Advice on Purchasing a Used CRT Projector

Re: Advice on Purchasing a Used CRT Projector

Uhm.

I'd say that buying any used projector is... "fraught with peril."

So many people abuse them, whatever the technology. With respect to a CRT projector, yes, they can do many things marvelously (note, CAN, not WILL.) And some are truly built like tanks and will run forever.

(The last lot of 'em that we retired at work had ~40,000 hours on 'em.)

You need to match the projector to your needs. All CRT projectors, except for the JVC ILA projectors, are rather dim - at least compared to modern projectors. Depending on the resolution you want to be able to display, the tubes themselves range from about 5-6" up to 9" diameter. A gross generalization is that the larger the tube, the higher the resolution, and/or the higher the brightness. This is ONLY a generalization and is not always true.

Resolution is also defined by the scanning clocks. If you want a 1080x24p display, you need a 26kHz horizontal scan clock - pretty low, actually, because PCs often put out 1600x1200x60p (72kHz horizontal clock.)

But you also need good electronics, drive, focusing, alignment, registration, et cetera.

If you're looking for a good HD-capable unit, I'd look to the BarcoGraphics 1208/1209 ish series (I worked with them; there may be other similar ones.)

On the other end, if you're just looking for a durable NTSC projector, some of the low-end Sony units were serious troopers (like the ones I mentioned above with 40,000 hours on them.)

The big problem, of course, is that over eBay, you can't see the image, the tube face-plates, or anything like that to let you know what sort of condition the projector is in. CRT projectors burn.

If you think you can trust the sellers, ask for digital pictures of the CRT face plates, without the projector being on. If they're flat gray, good. If you can see a general rectangle, then it's got some overall wear. If you can see patterns, well, it's burnt.

A good CRT projector is a remarkable device. Just, this day and age, I don't know if you really can get a good one anymore.

Good luck,

Leo

Re: Advice on Purchasing a Used CRT Projector

Curt is a great guy, read through the wealth of stuff he has on his website, it will really help you understand CRTs and what is involved, and help you make a good buying choice. You can also look around videogon, there are others selling there as well, and of course there is the CRT Projector forum at AVS, and also on Curt's site. All worth reading if you're interested in CRT.

I use a CRT myself, and they throw a wonderful image, and for a hobby-oriented person in the right space, they can be simply fantastic.

Re: Advice on Purchasing a Used CRT Projector

I agree with Chris with that being said I am selling my 6pg Xtra with a little over 1100hrs on it original, it was taken care of by John Gannon I can give you my phone number if you like or if you don't want to incur long distant call you can give me your phone number, it also comes with a Faroudja NRS universal processor I have both remotes and the data cable if you can get a copy of the software to save your settings, also the ceiling mount and original manuals I just went Digital hard to get calibraitions where I live and I am not a do it yourself person when it comes to PJ's I paid a significant price for it new, PM me if you want more info or you are interested. I don't know where you live but you are welcome to come see it in action before I take it down.

Re: Advice on Purchasing a Used CRT Projector

1. Should be able to play with it and see it working before paying for it, otherwise pass it up.

2. Many CRT projectors will not deliver high definition pictures from Blue Ray or HDDVD DVD players and from some cable boxes because the projectors are not HDCP compliant.

3. Require periodic convergence, sometimes as often as every six months. The 100 point (10x10) convergence takes longer but is more precise than 9 point or 25 point. If you do get HD, being able to save (in memory) separate convergences for HD and SD, if you use both, is a plus.

>>> 1080x24p display with 1920 pixel width and 26 KHz clock
4. CRT's need 60p (67 KHz scan rate) or 30i (34 KHz) on the tubes to not have horrible flicker, imparting 3-2 pulldown for incoming 1080x24p or similar sources. Okay, 50p and 25i work acceptably too since PAL uses them although some folks say 72p is noticeably better than 60p.

Video hints: http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

Re: Advice on Purchasing a Used CRT Projector

point. Very good point. For some reason, I didn't think of the flicker, and yes, most CRTs (direct view) flicker horribly if you're running them at 24p.

Re: Advice on Purchasing a Used CRT Projector

Yes, some people run at 48hz, but I find this horrendously distracting, I run at p72.