looking for opinions on 3 tube CRT multisync rgb projectors

[panzeroceania]

What do you guys think about the image quality of 3 tube cry projectors, anything from an NEC PG 9 to a Sony G90, or Barco Cine 9. Do they stack up to the best BVM monitors out there?

How many lumens do you think is adequate? What are the downsides to using these sort of projectors over a PVM or BVM?

Im looking into buying one. I know they are big, heavy, hot, require advanced knowledge and maintenance, may be complicated to set up and move, require replacing parts and bulbs, burn in, etc.

That said im still interested.

What im most concerned with is the image quality, latency, brightness, sharpness, and that they work with my systems.

[Fudoh]

You can't really compare an image produced by a CRT projector with an image on an actual tube. Very different to each other.

This said, a G90 produces a fantastic picture, nothing short of absolutely astonishing. If I had the space (minimum 12-15 feet image width, extra room for the projector), I'd be looking into it.

What are the downsides to using these sort of projectors over a PVM or BVM?

well, maybe the cost for a dedicated room ? The requirement of absolute darkness ? The impossibility to tate a CRT projector once set up ? The comparison is just stupid....

With 9 inch tubes you're looking into a high-end setup. These tubes have been built to be fed with full HD signals, so you require excellent upscalers as well. On this image size we aren't talking medium range. You will never want to see a DVDO processor used with a tube of this quality. Make sure to get a CII with it.

[panzeroceania]

You can't really compare an image produced by a CRT projector with an image on an actual tube. Very different to each other.

This said, a G90 produces a fantastic picture, nothing short of absolutely astonishing. If I had the space (minimum 12-15 feet image width, extra room for the projector), I'd be looking into it.

Yeah, I've been stalking G90s online for a few years now. There were a few times I could have gotten one, but didn't. I just saw one go on ebay recently for $1600 (they usually are around $3000) and just about ate my shirt. That said, I can't justify spending that kind of money right now.

Curt Palme has a sale now on some of his 8" tube NEC models. I'm likely going to pick up his NEC 9 PG. Of course it isn't anywhere near as impressive as the Sony G90 not even close, but it still should be a great, low risk entry point for me. It can sync from 15kHz to 90kHz. It can handle resolutions up to 1600x1200, not good enough for 1080p, but I'm not planning to use this for movies, and all current game systems render games at 720p or below, so that should be fine. it has 70MHz of bandwidth, 800 lumens of light output, electromagnetic focusing, and the manufacturer recommends a screen from 60" to 300".

The white balance is stable, it's renowned for reproducing great skin tones, it has a Digital point convergence board, accepts NTSC, PAL, SECAM, and NTSC 4.43. Manufactured between 1992-1994. All in all a pretty good projector.

well, maybe the cost for a dedicated room ? The requirement of absolute darkness ? The impossibility to tate a CRT projector once set up ? The comparison is just stupid....

With 9 inch tubes you're looking into a high-end setup. These tubes have been built to be fed with full HD signals, so you require excellent upscalers as well. On this image size we aren't talking medium range. You will never want to see a DVDO processor used with a tube of this quality. Make sure to get a CII with it.

so it sounds like most of the downsides are logistical / usage limitations / lack of flexibility. I agree with you that it's a whole different beast, with a CRT monitor you are looking directly into the phosphor light source, the pixels are also arranged next to each other, unlike the 3 Tube projectors that superimpose the colors on top of each other. Between my own experiences and those I've heard second hand, it seems like monitors are more crunchy, direct, sharp, bright, gritty, etc. while projectors, because of the large screen can make you look at things differently because of how your brain and eyes process the image, I've heard driving a life size car in Sega Rally 2 or whatever racer of your choice is just a completely different animal.

Lack of Tate is certainly a limitation, but not the end of the world for me. As far as resolutions/sync rate, these things are rated from the top to the bottom, but it sounds like you are saying that because projectors like the G90 are designed around running at the highest resolution, that it wouldn't function, or would look poor if you tried to feed it 240p 15kHz?

the NEC 9 PG is considerably lower resolution, with a manufacturer recommended resolution of 1280 x 1024. That's not the max resolution, but I'd imagine that it should do ok with 240p and 480p content.

I know you were talking about a processor to match the G90 (a much better projector) but when you said CII you meant Crystalio II right? Would you consider that to be one of the best processors? or just for using at high resolutions?

[Fudoh]

but it sounds like you are saying that because projectors like the G90 are designed around running at the highest resolution, that it wouldn't function, or would look poor if you tried to feed it 240p 15kHz?

I haven't tried and I really doubt that you'll find anyone who has. I would certainly be very much interested in the results. The problem I see is that a CRT projector setup always has and always will be calibrated for a fixed resolution. I'm not sure what you can expect if you switch from 240p to 480p to 720p with your sources.

the NEC 9 PG is considerably lower resolution, with a manufacturer recommended resolution of 1280 x 1024. That's not the max resolution, but I'd imagine that it should do ok with 240p and 480p content.

CRT projectors have a sweet spot at which they perform best. 1280x960 seems a good idea, since you can use the same setup for 4:3 and with 1280x720 for 16:9.

I know you were talking about a processor to match the G90 (a much better projector) but when you said CII you meant Crystalio II right? Would you consider that to be one of the best processors? or just for using at high resolutions?

I would consider it overall the best processor for 480i deinterlacing and for upscaling 480p sources. The Optoma HD3000 is extremely close for 480p sources, but weaker in the 480i department.

[Stainomo]

I just got a Barco Cine 8 and since I'm so impressed I'd like to share my experiences!

- You can feed it different video signals, each signal has to be configured separately!

Different blocks (= Memory slots) for different signals, very similar signals will get the same memory blocks so you might have to adjust settings when swapping system.

Completely different signals will get unique blocks.

- These projectors work with scan lines, my cine 8 has touching scan lines at around 1440x960. I could feed it 240p RGBs straight from my snes but that would leave huge scan lines between lines!

In my opinion the only way to use a high quality CRT projector with a CRT is by using a scaler.

My current setup

Dvdo VP50 + HdFury III outputting 1440x960 60 or 72hz

Bluray HDMI
xbox 360 HDMI
Snes RGBs
Nes composite

All being scales to 960p at matching frame rate (60hz or 3x24 = 72hz). This gives me barely touching scan lines = great image, i could lower the resolution a bit to get real CRT scanlines but feeding native low resolution video makes the image unwatchable (scanlines will get bigger then the actual video lines).

A CRT Projector has a very low latency so adding a nice scaler to the videochain gives a very good pictures + very low latency compared to digital projectors or LCD/plasma/... monitors.

For video use this is great! I was using an older 720p projector, at 960p this barco blows away any television/projector i have seen before!