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FS Barco Graphics 808 in great shape

2K views 14 replies 6 participants last post by  Jerry Brady 
#1 ·
I'm selling my BG808 after 8 years as I'm moving to a smaller digital projector and I wanted to give the place that made my home theater experiences possible the first chance at buying it. It's in great shape and started out it's life with me with a new blue tube and a complete refurbishment with lots of help from Curt Palme.


It hasn't been used all that much and has seen the most use over the past year or so as my son found that it's a great place to play Xbox. I'll post the hours and some pictures later so you can see the shape it's in. It's also been holding is calibration extremely well and hasn't required barely any adjustments since it was professionally calibrated to my sources.


In addition to the projector, I also have:
  • RGBS cables.
  • Premier ceiling mount
  • Extron box for VGA to RGBS
  • Extron box for dual-input switching


Located in southeast Michigan, will ship crated via motor freight, buyer must pay shipping.


Accepting reasonable offers and will post pictures soon. Let me know if you have any questions.


Cheers,

Jerry
 
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#2 ·
Just a note - the 360 can output to pure RGBHV over VGA(HD-15). Your son might be happy to know that his Xbox could probably be played on that thing in full HD that way.
 
#3 ·
It's been that way all along. I run the Xbox into the Extron which converts the VGA to RGBS. It's calibrated right now for 720p and it connected to my PC upstairs via Windows Media Center which makes it really nice for downloading and watching other HD content.


Rock Band is always a big hit when the family is over for the holidays.
 
#6 ·
Dibs on the HV section! Pull the lenses and post a pix of the tubes. That really will determine the value of the complete set, if any at this point.
 
#8 ·
looks like you did a fine job setting it up. too bad your getting rid of it
 
#11 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jerry Brady  /t/1441425/fs-barco-graphics-808-in-great-shape#post_22641827


The setup and all I learned is thanks to the many people who helped via this forum. I wouldn't enjoy HT as much as I do now without the help and support of all the great folks around here. Especially Curt and Kal.
well post it on Videogon, it's a free site and many sets are still sold there
Quote:
Originally Posted by jamhdit  /t/1441425/fs-barco-graphics-808-in-great-shape#post_22677353


id be iterested in the extron boxes if they hook to my zenith 900 crt machine.

also curious why your changing your set up?

picture quality?

thanks john
typically people either want a really big screen like 10+ feet wide, and need more light output. Or CinemaScope constant image height, where the image height never changes but just gets wider as you go from 4:3 to 16:9 to 2.35: 1

Or they want cheap 3D, which a cheap bulb machine will deliver cheaply. A CRT can do it but needs lots of accessory's
 
#12 ·
I'm throwing onto a 133" 16:9 screen and always have and lots of reasons went into the decision
  • digital technology has improved / matured since i put the Barco up 8-9 years ago
  • more light output - can now watch movies or play video games with other light sources in the room
  • reduced maintenance / fuss
  • wife was always afraid the barco was going to fall and crush the kids


BTW, I took the Barco apart to make it easier to get it off the ceiling. So if you are interested in or need parts, please let me know. I replaced it with an Epson 8350 which has lens shift which made it such a breeze to setup and get aligned to the screen. I'm really happy with the Epson so far and I haven't even sat down with the Avia disc yet to tune it up.
 
#13 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jerry Brady  /t/1441425/fs-barco-graphics-808-in-great-shape#post_22684290


[*] digital technology has improved / matured since i put the Barco up 8-9 years ago

[*] more light output - can now watch movies or play video games with other light sources in the room

[*] reduced maintenance / fuss

[*] wife was always afraid the barco was going to fall and crush the kids

[/LIST].
ok, so the first 2 reasons make sense.

Quote:
I had a G70 for 4+ years. It was gone by the time I put the 8350 in the room - really just to test out on a lark. I knew I was probably getting a JVC, but I thought I'd test the Epson in my room and see what I though. I create my own content, photography, video, etc. and therefore I've been looking at calibrated displays for years, and have a very, very critical eye.


Here's the deal. The 8350 is a great projector. It's really great for what it is, and the level of picture quality is pretty amazing for an $1100 machine. I've heard of plenty of reliability issues also though, so perhaps it's too cheap. My buddy is on his third projector. On the plus side, Epson is really great about service and support. What about when the warrant runs out, though?


Anyway, when I say critical viewing, I mean, do you want to watch an excellent, calibrated picture, in a fully light-controlled environment, with great blacks, and a mostly artifact-free picture? If so, the 8350 is not for you.


I had it in my room for about a little over a week and probably put 20 or 25 hours on it before I returned it and ordered a JVC RS-45. I'm very happy with the RS45, but of course, it's over three times the price at retail, and more than double the price even for the B-stock I bought. The two aren't even remotely in the same league picture-quality-wise.


Let me say this: If the 8350 were all I could have afforded, I would have made the decision to stay with my CRT for another few years. The lens shift mechanism is hinky and drifts over time. The projector feels kind of cheap and plasticy, which clearly reflects the overall build quality. More importantly, I just wasn't happy with the picture quality. The blacks suck, even compared to better digitals, but especially CRT. The pixels were also much more noticeable than I liked because I sit pretty close to my screen. There's more, but I'll just stop there since, in my opinion, there's no reason to go any further. The only category in which the Epson bettered the G70 was fully-resolved 1080p.


Again, I'm talking for critical viewing in a dedicated, light-controlled HT. For a multi-purpose room, on a larger scope screen, for mostly TV, sports, and some occasional movies, I have two friends with 8350's and they love them. The one who has had three machines even loves it. The other has had no issues at all. Their families LOVE their setups - complete with 120" wide scope setups. Their systems are truly amazing for what they spent on them... They're just not what I'd consider "critical viewing" setups. So, just trying to keep this in perspective. The 8350 is a great projector if you're after a fun home movie setup, but not if you're after an excellent display.

and
Quote:
I've been thinking about this aswell. I have one more year for the warranty and I am concerned about what is going to happen when is over. I went and talked to an epson dealer last week about all the problems I keep having with the machine. The guy was more than helpful and understanding about the situation, he said to exhange it 3 months before the warranty ends for my 7TH TIME!! ( if I dont return it again for other reasons before then) and try to make a deal to get a new one instead of a refurbished one, and then sell the new one. The down side of selling this machine is that buyers wont get any warranty because basically the serial would be under my name in warraty issues, so... warranty would be over then. There is so many problems with digital, I've never had a good experiences with one. In the last 2 years I've gone through 12 projectors all from different manufacturers. Panasonic ax2000u was the first one ( had to exchange 2) then Optoma HD20 ( had to exchange 3) epson 8100 ( had to exchange 2) and espon 8350 (so far 6 times and counting). I don't know about the expensive side of Digital and the problems there. But I am loosing faith here. So maybe It would be worth it to stick with CRT for at least a few years.
If you can, aim higher than the 8350
 
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