View Full Version : 15GP22 then... NOW..?


Pete Deksnis
05-09-2005, 06:50 AM
This caught my eye this morning, May 9:

"Motorola today will announce it is ready to begin marketing a new technology to "grow" large-screen TVs using atom-sized carbon nano tubes as seeds with the potential to produce superior images at a fraction of the price of today's big screens.

"With over 15 years experience and 160 patents in carbon nanotube technology and flat panel displays, we have developed a technology that could enable the next generation of large-size flat-panel displays to deliver an extraordinary visual experience at a fraction of current prices," said Jim O'Connor, vice president of Motorola technology incubation and commercialization.

The company has produced a first-of-its kind, 5-inch-wide prototype that is less than an inch thick for use as a high-definition screen. O'Connor said the process could easily be scaled up to a 42-inch display for a TV or computer display."

Steve D.
05-09-2005, 08:22 PM
Pete,

Motorola provides another good reason to wait on purchasing a current HD receiver.


-Steve D.

frenchy
05-09-2005, 10:18 PM
Pete,
Motorola provides another good reason to wait on purchasing a current HD receiver.
-Steve D.

I just went for a good projection HD set last year and am very happy with it (A hitachi). Guess I could have waited longer for $1000 60-inch sets that are an inch thick but I got sick of waiting already. I look at it this way - how much great color tv did people miss from 1954 to the mid to late 60's till they finally bought a color set and the only thing they saved was a few bucks? Even thru the 70's TV was still basically 25 inch screens standard, not much different than the 19 inchers they passed on for over 10 years, so it's not like they gained a whole lot in TV screen size or picture quality by waiting.
And on top of it, look how lots of vintage tv people like us think it's the REALLY old sets that had the best color reproduction! : () ...Frenchy

andy
05-09-2005, 11:00 PM
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Dave S
05-10-2005, 09:26 AM
I look at it this way - how much great color tv did people miss from 1954 to the mid to late 60's till they finally bought a color set and the only thing they saved was a few bucks?

We got our first color TV around 1977. My dad never thought it was worth the money and refused to buy one. Finally we kids bought my folks one. I noticed that my dad didn't return it to the store!

Of course, I also clearly remember the few neighbors and friends who jumped on the color bandwagon early. Aside from the staggering expense, NO ONE seemed to grok the use of the "color" and "tint" controls. The purpose of the chroma control was to turn it up all the way until everyone looked like a cartoon character. And the tint control should have been labeled the "green faces" control, since that's what I recall it most frequently being used for.

If you've got extra money in your pocket, I hear that it's not as big a crapshoot now as it was a few years ago to invest in large screen HDTV, but like computers, it's always going to be better, faster and cheaper next year. Unlike computers, the issue here seems to be twofold, first (like computers), if you continually wait for the better, faster and cheaper model, you will always be waiting since it's always going to be "just around the corner". But more importantly, at least as I understand it, unlike computers there are still enough variables in the greater HD scheme that you could get caught owning something reminiscent of a CBS color set or a 441 line B&W TV. Plus there's that pesky issue of not being able to any difference between SD and HD in many typical viewing situations.

Fortunately I don't have that problem; all the flat panel sets are still out of my price range although I just got a nice Sony 1272Q projector for free that does "real" (>720 V) HD projection. Only problem with that sucker is it's too heavy for me to lift and too big to fit in the living room!

andy
05-10-2005, 09:56 AM
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Dave S
05-10-2005, 10:26 AM
I use a Sony 1270Q for TV. ...I have it projecting onto an old Novabeam 80" screen which makes it bright enough to use in the day.
Hey Andy,
This is pretty far O.T., so maybe better to email me privately, but I am curious. These projectors are supposed to be good up to 30 feet diagonal. My kids are giddy with excitement that we're going to try to build our own "drive-in movie theatre" in the back yard this summer. There's a whole forum elsewhere on the 'net devoted to this, but I was wondering what your take is on max screen size with useable brightness for outside at night? I'm hoping for 24 feet wide (my carefully considered engineering decisions were based mostly on the fact that that would be three sheets wide of whatever material I ended up using for the screen.) For inside, I do have an old curved, aluminized projection screen, but unfortunately it's only about 48" diagonal and this projector won't go down that small!

Chad Hauris
05-10-2005, 11:18 AM
Do you have a garage wall or something similar that is a light color? these make fairly good projection screens. I have done outdoor film projection with a 16 mm projector with 1000 watt bulb at about a 50-60 foot throw for about a 20 foot wide picture... have not tried a video projector though but am thinking there will be less light output than a typical film projector. Make sure the outdoor environment is as dark as possible.

Bill R
05-10-2005, 12:02 PM
Hi Dave;
This is the kind of stuff I do from time to time. I do big screen video projection for concerts outdoors.
First of all to get a 30 foot diag. screen that is 24 feet wide it would have to be like 18 feet tall. Your projector throw would likely be around 30 or more feet, depending on the projector. I have a provision that will fill a 17.5 foot screen at 13.5 feet. So it depends a lot on the actual lenses. When we do the concerts we use 17.5 foot screens with lcd projectors and a 24 foot more or less throw.
The other concern is ambient light and that is more than you might expect outdoors. It will have to be really dark to get any kind of picture outdoors.
Another consideration is actual light output from the projector. My Provision is only about 800 lumens. Then reasons I can use it are short throw, rear projection which is brighter than front projection screen, and it has to be really dark. Especially between the proj. and screen. For the larger concerts we use two systems. One on each side of the stage. They are front projection screens and we use a minimum of 10,000 lumen projectors. Even then it has to be after dusk to get a good picture. Of course this is in a stadium with a 15,000 plus audiance.
While you can have lots of fun with what you have you might want to scale down your screen size somewhat. I have used my crt projector and 10.5 X 14 rear projection screen by placing the proj. in the garage and setting the screen up just outside the door. This way the area behind the screen can be dark. This works great for like nightime football games. The neighbors just roll out the recliners and have fun.
Good luck with your project.
Bill R

andy
05-10-2005, 12:19 PM
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Dave S
05-10-2005, 12:58 PM
Thanks to all for your thoughts. I definitely worry that a 30-foot image will be too dim, but I feel that if you're going to do something silly like this, it should be as outrageous as possible. I'm going to do some tests. I'm planning on a home-theatre-geek-approved low-tech front surface screen made of formica, plywood or foam-core sheets painted with HTG-approved screen paint. I didn't mention that I have *several* of these beasts, all with really good tubes, so in theory I could stack them for a 2 or 3 projector blast, like we used to do with the old GE oil-film Talaria projectors. I used to use these CRT projectors professionally and know how that setup is difficult, but hey, so is restoring old TVs. With apologies to JFK, "We do this not because it is easy, but because it is a hoot!"
--Dave

frenchy
05-12-2005, 12:20 AM
[QUOTE=Dave S]
Plus there's that pesky issue of not being able to any difference between SD and HD in many typical viewing situations.QUOTE]

I dunno, pretty easy for me to tell the difference, and it's a big one. But at the least it's sort of what I call the 'fart' effect as far as watching HDTV for a while, then looking at regular tv again.
You smell a fart long enough, after awhile you can't smell it anymore (regular tv). Then you switch to HDTV and it's like, hmmmm, smells like somebody sprayed some air freshener in here or something, but not that big of a deal. Ok, now breathe that for a week...THEN bring back that fart smell. You ain't gonna liiiiiiiiike it!...Frenchy