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Marquee 8500 VS. NEC XG135 Non-LC

971 Views 29 Replies 14 Participants Last post by techman707, Mar 3, 2005

CZ Eddie

Discussion Starter · Feb 24, 2005

Folks,

Lets assume the opportunity is for a 1995(ish) Marquee 8500 or a 1995(ish) NEC XG 135 NON-LC model, both for about the same price (+/- $150ish) and both with tubes in identical condition (decent to new).

1) Which will do the best with an oversized 117" wide screen?

2) Which can be made the quietest?

3) What are the positives, compared to each other?

4) What are the negatives, compared to each other?

Thanks!

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1 - 20 of 30 Posts

benareeno

· #2 · Feb 24, 2005

Marquee can be made quieter

Marquee is easire to setup

NEC has better colors (significant if you plan to calibrate properly)

Marquee has better replacement part availability

You would probably be thrilled with the PQ on either in your own home....

Ben

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PAW

· #3 · Feb 25, 2005

If someone has messed with the internals (potemeter?) on the NEC it can be tough to get the PJ back right. I've heard you need a oscilloscope.

CZ Eddie

Discussion Starter · #4 · Feb 25, 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by benareeno
Marquee can be made quieter

Is that true? I thought the XG was quieter out of the box. I would assume the same fan mods for the Marquee could be done with the XG.

Thanks for the advice so far, guys!

CaspianM

· #5 · Feb 25, 2005

I love XG's but I would try to get a LC instead.

You will need O'scope for any projector that is messed with. That is NOT nec requirements only.

CZ Eddie

Discussion Starter · #6 · Feb 25, 2005

Thanks, but LC is out of my current budget.

gn2

· #7 · Feb 25, 2005

Right this minute, I have a Marquee 8000 on the ceiling, and an XG1350 on the coffee table underneath it.

The Marquee is definitely quieter, no question about it, and another annoying thing about the XG is its fans are all directed back, so if you sit behind the projector, the fans blow directly on you, and when I say BLOW, I mean it.

I think the XG fans could be run at half the hurricane speed they are at now, and still be effective, but there are so many grills and ducts I'm sure it would still be loud. The Marquee can be quieted simply, with damping material, and slightly lowered belly fan speed.

As for image, the XG's color rendition can't begin to be approached by the non color filtered Marquee. Marquee color sucks. Period. Not only that, the simplistic approach of the Marquee, while a joy to setup its so dead simple, also lacks ANY subtlety at all. The shading is poor at best, and the XG walks away in dark scenes where you want to actually see any details.

However, the perfectionism of the XG's color rendition comes at a high setup price, you need to hope its never been screwed with, or it will need a REAL expert to correct it.

If you're going to be watching mostly HD, I'd likely choose the XG, even though its a pita.

But then again......Marquee/XG is likely the toughtest choice in crt projectors, IMHO.

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AVWERKS

· #8 · Feb 25, 2005

Paul is right on the money as usual , those bottom side fans blow right into any one seated left and right (floor mount) and can get quite warm to boot.

That small fan located on top is the worst offender being high speed with a high pitch whine. Taking the top off makes it run cooler but increases the whine... some choice

I doubt slowing anything down would be a wise idea since this is already one of the hottest running PJ's out there (way hotter than the a 4600 and even further away than the cool running Marquee)

I'm afraid as time passes and more and more of the NEC's are circulated around on the planet, the complex XG (and PG) will be one of the first to wind up on the endangered species list due to abuse and stupidity

The Marquee's will probably wind up the last PJ,s standing among st all the contenders

David

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CZ Eddie

Discussion Starter · #9 · Feb 25, 2005

Thanks guys! It seems I was wrong when I though the NEC was the quieter of the two projectors. Thought I'd read that on the forums somewhere.

In your experience, which would you all believe to be the better performer on LARGE screens, like 117" WIDE! Yes, I know this is too big. Thank you. But which in your opinion would handle this size better than the other?

I'm still a fan of the native 2.35 and it will be my setup of choice, once again.

In fact, I think I read somewhere that the NEC would be better suited for a native 2.35 than the Marquee? Something about it being able to shrink the raster height small enough, without needing modification.

gn2

· #10 · Feb 25, 2005

I think as far as the screen size goes, it's a tossup.

But yes, the XG's geometry controls allow for squeezing the raster enough for your desired aspect ratio. I'm not sure the Marquee would do 2.35:1 even with the squeeze mod. Some I've had would, others would *just* get to 16:9 with the mod.

CZ Eddie

Discussion Starter · #11 · Feb 25, 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by gn2
I think as far as the screen size goes, it's a tossup.

But yes, the XG's geometry controls allow for squeezing the raster enough for your desired aspect ratio. I'm not sure the Marquee would do 2.35:1 even with the squeeze mod. Some I've had would, others would *just* get to 16:9 with the mod.

Thanks, and yes the Marquee can get down to a 2.35 height (and even thinner as well), depending on what resitor value you go with. The lower the resistor number, the more the overall raster height shrinks (totally) which then allows for a 2.35 sized height. I don't remember offhand what resitor value I ended up with, but it's listed in my 2.35 thread from late last year.

Chuchuf

· #12 · Feb 25, 2005

CZ, you can add the HD144 lens's to the Marquee which will give you the more accurate colors of the NEC on the Marquee. Look at the thread on this.

Terry

CZ Eddie

Discussion Starter · #13 · Feb 25, 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by Chuchuf
CZ, you can add the HD144 lens's to the Marquee which will give you the more accurate colors of the NEC on the Marquee. Look at the thread on this.

Terry

Cool, thanks Terry

garyfritz

· #14 · Feb 25, 2005

It's great to hear that the XG looks better than the 8500 !!!

I had wondered if I should have gone with a Marquee instead of the XG852 I ended up with. The XG is the biggest PITA I have ever dealt with, especially since mine was horribly misconfigured by the previous owner, but after pretending I'm a video tech (complete with DMM, oscope, and colorimeter) for a couple of months, it's looking pretty darn good. Now I can quit thinking that the grass is greener on the Marquee side of the fence and just enjoy my great picture. Or at least keep tweaking with it.

HK-Steve

· #15 · Feb 25, 2005

Hey Gary,

I'll add to the Marquee fire,

At least the Marquee can be Chris Stephen'ed,

Which is a VERY nice for the performance.

OK, Lets heat up those FLAMES,

Cheers

Steve

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CZ Eddie

Discussion Starter · #16 · Feb 25, 2005

Doug Baisey lives an hour from me. This is why I'm suddenly interested in the XG even though I've only ever had Marquee.

I can actually get the Marquee for a better deal and set it up myself (probably 90%) but if I got the XG, I could eventually have Doug get it to 100%. Hmm.

techman707

· #17 · Feb 25, 2005

The XG is a far better projector, however, the Marquee is MUCH easier to maintain, get tubes and other parts. BUT, be aware that you CAN'T mess with the XG like you can with the Marquee or you'll wind up with a parts machine for sale!

What was wrong with the 9" Marquee you had?

kschmit2

· #18 · Feb 25, 2005

get the XG then

CaspianM

· #19 · Feb 25, 2005

When you buy a CRT performance should be the priority. Everything else can be overcomed and transitory in time. You cannot beat the XG for that.

CZ Eddie

Discussion Starter · #20 · Feb 25, 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by techman707

What was wrong with the 9" Marquee you had?

Sold, to a fellow AVS member. Won't be able to get another 9" for awhile. Only have about $2k to spend, and that has to include the cost of a new green, or whatever tube may be needed.

There's a G70 on videogon for not much more than that, but it needs a green and that would blow it's price upwards of $3k or more.

1 - 20 of 30 Posts

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