[mark haflich]

While I did not go into every room, I did go into most at the HET show. Lots and lots of bulb projectors. Not a one CRT front projector. Our baby is indeed dead in the new equipment HT market. Kaput.


No product and no exhibitor felt the need for the superior display CRT provides.

 

[scottatl]

Anything interesting at the show?

 

[axe]

how could there be without a single crt unit?


sorry, couldn't resist it

 

[Tim in Phoenix]

Guys!


Sounds like the manufacturers want to steer the future direction of the marketplace. They can try, but they will be going without many of us.....

 

[cpurvis]

It makes sense, though, doesn't it (from a financial standpoint). I mean, think how much less a LT-150 must cost to manufacture / distribute / warehouse / display / deliver than even the smallest CRT. Didn't Runco say that 80% of their business is digital now? And they are a high-end niche market manufacturer (okay, no runco flame / lovefest. that's where they've positioned themselves in the market). For the mainstream electronics giants I'm sure continuing with CRT's must look very unfavorable when you consider the bottom line (money).

 

[deronmoped]

These guys are driven by profit and what the consumer wants is what tends to keep them inline. If they could sell you a flashlight with flashcards and call it a "Home Theater Projection System" for $5,000.00 they would.


I bet you the guy that sells the lenses for your TV that turns it into a "Big Screen Projector" could of made a killing at that place.


"Why spend Thousands of dollars on a projector when you already have one at home. Just buy the Home Theater 2002' for $19.95 and we will throw in a extra one for the bedroom".


Go there next week and it will be the same sort of people tilling you what a great deal time shares are.


Deron

 

[bryan_chow]

How many of us here bought brand new, newly manufactured (not old stock, etc) CRT projectors in the past year or so?


'Nuff said.


Bryan

 

[Bill Gaw2]

After the Faroudja-Krell demo, even I, a 9500LC owner, think CRT is dead.

Faroudja is coming out with a modified DILA projector with their DVD player, upsampler, anamorphic lens for $42000 that looked better than anything I've seen before. The upsampler-DVD player can be set for anything up to 1080P, and the saturation, colors, and cleanness of the image were superb. One had to get right on top of the screen to see the pixels, and could have been blinded there by the light from the projector. If they bring out a 1080 chip, CRT is dead even fopr the high end, never mind Joe Six Pack.

The other side of the coin. None of the LCD, plasma etc. projectors did anything for me.

 

[Mr.Poindexter]

Not IF they bring out a 1080 DLP chip, but when. DLP will take over the projector market, with D-ILA being the top end niche, most likely. Sure, CRT will still be around, sort of like vacuum tube amps, but you won't find them easily. You can rebuild what you have, but there will be no new investment into R&D for these units. The return on investment is in digital.


I have a DLP and a CRT. I just bought a used CRT projector a few weeks ago and a new CRT RPTV, but these will be the last 3 gun CRT units I ever buy. They might even be the last CRT units I ever buy, as I will only go LCD for my computer and I may go plasma for my next direct view TV. CRT is dying in every area. Front projectors are just the first to fall. RPTV will be next, although it will take a while longer. Finally, direct view will drop off (but probably won't disappear).


Mostly, I can understand it more at a show where people are trying to sell their DVD players, surround processors, speakers, etc. The digital projectors are so much easier to set up. Less time setting up the projector can mean more time setting up the speakers, etc. I have no problem taking my DLP anywhere with me, but I would never travel with the CRT.


Mike

 

[MYoung]

It's really sad. There is just something about a big clunker of a projector - tweaking the convergence and just about every other aspect of the picture. I got interested in FPTV by way of LCD. Then when I wanted to own one I had to got the CRT route on my shoe-string income. Thank God for my shoe-string budget! CRTs are like big old-school American luxury cars. Now the way is cheaper, more profit - fiber-glass and plastic cars - disposable cars. As for that plastic projection TV lens 2002! Total bull$hit!!! Seeing those on eBay angers me. What a scam. I can't figure out how the feedbacks of those pricks is so high! I was a sucker and bought one. I guess I forgot to add the majic fairy dust to make it work right! Although that buffoonery made me want to get a REAL projector even more. Anyone get Home Theater mag? Not many CRTs in there at all! That's a mag I'm cancelling. As if I could afford anything advertised in it anyway! We need is Budget Home Theater mag specializing in low to mid end audio equipment and CRT projectors.

 

[Chuchuf]

I spoke with a sales rep from Barco yesterday who is one of the very few manufacturers of CRT's that are still active in the market. Here is what he told me.

* For the HT market Barco has a relationship with Runco building their CRT projectors. Even though Barco would appear to be positioned for the HT market with the Cine8, Cine9 etc, they really aren't and don't want to be because of their relationship with Runco.

* The ONLY market that Barco and VDC (who is maufacturing the ECP CRT's) is positioned for is the simulation market. According to this rep, he thinks that CRT is the only current technology that will satisfy that market and they are going after it agressivey. I have been told by VDC that is the only market they are interested in for their CRT's and that they have about a 2 year backlog.

* As we all know the Pro A/V market is dead for CRT and went completely digital years ago. A lot of us have the fantastic CRT's because of that transition. Barco still "owns" that market according to this rep.


Terry

 

[Curt Palme]

Ya know, it's postings like this that really hurt my sales and bring CRT prices down further.


Moderators, please delete this thread!...


Curt

 

[mark haflich]

I wish it wasn't so. No one wants to hurt any of the great CRT professionals here either. It's just that the HT marketplace is deleting new CRTs. Long live the used and refurbished.

 

[KennyG]

Guys... it's threads like this that could actually increase profits!

Think about it, nothing on the market makes a picture like CRT...unless you get up into that $42,000 stratophere as Bill said.

CRT R&D/manufacturing may be dead...but for those who want a 30 or 40 grand image for 5 to 15 grand, how can CRT be dead? IT CAN'T


What we have here is possibly a great opportunity, but there needs to be a type of "pricing structure"...what is a XG, 8500, G70, 808, 1208, 9500, G90's picture quality worth?

There shouldn't be a highend 8" pj with new tube that sells for under 6 or 7 grand, but they do...and a 9" with new tubes? They are probably priced about right as they are now. So it's the 8" units that are really underpriced.

Our pj's will compete favorably with digital for another 5 years, maybe longer...this whole secondary pj/part/modification market has sprung up because of that fact.

Who cares if the manufacturers are no longer supporting them. We can, by buying up the extra parts and machines.

One thing that would be needed to a good board level repair/ mod station.


More and more people own CRT for use in their HT than ever, it's because of forums like this...hell, I would have never bought a CRT if it wasn't for this forum, as I'm sure more and more people will agree.

With all the people coming into the CRT section saying they just bought one, or just switched over, it seems as thought CRT is very alive and well in HT. Because of this the demand will continue, but it will be in this secondary/used market. You just have to be ready to "service what you sell", and this forum is well equipped to do that.

 

[mark haflich]

No one here disagrees.

 

[jisaac]

oops , i just started the same thread without noticing this one...pardon my ignorance.

 

[PF]

This is really an audio show, despite the putative "Home Entertainment" reference in the title. Frankly, it surprised me that there were any CRTs at last year's show. This year, I realized that I didn't even notice their abscence when I came upon this thread. Subconsciously, I must have expected the inevitable.

 

[Laurence]

"Save the Blue Tube"



Now that's funny!!

http://www.eskimo.com/~cetacean/CRT%20Logo256.gif



Hey Curt,


You must have known that CRT also stands for "Cetacean Research Technology"

 

[deronmoped]

Even when digital catches up with CRT, in the way of picture quality, at reasonable price, I still will not buy one. The reason for that is there is no added value to me, in fact you still have to deal with changing bulbs every 1000 to 2000 hours which could add as much as $2000.00 to the cost of your viewing expense.


Another thing I wonder about is how long do these digital units last? Were they designed to last 10,000 20,000 30,000 hours. You combine the heat these bulbs put out with the electronics and you are asking for trouble.


Also if you decided to jump on board the digital train, when do you get off? Next years model will always do more and be slightly better then yours, which now is worth one half of what you paid for it.


Deron

 

[pkarmouche]

Quote:

Originally posted by KennyG nothing on the market makes a picture like CRT...unless you get up into that $42,000 stratophere as Bill said.

$42,000 for how long? Flat panel monitors couldn't be had for less than $8,000 what - 18 months ago? Now they start at around $500.


Technology gets cheap fast. Like cpurvis said, how much can the parts in these digital projectors cost? (Esp. compared to all the guts of a CRT).


At the San Jose Film Festival a couple of months ago I got to see the "best of the best" $100k + digital projector in action throwing a 50 foot tall image in a not-so-dark auditorium. I saw no pixels. I saw (very) black blacks. I saw a bright, colorful image. We're almost there, for better or worse.


Paul