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Packy & Ronbo make a House Call (1 Viewer)

Rob Gillespie

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 17, 1998
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3,632
RAF - what is the weight of the Sony and how much ambient noise does it put out? I've heard the LCDs can be noisy as hell due to the cooling fans etc etc etc.
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"One does not simply walk into Mordor."
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Jon_B

Screenwriter
Joined
Nov 27, 2000
Messages
1,025
You're welcome! BTW, where in Montana are you located? I taught Chemistry and Nuclear Instrumentation for 5 years during the summer in the mid '70's at MSU in Bozeman, MT.
Wow, what a coincidence I graduated from MSU in 99'. Alas in the 70's I was still a young lad. Now I live in the biggest "town" in MT, Billings.
Jon
 

RAF

Senior HTF Member
Deceased Member
Joined
Jul 3, 1997
Messages
7,061
quote: I graduated from MSU in 99'. Alas in the 70's I was still a young lad. Now I live in the biggest "town" in MT, Billings.[/quote]
Small world in the Big Sky!
You bet!
wink.gif

I worked with Dr. John Amend over in Gaines Hall in the 70's. I returned for a visit about 10 years ago and, other than the town growing a bit, the Gallatin Valley was still as beautiful as ever!
You sure live in a beautiful corner of the world. (Interestingly, when Dr. Amend visited me in the Hudson Valley one fall he was amazed at the NY State fall foliage. When I asked him how could this compare to the mountain ranges he said, "It's different. Each is beautiful in its own fashion."
Take care.
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RAF
[Demented Video Dude since 1997]
[Computer Maven since 1956]
["PITA" since 1942]
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RAF

Senior HTF Member
Deceased Member
Joined
Jul 3, 1997
Messages
7,061
quote: what is the weight of the Sony and how much ambient noise does it put out? I've heard the LCDs can be noisy as hell due to the cooling fans etc....[/quote]
The Sony weighs about 17 pounds and the ambient noise of the unit is on the same order of magnitude as my Dell 8000 PC. In other words, not a distraction at all. In fact, Ron and Packy were sitting right under the projector during the demos and I think they'll agree that fan noise was not a problem at all.
This cannot be said for a lot of other projectors (including the forerunner to the VW10HT, the Sony 400Q, which actually required mounting in a "hush box" to drown out the fan noise.) One of the other technologies that I was looking at when considering the VW10HT was I-DLA (I think that's what it was called.) There was a JVC unit that was getting pretty high marks and was in the same general price range, but the fan made it sound like a vacuum cleaner so I eliminated it from consideration.
The point of all this is that the VW10HT had the right combination of price, performance, and features to make true Home Theater a reality for the middle class. Yes, there will be other projectors to take up the gauntlet, but this was the deal maker that provided me with the opportunity to get to the viewing level I now enjoy. I'm just surprised that this projector has held on to its place of prominence for almost two years now, since Moore's Law is definitely in effect here with this technology.
But that can only help HT even more and I'm excited about that prospect.
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RAF
[Demented Video Dude since 1997]
[Computer Maven since 1956]
["PITA" since 1942]
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John-D

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Feb 27, 2001
Messages
198
so I assume you understand that I'm the handsome devil standing in the middle (with the Roswell, NM 50th anniversary UFO t-shirt on). I hope your remarks still apply!
Yep.. I had it figured out despite there being no caption to the photo.. and the remarks still do apply :)
so maybe we can start a competition of naming that photo.. winner gets RAF's VW-10HT .. hee heee kiddin' RAF... winner gets $5000 to spend on their choice of display device.. I know what I would choose..
biggrin.gif

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The things we own end up owning us
 

Lou Sytsma

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Nov 1, 1998
Messages
6,103
Real Name
Lou Sytsma
I would just like to add that going to a FP system has been the best upgrade - with the SVS sub a close second.
I was looking to upgrade to a 56 - 61" 16:9 RPTV when I started looking at FP. For the same cost one can get a DLP or LCD projector that can easily throw a 100" diagonal picture!
I ended up with a NEC LT150 DLP projector and am extremely happy!
Food for thought.
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Every man is my superior, in that I may learn from him.
 

RAF

Senior HTF Member
Deceased Member
Joined
Jul 3, 1997
Messages
7,061
It's 3:42 a.m. ET and my question is what is a retired person doing up at this hour of the morning????????
Crawdaddy,
We do it because we can do whatever we want, whenever we want. Time is relative.
laugh.gif

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RAF
[Demented Video Dude since 1997]
[Computer Maven since 1956]
["PITA" since 1942]
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Scott-C

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jul 23, 2001
Messages
863
RAF,
You've mentioned that a "properly calibrated" 10HT can be as good as the theater experience. Would you define "properly calibrated"? Does this mean:
1. ISF-calibrated (I'm not even sure if you need to do this on an LCD projector)
2. Complete tweaking of all settings inside the 10HT (brightness, contrast, sharpness, etc.).
3. More/other adjustments?
I'm just curious as to the lengths you had to go to, to get it to such a great level as I am intrigued by this projector for my future HT!
BTW, I downloaded a copy of DVD Profiler. Thank you for the link!
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Scott
 

Bhagi Katbamna

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 1, 2000
Messages
870
Very nice set up. Certainly gives people who think THX certified speakers are not good for 2 channel music(I am not one of them). I have a setup that is pretty nice but not as good as RAF's but I still don't like going to the theater. When I saw JPIII recently with my kids(8 and 5) I was thinking that "this would probably sound better at home". After the movie, my older son said "I bet the DVD will sound better at home."
For the record, I have:
Sony 53" 4:3 RPTV(great deal 3 years ago--mom works at Sears
PSB Str. Gold i's mains powered by Parasound HCA 1500A
Atl Tech 453C(actually blends pretty well with mains)
Altec Lansing THX side surround
PSB Image 10S rear surround
Onkyo 989 Receiver-upgraded to PLII and DTS ES discrete.
Altec Lansing THX powered subwoofer
Citation 7.4 and SVS 16-46 CS powered by 2 channels of an Anthem MCA-3(the third is used to power the center speaker)
All of this in a 7000 cu.ft. room, don't need bass shakers.
 

RAF

Senior HTF Member
Deceased Member
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Jul 3, 1997
Messages
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You've mentioned that a "properly calibrated" 10HT can be as good as the theater experience. Would you define "properly calibrated"?
Scott,
Excellent question! You are correct when you assumed that I wasn't talking about ISF calibration. While some people might resort to this, it really is not necessary on an LCD projector. Wonderous things can be done by ISF technicians with CRT based units both FP and RP.
I was one of the "pioneers" in the VW10HT world and most of what I did is chronicled in the two excellent FAQ's available for the VW10HT
Don Munsil's, found at
http://www.munsil.com/VW10HTFaq.htm
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RAF
[Demented Video Dude since 1997]
[Computer Maven since 1956]
["PITA" since 1942]
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Jeffrey Forner

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 19, 1999
Messages
1,117
RAF;
This is just kind of an aside, but...
I am so frickin' jealous of your home theater it's not even funny. I can't even visit your website without crying. You should be proud, man.
Someday... Someday...
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-J.Fo
"And you can tell Rolling Stone magazine that my last words were... 'I'm on drugs!'"
 

RAF

Senior HTF Member
Deceased Member
Joined
Jul 3, 1997
Messages
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This is just kind of an aside, but...
J. Fo.,
Actually, not really. The whole purpose of this thread was to talk about Ron and Parker's visit to my HT and all that this entailed. It just kind of started to turn into an LCD/CRT projector debate for a bit and then a VW10HT spec. discussion (both of which are better handled in the Projecotr/Monitor sections of this forum.
Your kind words (in a roundabout fashion)
wink.gif
bring things back in focus. I'm just glad that I finally had a chance to show off what Ron and Packy have wrought. And it's also nice to have these guys to fall back on as eye and ear witnesses when I get the inevitable "It can't be that good" comments from those people who seem to think that their opinions are gospel and that differing opinions have to be incorrect. There is no substitute for real world experience.
Too many people rely on hearsay or printed specs rather than what their eyes and ears tell them. Research is good up to a point. But at some point you have to make your equipment choices (back on track here for this section!) and hope for the best.
I got lucky with my hardware, but it was "luck" with a lot of help from a lot of people here on the HTF. And that's the real message that prompted this thread.
Take care. And keep the faith alive. "Someday" will be here sooner than you think. Remember, HT can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. There are many paths to follow and many roads to HT satisfaction.
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RAF
[Demented Video Dude since 1997]
[Computer Maven since 1956]
["PITA" since 1942]
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Scott-C

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jul 23, 2001
Messages
863
RAF,
You're right - guess I should have posted my projector questions in the other forum - my apologies!
That being said, thank you for all the great information.
Like J. Fo, I too look at your HT and dream! That, in addition to many of the other great dedicated rooms I've seen, are a great inspiration and source of ideas for my own HT some day.
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Scott
 

RAF

Senior HTF Member
Deceased Member
Joined
Jul 3, 1997
Messages
7,061
quote: You're right - guess I should have posted my projector questions in the other forum - my apologies!
[/quote]
No need to apologize, Scott. Where to post a question is sometimes a bit confusing due to the overlapping nature of a lot of posts. I even had a bit of a problem myself trying to decide where to place this thread. Do I use "Local HT meets," "Hardware," "Building a Home Theater," "After Hours," or what? I finally decided to post it here since it covered a lot of hardware issues in one spot.
Once the thread is started I have no problem when various questions are asked about any aspect of the subject (in this case, my HT and the performance of the hardware). Audio, video, whatever. I'll answer in kind to keep the thread on track. If there are some particular questions that you would like to see answered on a particular piece of equipment and you would like others with opinions and knowledge to join in then it's sometimes a good idea to start a new thread with an appropriate title (in the appropriate section) to attract interest from others who really don't care about Ron and Packy visiting me and who would otherwise miss your question.
And, of course, there will always be some people who have their own agendas who will jump in (sometimes unintentionally, sometimes on purpose - you get to know who these people are after a while). I generally deal with these issues on a case by case basis.
That said, my feeling here is that your comments and questions were appropriate in the context of this thread and contributed to the ongoing dialogue.
Take care.
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RAF
[Demented Video Dude since 1997]
[Computer Maven since 1956]
["PITA" since 1942]
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RAF

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Messages
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My time is coming!
Crawdaddy,
How many more years? You'll love it (but don't plan on resting. That's a retirement myth!)
laugh.gif

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RAF
[Demented Video Dude since 1997]
[Computer Maven since 1956]
["PITA" since 1942]
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