Opinions on Sony VPH-G90U (1 Viewer)

[John E Janowitz]

Hello,

Is anyone using the Sony VPH-G90U projector? A friend has one and it seems to be very nice. I don't ahve anything to compare it to though. I have an opportunity to pick one up for $4500 which I know is a good price. I'm worried about the life of the bulbs and cost associated with them though. Anyone have experience?

John

 

[AjayM]

Are you sure it's a G90? Is it new/used/refurbed? Hell if it works I'd pick it up no matter what, the G90 costs around $30,000 or so on the internet, and once tweaked will probably spoil you for life in terms of picture quality.

Andrew

 

[John E Janowitz]

Yes, I'm sure it's a G90. It is used. It was in a store locally here that went out of business. This guy picked it up and now wants to sell it.

This is the other one that my friend who went out of business has in his house now, also a G90:
http://www.stryke.com/pics/PB220041.jpg


He also has the one that was a step higher than the G90. It retailed for around $80,000 a couple years ago. He wants $15,000 for that one. I am not sure the model number though, but I know it's a Sony as well. The place went out of business, the projectors were picked up dirt cheap and he sat on them for about a year and now wants to make some money back.

John

 

[RobertR]

I'm worried about the life of the bulbs and cost associated with them though. Anyone have experience?

A G90 does not use bulbs, it uses CRTs. They would be very expensive to replace--several thousand dollars. However, they last a very long time--10,000 hours or more if they aren't driven too hard. You need to find out how many hours are on it. Also, look for any signs of wear. If the tubes are in good shape and don't have many hours on them, this is indeed a very good price. Many people consider the Sony G90 to be the best CRT projector ever made.

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

G90 for $4.5k??? Jump on it before someone else does!

 

[Jack Briggs]

It is in rarefied world, the G90. One of the finest 9-inch CRT projectors around, after all these years. How many hours does this unit have on it? I'd be concerned with how the CRTs have been driven. Otherwise, less than $5K for a unit of this level of performance is pretty compelling. But I have this thing about used displays of any kind. Has the unit by any chance been refurbished?

Also, remember: This beast is large and heavy at 200 pounds. Installing a CRT projector is not for the faint of heart. You will need a professional to do it for you.

 

[Ted White]

I'm curious what the unit "one step up from a G-90" is?? There were a couple of re-=packaged Marquee Ultras that had stiff price tags but are not better, just priced higher.

Ted

 

[joey mr]

the g90 i the mack of all mack pj's there is nothing better

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Actually a G90 is 250 pounds. And no it is not for the faint of heart. however, someone with gumption can easily do it themselves. With something like a G90 though, the quality of the unit DEFINITELY warrants a professional setup.

Anyway, be ABSOLUTELY sure it's a G90, NOT a G70. As the value difference is HUGE. G70s get very mixed prices, as some people hate them for unreliable, and others love them. Go figure.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

John, looking at your picture again, I am almost positive that that is NOT a g90, but a G70. Just a FYI....

 

[Dmitry]

A little bit off-topic, but a consideration nonetheless -- is there a solution for DVI/HDMI viewing on this set of material that has been encrypted with HDCP? My understanding is that there aren't any DVI/HDMI to RGB converters that handle this. Wouldn't that limit the usefullness of the projector a bit?

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Not yet. There are significant problems because such a device must be fully contained in the projector, so there is no risk of the encrypted data or analog stream to be available to hijacking. While this may be a consideration, there is a drive to get such a device built for(into) some of these high-end projectors. However, you can still feed this RGB from a high quality video processor.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=341076