picture quality!!! I can't even sleep anymore that every night I think about her. Problem is, I can't put her on my bed. Everyday, I drool because of her. I don't want to work anymore. I just want to watch her and watch on her. She's also naked now!!! HAHAHA! just kidding.

Let us know what you have decided. A lot of guys here will help you! ;)

Good luck!

I'm also a bit confused as to resolution. Would I be better off leaving the projector in 480p, or upscaling to either 720p or 1080i? In your experience, how good is a computer at upscaling DVDs?


Like what we said, purchase it now and don't turn back. And yes, go 1080i. If your crt pj can do 1080p without softness, well then do 1080p. Don't worry about the resolution now. Just make sure the crt you're buying at least can do 1080i.

Here is an old screenshot of Xmen from my sony 1272q projected at 9' 6" wide(not diagonal). Source is DVD but upscaled by HD-A2 and projected at 1080i via HDFury.

http://restricted.dyndns.org/crtscreenshots/images/wolverine.png

Sorry so late on this thread...
I think it's a reasonable price if it works. I shoot an ECP 4100 on a home made screen and am satisfied with it.
Try to get a look at the tube faces to determine how much burn is imprinted in the phosphor. 07MS tubes seem to be preferred over SD187 tubes.
These units are relatively easy to fix. If you get it, be on the lookout for a salvaged HV supply to keep around as a spare.
Make sure it isn't missing the remote.

-Dan

Spasticteapot the ecp is not digital when it comes to the adjustments, hence a little more effort to setup, but whatever the issues are it will blow any dlp/lcd bulb machine out of the water costing 10s of times more that this unit...

DLK is correct, make sure you have a remote

Best of luck

Martin