Help... upgrading to front projector

Do you have complete light control in your room? If not, then skip the CRT's because they do not have the light output to overcome an ambient light situation. If you don't have complete light control then go for a higher output fixed pixel display. Look at the Sony VPL-VW12HT (LCD), the Sharp 9000 or 10000 (DLP), the Sanyo 70 (LCD). There is more information and discssion on this stuff than you can conceive of at www.avsforum.com.

I am planning to do the same thing in the near future, so I will follow this post with some interest. One thing that might help other posters is your anticipated budget.

The perfect vision has a projector comparison and top picks in the jan/feb issue. just got it last night. Price has a lot do with your choices...CRT best, DLP next, LCD at the end. However the Sony LCD'are really good. Don't dismiss them just on the tech. I have one...love it.

lots of info at projector central.com

My anticipated budget would be max $20k new or used, but would love to do it for under $10k. And I do have total control over the lighting in the room, it is a dedicated HT.

Cheers:)

The CRT is still king of the hill for color reproduction and black level. The downside is low light levels and a pretty regular maintenance schedule. Plan on adjusting something (mostly convergence) every 3-6 months. There's a lot of great CRT out there but I would look at the DWIN HD-700. It's killer feature for me is there is no fan, thus no fan noise! What I acually own is the Sony VPL-VW10HT LCD projector which has a very low amount of fan noise (30dB) but it still bugs me.

I HIGHLY suggest you check out www.avsforum.com. You will find answers to all of your projector questions there. Having said that, CRT projectors can provide the highest quality image in a controlled light environment. CRT projector's usually come with 7, 8, or 9 inch CRT's. I would not consider a CRT projector with less than 8" tubes. They are very large and require someone with expertise to be properly set up. A 9 inch CRT projector is capable of producing jaw dropping images with resolutions up to 1080P if you have a capable video processor. Believe me, 1080P is almost like being there. CRT projectors are old technology and can be found at very reasonable prices these days. I disagree that they require a lot of maintenance. Mine was properly set up over 8 months ago and has not been touched since.

Digital projectors are small, easy to set up, do not require as much light control, and can produce a larger image due to their brightness. However, for this convenience you are giving up picture quality. No one has mentioned the DiLA digital projector which is considered by many to be better than DLP or LCD.

You can obtain an awesome projection system with a 20k budget. But please, please do your homework before you take the plunge. If you go in uninformed, it can cost you big time.

Bill