i recently got a pt-ax200u and have been considering returning it for a crt. the guys at the crt forum have pretty much convinced me that crt is superior (but i guess i should expect that from crt owners). so i would also like to hear from you guys, will the pt-ax200u give me any advantages (besides smaller size)? do you think digital is better?

Just make sure you understand what you are realy getting into with CRT projection.

Loud, big, require lots of attention, difficult to install, ect..ect.. Did I mention they are loud and big.. :)

that's good to know!

no wonder CRT isn't that popular.

Just make sure you understand what you are realy getting into with CRT projection.

Loud, big, require lots of attention, difficult to install, ect..ect.. Did I mention they are loud and big.. :)

Don't tell me there are people that didn't know the fact about CRTs being big (they aren't much louder than a digital afterall) ?

Still people buy them (I did too.) no matter how big they are.

It's even logical: Would you avoid a Jaguar just because it's big and somehow a little louder and then stick to a FIAT or Dacia Logan? ;)

Agree'd, just the thought of somebody actually going from an AX200 to CRT Projection is hard to fathom.

Most even die hard CRT projection guys are going digital these days. You have to be a devoted video enthusiast to even consider CRT projection anymore.

I don't understand what is involved with installing; ceiling mounted won't be an option any way so can't i just set on the floor? Wouldn't bigger size be worth much better picture? According to the crt guys, a crt for in the same price range will offer vastly superior black levels, contrast, colors, and even sharpness. Do you disagree? Do you think that the difference is exaggerated, or even think that digital is better?

greg1292 has a AX-200 and a CRT well setup. He would be able to give you a none bias answer to your question. I'll be talking to him tonight ,and I'll ask him to post some comments. However ,I'm a long time CRT guy that moved over to the digital side ,and have to say...if I had the head room in my new HT I would have one still setup. They are everything that these guys said they are ,but they left off some key points. The big question is what is your setup. I have an anamorphic CIH HT ,so CRT is not for me.

CRT projectors don't put out near as much lumens as a digital projector. Also, they need tweaking for convergence often. Plus, they are very susceptible to burn-in.

k-mt

I think you've been given some good advice in the CRT forum, however there are a few more things you should consider. BTW, I use a CRT in my dedicated basement theatre, and use a couple of different digitals as a TV in the livingroom.

First, as mentioned in many CRT forum threads, CRT's aren't plug-and-play. You have to spend some time learning about how they work, and how to set them up both mechanically and electrically. Take a look at the 'Holy Focus' sticky at the top of the CRT forum. Then, you'll probably spend a good deal of time setting it up, then setting it up again, then setting it up again .. etc. This isn't because it was really bad the first time you set it up, but, you see things and want to get them better. It becomes a hobby, and there's a great community to support it, but ... not plug and play. It's a hobby.

Second ... the image looks 'different'. Compared to digitals,... even the AX200, they look soft. This isn't saying that they don't resolve as well, they look less .... digital. This is the look I prefer for movies myself. Others prefer a 'sharper' looking image of digitals.

Screen Size. CRT purists would say you shouldn't go beyond 90" diagonal for a 8" machine. I'm amazed no one mentioned this in your CRT thread. Personally, I don't believe it myself, and have a foolish 165" screen. You must have total blackout, dark walls, ceiling, floor, and a screen with some gain ( but not too much gain )to pull this off. Even then, you have to be able to alter the gamma curve of the source material to boost near-black and mid levels.

So, if you're in for some adventure, try CRT. If not, the newer crop of low cost 1080's, like the Epson 180UB or Sony VW40 are getting closer.

Jonathan

PS - I respecfully disagree with Sheridan1952. A well setup CRT only requires occasional tweaking. I only touch mine up about 3 times a year, and that's only when the convergence begins to look like a 3 chip digital ... which you can't converge. Also, The 8" Barco and Marquees will put out 1200 peak lumens ... they are just shy on ANSI lumens. This means they can actually be brighter than a well calibrated digital in all but scenes that are mostly bright.

I am in the service business. Once upon a time, before digital projectors, I serviced quite a few CRT projectors. All in a business or training environment. I rarely did service in a home installation. In more than a few installations, I was out quite often to "tweak" their projectors. I suspect that in more than a few cases, they had some bright so-and-so screwing around with it, not knowing what they were doing.

So I was speaking from my experience. As they say, "Your mileage may vary?

My Nec XG 1352 CRT projector (not projection) beats my Optoma 7300 DC3 in every way but top lumen, goemetry and uniformity. HD is more detailed, smoother and better color gamut with XG. The depth of the image and fluid motion is just amazing. Having said that I do like my 7300 as well for watching TV and occasional movies. Apples and oranges. You want film presentation it is CRT or Lcos in digital as an alternative but black level is still poor imo.

I can set up a Barco 808 in less than an hour from scratch and to me is better than a RS1. If you don't have a light controlled room than crt is not for anyone!!!!!!!!!! Also if your not a tweaker.

I have a Panny AX200 with about 50 hours and a U380 lens on it and was going to switch to a constant height set up but don't have the throw to pull it off.:mad: With that being said the panny on HD is very good but not in the same league as crt. So I am keeping the crt.

The panny does great on hd tv and blueray and is not artifically sharp but I find myself wanting to adjust the digital more than the crt. I always feel to get a natural picture I must cycle thru the presets for the picture to look its best. On a well done crt setup all I do is turn on and enjoy:)

With that being said if I had the throw I would do a constant height setup in a second!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is what I like most about digital and the razor sharp desktop:cool:

Crt is long from dead and until an RS2 is priced at 1000.00 there is no reason to switch. Both have great pictures but 8000.00 versus 1000.00 no contest crt still by a mile. I am out 3000.00 dollars to only realize if you have the room stay with crt.

The only reason to not have a crt is that you have neither the time,light controlled room or know how to set one up properly.

I would like to give my two cents here too. I recently got rid of my CRT. And here are the reasons. The lesser expensive ones are sometimes less expensive for a reason. For example- Mine would never stay converged. Every time I turned the thing on I had to tweak it for anywhere between 20 to 40 minutes just to get a half way decent picture out of it.

One other thing too, I found that the CRT community really encourages others to buy CRT projectors, which they should because CRT's really do offer a sweet picture, but once you get it, you had best be highly tech minded, or you will struggle in the CRT community. These guys know what they are doing, and they really expect others to know their stuff too. I'm not knocking them, I'm affirming them, and acknowledging my own inadequacies. It is a highly technical hobby to be a CRT-er. The CRT community knows that, and they encourage you to think seriously about whether you have the giftedness to own a CRT too.

In addition: I most certainly loved the picture that mine threw. BUT when one of my tubes went bad, I found the cost of the tube, plus having to take it down from its ceiling mount, loading it in the van, shipping it out, paying the cost for shipping, getting it back, paying the cost for shipping again, loading it in the van to get it back home, mounting it again, and converging it again to be nothing short of a real hassle. And if your tubes go bad or something else goes bad, this will happen to you too. The fact that these things are so huge does pose these problems.

So, to sum it up, if you are going to get a CRT you had best be a TWEAKER BIG TIME and you had best be willing to hoist that sucker up to the ceiling, have a mounting system in place, and tweak it a lot, and you had best be ready to face the COST of when something goes wrong.

I enjoyed the picture, but in the end I switched to digital simply from an ease of use perspective. And I'm glad I did. Digital has come a long way. And even though it is not the same picture as a CRT, it too is very very good. In addition, it is a lot less hassle and down time, if something should go wrong.

My digital projector took 2 minutes to mount and calibrate. In addition, the picture is FANTASTIC. So, for me, it was worth the switch.

"One other thing too, I found that the CRT community really encourages others to buy CRT projectors, which they should because CRT's really do offer a sweet picture, but once you get it, you had best be highly tech minded, or you will struggle in the CRT community. These guys know what they are doing, and they really expect others to know their stuff too. I'm not knocking them, I'm affirming them, and acknowledging my own inadequacies. It is a highly technical hobby to be a CRT-er. The CRT community knows that, and they encourage you to think seriously about whether you have the giftedness to own a CRT too. "






I agree 100%.