Is the CRT dying?  

THEN WHY WORRY ABOUT IT
GO ON AND ENJOY YOUR CRT PROJECTOR
WHEN IT FINLEY GOES DOWN FOR THE COUNT
MANY YEARS FROM NOW LOOK AROUND
AT THE NEWEST LATEST DIGITAL HAS TO OFFER
AND IF ITS STILL NOT UP TO THE TASK BUY
ANOTHER CRT PROJECTOR
MINE WENT DOWN AROUND A MONTH
AGO AND AFTER LOOKING AT DIGITAL
AND STILL FINDING IT WANTING
I AM GETTING ANOTHER CRT PROJECTOR


XANATOS

PS .
MR. TIM MARTIN OF ETECH FAME
HAS JUST REDEFINED THE STATE OF THE ART
IN HOME VIDEO PROJECTION
USING CRT PROJECTORS
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=279007

XANATOS

xanatos how is the hunt going for a new crt?, have you decided on a model? or are you looking at getting another 1292?.....................

....and when you realize that a digital projector that can equal or surpass a CRT is likely to be quite expensive, you will probably consider the cost/performance issue and still hang on to the CRT for longer yet.

So that's one of the guys that have been starting that rumor "again".....so he can buy a CRT pj cheap because some idiot will believe and dump his CRT pj.

hometheaterguy,

You don't need ANYONE to tell you CRT is "on the way out", when you SEE an LCD, DLP or DILA projector that looks BETTER then a top CRT projector, then you can assume that in a couple of years, CRT sales will start to decline. Until that day arrives, THERE IS NOTHING BETTER THAN CRT! Even according to Barco, which makes both.

Bruce

Yea, definately on the way out. Sell now, before resale prices drop to zero.

I'll give you $200 for your current CRT projector. :p

- Jerry

I hope they die from time to time, or my service business will shut down..:)

Curt

Hey Xanatos,

I know you had a Sony 1292, is that what you are replacing? If so, I have two suggestions for you. Either get a Sony G70, if you can find a really nice one OR, did you see that someone has a BRAND NEW IN THE BOX, SONY 1292 for $4950. on AUDIOGON (the new website that you DON'T have to pay to view. You can also sell on it for MUCH less than Ebay.

Bruce

CRT projectors are on the way out. Their eventual demise began prematurely. The replacement digital displays haven't matched the zenith of CRT performance, but are fast improving. This doesn't mean the complete disappearance of CRT projection. There will be users for quite some time, but new production is far below what it was a few years ago and home theater boutiques are removing their CRT demo rooms and selling digital units instead. The industry is moving forward with just pockets of CRT activity left. That's a big change from the days of CRT projection for everything.

Dying is a such a charged term for describing the change. But, it doesn't take much to notice the vast majority of new model releases and advances are now happening in the digital display arena. I'm not saying that CRT's aren't still being worked upon and improved, but it's shrinking. Even at this forum you'll notice that the topic and message counts are tiliting towards digital.

Commercial theaters are not CRT, that's for sure. I'd say they are still mostly film projection. All the ones I go to are. As for the digital projection, I dunno if it is DLP or not. Maybe some ultra high lumen DLP. In a commercial theater they are concerned about getting a big picture. In a home theater with a smaller screen you can concentrate on getting excellent image aesthetics -- resolution, contrast, black level, shadow detail, color fidelity -- thanks to CRT technology.

I saw Star Wars Episode II in a "digital projection" theatre and I almost walked out.

I got there late and had to sit close, but I could *SEE* the rectangular pixels and there was horrible artifacting across every smooth curve (especially the scrolling text at the start).

If I had paid more than $8 for the ticket, I would have wrestled someone in the back row out of their seat just to stop the insanity of it all!

Film projection in theaters isn't going to change for quite some time.

I know that the crazed zealot behind Quest had been buying up bankrupt cineplexes because he has a vision of using his network to deliver digital content (not just movies) to patrons everywhere.

Want to see <fill in the blank> in concert, just run down to your local digiplex and check it out in full stereo...."like you're there."

- Jerry

I SAW STAR WARS P M AT A DIGITAL THEATER
LETS JUST SAY I WAS DISAPPOINTED
AND LEAVE IT AT THAT

TECHMAN THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP

I DO NOT BELIEVE CRT IS A DYING BEAST
IT IS AT THE HIGH END WHERE IT HAS ALWAYS
BEEN WE ARE ALL LUCKY DIGITAL HAS PUSHED
CRT PROJECTORS OUT OF THE BOARD ROOMS
AND INTO OUR HOME THEATERS WHERE THEY BELONG
ALSO A COMPANY IS MAKING NEW 7 INCH TUBED PROJECTORS
VDC IS STILL MAKING THE 9500LC
BARCO IS STILL MAKING THERE CINE LINE AND IMPROVING
ON IT
AND THERE ARE ALL THE NICE REBUILT LIKE NEW
PROJECTORS OUT THERE

SO I SAY LETS NOT HAVE A FUNERAL TILL WE HAVE A CORPSE


XANATOS

I,m planning on being buried with my CRT's if that makes you feel any better

I bought a CRT two months ago. may be that in few years they will be out of market but today the old crt technology is the best. Of course is not very simple nor friendly as a digital but the result is superior

FYI, theaters use very high-end ($100,000+) DMD DLP and D-ILA projectors. Of course, they're very industrial in nature, and many have chip resolutions in the 2k-wide ballpark, so they carry the appropriate price-tag. Will CRT projecters eventually go away? Sure. Like turntables, eventually they'll be used only by a very few who still find their attributes desireable over whatever the technology du jour is (or they'll just revel in the nostalgia of it all).

In light of this thread, it seems relevant to tell you guys about something I saw last weekend. I saw the Windows Media 9 "high-def" version of "Step into Liquid" last weekend. Microsoft screened it for a small conference I attended - on a mid/high-end digital projector.

I'm not sure what the projector actually was, but I saw it from the floor and I'd guess a Barco or Christie S-XGA (probably in $40-50,000.) It was projected on about a 20'-wide screen. The screen was probably almost half the relative size (in my field of view) of our home screens. By that, I mean it was a 20' wide screen my viewing position was 40' away, compared to our HT screens, which might be 8' wide with a 10'-12' viewing distance.

Anyway, on one hand the picture was nice - colorful, extremely sharp, and pretty to look at - especially with the outdoor scenery contained in the surfing video. On the other hand, it was too contrasty with crushed blacks and hot whites. The color was a little week, not very rich. I frequently saw banding in subtle shading. For comparison, I've seen the Step into Liquid trailer probably a dozen times - on a CRT and on my desktop Sony FW-900 monitor - and the trailer is beautiful.

Folks, for a lot of us, digital projection just isn't there yet - even at 10 times what many of us could afford.

I bought a good used CRT for $700 almost two years ago. Unless something really crazy happens with digital projection, I'll probably buy another CRT after this one.

I won't make predictions, but maybe there will be something digital I want to look at (and can afford) in 3-5 years. Until then, I'll enjoy the beatiful picture a CRT makes.

SC

I just got a panasonics 75U a couple days ago, and to my eyes, my sony 1272 has much better pictures for both dvd and TV driven by HTPC. Have'n't tried HDTV though. For computer desktop contents, it projects much sharper images. Do not know why it performs so differently on motion pictures.

Now I'm thinking the other way. If I have never owned a CRT, I would probably pretty happy with the 75U (LCD).

CRT and Plasma Tv's

Yea there dieing but your not going to see that any time soon COME ON.

Guys,
A couple years back at the CES AV Science Forum Dinner in Vegas I brought the NEC XT5000DC 3DLP as a surprise and ran a all digital chain from DVD (SDI) to the Teranex to the SDI at the projector on a 15 ' wide Stewart Greyhawk. Ran DVDs most of the dinner and we had many there.

This is called a semi large venue projector used up to 32' wide screens. 300 people range. For the price it does all you can ask. The DC version was pretty darn good, we turned the projector way down for the 15' wide screen to about 2500.

These are still used in many places that have that seating capacity (mini multi theaters) and at half the price of the DMD DLP, they have a application also.

CRTs dont have a application use for those screen sizes at anything close to that light output. Doug

I had a chance to see the SONY GLV laser projector and review the latest SONY SXRD projector recently.
Both are native HD resolutions and offer great colors and a sharp image, but do not match CRT projectors when it comes to black levels.
CRT is still by far the closest to the original video signal and offers the smoothest picture on home-theater sized screens.
GLV laser had better colors than CRT due to the wide spectrum range of lasers, but there are still many technical issues to overcome before mass production can take place, and those projectors will be targeted for the industrial/movie theaters applications first anyway.

Rob

CRT's are dying in the same way that vinyl and tube amps were dying in the early 80's. Something much more convenient has come along.

Just as we worry about the availability of spare parts for our CRT PJ's, the uninformed predicted the supply of tubes would dry up as Sylvania, Mullard, and GE ceased US production. Sovtek, Golden Dragon, and others filled the need nicely.

In the case of transistor amps, it took twenty years after intro to get to parity with tubes. Things are happening much faster now. The DLP2 PJ's are closing in on the 7" CRT PJ's, or already have.

Hopefully, a G90 will be within reach soon, as used CRT prices continue to decrease.

Meanwhile, I think I'll go listen to my Sonny Rollins' "Saxophone Colossus" LP on my dedicated 2 channel system, which happens to have a few warm glowing things in the signal path. Sound incredible? You bet. Mass market? No way. Better than newer technology? Debatable.

is tube technology better or as good as a similar
priced peace of solid state tech
i don't know i use a pioneer elite receiver
myself
does it really matter no
what matters is that the person
really enjoys what he believes to be the best
and its nice to know that there are some
who still appreciate the fine craftsmanship
that goes into tube audio


XANATOS

That pretty much sums it all up :).

Believes to be the best? Isnt this a science forum. I believe nothing I cant see touch or taste. I have a g10 It is considered one of the top digital pictures out there. It has no visible screen door, very accurate color ,white especially but with a CR of only 600-1 It Is Never going to make as nice a picture(for film content) as even the cheapest 7" crt. And i paid 3K for it ! used ! and then 600 for a bulb! CRT may be dieing in the industrial market but Ill be buying another one for my HT as soon as funds are available.