comparing budget projectors (1 Viewer)

[Evan M.]

What is the same thing?? I am asking if a CRT is actually projecting black like it would any other color and not just blocking out the light in that area.....I know it sounds like the same thing but maybe someone understands what I am talking about LOL!!

 

[Charles J P]

Well techinally you cant project black light. That's the point. If you have a wall in say, your office that is white and the lights are on, nothing you can project at it will make it darker. If you project a movie on it, the light parts may make the dark parts appear to be darker, but they will, in reality, be the same color as any other wall in the room (not accounting for shadows etc.) you cant "project" black.

 

[DanielKee]

The answer to your question is a crt does not project the color black, black is the absence of light and or color. All front projectors use light to play a trick on your eyes. For example, if your in a pitch black room with a white sheet hanging on the wall, after a while your eyes will adjust so that you can see the sheet and other features of the room (unless it's all painted black).OK,so now you can see the sheet, turn on a flash light and point it at the sheet, funny how the sheet seems to disapear around the light,creating a blackness where the sheet once was. This is how front projection fools you into thinking somethings black when it's not. CRT does not project anything black, its like turning a flashlight on and then off, LCD and DLP simply try to block a constant light that is being projected onto the wall to create black, this light can not be totaly blocked so you end up with a dark gray. Black levels are not nearly as noticable if you watching a movie that changes from dark scenes to bright scenes alot, compared to something like batman or sin city that stays dark most of the time. Your eyes adjust.

 

[Evan M.]

Excellent explanations Charles and Daniel, I see exactly what you are talking about now.......looooong day at work and the brain isn't always clicking on all cylinders.......

 

[Charles J P]

I think you were on the right track, just a "brain fart" as they say.

 

[Jack Ferry]

To chime in on the original question, I am extremely happy with my 4805. I think it's a bargain given it's relatively low price and very good performance.

On the screen, why not at least try a DIY screen made from black out material? Three yards of material should be about $18 at a fabric store, then maybe $10 in wood, some black paint, a couple of fasteners and staples, and there you go. If you don't like it, you're only out thirty bucks and an hour or two of work. If you search around a bit, there's several good webpages with detailed instructions. (I love when my guests make comments about how expensive the screen must have been, only to have me point out that I made it in the kitchen for $30.)

 

[Mark Dill]

OK I have a stupid question for the "CRT cannot project black" camp. How come when I turn on my basic CRT TV, and the screen is totally black, it looks different than when the TV is off? It sure looks like it's projecting black to me.

 

[Paul Seyfarth]

You can't project black, just think about it for a second. To get darker you need to remove light. Or just look at how you get colors projected, you put something infront of the light to get the color you want. How are you going to do that with black.

 

[Mark Dill]

Yes, I know logically that makes sense - it just looks like the TV is blacker when it is on than when it is off, that's what I was wondering about. I guess what I am seeing when the TV is turned on is dark dark gray. Perhaps the TV looks blacker to me because less reflections are visible when there is some light behind the glass.

 

[Charles J P]

Probably has something to do with what happens to external light on the screen when the tubes come on. Seriously, if you could project black, you could go out on a bright sunny day and shine a beam at the ground and make it black (not a shadow).