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Bye guys- going back to CRT- WOOHOO!

2K views 22 replies 13 participants last post by  rogo 
#1 ·
Dont ya love it! The reason I got out of CRT was so I could just turn my projector on and watch without any tweaking..... as well as size and noise issues.


But wouldn't ya know it- I am about to buy a tiny, really quiet little Electrohome ECP-3101, and Da-Lite High Power screen. The high power should bring brightness up very close to the Panasonic L300u I am leaving behind, and I will have perfect black levels again, no scan line artifact or screendoor!!!!!!!!! And I can get a sharp picture up to 720p!!


But, I still have setup issues- oh well, if the convergance ain't spot on perfect this time every time, I am just going to leave it alone.


So, if anyone is in need of a near perfect Panasonic PT-L300u with 220 hours for a decent price- look in the for sale area or PM me.


Cheers!


Andrew B.
 
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#3 ·
Andrew, I'm curious as to what made you finally go back to CRT again? You seem to have been so happy with the L300U that it comes as a bit of a shock :)
 
#4 ·
Quote:
Originally posted by builty
Hey Andrew, what kind of price does that kind of CRT pj command? Curious to see how it compares to the modern crop of digitals.
I picked it up from Curt Palme for $1000.00. It has virtually brand new tubes, as well, that are actually an upgrade from the "stock" tubes.

Quote:
Andrew, I'm curious as to what made you finally go back to CRT again? You seem to have been so happy with the L300U that it comes as a bit of a shock
Well- other than the setup issues that I outlined, I moved away from my CRT the first time because of low brightness (I have a large matte white screen) and since I cannot ceiling mount the CRT beast, it took up the hugest section of my floor, and because of the design of the room kept my recliners out of the "sweet spot." The ECP I bought is no bigger than the little coffee table that I currently have between my main two recliners, so it will fit into the scheme of my theater much more unobtrusively than the ones I had in the past. The past CRT's I had were very loud, too, but the ECP is supposed to be very quiet, and the fans can be modded for even less noise. It also has an auto converge camera for quick touchups, that will hopefully make up for the need to constantly tweak. We will see about that, though. I also will be using a 2.8 gain DaLite highpower screen. According to others that have used this screen with the ECP series, it hotspots very little and the color shifting is not unacceptable for most viewers. This will take the relatively low ANSI lumens figure of 150 to in theory 420, which is right in line with the brightness of the L300u. On my current screen size of 92" x 52", by my calculations I am getting right at 12 ft lamberts of brightness with the L300u. If I really can get to that 12 ft lamberts mark with this ECP, I will be thrilled. Bottom line- going with this small ECP I believe will alleviate a lot of my CRT issues, and SHOULD throw up a better picture resolution-wise than the Panny. The contrast of course will kill the Panny with its perfect black levels. The only thing from picture quality standpoint that I am worried about is getting a perfectly sharp and even focus like the digitals have. You have to work at it on the CRT. Of course, no more pixelization at all and no more scan-line artifact, either.


But, I could still be very happy with the Panny. I really like it a lot. The contrast is as good as LCD currently gets, the colors are great, HDTV belies the resolution of the 960 x 540 panel. I would highly recommend it to anyone that is looking at any projector under $5000, period. You have to see it before you spend twice as much money.


Lastly, I have the home theater sickness to the 10th degree, so I am constantly it seems changing equipment. Here is a list of the projectors I have owned in the last year....


AE100 LCD

Sony 1272q CRT

Runco IDP-900 CRT

L300u LCD

and now the ECP-3101 CRT



and get this- here is a list of receivers/ seperates I have owned in the last year


Sherwood Newcastle AVP-9080

Adcom GTP-760

Rotel RSP-976

NAD T751

Rotel RSP-1066

Sherwood Newcastle AVP-9080 (again)

Pioneer Elite- VSX-45tx


and two amps


Carver AV-806x

ATI 1504


whew.....!


I am done now---


Cheers


Andrew B.
 
#6 ·
I had a HTPC running TheaterTek with my Sony 1272 and Runco, but I never could get a stable enough environment for my liking. I do like to tweak things, but that particular HTPC was a little too much for me, so it left a bad taste in my mouth. (Probably undeservedly- I am sure many people have a perfectly stable environment that is almost plug and play.) So, I will just be transcoding to RGB 480p from my Panny DVD player at first due to budget constraints. Before I ran the HPTC, I had a Quadscan Pro scaler that was fairly decent--- I will probably get something like the CS-1 in the future once funds allow. Or if I do go the HTPC route ever again, I would go with the Holograph 3D card.


"Wee" CRT- well, thats certainly qualified! I doubt many digital owners would count it as "wee". Although it is decidedly smaller than the 12xx series. As you know, they are a tad bit on the bulky side.


Cheers


Andrew B.
 
#9 ·
Andrew,


I will be sorry to see ya go, you have been a wealth of info for a lot of us:)


But something tells me with that upgrade history you may be back soon:D


Ps I noticed that the 45tx was listed last on your list of receivers are you getting by with that one for now? or which setup are you using, I ask cause I use a 49tx/parasound 2205 combo and love it!



Good luck Bob
 
#10 ·
Last summer I bought an old Ampro because my Davis DLP couldn't accept the HD feed from my new Dish 6000.

I told myself it's just a stopgap until I find the perfect digital projector, and I plan on buying one this summer.


The problem is that even with the headache-inducing convergence issues (rainbows are nothing compared to this) and a blurry blue gun the picture is just so damn seductive. Black blacks, deep rich color and an involving picture...
 
#11 ·
Quote:
Originally posted by Robert Clark
Last summer I bought an old Ampro because my Davis DLP couldn't accept the HD feed from my new Dish 6000.

I told myself it's just a stopgap until I find the perfect digital projector, and I plan on buying one this summer.


The problem is that even with the headache-inducing convergence issues (rainbows are nothing compared to this) and a blurry blue gun the picture is just so damn seductive. Black blacks, deep rich color and an involving picture...
Hey Robert- you know that the blue gun on most CRT's are out of focus on purpose- maybe that is the extent of your problem.



Bob-


I really like the 45tx. I had some shutdown issues until I realized it my own stupid fault for wiring what were already low impedance surrounds in parallel, cutting the impedence in half- killer on really any receiver.


Since I rewired it sounds great. I also added the ATI 1504 amp- it is just raw power.


Actually, I will be least likely to upgrade from the 45tx. Its processing ability in my mind is equal to or better than anything I have yet owned. It has the latest Motorola symphony chip- the same chip used in Anthem, B&k and others. It is very fast to lock on to sources, and accepts anything you throw at it with ease. The most expensive pre/pro I have owned is the Rotel-1066, and while I believe I did prefer the Rotel's warmer sound, the Rotel was noisier, glitchier, and was much slower to process formats.


As far as my next projector upgrade- yes it will likely be digital. I really want the Sharp XV-Z10000. Perhaps by the end of the year- we will see.



Andrew B.
 
#13 ·
Well,..............I got out of CRT less than 12 months ago and would NEVER go back!!!

The way that digital projectors are advancing is very exciting. Why flog a dead CRT horse???
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally posted by ziggyr
Well,..............I got out of CRT less than 12 months ago and would NEVER go back!!!

The way that digital projectors are advancing is very exciting. Why flog a dead CRT horse???
Because their ain't a digital projector in this under 5k forum that can touch the picture on a well setup CRT. And few if any in the over 5k forum come close just yet. I like digitals. I am not into this taking sides thing that seems to turn into a holy war. For convenience, digital cannot be beat. I was also quite satisfied with the overall picture quality of my L300u. A winning combination, yes. But, I want back what is missing from my CRT experience- black level and accordingly a 3d image to salivate over. And as I outlined in my postings, I think the particular CRT I have purchased will alleviate some of my former issues. And it WILL no doubt outclass the Panny from a sheer picture quality standpoint.


Thats why I am beating a horse that is not quite so dead yet...I think there a hundreds if not thousands of others over on the CRT side of the forum that also would take issue with the dead horse thing.


To each his own.....


Andrew B.
 
#16 ·
Andrew,


"But, I want back what is missing from my CRT experience- black level and accordingly a 3d image to salivate over."


I'm curious if you've seen any of the latest generation of high CR pj's, like the NEC HT1000, Optoma H56, or various HD2's (leaving out perhaps the Infocus 7200), and if they still leave you wanting.


Thanks
 
#17 ·
I have to say that from spending time with my friend's CRT-based system, there is nothing that can touch CRT.... But....


(1) Light control is not at all option, it is absolutely, positively required and must be fairly complete.


(2) The care and feeding can be painful with all the reconverging, warm-up time, focus, etc.


(3) Even the smallest CRT is big.


I wish you all the best with the new baby Andrew. I'm sure it will be great. I, for one, am left wanting by the HD2's personally. I think the blacks are still wanting, the contrast is improved, but there is something missing there, and -- I guess -- I am DLP eyestrain victim with any 1-chipper it appears.


I'm looking at going cheap LCD for now and waiting on Sony and possibly JVC, et al. for next-gen LCOS.


Mark
 
#19 ·
As I watched Signs last night with lots of dark scenes and shadows, I found myself for the first time wishing for darker blacks. So I can finally have some insight into the "blackophile" world. It would make a significant difference I think.


However, that being said, I could NEVER accept the tradeoffs of CRT. The size, maintenance, and light issues are just too much for me. That was the reason that I had never even considered fp until I heard about the current digital models. Hell, my wife is the one that brought it up! I had been reading HT mags for a few years and had just always skipped over the projection stuff because it always showed a huge hulking beast with a crane from the ceiling.


I think digitals are making rapid progress and I'm content to wait for improvements in contrast, blacks and resolution. I think CRT is a horse that most of the general public will never ride.
 
#20 ·
Quote:
Lastly, I have the home theater sickness to the 10th degree, so I am constantly it seems changing equipment. Here is a list of the projectors I have owned in the last year....


AE100 LCD

Sony 1272q CRT

Runco IDP-900 CRT

L300u LCD

and now the ECP-3101 CRT
Andrew,


I think you will go back to digital. I too have had home theater sickness. It never gets cured. I think I am happy but then I get sick again...LOL. Here's what I have owned in the last year...



NEC 9PG+ CRT

NEC XG110LC

AE100 LCD

NEC 9PG Extra

and finally Marantz VP-12S1 HD1 DLP


I'm out of money and patience......and single still too.


Mike
 
#21 ·
I've owned both multiple CRT's and a DLP and have seen many, many more at CES and there is just one major thing about digital that still bothers me.


Whether you can see pixels or not, all the digitals that I've seen add a texture to the picture. Just the nature of the beast. I like the smooth image that a CRT provides.

Take the Discovery HD theater promo that has the lone silhouette against a solid yellow-orange sunset. It's just not as smooth with a digital.


But your right, Jacksonian, CRT just isn't the right choice for most people...
 
#22 ·
Quote:
Originally posted by noah katz
Andrew,


"But, I want back what is missing from my CRT experience- black level and accordingly a 3d image to salivate over."


I'm curious if you've seen any of the latest generation of high CR pj's, like the NEC HT1000, Optoma H56, or various HD2's (leaving out perhaps the Infocus 7200), and if they still leave you wanting.


Thanks
Noah - not yet. I have spent extensive time with HD1 projectors, though. I could be satisfied with an HD1, there is no doubt. I cannot wait to see an HD2 projector. I have no doubt I would be very satisfied with one. But, according to those that have seen them, they still are not "quite" there yet, as far as contrast ratio is concerned. The CRT will leave no room for want when it comes to that contrast ratio, and


I guess for me the sudden change its just part of the sickness of something new and different to tweak on.
 
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