Search for the Front Projector (FP)

CRT Front Projectors

manufacturer	model	lens	max H scan	max V scan	video bandwidth	resolution pixels	light output (peak white)	ANSI lumens	contrast ratio	size HWD inches	weight	max power	MSRP price	street price	comments
AmPro	2600G	7"	85kHz	. Hz	> 70MHz	1600 x 1200	725 lumens	130	100:1	10 x 23 x 32	100 lbs	400W	$?	$?	.
AmPro	2600D	7"	64kHz	. Hz	> 70MHz	1024 x 768	725 lumens	130	100:1	10 x 23 x 32	100 lbs	400W	$?	$?	cost effective version of the 2600G,
AmPro	HD-3600	8"	105kHz	. Hz	100MHz	2500 x 2000	1000 lumens	220	100:1	11.6 x 25.5 x 39.9	120 lbs	800W	$?	$?	.
AmPro	HD-4600	9"	105kHz	. Hz	> 100MHz	2500 x 2000	1200 lumens	270	150:1	12.6 x 32 x 39	175 lbs	800W	$29995	$?	.
Barco	701s	7"	35kHz	155Hz	20MHz	? x ?	1200 lumens	.	.	12 x 22 x 29	71 lbs	300W	$?	$?	.
Barco	701 MM	7"	50kHz	210Hz	45MHz	1024 x 768	1100 lumens	.	.	12 x 22 x 29	84 lbs	300W	$11000	$?	.
Barco	Vision 1609 QDTV	9"	64kHz	155Hz	60MHz	? x ?	1050 lumens	240	.	14 x 31 x 44	165 lbs	520W	$?	$?	.
Barco	Vision 1609 HDTV	9"	64kHz	155Hz	60MHz	? x ?	1600 lumens	270	.	14 x 31 x 44	165 lbs	520W	$?	$?	.
Barco	708	7"	69kHz	210Hz	75MHz	1280 x 1024	1200 lumens	165	.	12 x 22 x 29	84 lbs	450W	$?	$?	.
Barco	1109	9"	69kHz	155Hz	75MHz	1280 x 1024	1050 lumens	240	.	14 x 31 x 46	190 lbs	590W	$?	$?	.
Barco	808s	8"	110kHz	200Hz	120MHz	1600 x 1200	1050 lumens	210	.	14 x 23 x 42	148 lbs	500W	$?	$?	.
Barco	1208s	8"	135kHz	200Hz	120MHz	2500 x 2000	1000 lumens	210	.	14 x 31 x 43	165 lbs	580W	$?	$?	Low EMI/RFI emission
Barco	1209	9"	135kHz	200Hz	120MHz	2500 x 2000	1050 lumens	240	.	14 x 31 x 46	181 lbs	400W	$?	$?	Low EMI/RFI emission
Dwin	HDP-500	7"	65kHz	120Hz	74MHz	1280 x 1024	1100 lumens	?	.	9.5 x 22 x 22.5	65 lbs	220W	$12000	$?	no fan / quiet, cost with LD-5 doubler = $14950
Dwin	HD-700	7"	65kHz	80Hz	75MHz	? x ?	1100 lumens	?	.	10.5 x 22 x 23.5	65 lbs	220W	$12500	$?	no fan / quiet, cost with LD-10 doubler = $14950, with TranScanner = $18950
Electrohome	ECP-4101	7"	80 kHz	. Hz	. MHz	1280 x ?	650 lumens	110	.	? x ? x ?	? lbs	.	$22000	refurbished $6295	.
Electrohome	ECP-4500	7"	90kHz	. Hz	70MHz	1280 x 1024	725 lumens	150	.	16.68 x 20.88 x 23.54	105 lbs	450W	$19000	$8395	.
Electrohome	Marquee 8500LC	8"	130kHz	180Hz	100MHz	1350 x 1100	. lumens	235	.	17 x 28 x 32	175 lbs	650W	$?	$?	EMF focused
Electrohome	Marquee 9500LC	9"	130kHz	180Hz	120MHz	1500 x 1200	1300 lumens	260	.	17 x 28 x 32	186 lbs 6	50W	$35000	$?	EMF focused
HDS	HT330	7"	50kHz	100Hz	37.5MHz	1920 x 1080 ?	700 lumens	?	.	12.9 x 25.75 x 33.28	95 lbs	.	$11000	$?	based on Zenith Pro900x
NEC	6PG XTRA	7"	69kHz	160Hz	100MHz	1280 x 1024	1000 lumens	230	100:1	12.2 x 24 x 29.7	125.4 lbs	550W	$14500	$4895	EMF focused
NEC	XG75A	8"	75kHz	160Hz	110MHz	1600 x 1200	1200 lumens	230	.	12.8 x 24 x 32	139 lbs	650W	$14500	A stock $9350, B stock $7700	EMF focused, tripler/multiplier is really needed, tube raster area = 6",
NEC	XG110LC	8"	110kHz	160Hz	120MHz	2500 x 2000	1200 lumens	240	100:1	12.8 x 24 x 32	139 lbs	700W	$20995	A stock $13600, B stock $10000	liquid coupled, magnetic focus, tripler/multiplier is really needed, tube raster area = 6",
NEC	XG135LC	8"	135kHz	160Hz	150MHz	2500 x 2000	1200 lumens	240	100:1	12.8 x 24 x 32	139 lbs	700W	$23995	$15000	tripler/multiplier is really needed, tube raster area = 6",
Runco	DTV-852	7"	50kHz	100Hz	. MHz	?	850 lumens	?	100:1	12.5 x 25.25 x 33	102 lbs	500W	$14995	$?	sound level 45dB, based on Zenith Pro900, includes internal doubler
Runco	IDP-950	8"	65kHz	160Hz	. MHz	1600 x 1200	1100 lumens	?	100:1	12.2 x 24 x 29.7	124.7 lbs	500W	$?	$?	sound level 45dB
Runco	IDP-980	8"	65kHz	160Hz	80MHz	1600 x 1200	1100 lumens	?	100:1	12.2 x 24 x 29.7	124.7 lbs	500W	$22995	$16000 (demo?)	sound level 45dB,
Runco	IDP-980 ultra	8"	89kHz	160Hz	100MHz	1600 x 1200	1100 lumens	?	100:1	12.2 x 24 x 29.7	124.7 lbs	550W	$?	$?	sound level 45dB
Runco	DTV-991	8"	75kHz	160Hz	110 MHz	1600 x 1200	1200 lumens	230	100:1	12.8 x 24 x 32	139 lbs	660W	$25000	$?	sound level 45dB, is a modifed NEC XG75A, dithering electronics for doubler use.
Runco	DTV-991 ultra	8"	110kHz	160Hz	120MHz	2500 x 2000	1200 lumens	240	100:1	12.8 x 24 x 32	149 lbs	690W	$35000	$?	sound level 45dB, is a modifed NEC XG110LC, dithering electronics for doubler use.
Runco	DTV-1000 ultra	9"	90kHz	155Hz	120MHz	2500 x 2000	1250 lumens	?	100:1	14 x 31 x 46.25	181 lbs	590W	$48000	$?	based on the Barco 1209, sound level 45dB
Seleco	SDG-700	7"	72kHz	150Hz	70MHz	1500 x 1200	850 lumens	?	.	12 x 24.4 x 32.2	110 lbs	.	$12250	$?	.
Seleco	SVP-400HT	7"	32kHz	. Hz	. MHz	? x ?	. lumens	?	.	? x ? x ?	. lbs	.	$8995	$?	upgrade to glass lens for $1500
Seleco	900	8"	105kHz	. Hz	. MHz	1600 x 1400	.	230	.	? x ? x ?	.	.	$21250	$?	.
Sony	VPH-D50Q	7"	64kHz	150Hz	75MHz	1280 x 1024	800 lumens	130	.	13.625 x 23.75 x 26.5	119 lbs	450W	$9990	$?	replaces Sony VPH-1252q, tube raster area = 5.5",
Sony	VPH-G70Q	8"	110kHz	150Hz	120MHz	1700 x 1200	1200 lumens	240	.	14.12 x 27.38 x 37.31	182 lbs	750W	$22000	$11200 B stock	liquid coupled, magnetic focus, tube raster area = 6", adjustment to vary spot size.
Sony	VPH1292Q	9"	135kHz	150Hz	120MHz	2000 x 1600	1000 lumens	225	.	15.19 x 29.37 x 39.37	202 lbs	850W	$?	$?	liquid coupled, magnetic focus, tube raster area = 7.7", adjustment to vary spot size.
Vidikron	Vision One	9"	130kHz	180Hz	. MHz	? x ?	? lumens	?	.	20 x 32 x 41	195 lbs	?W	$?	$?	available in Ferrari red, based on the Electrohome 9500LC
Vidikron	VPF 40 HD	?"	55kHz	120Hz	. MHz	? x ?	? lumens	?	.	18.5 x 22.5 x 29	110 lbs	?W	$?	$?	available in Ferrari red.
Vidikron	VPF 50 HD	7"	64kHz	120Hz	. MHz	? x ?	? lumens	?	.	18.5 x 22.5 x 29	110 lbs	?W	$20000	$?	available in Ferrari red.
Zenith	Pro900X	7"	50kHz	. Hz	. MHz	1024 x 768	700 lumens	?	.	12.9 x 25.75 x 33.28	95 lbs	.	$12600	<$8000	3D comb filter
Zenith	Pro2000	?"	?kHz	. Hz	. MHz	1600 x 1200	.	190	.	11.7 x 26.8 x 34.3	151 lbs	.	$20500	$?	builtin line doubler

• scan rates:
  • standard NTSC is a 15.7kHz scan rate.
  • line doublers require a 31.5kHz scan rate.
  • line quadruplers require a 63kHz scan rate.
  • HTDV 720P 60Hz requires a 45kHz scan rate.
  • HTDV 1080I 30Hz requires a 33.75kHz scan rate.
  • HTDV 1080P 60Hz requires a 67.5kHz scan rate and about 100MHz of video bandwidth. (Note that 1080P is line doubled 1080I, or it might be extracted as progressive from the MPEG2 stream.)
• audible noise
  • A Sony FPTV owner has told me he can hear the fans on his VPH-D50Q, but when a movie is playing, even at low volumes, the fan noise is masked. He even said his favorite place to sit is right under the projector.
  • Another D50 owner has told me that he sits 1 foor behind his D50 which is on the floor and he hears no fan noise with program material.
  • So it looks like the fan-less nature of the Dwin isn't that big of a deal? Also the Dwin was designed to run cooler, but do the components inside get hotter and will this shorten their life? Good questions.
  • a NEC XG135LC owner has reported that the fans are loud and is looking into using acoustic insulation to quiet things down a bit.
• Some Sony VPH-D50Q owners have complained about "horizontal bend" problems. Sort of like a horizontal smearing between light and dark things, for more info do a DejaNews search. How big of a problem is it? I don't know. Another D50 owner has told me that they have "seen none of the bending mentioned."
• The Sony D50 with the internal doubler has a problem when you switch scan rates you have to re-converge the picture. You only have to do this once and not every time you change aspect ratios! And I hear if you use an external doubler then this isn't a problem, only one converging is necessary. Despite this and the above mentioned problem with the Sony D50, the owners of this FP are very happy about owning the D50.
• The Vision Two is based on the Electrohome 8500LC (Vidikron specs are not available at this time).
• May 1998, Zenith has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, this might be bad for DIVX and it might be bad for Zenith FP's. Zenith is a big company and they will most likely bounce back, but do you want to chance it with your own purchase? I've heard that "Zenith has been bought outrught by its majority stockholder. It is stopping regular CRT tube sets. Current plans continue the 900X, but who knows."
• Infocomm '97 scores:
  • video class
    • Sony D50 earned a perfect 5 in all 7 categories
    • NEC XG75A scored 5 in 6, and scored 4 on brightness
    • Electrohome HD3600 scored 5 in only 4 categories
  • graphics class
    • NEC XG110 scored a perfect 5 in all 7 categories
    • Sony G70 scored 5 in 7 categories, falling to 4 in computer text display
    • Barco 808s got 5 in 6, scoring 4 on hue
  • super graphics class
    • NEC XG135 was first with 5 on 6 categories (4 on cont)
    • Sony 1292 scored 5 in 5 (4 on brite and cont)
    • Barco 1209s scored 5 in 4 (4 on Cont, whitebal, and video [as opposed to text])
    • Electrohome HD9500 got 5 on 3 (4 on brite, hue, white bal and video)

Line Multipliers

manufacturer	model	type	composite inputs	S-Video inputs	YCrCb inputs	RGB inputs	MSRP price	comments
Dwin	LD-5	doubler	2	2	2	1	$4900	.
Dwin	TranScanner	multiplier	2	2	2	1	$7500	variable line multiplier in 1kHz increments, golden frequency, street price $5600
Extron	Lancia	doubler	1	1	0	0	$2500	.
Extron	Sentosa	quadrupler	?	?	?	?	$6000	.
Faroudja	LD200	doubler	?	?	?	?	$10000	adaptive comb filter, patented Film Logic circuit, patented Bandwidth Expansion, NEC NLD200 basically is a LD200 for $4995 from Home Theater Concepts (This is NOT an endorsement).
Faroudja	VP250	doubler	?	?	?	?	$13500	adaptive comb filter, patented Film Logic circuit, patented Bandwidth Expansion
Faroudja	VP400	quadrupler	1	1	1	1	$?	knobs, adaptive comb filter, patented Film Logic circuit, patented Bandwidth Expansion
IEV	TurboScan T-1500	doubler	1	1	1	1	$1995	remote, street price <$1700
IEV	TurboScan T-2000	doubler	3	3	1	1	$?	remote, digital comb filter
Miranda	Quartz-LD	doubler	.	.	.	.	$7000	infrared remote, rs422 computer port, on-screen menus, word is that Miranda doublers will be in future Zenith FP's,
Miranda	Quartz Quadrupler	quadrupler	1	1	1	0	$17000	infrared remote, rs422 computer port, on-screen menus, digital 4:2:2 input
QD	7000	doubler	1	1	?	?	$4495	knobs, sounds like they are using a Faroudja chipset
Runco	SC3050	doubler	5	2	0	1	$6000	LR audio input switching for every video input
Snell & Wilcox	Interpolator	multiplier	?	?	?	?	$$$$$	operate at that "golden" scanning rate, "Interpolator Gold" delivers a maximum resolution of 1280 by 1024 pixels, "Interpolator 1" delivers a maximum resolution of 1024 by 768 pixels.
Vidikron	VP-20-5	doubler	1	1	1	0	$4995	.
HDS	LD11	doubler	-	-	-	-	$3500	plug in, internal for HDS HT330
Sony	EXB-DS10	doubler	-	-	-	-	$2200	plug in, internal for Sony D50/G70,

• The IEV TurboScan T-1500 has pleased many happy owners and it should be considered the top doubler buy at the moment.
• Having a good comb filter in a doubler/multiplier is only important if you are feeding it a composite video signal. Y/C or YCrCb cables bypass the comb filter, so for most quality video sources, the comb filter in the doubler/multiplier will not be an issue. And even then an external comb filter can be used like the VPS or Faroudja box. Sorry Faroudja, its nice your doublers have that 2D adaptive comb filter, but this really isn't reason enough to buy your expensive products. BTW, the 3D comb filter in the CLD-99 is superior to the 2D adaptive comb filter in the Faroudja units.
• Some people have had great success with using the MPACT2 based PC DVD player and feeding the RGB outs to their front projectors. Its cheap, $309 which includes 2.6X DVD ROM drive and a 3D/MPEG2 decode video card. And since MPEG2 encoded DVD films are already 24 frame progressive scanned so the need for a line doubler/de-interlacer is gone. Read Christy's alt.home-theater.misc review and check out the thread. Some concern over the 16bit graphics output. With prices this low and quality this high, I believe this is definitely the future for all videophilia. Also you should read the Cybertheather review of the 3D Fusion board. Chromatic Research, the makers of the MPACT chip, aborted the project and layed off half of its employees in mid 1998, they are not committed to this chip anymore so consider it defunct and don't expect to see any upgrades, ever.
• NEC makes the IDC3000A doubler which is also used in the Vidikron 3050. The NLD200 idoubler and NLQ400 quad are plug ins for the NEC projectors. The NLD200 and NLQ400 are made by Faroudja.

Screens

• Do I want an acoustically transparent screen so I can put my center channel behind it? While this is nice in concept there is a problem and that is; acoustically transparent screens have low gains in the .85 region.
• everyone says a 1.3 gain screen is the one to get, do higher gains really give you visible hot spotting? No, first of all it is the projector that causes the hot spotting, if your screen is flat and not a fresnel design then all that the screen does is bounce back the light, it plays no favorites with angles or egdes. What a high gain screen does is make the hot spotting (non linearity of light output across the tube) more apparent, theoretically double stacking projectors should cause the same problem. I have heard multiple reports from people with Vutec 3.1 gain screens and they do not have any noticable hot spots.
• Joe Kane says for 7", 8", and 9" CRT projectors the widest a screen should be is 7 feet! For 16:9 thats a 96" diagonal and for a 4:3 aspect ratio that about 105" screen. Anything bigger requires 2 stacked projectors. Now I'm not one to disagree with Joe, but is this all just a bunch of hype?
• Hmmm, ISF is really pushing the 1.3 gain screens, 7' wide screens, and accurate 6500 ^oK gray scale calibration. Everyone takes this as gospel, I think Joe Kane's agenda differs from what the HT buf really wants? Forget hot spotting for a minute, RPTV's are extremely directional, and even if they are set to the "cool" temperature some can still have an outstanding picture. What gives?
• How much of your field of vision will that big screen fill up? The closer you sit the bigger the screen looks and the bigger the scan lines look too. Its a darn good arguement for a doubler, and sitting closer is more immersive. Check out my viewing angles tables, it is a bunch of calculated data comparing many common screen sizes and shapes from different distances.