Introduction When assembling a fulfilling home theater system, it is hard to dismiss the significant importance of picture size and quality. The size of an image can dramatically affect the realism and emotional involvement we experience while viewing our favorite events or videos. Additionally, combining high-quality video with multi-channel audio can convert your viewing environment into a virtual movie theater, sports arena or live concert venue. Although many exceptionally satisfying systems can be configured using a good tube or rear projection television, there’s a natural limit to just how large their enclosures can be. Even with some of the mammoth rear projection units currently available, the overall viewing area may still not provide a large enough picture to truly recreate a movie theater experience. This is one key reason why stand-alone projectors have become much more prevalent in the home consumer market today. Given their ability to mate with free-standing, wall-mounted or drop-down screens, these combinations ...

Introduction A large part of the experience of watching a movie at your local theater is derived from viewing film-quality images on a very big screen. Otherwise, nearly everyone would merely wait for the film to be released on video and watch it at home on their trusty 27-inch television sets at home. The audio portions of home theater systems have steadily improved over the last 10 years, and many of us now own audio equipment with the latest Dolby and DTS technology that rival (if not surpass) the sound of many commercial theaters. Yet affordable video projection has lagged somewhat behind until just recently. CRT (cathode ray tube) projectors have been around for years and can project film-like images with wonderful lush colors and excellent contrast, but can cost upwards of $50,000. Luckily for those of us without a 1/2 share of a NetJet, digital video projectors are making significant inroads into the high-end ...

Introduction Despite the advent of truly exciting digital projection technology in the past few years, there is still no denying that a “big gun” CRT video projector is the best source for a great-looking video image available on the market today. While digital projectors DLPs and D-ILAs are incredibly bright and appealingly small, an eight or nine-inch CRT projector still creates a picture that looks more like film. Someday, digital projectors may surpass the performance of a CRT, but if you are in the market for the best picture money can buy in 2003, you are likely shopping for a big-time CRT projector. There is a new kid on the block dedicated to absolute video performance with a special angle towards customer service. Crystal View was formed in 2002 to address the needs of the high-end video projection customer. Co-owners Gary Guidi (also owner of HI-REZ, one of the world’s largest and most respected projector ...

Introduction Up until a couple of years ago, the biggest picture that you could get, short of spending the equivalent of the average college tuition, was a 50-65-inch rear projection “big screen” TV. While the picture on a big screen was huge compared to tube sets of the past (never larger than 40 inches), the resolution was never fantastic, the sets were physically deep and could get really expensive at the 60 to 70 inch category. Today, someone trying to live the bigger is better mantra though their TV has exciting new possibilities (without surgery, pills, pumps or weights). Projection systems were once a toy for the very rich, but with the invention of two new projection technologies (Texas Instrument’s DLP and JVC’s D-ILA), large-scale video systems are available to the masses with less maintenance, more brightness and a gigantic picture. Plus Vision Corporation created quite a stir when it introduced the HE-3100 DLP projector in ...

Introduction One of the most exciting sectors in the audio-video marketplace right now is the realm of the new fixed-pixel digital projectors, powered by technologies such as DLP and D-ILA. For years, analog CRT projectors have ruled supreme for video enthusiasts, but the size, cost and constant need for maintenance made it hard to say "yes" to the devices. The new fixed-pixel projectors use chip(s) and very bright lamps to create a video picture that is exponentially brighter than a CRT by means of a physical projector that is a fraction the size and weight of the old models. The added convenience has made large-scale front-projection video possible for more and more people who are now building real home theaters into their homes. Madrigal Imaging's MPD-1 video projector is a $26,000 projector based on the D-ILA technology created by JVC. In fact, the MPD-1 is a modified projector from JVC with both cosmetic and performance enhancements. ...