My Marquee 8500 has been great and is still great projector, I love it. But it's on it's last leg (running brightness and contrast at near 100%) and I do not think it will be worth the trouble and cost to pull it down and ship it somewhere to have it re-tubed.:(

I have been looking at the LCD projectors in the $2000 range like the Pany PT-AE2000U and Epson PowerLite Home 1080. I would love one of the Sony $5000 to $10000 projector but just isn't in the budget. After having the amazing 8500 am I going to be able to live with the picture the Pany and Epson produce? How do they compare to the 8500 (if there is anyone here that has owned a 8500)?

Thanks,

Steve

Steve, you are comparing apples and oranges here. I've seen both and they give a completely different picture, each with their strengths and weaknesses. I believe you would be happy to go from an 8500 to a PT-AE2000. Obviously you will lose the blacks in low APL scenes, the great colours, the smooth digital artifact free motion and clean film like picture, but you will gain ANSI, brightness, sharpness and 1080p resolution. It's a completely different look, but at its price range it's a nice 'digital' picture to have.

I believe you would be happy to go from an 8500 to a PT-AE2000. Obviously you will lose the blacks in low APL scenes, the great colours, the smooth digital artifact free motion and clean film like picture, . oh is that all :) you forgot the loss of repairability after warranty expires and the loss of peace of mind in having a CRT tube that last thousands of hours and is very unlikely to explode.

but you will gain ANSI, brightness, sharpness and 1080p resolution. It's a completely different look, but at its price range it's a nice 'digital' picture to have. tick, tick, tick, tick :D

My Marquee 8500 has been great and is still great projector, I love it. But it's on it's last leg (running brightness and contrast at near 100%) and I do not think it will be worth the trouble and cost to pull it down and ship it somewhere to have it re-tubed.:(Steve It depends? Figuring the AE2000 at $2K The cost to do the CRT is about the same. It depends on whether you can build your own crate, are close to a froward air terminal, and whether the person you hire has an excellent condition used Red tube which is pretty common if you work on Electrohomes. That would save $600. off a new VDC Red. Also, there are some boards which need a little attention now too as the marquee's start averaging 10 years old. This would return a machine to you in better shape than you have it now in every way.
Basically, I think it's possibleto get your 8500 looking better than it ever has before for about $2K and have it go for another 10 years. Go an see a $2K LCD and you will konw.

oh is that all :) you forgot the loss of repairability after warranty expires and the loss of peace of mind in having a CRT tube that last thousands of hours and is very unlikely to explode.

I know this will make me sound pro digital, but to be honest this done really matter to me. The amounts of repairs I've had to do to my marquee's and the costs involved getting said repairs, and even buying multiple spares so that i can make repairs, not to mention the stress and down time, would actually warrant buying a digital in my mind.

Having a tube lasting thousands of hours is great, but again, doesn't mean anything if I don't get to watch them anywhere near that. My brand new LUGs have seen less than 100 hours of action. At that rate, they will last me over 100 years... even if I were to live that long, something tells me I would have moved on from CRT well before then.

BTW, $2k for an AE2000 is too much. I just sold a used one for $1150.00 You'd be better off with a used RS1 or VW60 (harder to find used) in the 2200-2400 range. Panasonics are not very reliable (dust blobs and other issues). The JVCs are far more reliable and usually have better lamp hours.

Also, you will definitely notice haziness in the Panasonics black level with low APL scenes compared to the Marquee. If you run into one of the issues common to LCDs you may never want to go back to digital FP.

I was scared when I went from a Sony 1252 to a panasonic 720p a few years ago. i know it's blasphemy, but I was very happy. I know I didn't have the best CRT. but the sharpness and brightness were great. In my case the only loss was black level.

ej

I know this will make me sound pro digital, but to be honest this done really matter to me. The amounts of repairs I've had to do to my marquee's and the costs involved getting said repairs, and even buying multiple spares so that i can make repairs, not to mention the stress and down time, would actually warrant buying a digital in my mind.

Having a tube lasting thousands of hours is great, but again, doesn't mean anything if I don't get to watch them anywhere near that. My brand new LUGs have seen less than 100 hours of action. At that rate, they will last me over 100 years... even if I were to live that long, something tells me I would have moved on from CRT well before then.


I totally agree with everything Gino said, I had a heavily modded Marquee 9500 Ultra. I spent more time trying to keep it working than I did actually watching it. I switched to a JVC RS2 8 months ago and I've watched more content in the last 8 months than I did during the 3 years I had the Marquee. 300 hours on the RS2 and counting without a single issue.

As for cost, I parted out the Marquee and it more than paid for the RS2, and the RS2 comes with a 2 year warrantee. Even if I have to put a new bulb in it every 6 months (which I don't) it will cost me less than the constant repairs that were required on the Marquee.

BTW I bought the RS2 from Jason at AVS, AVS rocks :)

Chris.

Sundance, I feel like I am going to be in a similar situation as you are in the next year. I got in to CRT because I saw an opportunity to get a great image at a very low price. I was just going to wait and keep my CRT RPTV, but I ran in to a good deal on a NEC XG-75. Now that I have it, I can see the snowball effect possibly coming up: buying spare tubes, buying spare chassis, HDMI converters (need more than one, seeing as how they keep getting "better"), Gamma correctors, and finally a video processor to get a proper calibration. I am trying my best to hold off on a lot of these things (so far only got one HMDI converter and gamma booster), but I catch myself searching for tubes online at 2 am :) I think what I am learning is that I don't want a CRT hobby, I simply want a good image in my home theater.

My plan is to wait at least one year to go digital. I guess I am not as high on the contrast as you are, so it's less urgent. I also happen to think the repairability issue on the digitals is blown way out of proportion. You can get a 2 year warranty on lots of brands, and if you buy with something like an amex card, you can get an extra year for free. I personally don't see me using a digital for over 4 years, so that's just one year I am risking.

I am keeping my eye on the Panny AE3000 and the Epson 6500UB. These are a little more than you were wanting to spend, but it seems like a lot of people are happy with them. They may not have the super high sequential contrast ratio of the CRTs, but then again, they shouldn't have the ringing I see in my NEC and probably your 8500 (assuming yours is a AC type) in some dark scenes.

I know this will make me sound pro digital, but to be honest this done really matter to me. The amounts of repairs I've had to do to my marquee's and the costs involved getting said repairs, and even buying multiple spares so that i can make repairs, not to mention the stress and down time, would actually warrant buying a digital in my mind. I don't think it makes you sound pro digital at all. I really had no idea you had a lot of problems or any at all, what the heck went so wrong?

I totally agree with everything Gino said, I had a heavily modded Marquee 9500 Ultra. I spent more time trying to keep it working than I did actually watching it. Chris. yeah but you had your 9500LC teetering 5 feet up in the air and then knocked it over and 190 pounds came crashing to the ground. I doubt any machine would can be fairly judged for reliability under those circumstances.

I am trying my best to hold off on a lot of these things (so far only got one HMDI converter and gamma booster), but I catch myself searching for tubes online at 2 am :) I think what I am learning is that I don't want a CRT hobby, I simply want a good image in my home theater.. if you have a goodwroking XG75 with HDMI and gammaboost the nyou already have a good image. You don't have a CRT problem, you have a shopping problem;)


They may not have the super high sequential contrast ratio of the CRTs, but then again, they shouldn't have the ringing I see in my NEC and probably your 8500 (assuming yours is a AC type) in some dark scenes. it's not ringing, it's called Halo-ing and non LC crt's will do it. If you can afford an RS1 + scaler to fix the colors like Chris nuttal then that is a really nice system. I'm guessing about 10 times the cost of what you have invested in your XG.

yeah but you had your 9500LC teetering 5 feet up in the air and then knocked it over and 190 pounds came crashing to the ground. I doubt any machine would can be fairly judged for reliability under those circumstances.



That projector was thrown out as it was a total write off. My insurance company replaced it with another one. The replacement projector was a nightmare from day one. It had problems with powersupplies, boards, tubes and MP mods.

I started out with a Marqee 8500. I had to replace a red tube that went band and had intermittant problems with other boards. I upgraded to an 8500LC that also had intermittant problems. I then bought a pair of 9500LC projectors, I resold one of them and the other one "failed the drop test" and was replaced by the insurance company. I always had a couple parts machines around to help troubleshoot the problems but non of them were ever really reliable. Eventually I had had enough of the "fixing" and I sold off all my working stuff and bought the RS2.

Chris.

Alan is selling his digital and loving his 9500LC Ultra! ;) Avs Rocks!! ;)

Athanasios

That projector was thrown out as it was a total write off. My insurance company replaced it with another one. The replacement projector was a nightmare from day one. It had problems with powersupplies, boards, tubes and MP mods.Chris. Well i've seen a couple of machines like that actually, probaly 2 or 3 out of 50 worked on. In my case it was evident what had happened. The machines were run in a poorly ventialted environment and probly at really high scan rates, most likely a simualtor. I literally could not trust a single module in those machines and went over them with a fine tooth comb. the only plus side is when they were decomissioned they left the AFB with a lot of very new VDC stuff in them and it was obvious they were repairing the machines with brand new boards.
What i'm trying to say is even something as reliable as a Marquee could have been used in a way that exceeded the machines robust build. Obviously the PJ can't tell you if it was used in a place with too much heat, humidity, vibration, etc. We had a bunch of 8500's here 5 years ago with 40K hours when they were removed from Lucent and they were spotless inside. My buddy still has one now with close to 50K on the clock and has never had a single problem, ever. It just depends on what you happen to get, hopefully the not the one ridden hard and put away wet.

[QUOTE=draganm;15753406]
if you have a goodwroking XG75 with HDMI and gammaboost the nyou already have a good image. You don't have a CRT problem, you have a shopping problem;)
/QUOTE]

I have a "I want 10 ft wide 2.35:1 screen" problem :)
But it's a problem that's going to have to wait, as I am not ready to jump yet.



...believe me I have already thought about stacking 2 XG-75's

I love my Sony 1292, the picture is awsome! but the cost to maintain it is becomming cost prohibitive. I just came across your post, when I was looking for help with my latest problem.
A friend of mine Phil has a JVC RS1 on an 8' wide screen and it looks great, after watching a movie and playing a little XBOX 360 on it, I was jelous.
I have to say the movies looked a lot differant, I still think a properly tuned CRT is tops to me. I wasn't sold. but then... I played a few games, and it looks amazing, much sharper and brighter. I was not totally happy but I here the RS20 is a lot better.
I think that will be my next projector.

good luck!

I love my Sony 1292, the picture is awsome! but the cost to maintain it is becomming cost prohibitive. I just came across your post, when I was looking for help with my latest problem.
A friend of mine Phil has a JVC RS1 on an 8' wide screen and it looks great, after watching a movie and playing a little XBOX 360 on it, I was jelous.
I have to say the movies looked a lot differant, I still think a properly tuned CRT is tops to me. I wasn't sold. but then... I played a few games, and it looks amazing, much sharper and brighter. I was not totally happy but I here the RS20 is a lot better.
I think that will be my next projector.

good luck!

If your choosing between an RS1 and RS10 why not consider a used RS2, which you can find priced below the RS10. You'll likely be happier with the improved black level.

I don't think it makes you sound pro digital at all. I really had no idea you had a lot of problems or any at all, what the heck went so wrong?
More glycol leaks than I care to count. It's amazing how many parts this can take out on a table mounted setup.

I do admit that there were times I had problems due to my constant upgrading and modding and I can take responsibility for that as most people don't need to try all the tweaks and changes I did, but the glycol leaks were from 3 new tubes which leaked at different times and took out different boards, it was not fun slowly trouble shooting problem baords, disassembling the projectors completely til there was nothing but the bare chassis, putting it all back together, setting up a blend to perfection, then repeat again and again as more leaks were found from other tubes.

Factor in cost of replacement parts and cost of express international courier dozens of times and being without a picture for several months at a time... :rolleyes:

Yes, I am extremely happy with my blend when things are going great, but when there's down time, I really have to think if it was worth the cost, time, and stress.

More glycol leaks than I care to count. It's amazing how many parts this can take out on a table mounted setup.

I do admit that there were times I had problems due to my constant upgrading and modding and I can take responsibility for that as most people don't need to try all the tweaks and changes I did, but the glycol leaks were from 3 new tubes which leaked at different times and took out different boards, it was not fun slowly trouble shooting problem baords, disassembling the projectors completely til there was nothing but the bare chassis, putting it all back together, setting up a blend to perfection, then repeat again and again as more leaks were found from other tubes.

Factor in cost of replacement parts and cost of express international courier dozens of times and being without a picture for several months at a time... :rolleyes:

Yes, I am extremely happy with my blend when things are going great, but when there's down time, I really have to think if it was worth the cost, time, and stress.


OH I feel your pain.

I'm sorry to hear that Gino, the Marquee LC chamber is one thing they really did a poor job on. IT's one reason I have always tended to avoid them and stuck with the AC machines.
Even though the Sony G series is an electronic disaster their LC design was engineering excellence. I'm sure if the market and demand had stayed high we might have seen a something like that done for the Marquee.:(

Perhaps someone can think of a way to fit a Sony LC design into a Marquee... wishful thinking?

Perhaps someone can think of a way to fit a Sony LC design into a Marquee... wishful thinking? I've actually thought about it, but the time invested would be huge. Galen already did it to a Barco. Anyway, I sold all my G70 lenses, c-elements, and most of the chambers too.