# Coming Soon, BlendZilla East Meet!!!



## Tim in Phoenix

OK


Bulletin!!!! Times and Directions on Page 5!




We can't let Cliffy have all the fun, so we are taking the fun to Middleburg Virginia and the dates have changed to May 5 and 6, the first weekend in May; this is a bit early to announce but those contemplating travel in that time frame may want to plan for this. Expect a large room with a twelve foot screen width, two Supercharged MP 9500 Marquees, and stunning HDTV type sources. I can't wait!



Some of you guys know Gary Fritz huh? Gary visited in December and just for reference, he is 6'4".........



























































The centerpiece of this system is the very powerful DVX Processor from Analog France, and we thank the nice Analog folks for the loan of their edge blend processor which we have nicknamed BlendZilla!











The DVX will input and switch up to eight various signals and sources and output to a pair of projectors which overlap, the halves of the images fade into each other for one huge seamless display; CRTs can now look fantastic on screens to twelve or thirteen foot width.


See this exceptionally powerful system for yourself; see what LC CRT contrast ratio coupled with near 500 ANSI lumens can do, the most involving and compelling viewing experience possible. Your personal IMAX......



Exact times and directions will follow; Middleburg is quite near Dulles airport.


----------



## Gino AUS

I'm really hoping to make it there for this one. Will be great to finally meet some of you


----------



## overclkr

SWEET. One thing though Tim, post some real screen shots!




























































I'm really hoping I can make this as well.........


Cliffy


----------



## mp20748

I'm in on this one too. I mean I'm really in on this one, and we're hoping to get some others to help out as well (Clarence, JBJR, etc).


This should be another great function for us CRT folk. So though many won't be able to make this event, we should have screen-shots for all. We'll going to strip down the two 9500's and remove every speck of glue and residue from its magnetics, to include a complete rewiring and routing of the internal cabling. These two projectors will be running special boards that are a little different, so the mini RGB cables will be re-routed away from the neck boards. And will enter the VIM from near the mounting plate. This special mod that we'll be using is very touchy, and would require quite a few changes to make them perform well. We're also having all cables and connectors custom made to the length needed. And we're not only going to be showing screen-shots of the images, we plan to show shots of as much as we can on the entire install and setup. And the insides of the projectors.


We're planning to show HDTV in full bloom on these two super beefed up 9500LC's.


I've been working on this project for awhile now, and the following is a shot from my 8500 using something special, that will also be used at this affair. I still have some work do on it, because there's wide vertical bars in the image that are not showing up in the screen-shot. But will be gone by the time of this event.


Marquee 8500 Ultra (HD-145 lens) / Xbox 360 - HD-DVD Troy / 1920x1080P @ 60hz


----------



## overclkr

I've heard really good things about your work lately Mike. Looking foward to the hot rodded Marquees....... :^)


Cliff


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Looking foward to the hot rodded Marquees....... :^)
> 
> 
> Cliff



I'm really looking forward to this, and to be able to meet some of you guys that are not local would make this a blast of an event.


I'm planning to have three of them there. Two for the blending, and a spare of course. But the spare I want to also have pointed at the screen. Hopefully someone will show up with a bulb product..


----------



## dc_pilgrim

The spare is really the door prize, right Mike?










I know, wishful thinking. . . Might be a good time to go see the in-laws in DC.


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *tim* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Expect a large room with a twelve foot screen width



Tim, do we know what screen surface will be used?


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Say Clarence


Something near 1.0 gain works best, Stewart did not have 1.0 in their loaner pool so our host is considering the SMX woven material that Cliff so likes.


----------



## wkosmann

Guys;


2 screen designs are under consideration at this point in time. The width in either case will be 12 feet. The aspect ratio will probably be either 1.92:1 (Tim's recommendation) or 2.40:1 (Gino's recommendation). The material will almost certainly be Reuban's SmX. Currently the 3 front speakers and 2 front subwoofers are behind an electric Stewart Videomatte (gain = 1.5), 10 foot wide 1.78:1 perforated screen.


There is lots of room, to park, to mingle in the media room, and to view the awesome images that are going to be displayed at this meet. Any and all are welcome: NEC projector owners, AMPRO projector owners, even Sony G90 owners. Hell, we'll also let digital projector owners in to see what they are missing.


Beer and munchies will be provided. The meet will be held on both Saturday, May 5, and Sunday, May 6, to make it as easy as possible for people coming from long distances to make it.


In the near future, I will post a listing of nearby bed and breakfasts, with contact info and pricing, for the out-of-towners.


Soon I will start a list of potential attendees. Each will be provided with driving directions.


There will be door prizes. Already lined up are movie posters. More to come on this topic.


Those who make the effort to come will be rewarded with viewing pleasure of one of the highest quality images on the entire third rock from the Sun.


The Mythical Host

William


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *wkosmann* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Guys;
> 
> 
> 2 screen designs are under consideration at this point in time. The width in either case will be 12 feet. The aspect ratio will probably be either 1.92:1 (Tim's recommendation) or 2.40:1 (Gino's recommendation). The material will almost certainly be Reuban's SmX. Currently the 3 front speakers and 2 front subwoofers are behind an electric Stewart Videomatte (gain = 1.5), 10 foot wide 1.78:1 perforated screen.
> 
> 
> There is lots of room, to park, to mingle in the media room, and to view the awesome images that are going to be displayed at this meet. Any and all are welcome: NEC projector owners, AMPRO projector owners, even Sony G90 owners. Hell, we'll also let digital projector owners in to see what they are missing.
> 
> 
> Beer and munchies will be provided. The meet will be held on both Saturday, May 12, and Sunday, May 13 (Mother's Day), to make it as easy as possible for people coming from long distances to make it.
> 
> 
> In the near future, I will post a listing of nearby bed and breakfasts, with contact info and pricing, for the out-of-towners.
> 
> 
> Soon I will start a list of potential attendees. Each will be provided with driving directions.
> 
> 
> There will be door prizes. Already lined up are movie posters. More to come on this topic.
> 
> 
> Those who make the effort to come will be rewarded with viewing pleasure of one of the highest quality images on the entire third rock from the Sun.
> 
> 
> The Mythical Host
> 
> William



Great William. I really hope I can make this. I didn't realize that Mother's day was that weekend. That may hamper the plans.


Can I recommend that you do a 2.35 or 2.40 setup? You will get A LOT more phosphor usage and light output from the projectors. Clarence I'm sure will concur with this after our experience.


Cliff


----------



## Belcherwm

Wow!


I'm really looking forward to this. I want to see what I can aspire to in my theater even if I never go to a stack or a blend.


We have our Relay for Life event that weekend, but should be done midday Saturday. I'd love to help with drinks, munchies and other necessities.


----------



## Gino AUS




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Can I recommend that you do a 2.35 or 2.40 setup? You will get A LOT more phosphor usage and light output from the projectors. Clarence I'm sure will concur with this after our experience.



I've been trying to convince William to go with the 2.4 setup... obviously a big wow factor but I also think that this aspect shows off all the benefits of blending. It will also show something different to your G90 blendzilla meet.


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gino AUS* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I've been trying to convince William to go with the 2.4 setup... obviously a big wow factor but I also think that this aspect shows off all the benefits of blending. It will also show something different to your G90 blendzilla meet.



Yep. Not only that, but more phosphor usage= MORE LIGHT.










Cliffy


----------



## Gino AUS

Yes.. well that's what I meant Cliff...


> Quote:
> this aspect shows off all the benefits of blending



this includes the big increase in phosphor when watching cinemascope 2.35:1 and less overlap so sharper etc....


----------



## Gino AUS

William - What is the room like? Will you be able to get it completely light controlled like Cliff's?


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gino AUS* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Yes.. well that's what I meant Cliff... this includes the big increase in phosphor when watching cinemascope 2.35:1 and less overlap so sharper etc....



Don't mind me Gino, severe cold just kicked in so my mind isn't all there.......


Cliff


----------



## wkosmann

Gino;


I understand the "more phosphor usage = more light" advantage of 2.40:1. There are 2 issues with this aspect ratio:


1) If using a scalar: introduces noise into the video chain

2) If not using a scalar, loss of image at top/bottom, when viewing ATSC material. My viewing is roughly 50% movies at 2.40:1 and 50% sports at 1.78:1


Cliffy;


I sent you a PM on Curt's web site a while ago. Would you please read it and respond?


What aspect ratio screen did you use at the Midwest Blendzilla meet?


All;


The screen aspect ratio design decision has not yet been made. I welcome any and all input into the technical advantages/disadvantages of 1.92:1 versus 2.40:1


William


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *wkosmann* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Gino;
> 
> 
> I understand the "more phosphor usage = more light" advantage of 2.40:1. There are 2 issues with this aspect ratio:
> 
> 
> 1) If using a scalar: introduces noise into the video chain
> 
> 2) If not using a scalar, loss of image at top/bottom, when viewing ATSC material. My viewing is roughly 50% movies at 2.40:1 and 50% sports at 1.78:1
> 
> 
> Cliffy;
> 
> 
> I sent you a PM on Curt's web site a while ago. Would you please read it and respond?
> 
> 
> What aspect ratio screen did you use at the Midwest Blendzilla meet?
> 
> 
> All;
> 
> 
> The screen aspect ratio design decision has not yet been made. I welcome any and all input into the technical advantages/disadvantages of 1.92:1 versus 2.40:1
> 
> 
> William



Didn't know that William. I'll take a look.


I used 1.78:1 at the meet.


Cliff


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *wkosmann* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Gino;
> 
> 
> I understand the "more phosphor usage = more light" advantage of 2.40:1. There are 2 issues with this aspect ratio:
> 
> 
> 1) If using a scalar: introduces noise into the video chain
> 
> 2) If not using a scalar, loss of image at top/bottom, when viewing ATSC material. My viewing is roughly 50% movies at 2.40:1 and 50% sports at 1.78:1
> 
> 
> Cliffy;
> 
> 
> I sent you a PM on Curt's web site a while ago. Would you please read it and respond?
> 
> 
> What aspect ratio screen did you use at the Midwest Blendzilla meet?
> 
> 
> All;
> 
> 
> The screen aspect ratio design decision has not yet been made. I welcome any and all input into the technical advantages/disadvantages of 1.92:1 versus 2.40:1
> 
> 
> William



William, I checked my PM's over at Curt's and dont see anything from you.


Cliff


----------



## Tim in Phoenix




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *wkosmann* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> 
> All;
> 
> 
> The screen aspect ratio design decision has not yet been made. I welcome any and all input into the technical advantages/disadvantages of 1.92:1 versus 2.40:1
> 
> 
> William



My decision for 1.92 was space constraint in a 16 foot deep room; I tried 1.78 using white canvas and it looked too tall. I watch 50% HD satellite so that is how I elected 1.92


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Oops!


Our first weekend selected, May 12-13 seems to conflict with Mother's Day, so we are pondering a change to the weekend before (May 5-6) or the weekend after (May 19-20). Your input is appreciated. We doubt that many will see a conflict with Cinco de Mayo!


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *tim* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Your input is appreciated. We doubt that many will see a conflict with Cinco de Mayo!



Cinco de Mayo works best for me... easy to remember, too.


Plus, I'm taking my boys camping on May 19, so I wouldn't be able to attend.


----------



## Gino AUS

May 19-20 is definitely out for me too


----------



## overclkr

I guess I'll have to vote number three.


Cliff


----------



## NautikaL

Looks like it might be CINCO DE MAYO!!!!!!










Uhh yea, both weekends are fine for me...not that I really matter though







.


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Guys!


We are cooking some additional BlendZilla Meet plans for later this year; those in the Midwest will want to try for Lexington KY, possibly in the September-October time frame, and also for Sunnyvale CA possibly before Lexington, we will go sticky with some announcements when the plans begin to solidify more. I especially want to do something in Los Angeles-San Diego so anyone with an interest, e.mail me to begin some discussions. Meet requirements to include a darkenable room in the 15' x20' range, some clear floor space in front, an HD satellite system and a fridge full of beer!


----------



## wkosmann

Gino;


The Home Theater room has no windows. It is a completely enclosed room. All painted surfaces are a very dark gray. The floor is carpeted with a very dark gray carpet. With all of the equipment off, you can't even see your hand in front of your face. Dark enough for you?


Cliff;


The screen aspect ratio decision still has not been made yet. It will be made sometime this month. I will select either 2.40:1 or 1.92:1. The material will be SmX. The width will probably be 12 feet.


At the moment, I am leaning towards 2.40:1, under the thinking that I should maximize the theater for movies, and take what I get from HDTV. I really don't want to use a scalar at all, but may be willing to compromise on the HDTV side of the video chain.


I already have a Stewart microperf Videomatte (gain = 1.5) 10 foot wide motorized screen installed. I have recently been thinking about maybe building a 10 foot wide 2.40:1 SmX screen for the meet, and installing it immediately behind the Stewart. That way I could put the Stewart down (in front of the SmX screen) for HDTV, and put the Stewart up (leaving only the SmX screen) for movies. I need to talk to Mike about this, to see if from his point of view, this is even feasible.


William

The Mythical Host


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Guys!


It hasn't rained like this since U-571..........


Watching the Superbowl, it looked early like the Bears would run away but the Colts have exacted some revenge......hey, we got a game here!!!!!


The rain made a lot of pix look foggy so I picked the best few:








































On my BlendZilla nine foot wide screen...........


----------



## NautikaL

Yea, this rain is really annoying. I feel like I'm watching through a cloudy window.


----------



## wkosmann

All;


Just so's ya'll are clear, the new East Coast BlendZilla meet days are Saturday, May 5 and Sunday, May 6.


Yes, Cinco De Mayo rules!!!!!


William

The Mythical Host


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Guys!


Time to bring this around so new arrivals in the East Region can be aware and mark their calendars for May 5-6!!!!!


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Oops!


I must have hit Bump.......


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Guy!


Regards lodging for this........



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Not until the other site's server comes back so I can just copy the hotel links from there.
> 
> 
> But basically, any hotel in "Chantilly VA" is fine.



Curt's Forum Server is Kaput for the moment so bear with us......or beer with us if you can attend!!!


----------



## dc_pilgrim

There is a Hilton Garden Inn near Rte 50 and Fairfax County Parkway. Technically in Fairfax, not Chantilly. When I got married in 2003 it was brand new, the rooms were pretty comfortable, had a bar, and we got a group rate in the $60/night range which was a total steal.


I'd recomend it.


----------



## rajdude

Folks,

Count me totally in!


Being a local, is there anything I can help you out? PM me


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Guys!


I pulled this down from elsewhere:



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Your best bet will probably be in Chantilly at the intersection of Rt 28 and Rt 50...
> 
> 
> Hampton Inn:
> http://hamptoninn.hilton.com/en/hp/h...tyhocn=WASCNHX
> 
> 
> Residence Inn:
> http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/IADFX
> 
> 
> Fairfield Inn:
> http://marriott.com/hotels/travel/ia...ort-chantilly/
> 
> 
> TownPlace Suites:
> http://marriott.com/hotels/travel/ia...tes-chantilly/
> 
> 
> Courtyard by Marriott:
> http://marriott.com/hotels/travel/ia...ort-chantilly/


----------



## Bradad

Hi Tim,


It was a real pleasure meeting you on Friday.


Your BlendZilla setup was something else to see! I had to force myself to get up off your couch! I had plans for early Saturday morning otherwise you would have been kicking me out of your place.










Keep in touch,

Brad


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Guys!


Nice of Brad to stop by, he is based in Edmonton and was visiting his folks just two miles away.


----------



## Audiophil

Do you have to buy anything, or can I just come and look at the pretty pictures?


----------



## wkosmann

Dear AudioPhil;


There is no admission to the East Coast Blendzilla Meet. And, actually, there will be nothing for sale. Quite the opposite, in that there will be Door Prizes available to the early attenders. To summarize, you, and any one else, are welcome to just come and view an amazing image.


William

Back from crossing 10 time zones


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *wkosmann* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Dear AudioPhil;
> 
> 
> There is no admission to the East Coast Blendzilla Meet. And, actually, there will be nothing for sale. Quite the opposite, in that there will be Door Prizes available to the early attenders. To summarize, you, and any one else, are welcome to just come and view an amazing image.
> 
> 
> William
> 
> Back from crossing 10 time zones



Booked tickets for Bomrat and I Sunday Morning with Clarence.


It's a done deal.


Cliff


----------



## Tim in Phoenix




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Booked tickets for Bomrat and I Sunday Morning with Clarence.
> 
> 
> It's a done deal.
> 
> 
> Cliff



William......


.......better double your beer order!!!!!!


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *tim* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> William......
> 
> 
> .......better double your beer order!!!!!!



Hey William, some weed would be nice too!!!!! It would be a bit hard to sneak it on the plane!

















(just kidding!)


Cliffy


----------



## wkosmann

I hope one out of two is gonna be good enough.










William


----------



## Gino AUS




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Booked tickets for Bomrat and I Sunday Morning with Clarence.
> 
> 
> It's a done deal.
> 
> 
> Cliff



Cliff... are we still ok for Thursday?


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gino AUS* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Cliff... are we still ok for Thursday?



All is good Gino!!!!! I fly out of Midway with Arli at 3:30 pm on Friday so I'll have to head out at about noon or 12:30. If your flight is later, your more than welcome to relax at my place until you and your lady have to leave for the airport.


Get ready for some liver damage!!!!!!










Cliffy


----------



## Curt Palme

Got room for a Canuck? It's really tempting to go.....


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Curt Palme* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Got room for a Canuck? It's really tempting to go.....



You should go Curt. Would be nice to finally meet you.


Cliff


----------



## Curt Palme

Trust me, it's tempting. $600 incl hotel return out of Sea-Tac. (Seattle).


I'll be in touch if I do go, gotta see how sales pan out this week. Lots of 'yeah I really want to buy', and much less of the 'here's the cashola'


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Curt Palme* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Trust me, it's tempting. $600 incl hotel return out of Sea-Tac. (Seattle).
> 
> 
> I'll be in touch if I do go, gotta see how sales pan out this week. Lots of 'yeah I really want to buy', and much less of the 'here's the cashola'



It just wouldn't be the same if you werent there!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Curt Palme

Yeah, I can see it now.


'Whos' that guy in the corner?'



"Oh, some effing guy that came all the way down from somewhere up North. He came in with his mukluks and toque, put some back bacon on the stove, cracked a beer and is just staring at the screen. We can't understand him when he speaks, we're just ignoring him"


----------



## overclkr

Dude, you know damn well we'd be cracking up and talking all KINDS OF SCHIT!!!!! :^)


Cliffy


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Curt Palme* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Trust me, it's tempting. $600 incl hotel return out of Sea-Tac.



All of our guest rooms are already booked that weekend, but there's a sleeper sofa in the basement. Cliff and I stay up shootin' the sh't all night during these meets anyways.


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> All of our guest rooms are already booked that weekend, but there's a sleeper sofa in the basement. Cliff and I stay up shootin' the sh't all night during these meets anyways.



PERFECT!!!!










Curt has no excuse now.


I can see it now....... The big CRT slumber party with strippers and all!!!!!
























Cliffy


----------



## Gino AUS

Would be awesome if you were there too Curt!


Now.. what's happened to Mr Sonneborn?


----------



## mark haflich

Hi. I live in Brookeville, MD, about 1 hour away. Be glad to put someone up for a few days in one of our guest rooms. Best to fly in and out of BWI for my house but Dulles works too. Tim or Curt especially. My house on the lake beats any hotel. Nce Ht with a MP maxed out 9500LC. PM if interested. First PM gets it.


----------



## mp20748

I am so looking forward to this meet..










Now, where's Ken? Me, Clarence and JB could use a little more help for this event. And since so much is needed for the setup, it would be nice to have some calibration help.


Maybe some of the locals could take advantage of Ken's calibration skills and get him out here for the whole week leading up to the event. That way we can also have him here for the calibration.


----------



## Gino AUS

I can try and help... but what do I know?










Who will be doing colour calibration and using what?


----------



## Curt Palme

The only catch is, I'm up at 5 AM every day and crash about 9. So while I'd miss the 'PUKE AND RALLY' part, as an amateur keyboard player and drummer, if there are ANY musical instruments in the house, I'd sure make your morning hangover entertaining as hell..










I'll check into schedules and stuff tomorrow. No promises, but I'll try.


Curt


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gino AUS* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I can try and help... but what do I know?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Who will be doing colour calibration and using what?



I suggested to Mike that they hire Ken. Plus, he has experience with this now.


His setup on my meet was nothing short of Spectacular. Just awesome.


Cliff


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Curt Palme* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> The only catch is, I'm up at 5 AM every day and crash about 9. So while I'd miss the 'PUKE AND RALLY' part, as an amateur keyboard player and drummer, if there are ANY musical instruments in the house, I'd sure make your morning hangover entertaining as hell..
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'll check into schedules and stuff tomorrow. No promises, but I'll try.
> 
> 
> Curt



Schedule schmedule!!!!!!! See you there big dog!!!!


Cliff


----------



## Gino AUS




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I suggested to Mike that they hire Ken. Plus, he has experience with this now.
> 
> 
> His setup on my meet was nothing short of Spectacular. Just awesome.
> 
> 
> Cliff



It would be great to see the master at work!


----------



## Gino AUS




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gino AUS* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Now.. what's happened to Mr Sonneborn?



Spoke to Art, says he won't be attending... but he has graciously welcomed me to visit so am hoping I can fit it in after your place Cliff before the meet.


----------



## mark haflich

Gino. You can't "see" the master at work. He works in the dark!


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gino AUS* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Spoke to Art, says he won't be attending... but he has graciously welcomed me to visit so am hoping I can fit it in after your place Cliff before the meet.



Damn,


Wish I had the time. I'd go with you!


Cliff


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Curt Palme* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> The only catch is, I'm up at 5 AM every day and crash about 9. So while I'd miss the 'PUKE AND RALLY' part, as an amateur keyboard player and drummer, if there are ANY musical instruments in the house, I'd sure make your morning hangover entertaining as hell..



5am-9pm PST is 8am-midnight EST, so you could stick to your usual schedule and only miss the after-midnight BS sessions.


No drums, but there are 2 Strats, a bass, and an acoustic guitar hanging on the wall downstairs, plus a set of keyboards... my boys are just starting music lessons, so the soundproofing in the basement will REALLY pay off in the next few years.


Hmmm... maybe I should be smart and stay at Haflich's house myself.


----------



## D6500Ken




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mp20748* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Now, where's Ken? Me, Clarence and JB could use a little more help for this event. And since so much is needed for the setup, it would be nice to have some calibration help.
> 
> 
> Maybe some of the locals could take advantage of Ken's calibration skills and get him out here for the whole week leading up to the event. That way we can also have him here for the calibration.



I'm definitely up for it!



Ken Whitcomb


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mp20748* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Maybe some of the locals could take advantage of Ken's calibration skills and get him out here for the whole week leading up to the event. That way we can also have him here for the calibration.



That's a smart opportunity for people in OH, PA, WV, VA, MD looking for calibration.


----------



## Curt Palme




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *D6500Ken* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I'm definitely up for it!
> 
> 
> 
> Ken Whitcomb



OK, now _this_ I want to see. When do you figure you'd be there to do the setup/calibration?


----------



## D6500Ken




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Curt Palme* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> When do you figure you'd be there to do the setup/calibration?



Curt,


I'll have to get with Mike and figure out who'll be doing what in the setup, but I'd like to see it ready to go the morning before the event. Tweaking at Cliff's the day of was a little too last-minute for my taste.



Ken Whitcomb


----------



## stefuel

Wow, I might have to go just so I can learn how to use the PR-650 I won on e-bay for $65.00 plus shipping










CHip


----------



## mark haflich

Chip. Your mom would be proud to know you finally won something!


----------



## madpoet

Chip, we could do a little Ampro caravan on down there... drive one of your fuel trucks, use it as a bomb in case we think the blend has surpassed the beauty that is the Ampro.


----------



## Person99




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *madpoet* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> the beauty that is the Ampro.



Now you're becoming a comedian too?


----------



## madpoet

I'm just trying to let Chip down gently for when my MP modded 9500 gets here







I will say though that working in the Ampro case is by FAR the easiest time I've ever had. I really like the case design.


----------



## Gino AUS




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *D6500Ken* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Curt,
> 
> 
> I'll have to get with Mike and figure out who'll be doing what in the setup, but I'd like to see it ready to go the morning before the event. Tweaking at Cliff's the day of was a little too last-minute for my taste.
> 
> 
> 
> Ken Whitcomb



Grrrr... see Art's stack or see Ken at work on the Friday


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gino AUS* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Grrrr... see Art's stack or see Ken at work on the Friday



LOL, your gonna need some sleep after I keep you up all night drinking and bullschitting at my place!










Cliff


----------



## Art Sonneborn




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Damn,
> 
> 
> Wish I had the time. I'd go with you!
> 
> 
> Cliff



Yea ,the Margaritas will be flowing.




















Cliff,

Please PM me your address so I can send your HDDVD player back.


Art


----------



## stefuel




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *madpoet* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I'm just trying to let Chip down gently for when my MP modded 9500 gets here
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I will say though that working in the Ampro case is by FAR the easiest time I've ever had. I really like the case design.



"Let me down" I'm thrilled that that you feel justified. Of course, if it takes a modified 9500 to sway you from your 4600, that's cool. But, if you're so certain that you've made the right choice, load that 4600 in the back of my pick-up the same day your 9500 shows up. I want to snag it before you realize the mistake







When Should I show up?







I'll even let you keep the lenses.


Chip


----------



## madpoet

Chip, if I ever get rid of it I'll give it to you. Honestly.







If we had ever gotten the Marquee neck board mods to work for the 4600 to improve the bandwidth I think it would have really made the 4600 shine. But I never could manage 1080p out of mine.


----------



## mark haflich

Mark's place now appears booked with two guests. Time to tell my wife. If I ask first, she might say no. Now it's informatory rather than permission seeking. Life is good.


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Mark's place now appears booked with two guests. Time to tell my wife. If I ask first, she might say no. Now it's informatory rather than permission seeking. Life is good.



LOL!!! That's exactly how I did it with my wife for Gino's visit.

















Cliff


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Art Sonneborn* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Yea ,the Margaritas will be flowing.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cliff,
> 
> Please PM me your address so I can send your HDDVD player back.
> 
> 
> Art



That is one sexy dude in that pic. One hell of a drink to boot!!!!!










Cliffy


----------



## Gino AUS




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> LOL!!! That's exactly how I did it with my wife for Gino's visit.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cliff



Haha... good one Cliff. I'm thinking of doing the same for Art's visit. I'll book the flight, then inform her we are going to see yet another ht! That's 4 ultimate CRT ht's... she'll be thrilled


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gino AUS* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Haha... good one Cliff. I'm thinking of doing the same for Art's visit. I'll book the flight, then inform her we are going to see yet another ht! That's 4 ultimate CRT ht's... she'll be thrilled



LOL. She is going to fly back with home-theater-idas.










Cliff


----------



## Gino AUS

No problems... I have the cure... when we get home... more




BlendZilla DownUnder


----------



## mark haflich

More what? Sex?


----------



## bruce can

Is there still any room available ? It sounds like it is getting pretty full .


This is looking like it would be a pretty fun event to attend.



Bruce


----------



## Tim in Phoenix




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *bruce can* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Is there still any room available ? It sounds like it is getting pretty full .
> 
> 
> This is looking like it would be a pretty fun event to attend.
> 
> 
> 
> Bruce




There are a number of motels within fifteen miles........



Originally Posted by Clarence

Your best bet will probably be in Chantilly at the intersection of Rt 28 and Rt 50...


Hampton Inn:
http://hamptoninn.hilton.com/en/hp/...ctyhocn=WASCNHX 


Residence Inn:
http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/IADFX 


Fairfield Inn:
http://marriott.com/hotels/travel/i...port-chantilly/ 


TownPlace Suites:
http://marriott.com/hotels/travel/i...ites-chantilly/ 


Courtyard by Marriott:
http://marriott.com/hotels/travel/i...port-chantilly/


----------



## bruce can

Thanks Tim , I am pretty sure I could locate a hotel, But I was wondering more of room at the meet .


I am seriously considering coming down to see this blending rig and finally meet few familiar names.


Bruce


----------



## Curt Palme

If anyone is thinking of coming from the Wet Coast, Jetblue is the way to go. I saved $200+ over Expedia. THe only thing with JetsBlue is that they don't serve meals, saving money.


I'm hoping my garlic salami with goatscheese sandwich doesn't affect anyone...










(I haven't actually booked yet, but wil any day).


----------



## mark haflich

I think he is asking is there room at the event to attend?


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

For those tuning in late, our DVX "BlendZilla" processor is from Analog France, a broadcast grade switcher with some interesting capabilities; eight inputs including SDI and HDSDI, dual transcoders, and dual exotic scalers that can redraw a 16:9 source into squarish "halves" that seamlessly overlap at the screen:











































This technology, known as edge blending, enables us to light up the full height of the phosphor and the use of larger screens in the range of nine to twelve foot width.


Paired with two nine inch CRTs, figure on the equivalent of over 500 ANSI lumens!!!


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Curt Palme* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> If anyone is thinking of coming from the Wet Coast, Jetblue is the way to go.


 http://southwest.com is dirt cheap into the nearest airport... Washington-Dulles (IAD)... Cliff & Arli only paid $49 from Chicago.


----------



## Audiophil

Wow, Curt will be there... I should go and meet the lengendary AVS CRT fixer.







I sold Curt a Sony 1031Q many, many years ago... hope it got retubed and is being enjoyed by someone.










Do you all need anything for the meet?


----------



## Gino AUS

Have we got a master list of attendees?


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gino AUS* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Have we got a master list of attendees?



William Kosmann (host)

Mike Parker

John JBJR

Curt Palme

Gino & guest

Clarence

Cliff

Arli (bomrat)

Rajdude

emdawgz (John E)

wmbelcher

Ken Whitcomb

Mark Haflich

NautikaL

Audiophil


Blendzilla

HD-DVD: Toshiba, XBox360

Blu-Ray

DTheater/DVHS

HTPC: TS files, USB HDDVD drive, & MCE2005 streaming HD X360, homemade HDDVD

12' SMX and WilsonArt screens


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> William Kosmann (host)
> 
> Mike Parker
> 
> John JBJR
> 
> Curt Palme
> 
> Gino & guest
> 
> Clarence
> 
> Cliff
> 
> Arli (bomrat)
> 
> Rajdude
> 
> emdawgz
> 
> wmbelcher
> 
> Ken Whitcomb
> 
> Mark Haflich
> 
> NautikaL
> 
> Audiophil
> 
> 
> Blendzilla
> 
> HD-DVD: Toshiba, XBox360
> 
> Blu-Ray
> 
> DTheater/DVHS
> 
> HTPC: TS files, USB HDDVD drive, & MCE2005 streaming HD X360, homemade HDDVD
> 
> 12' SMX and WilsonArt screens



Oh boy is there some work to do. Remember big dog?































THANK GOD I'M JUST A VISITOR!!!!!!










Can't wait to come and spend some time with one of my best buds.......


Cliffy


----------



## Gino AUS

Anyone else bringing their partners along?


How long will Ken be hanging around? I'll only be getting there on Saturday, will be going to Art's Friday evening.


----------



## Belcherwm

I was thinking of bringing my wife by so she can see that there are folks out there that have a much more serious HT addiction than me.


Let me know if you need an extra set of hands getting this setup. I'd really like to see how you put the SMX screen together. I'm not in the same league as the rest of you guys, but I'm only 15 minutes away on the other side of Bull Run Mountain. And you can call me Bill Belcher instead of wmbelcher.


----------



## mark haflich

Mark Connor is coming and staying at my place so he should be added to the list.


I am thinking of have a barbecue for the whole group at my place on the lake, logistically though I am about 1 hour away. Easy drive though.


I probably won't be attending the actual showing though. Political reasons unfortunately but fortunately not involving Tim, Curt, Ken, or the host.


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> 
> I probably won't be attending the actual showing though. Political reasons unfortunately but fortunately not involving Tim, Curt, Ken, or the host.













Why not, I think it would be good to have as many people as possible there. Unless of course some one invited those folk from the white house, then I'll not be there either.


I'm looking forward to this event, and I'm expecting it to be a great event. I could not see any reason to not show up, especially since it will be a good opportunity to be around some great CRT folk. If there's anyone interested in coming that has a political agenda or anything else that could hinder the spirit of this event, they should not come. But since I don't know of anyone that would have bad motives, then all should be well.


----------



## NautikaL

It's still on Sunday as well? Saturday's going to be pretty busy unfortunately.


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Jeff


Sunday also, that is the plan. William will determine start times and provide directions a few weeks out.


----------



## Gino AUS




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Did I say something wrong????????
> 
> 
> Cliffy



Ummmmm


----------



## mark haflich

Tim. It would be helpful to edit your frst post and insert the dates and time, yada yada.


Thanks for the post Mike.


----------



## JBJR

Hey Tim, it would be nice to see your name on the list also! Would like to finally meet you!


John


----------



## mark haflich

His name and picture is on display at my local post office.


----------



## Tim in Phoenix




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> His name and picture is on display at my local post office.




And I was not up for Postal Carrier of the Month........!


----------



## bomrat

cliff, a spectator, he'll need beer stat... can't wait to get out for a mini trip.


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *bomrat* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> cliff, a spectator, he'll need beer stat... can't wait to get out for a mini trip.



LOL. Busy weekend for sure for both of us. Gino and his lady on Thursday night. No sleep. Leave for Clarence on Friday. No sleep. Meet on saturday. No sleep......


My liver is going to be trashed and my brain mush.










Damn, I'm so glad I'm not hosting this!!!!!!!

















Cliffy


----------



## Gino AUS

Yes, this is going to be nuts... long day flying from Andres' in Spain (Marquee Blend), Cliff's on Thursday and no sleep (G90 stack), then Arts on Friday and no sleep (G90 stack), then Will's on Saturday and no sleep (Marquee Blend), then Will's on Sunday and no sleep again!


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gino AUS* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Yes, this is going to be nuts... long day flying from Andres' in Spain (Marquee Blend), Cliff's on Thursday and no sleep (G90 stack), then Arts on Friday and no sleep (G90 stack), then Will's on Saturday and no sleep (Marquee Blend), then Will's on Sunday and no sleep again!



Isn't it going to be great?!?










I can't wait! I wish I could hang at Andres' place with you.


Cliff


----------



## mark haflich

Cliffy. Why can't you be accurate in your posts? Common.


Your liver IS ALREADY trashed and your brain IS ALREADY mush!


----------



## antorsae

I am going to pick up a set of HD10F lenses I received today. I will try to get another set before Gino's visit; but at any rate we probably will compare HD10F to GT17 (and even to HD10 if time allows).


For me this is the culmination of 2 years of planning and waiting. I am already working hard on the setup (dedicated bat cave, treated for sound insulation and proofing -it even has a special acoustic door-) but I am refraining of posting any pics until IT'S DONE!!! The only thing I can say is that if the 5 meter wide screen looks bright (even if I overdrive the tubes hard) it will be amazing!


----------



## Gino AUS

Those HD10F's should help with the blend. The HFQ900's certainly helped with my focus from edge to edge.


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Cliffy. Why can't you be accurate in your posts? Common.
> 
> 
> Your liver IS ALREADY trashed and your brain IS ALREADY mush!



Nah, only half trashed and half mush. This still puts me in the healthy and smart category!!!!!!










Cliffy


----------



## Curt Palme




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Nah, only half trashed and half mush. This still puts me in the healthy and smart category!!!!!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cliffy



May I correct slightly?


This still puts me in the 'ability to drink more beer and smoke more pot' category!!!!!!


----------



## Gino AUS

So have you booked your flight yet Curt?


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Guys!


I hope to have times and directions posted here by the weekend.....William?


----------



## wkosmann

Dear All East Coast BlendZilla Meet Potential Attendees:


Lets start the meet at 2:00 PM on Saturday, May 5th, going to whenever. Home Theater has no windows, so you won't even know its daylight.


Lets start the meet up again at 2:00 PM on Sunday, May 6th, going to whenever.


I will probably be taking Thursday, May 3rd, Friday, May 4th and Monday, May 7th off, so early arrivers, late stayers shall be accommodated!!!


The meet address (for all you Map Questers out there) is:


37523 Maple Shade Lane

Middleburg, Virginia 20117


Directions;


If coming from the North, travel down I 95 to I 495 West, to Rt 50 west (30 miles) to Sam Fred Road north, (2 miles) to Maple Shade Lane. 2 story brick Georgian Colonial exterior shell to the Home Theater.


If coming from the South, travel up I 95 to I 495 West, to Rt 50 west (30 miles) to Sam Fred Road north, (2 miles) to Maple Shade Lane. 2 story brick Georgian Colonial exterior shell to the Home Theater.


If coming from the West, make it to I 81, exit on Rt. 50 east (30 miles) to Sam Fred Road north, ( 2 miles) to Maple Shade Lane. 2 story brick Georgian Colonial exterior shell to the Home Theater.


If travelling from the East, get onto the Washington Capitol beltway going your favorite direction. Travel around to Rt 50 west (30 miles) to Sam Fred Road north, 2 miles to Maple Shade Lane. 2 story brick Georgian Colonial exterior shell to the Home Theater.


If flying in to Washington Dulles airport, and renting a car, exit main airport exit, south on Rt. 28, west on Rt 50 (20 miles) to Sam Fred Road north, ( 2 miles) to Maple Shade Lane. 2 story brick Georgian Colonial exterior shell to the Home Theater.


Those local coming down Rt. 15 should turn right onto Lime Kiln Road, travel to end of road, turn left on Snickersville Pike, go about 1 mile, turn right on Sam Fred Road, go about 1.5 miles, left on Maple Shade lane. You know the rest.


I read every post in the East Coast BlendZilla Meet thread in all 3 forums. Following are those individuals who have said the are coming, or expressed an interest in possibly coming. Anyone else who from here on in says they are coming will be added to the list.


William (the host), plus wife (Cheryl)

Mike Parker (with Video Chain magic, super VIMs, super neckboards, setup)

Mysterious Analog Way VP

Clarence (with HD DVD, Bluray, DTheater, HTPC sources)

Gino and Jessica

NauticaL

Wallace123456 (Wallace) (with BBQ, Victory Beer(?), Beef Jerky, Margaritas(?))

Belcherwm (Bill)

Ecrabb

Emdawqz1 (John) (with Beef Chili, hot wings, mild wings, etc.)

Z-Photo

JBJR (John) (with 1080P video cables)

Overclrckr (Cliff) (with Beef Jerky, BBQ(?))

Bomrat (Arli)

dc-pilgrim

rajdude (with food (?))

Audiophil (with food (?))

Curt Palme

Ken Whitcomb (with color calibration(?))

Stefuel

Bruce Can ?

Mark Conner

Mark Haflich ?

MadHatter ?


Mark it would be realy great if you could make it.


Tim, bring the cats. I have lots of room for them!!!


If anyone else is coming, please let me know. Everyone is welcome either day or both days.


There will be door prizes. Movie posters, perhaps some HD DVDs, some extra Extron PC interfaces, SmX samples, and maybe some other goodies.


William


----------



## dc_pilgrim

Would love to come, but my schedule isn't lining up. Have a blast all, post pics. Thanks, Dave


----------



## mark haflich

Looks like about 25 coming with 4 being owners and set up people for the sytem. One industry pro and three who already have stacked systems. How many coming would really consider doing a CRT edge blending stack now based on being blown away at what they might see? Why isn't Tim on the list and time to remove DC Pilgrim.


Mrk and Ken. Please let me know your travel schedules.


----------



## nashou66

You guys should invite Jim form Lumagen ...maybe they'll add that feature to their new scaler...i have been trying to get a buzz going on the processor forum .


Athanasios


love this new CRT addiction


----------



## Tim in Phoenix




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Why isn't Tim on the list..........



I have unavoidable responsibilities in Phoenix. The keg of beer is calling to me though.......


----------



## Gary Murrell

boy I would love to make it to this!


-Gary


----------



## mark haflich

Gary. I am going to Louisville and Lexington this Weds to Monday morning. Quick flight and cheap SWA from RT Louisville to BWI or even Dulles, a little more expensive. We will find space to put you up if you want to come. Let me know.


----------



## mark haflich

Should be lots of flights out of Louisville because of people coming in for the Derby. You'd be going against the flow.


----------



## wallace1234




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gary Murrell* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> boy I would love to make it to this!
> 
> 
> -Gary



Gary,

Come on down for the show. Would be great to meet you.


William,

Since I'm right up the road in Purcellville, let me know if you need help with anything on the Friday before. I'll be taking the day off working on the BBQ and beef jerkey.


wallace


----------



## mp20748

Ah.. the uniqueness of CRT. That ability to get down into the mud without getting dirty..


----------



## mark haflich

Just one time I am gonna watch that DVD and the last torpedo will miss. And that lady in the Fifth Element will have gotten a breast implant.


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Just one time I am gonna watch that DVD and ... that lady in the Fifth Element will have gotten a breast implant.



I borrowed this picture from thebland's discussion about racks...
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...post10239544


----------



## mark haflich

Uh uh. Not enough nipple. NEXT


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I borrowed this picture from thebland's discussion about racks...
> http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...post10239544


































I'd hit it..........


----------



## madpoet

And bounce off


----------



## Tim in Phoenix




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *madpoet* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> And bounce off




Hehehe


Possibly the Funniest Thing I have ever seen here.........


----------



## stefuel

Not that I wouldn't mind going but, how the hell did my name get on that list? I didn't sign up for that. I'll be working that weekend. Besides, if I were there, it would just be spoiled by Pete and I getting into the whole AmPro thing










Chip


----------



## wallace1234




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I borrowed this picture from thebland's discussion about racks...
> http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...post10239544




Damn! Damn! Damn!!


As Tiny Elvis would say, (remember Tiny Elvis from Saturday Night Live?) "Thats HUGE, man, thats HUGE!!"


wallace


----------



## mp20748




----------



## overclkr

Absolutely Stunning........


Very nice big dog.


Cliff


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

William


Do you have any adds to the Guest List this week?


----------



## nashou66

Wish i could join the fun! But here is an Idea! I am trying to get a review unit/s of tvones Scalers that do Blending, After your meet bring the gear up to Buffalo and we can do a shoot out with the blendzilla and Tvones units!!!!My room is 16x30 no windows and my fridge is empty just waiting to be filled with beer!

























just a thought guys !!


here is the thread i started on the tvones:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=832362 


Athansios (Tom to make it eaiser for everyone







)



Love this new crt Addiction i have !


----------



## Belcherwm

Wallace,


You have a PM. Drop me a line.


----------



## mp20748

This time I'm using an 02 (50-2035-02P) VIM.


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Mike


What's cooking besides.......ham?


----------



## wallace1234

U got it.


wallace




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Belcherwm* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Wallace,
> 
> 
> You have a PM. Drop me a line.


----------



## wkosmann

I will attempt to update the attendance list about once a week. I have removed Stefuel and dc_pligrim, and added the people at the bottom of the list.


Following is my best current guess as to who is coming:


William (the host), plus wife (Cheryl)

Mike Parker (with Video Chain magic, super VIMs, super neckboards, setup, lowly 8" Marquee)

Mysterious Analog Way VP

Clarence (with HD DVD, Bluray, DTheater, HTPC sources)

Gino and Jessica

NauticaL

Wallace123456 (Wallace) (with BBQ, Victory Beer(?), Beef Jerky, Margaritas(?))

Belcherwm (Bill) (helping Wallace with the Victory Beer)

Ecrabb

Emdawqz1 (John) (with Beef Chili, hot wings, mild wings, etc.)

Z-Photo

JBJR (John) (with 1080P video cables, setup)

Overclrckr (Cliff) (with Beef Jerky, BBQ(?))

Bomrat (Arli)

rajdude (with food (?))

Audiophil (with food (?))

Curt Palme

Ken Whitcomb (with color calibration)

Bruce Can ?

Mark Conner

Mark Haflich

MadHatter ?


Bill Lackner (and Jackie)

CRT Ben (and Cheryl)

Edie Sears

Allen1994

Gary Murrell ?


----------



## mp20748

And don't leave out my lowly 8" Marquee. It was just upgraded with my final work on yesterday.


It asked me if there would be a DIGITAL at the meet...


*1920x1080P/60hz - Xbox 360 w/HD-DVD - Marquee 8500*
 


[


----------



## cencio




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mp20748* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> And don't leave out my lowly 8" Marquee. It was just upgraded with my final work on yesterday.
> 
> 
> It asked me if there would be a DIGITAL at the meet...
> 
> 
> *1920x1080P/60hz - Xbox 360 w/HD-DVD - Marquee 8500*



Hi Mike,

please, can you remember me the title of the film of this picture with Jennifer Connely?

Thanks


----------



## madpoet

Looks like Hulk.


----------



## nashou66

I just want to send out my sympathies to those of you in virginia for the massacre that occured at Virginia Tech. I hope that those of you who live there or have children or family that attends the college that every one of your loved ones are ok and That the nations thoughts and prayers go out to you.



Athansios


----------



## Belcherwm

Monday was surreal. Just numbers that kept getting bigger as the morning went on.


Tuesday the numbers became people. A cousin of a coworker, a family member of someone at my daughter's school. Our youth pastor, down there for the weekend, calling to let us know he is OK.


The details coming out about the victims show how amazing the students and faculty of this school are.


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Hello


The entire planet mourns the loss and it never makes sense, a kid just snapped.........


----------



## wkosmann

My son Sean goes to Virginia Tech. He was outside the classroom building where all the shooting occured, attending a morning class that was meeting outdoors, when the shooting was going on. The gunman must have walked by that group of students on his way into the building. If he had decided to start shooting before he went into the building.............


Sean was one of the students interviewed by Charles Gibson. The interviews were shown this evening on the ABC news.


No parent should ever outlive one of his or her children.


----------



## Gino AUS




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *wkosmann* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> No parent should ever outlive one of his or her children.



This sort of senseless act should just not happen... period


----------



## wallace1234




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *wkosmann* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> My son Sean goes to Virginia Tech. He was outside the classroom building where all the shooting occured, attending a morning class that was meeting outdoors, when the shooting was going on. The gunman must have walked by that group of students on his way into the building. If he had decided to start shooting before he went into the building.............
> 
> 
> Sean was one of the students interviewed by Charles Gibson. The interviews were shown this evening on the ABC news.
> 
> 
> No parent should ever outlive one of his or her children.



Glad to hear your son is ok. Your family must have been on edge.


We used to take our daughter to VT for Loudoun Valley Marching band competitions. Beautiful place Blacksburg is. Horrible, horrible situation yesterday.


A lot of her friends go there now. Even though she doesn't attend there we had to call yesterday to hear her voice.


----------



## wkosmann

Gino;


I completely agree with you.


Wallace;


Thank you for the kind supportive thoughts.


William


----------



## overclkr

Ok, I really feel bad for that whole situation, and am sorry for the losses, BUT, THE ZILLA MEET IS COMING QUICK!!!!!


Time to put on our happy faces and Mike Parker better make me go HOLY SCCHHIITT that is ONE HELL OF A PICTURE when I come or I am going to force no less than 6 beers at once through a beer bong down his throat and make him scream I LOVE G90'S!!!!!!!!































Yo, check it:






































Cliffy


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Time to put on our happy faces and Mike Parker better make me go HOLY SCCHHIITT that is ONE HELL OF A PICTURE
> 
> 
> Cliffy



I'll do my best at setting up those Marquees. Not that I'm concerned about their ability. That's the least of my concerns. I'm even taking down my lowly 8" Marquee and bringing it to the meet.


Those are rather impressive images you've posted there, and though I've shut down the screen-shot machine until after the meet. Your images compelled me to fire up my lowly 8" Marquee and take few more:

*1920x1080P @ 60hz - Xbox 360/MP-1.4*
 

*1920x1080P @ 72hz - HTPC/Gforce6600/MP-1.4*
 


We're gonna Wow Ya..!


----------



## rajdude

WOW ! Cliff

These are some REALLY impressive screenshots!

Tell you what... sometimes I feel that these screenshots look better than actual projected pics of G90s!


Any Mike...your work is awesome! Getting a 8" Marquee to do that, man, you are something! Would it be possible to see your work in person someday?

I live nearby.


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *rajdude* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Would it be possible to see your work in person someday?
> 
> I live nearby.



Sure, just let me know when you'll like to stop by. I'll have that 8" fired up for you..)


I live about two miles from Andrews AFB. One mile outside of the beltway towards Waldorf.


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mp20748* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I'll do my best at setting up those Marquees. Not that I'm concerned about their ability. That's the least of my concerns. I'm even taking down my lowly 8" Marquee and bringing it to the meet.
> 
> 
> Those are rather impressive images you've posted there, and though I've shut down the screen-shot machine until after the meet. Your images compelled me to fire up my lowly 8" Marquee and take few more:
> 
> *1920x1080P @ 60hz - Xbox 360/MP-1.4*
> 
> 
> *1920x1080P @ 72hz - HTPC/Gforce6600/MP-1.4*
> 
> 
> 
> We're gonna Wow Ya..!



Cant wait big dog!!!! I fly out in 2 weeks!










I promise I wont bring a BEER BONG.










Cliffy


----------



## mark haflich

A Sunday start at 2pm doesn't give attendees with 5 pm or 6 pm BWI airport departures on Sunday really any time to attend on Sunday. Any chance on starting on Sunday say about 11AM? This would allow 4 or so hours attendance on Sunday. How late Sat night will you go. It looks like I will only be able to attend Saturday night after 7 pm or so or early Sunday because of the need to work in my store on Sat afternoon and get other attendees back to their airports yada yada.and on Sunday.


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *rajdude* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Any Mike...your work is awesome! Getting a 8" Marquee to do that,



Oh, that's nothing. Later today when it's dark again. I'll do another round of screen-shots. And I'll also throw in a few test patterns, that will really show what this PJ will do.


And when we get to the meet, I'll also show the same patterns, and will show how well it will truly resolve above 200mhz..











and while I'm at it. I think it's only fair to give Scott (tse) his props for his help on the bandwidth thing... we're off the chain..










Wait till you see what 1080P fully resolved really looks like..


----------



## madpoet

Just tell me that my boards are on their way Mike


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *madpoet* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Just tell me that my boards are on their way Mike



Will do.


So far I have 6 packages to get ready before you, and they have not left here yet. So I'm seriously busy working on getting things out of the way so I can focus on the meet. And if I'm not able to get them out today, I'll let you know by this evening.


----------



## nashou66

So Mike, are you shipping out your mods now or in the order stage?


Athansios


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *nashou66* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> So Mike, are you shipping out your mods now or in the order stage?
> 
> 
> Athansios



We're not taking any orders for Marquee mods until after the meet. What I'm sending out is all previous work, that I want to get out of the way to focus on the upcoming meet.


More likely when we do get back to taking mod orders, it will happen based on boards we have already in stock. In other words, we plan to do exchanges only.


So for now, I have a box of boards that I'll be pre-modding to exchange only. And from there, someone else will be handling the actual board work to the mods.


Though it seems simple to do. The level of re-work that I've been doing to these boards is very stressing. And at times it can take upwards of 7 to 8 hours to fully complete a set. That of course includes pre-testing and post testing after the work is done. I'm just not up to doing all that anymore, so I've gotten some competent help. And though most don't know it, most of the boards have issues that would not allow them to handle the bandwidth increase, so at times you have to do a bit of HF tweaking. And at other times, you'll have to swap out a board.


----------



## mark haflich

Thanks for the info.


----------



## nashou66

Yeah thanks mike! I'm not in hurry any how right now summer is approaching fast and i have alot of work to do in my back yard(2.6 Acres), after the suprise snow storm of oct 2006. I have literaly tons of tree parts all over the place along with complete 70-90 foot trees down. also i am getting in that refrence 8 PJ in and i might have you mod those so you can maybe give us some idea of what they actualy moded at PSI. Now evryone be nice i dont want to start another fight here !







Wish i could come down and meet you all but owning diner doesnt leave you an option for having weekends off!


hope you all have a blast !


Athanasios


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *nashou66* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> i am getting in that refrence 8 PJ in and i might have you mod those so you can maybe give us some idea of what they actualy moded at PSI
> 
> Athanasios



I already know what they were doing. and have been on the phone with those guys about what they were doing.


One of their customers sent me a set of boards from a projector he purchased from them and was having problems with it. He paid an additional $1000.00 for the mods.


I won't say what I saw, or did not see. And since we had an understanding from that phone call, it's not something I would like to talk about today.


Sure wish you could make it down, and since not this same. let us know if you'll be in the area in the future.


----------



## wkosmann

Dear All;


It is time for the weekly East Coast BlendZilla Meet Attendance List maintenance.


Following is my best current guess as to who is coming:


William (the host), plus wife (Cheryl)

Mike Parker (with Video Chain magic, super VIMs, super neckboards, setup, lowly 8" Marquee)

Mysterious Analog Way VP

Clarence (with HD DVD, Bluray, DTheater, HTPC sources)

Gino and Jessica

NauticaL

Wallace123456 (Wallace) (with BBQ, Victory Beer(?), Beef Jerky, Margaritas(?))

Belcherwm (Bill) (helping Wallace with the Victory Beer)

Ecrabb

Emdawqz1 (John) (with Beef Chili, hot wings, mild wings, etc.)

Z-Photo

JBJR (John) (with 1080P video cables, setup)

Overclrckr (Cliff) (with Beef Jerky, BBQ(?))

Bomrat (Arli)

rajdude (with food (?))

Audiophil (with food (?))

Ken Whitcomb (with color calibration)

Bruce Can ?

Mark Conner

Mark Haflich

MadHatter ?


Bill Lackner (and Jackie)

CRT Ben (and Cheryl)

Edie Sears

Allen1994

Gary Murrell ?


beerbujt (Steve)


Curt Palme has been removed, and Steve (beerbujt) has been added.


I am about to post in the digital projector forum, in a kind and humane way, inviting anyone who would like to come and see CRT at the pinnacle of its current capability. I will also ask if anyone would like to bring a JVC RS1, for comparison purposes.


Mark H, we can start the Sunday Meet any time. Lets set an 11:00 AM start time now, and discuss it on Saturday at the Meet.


William


----------



## wkosmann

Dear All;


Some info on what is being prepared for the Meet, just a little under 2 weeks hence:

*Sources*


Sony SAT HD300 ATSC/NTSC/DirecTV tuner, modified by Mike Parker

Xbox 360 with HD DVD drive, modified by Mike Parker

Possibly an HTPC, for upscaling SD DVD to 1080P, video card mod'd by Mike Parker


Additional HD DVD players (?) See below.

Bluray players (?) See below.

*Projectors*


2 Marquee 9500LC Extreme Projectors

1 Marquee 8500LC Extreme Projector, for backup and comparison purposes

1 JVC RS1 (?)


The 9500LC Extreme Projectors have the following characteristics:

MP Version 2+ neckboard and 50-2035-02/03 VIM mods

MP other selected mods

New CRTs in one 9500LC

New green CRT in the other 9500LC

New CRTs properly cured

Red Color Correction Element

New glycol

Belden video cables between the neckboards and VIM

Internal video cables rerouted

All glue removed from CRT magnetics

Delta HFQ900 lenses


Both projectors ceiling mounted using Uni-strut and Electrohome ceiling mounts

*Screen*


12 foot wide 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio SmX acoustically transparent screen material

SmX Pro-Line Extruded Aluminum screen frame (One of the first to ship.)

*House*


All video cables are Belden 1694, with BNC connectors

Added three 8' long copper ground rods to existing galvanized steel ground rod

Soldered ground cable between all 4 ground rods


I currently only have the Sony SAT HD300 ATSC/NTSC/DirecTV tuner, the Xbox 360 with HD DVD add on drive, and the SD DVD upscaling HTPC sources. *This is a special request for Meet attendees to bring only one of any of the following:*


HD DVD Player

Toshiba HD-XA2


Bluray Player

Pioneer BHD-1 BD

Sony BDP-S1

Samsung BDP1200

Panasonic DMP-BD10

PS3


Combo HD DVD/Bluray DVD Player

LG BH100


The intent would be to have one of each of the above available, for comparison on the Reference BlendZilla/Marquee Extreme projection setup, to judge for ourselves the differences in source quality. Anyone willing to bring an HD DVD or Bluray player, please post in this thread, so everyone knows.


In addition, I have contacted Pixel Magic about supplying a loaner Crystalio II scalar. No response yet. If anyone has one of these, and would be willing to bring it to the Meet for experimentation, that would be most helpful.


Finally, I have approximately 30 HD DVDs, but no Bluray DVDs. I will post the list of HD DVDs that I own. Any one having a favorite reference HD DVD not on the list, or any reference Bluray DVD is welcome to bring it to the Meet for comparison purposes.


William


----------



## overclkr

I'll bring my Blue Ray discs with me William. Can't wait to see that frame. It looks bad ass.


Cliff


----------



## Gary Murrell

oh God! I didn't know it was a 2.35:1 setup










I would love to come and bring a Crystalio 3800 demo with me, I need to contact my pixel magic rep on that, maybe my XA2, BDP-S1 and SDI modified Oppo 981 also










-Gary


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gary Murrell* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> oh God! I didn't know it was a 2.35:1 setup
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I would love to come and bring a Crystalio 3800 demo with me, I need to contact my pixel magic rep on that, maybe my XA2, BDP-S1 and SDI modified Oppo 981 also
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -Gary



Gary,


2:35 or 2:40 yeild the absolute best results when blending for phosphor usage. It's a must.


Cliffy


----------



## JBJR

I'm waiting to hear from Moome, he is going to try and get me a card and external box for the meet for us to demo. Still has a few bugs to work out, and said it my be tight!


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *JBJR* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I'm waiting to hear from Moome, he is going to try and get me a card and external box for the meet for us to demo. Still has a few bugs to work out, and said it my be tight!



I'm looking forward to this..


----------



## mark haflich

Not to cast a negative, but speaking as one who has hosted a few of these and attended a few others, it will be next to impossible to experiment with the wide variety of sources, processors, and inputs planned for this meet. In order to correctly set up and calibrate things, everything must be in place. You can't willy nilly unplug and change things. Everything changes. You must set up each source, each input yada yada and then create a memorary and then one for each resolution. Just calibrating all this stuff would take days and Ken W's bill would be absolute black (out of sght). remember you will need two Moome casrds because there will be two projectors. Wanna set one up for the card and another for the box? Not me. I think you will quickly find out the need to simplify if one is trying to show what two projectors and a Blendzilla can do. My bet is that moome's stuff will not be ready in time and if it blows something, we may just end up slamming beers and getting lap dances.


----------



## Gary Murrell

MMMM a big kahuna burger










-Gary


----------



## cencio

I'm sorry to enter in your Blendzilla Meeting, where i would be, but with the only Tim's Marquee 9500 LC Ultra i've obteined these images.


At the first these are the images that came from Toshiba HD XE1 via HDMI to the Marquee.

King King HD- DVD....






































.....and Training Day.











Then these are images that came from a simple DVD played by SDI output of my Denon DVDA11, processed by Teranex Mini in HD-SDI and converted in RGBHV signal by AJA HD10 C2.....

Profumo...







































I put them under you qualified judgement.

I hope you like it.


----------



## rajdude

(I know I'll get flames for posting this about screenshots but just have to







)


I think your images are very greenish.


It seems to me that at low IREs your PJ is very greenish. At high IREs the PJ is much better.


Are the images accurate (color wise) when you see them on the screen?

Do the dark images look so greenish? if yes, you need to calibrate your PJ.



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *cencio* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I'm sorry to enter in your Blendzilla Meeting, where i would be, but with the only Tim's Marquee 9500 LC Ultra i've obteined these images.
> 
> 
> At the first these are the images that came from Toshiba HD XE1 via HDMI to the Marquee.
> 
> King King HD- DVD....
> 
> 
> 
> I put them under you qualified judgement.
> 
> I hope you like it.


----------



## rajdude

William,

I notice "food?" against my name. I am up for it!

Anything particular people are craving for?


By the way, my wife is a good cook, anybody likes Indian food?


(although, I havent asked her yet







)


















> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *wkosmann* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Dear All;
> 
> 
> It is time for the weekly East Coast BlendZilla Meet Attendance List maintenance.
> 
> 
> Following is my best current guess as to who is coming:
> 
> 
> William (the host), plus wife (Cheryl)
> 
> Mike Parker (with Video Chain magic, super VIMs, super neckboards, setup, lowly 8" Marquee)
> 
> Mysterious Analog Way VP
> 
> Clarence (with HD DVD, Bluray, DTheater, HTPC sources)
> 
> Gino and Jessica
> 
> NauticaL
> 
> Wallace123456 (Wallace) (with BBQ, Victory Beer(?), Beef Jerky, Margaritas(?))
> 
> Belcherwm (Bill) (helping Wallace with the Victory Beer)
> 
> Ecrabb
> 
> Emdawqz1 (John) (with Beef Chili, hot wings, mild wings, etc.)
> 
> Z-Photo
> 
> JBJR (John) (with 1080P video cables, setup)
> 
> Overclrckr (Cliff) (with Beef Jerky, BBQ(?))
> 
> Bomrat (Arli)
> 
> rajdude (with food (?))
> 
> Audiophil (with food (?))
> 
> Ken Whitcomb (with color calibration)
> 
> Bruce Can ?
> 
> Mark Conner
> 
> Mark Haflich
> 
> MadHatter ?
> 
> 
> Bill Lackner (and Jackie)
> 
> CRT Ben (and Cheryl)
> 
> Edie Sears
> 
> Allen1994
> 
> Gary Murrell ?
> 
> 
> beerbujt (Steve)
> 
> 
> Curt Palme has been removed, and Steve (beerbujt) has been added.
> 
> 
> I am about to post in the digital projector forum, in a kind and humane way, inviting anyone who would like to come and see CRT at the pinnacle of its current capability. I will also ask if anyone would like to bring a JVC RS1, for comparison purposes.
> 
> 
> Mark H, we can start the Sunday Meet any time. Lets set an 11:00 AM start time now, and discuss it on Saturday at the Meet.
> 
> 
> William


----------



## cencio




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *rajdude* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> (I know I'll get flames for posting this about screenshots but just have to
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> )
> 
> 
> I think your images are very greenish.
> 
> 
> It seems to me that at low IREs your PJ is very greenish. At high IREs the PJ is much better.
> 
> 
> Are the images accurate (color wise) when you see them on the screen?
> 
> Do the dark images look so greenish? if yes, you need to calibrate your PJ.



Sir,

in this thread you speak about two proj in stack with the help of Blendzilla.

The only reason of my post is to display images that came from one only proj to show the details of my system.

In this case i have a Nikon D50 that have only the ISO 200 minimum regulation.

After it doesn't register really the colour that i normally see. So the images appear as based on green colour.

Thanks for your judgement.


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Hello


Very crisp in detail, nice work!!!!!!


----------



## cencio

Hello Tim,

i'm glad for your compliments.

Really i'm searching for more brightness. I'm working on the G2 blue level and on the blue drive to have a bright image vìbut in the same time a very black.

Best Regards


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *cencio* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> In this case i have a Nikon D50 that have only the ISO 200 minimum regulation. After it doesn't register really the colour that i normally see. So the images appear as based on green colour.
> 
> Thanks for your judgement.



It's going be difficult to reproduce the exact colors, so we tend to look at the things that you did show well, and that's the detail.


However, when going after detail try and bring out background detail, because that is when you get into the performance of your system. Anything up close is always easy, mainly because foreground scenes require very little bandwidth to reproduce.


Since you have KONG. Take a look at the scenes I have in the images (chapter number showing), and post back those of similar scenes to capture background detail.


btw, what rate were your images taking at. The ones with the Terenex looks really good to not be HD.


----------



## cencio

Thanks Mike!

I will practice your words.


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *cencio* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Thanks Mike!
> 
> I will practice your words.



It's not going to be easy, but stay with it and you should get better results. If you'll feel better not posting in this thread, you can post them over on the "screenshots" thread that I started on Curt's site.


----------



## mp20748

I'll post them again. I've removed one and added another, this one is from Chapter 32


----------



## JBJR

Sorry Mark, your negativity can't pull us down














We already have this planned out. We will be using a Ultra high bandwidth MP moded Marquee switcher














! So, we will only need one of each, plenty of inputs to play with. Oh, and you know Mike he'll take care of any input source to get it right







!






> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Not to cast a negative, but speaking as one who has hosted a few of these and attended a few others, it will be next to impossible to experiment with the wide variety of sources, processors, and inputs planned for this meet. In order to correctly set up and calibrate things, everything must be in place. You can't willy nilly unplug and change things. Everything changes. You must set up each source, each input yada yada and then create a memorary and then one for each resolution. Just calibrating all this stuff would take days and Ken W's bill would be absolute black (out of sght). remember you will need two Moome casrds because there will be two projectors. Wanna set one up for the card and another for the box? Not me. I think you will quickly find out the need to simplify if one is trying to show what two projectors and a Blendzilla can do. My bet is that moome's stuff will not be ready in time and if it blows something, we may just end up slamming beers and getting lap dances.


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Hello


DVX source setup takes maybe five minutes each, eight in, another switcher just makes it harder.......


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mp20748* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I'll post them again. I've removed one and added another, this one is from Chapter 32



Oh my God Mike. Those look like horse crap.


Let me dig up a couple for you:















































Oh hell yeah.

















G90 mod what????


----------



## overclkr

Remember guys, the UTMOST attention at this point MUST be applied to the picture in the meet (total light control) AND the forum.


The fun begins. MUST MAKE SURE THAT KEN TAKES CARE OF THE SETUP!
























Cliffy


----------



## overclkr



















































Cliffy


----------



## D6500Ken

I love the "cat that ate the canary" grin on that guy standing next to Mr. Incredible!



Ken Whitcomb


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *D6500Ken* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I love the "cat that ate the canary" grin on that guy standing next to Mr. Incredible!
> 
> 
> 
> Ken Whitcomb



Look damn hard at those pretty pictures you made big dog. Simply stunning!


What a great time we had.










Here we go again!!!!!


Make them phosphors look pretty!










Can the Marquee do it?????


Cliffy


----------



## overclkr

Crap, now must drop the screen shots!





























Get on the bus guys!!!! Here we go!!!!!!










Cliffy


----------



## overclkr










































DROP DA BOMB!










Cliffy


----------



## overclkr

Oh I am so ITCHING at this point to jump on the plane. Cant wait.


Mike, do your magic. Let's see you and Ken make pretty pictures big dog. it's a must.


BTW, those screen shots looked BETTER in PERSON!










Cliffy


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Oh my God Mike. Those look like horse crap.
> 
> 
> Let me dig up a couple for you:



my my Cliff, you're trying to turn this into a which is best contest. For which that was not my intent here. but since you would like to do something comparable, post some that's showing detail in the backgrounds, because that's what those last ones were all about. And since it's also showing the chapter numbers, why not duplicate what I've posted..










No cartoons please. And you can't tell much with close ups, but while you're at it. Can you do another close up of Halle and John Travolta. You'll need to show those two with background detail. For some reason, you're not bringing out anything around their faces. And the rim around Travolta's glasses seems to be showing a bit of digital sharpening. But I'm sure that's not the case here. But if you look very closely at it, there are sharpening lines in some places in that image.


Here take this one for instance. Notice how you're able to see everything around the face, and compare the eyeglass rim as well:


----------



## mp20748

And while you're at it, let's see that SMPTE pattern. And let's see it at *1920x1080P @ 72hz*.


I'm planning to show this at the meet. That's being done from an 8" AC Marquee..
 


And here's something from my shoot-out CD, that's also at *1920x1080P @ 72hz* Here we're showing that the projector is not only maintaining sharpness through-out that image, it's also maintaining very deep blacks, for which is usually lost if not using a VERY high bandwidth video chain at 1080P / 72hz


----------



## mp20748

And I'm glad you also have an HTPC. Here's one of my desktop. It's at *1920x1440P @ 72hz*


----------



## mp20748

Now, back to why I'm posting the screen-shots that I've been posting. I'm only showing bandwidth challenging images, which is very difficult to show the results in screen-shots. So that's why it's good to be able to also show what this looks like at the meet.


I gotta run. I have a Barco blend to tweak one of the projectors this morning. Hopefully when I get back, you'll have more screen-shots for me..

















NO CARTOONS!


----------



## rajdude

Mike,

You gotta post some animated pics for comparison man !

Those cartoon pics (from Cliff) look mighty impressive to me!



And Cliff,

I gotta say this (and I am sure lots of people would be offended here and probably think I am mad!







)

Why dont I see too much shadow detail in real world / movie shots (NOT cartoons) every time I see a G90? That is supposed to be the best PJ right?

I am NOT just talking about these screenshots...I am refering to my personal experiences about actually seeing pics projected by a G90.



I have seen two of the best setups and both times I did not see much shadow detail. For example, someones black jacket simply becomes a fat blob of really black area!


The best explanation I have heard is "because these guys prefer ultimate blacks" (and thus, end up sacrificing shadow detail)


(Flame suit on














)


----------



## Gary Murrell

guys you have to understand these are just pictures, they represent about 25% of what you see in person, if that










-Gary


----------



## rajdude

Gary,

allow me to clarify my comment (if that is what you are refering to)

I was NOT talking about the screenshots...but to actually seeing pics on a G90.



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gary Murrell* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> guys you have to understand these are just pictures, they represent about 25% of what you see in person, if that
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -Gary


----------



## nashou66

Gary, I think Rajdude Has seen this on live G90's not screen shots, but i agree about your screen shot statment. I cant get pics to look as good as my live set up and to get the right iso setting to represent the actual colors you see is a pain in the *ss !



Sending youa PM











Athanasios


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mp20748* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> my my Cliff, you're trying to turn this into a which is best contest. For which that was not my intent here. but since you would like to do something comparable, post some that's showing detail in the backgrounds, because that's what those last ones were all about. And since it's also showing the chapter numbers, why not duplicate what I've posted..
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> No cartoons please. And you can't tell much with close ups, but while you're at it. Can you do another close up of Halle and John Travolta. You'll need to show those two with background detail. For some reason, you're not bringing out anything around their faces. And the rim around Travolta's glasses seems to be showing a bit of digital sharpening. But I'm sure that's not the case here. But if you look very closely at it, there are sharpening lines in some places in that image.
> 
> 
> Here take this one for instance. Notice how you're able to see everything around the face, and compare the eyeglass rim as well:



Woo hoo!!!! I knew that would get you going!

















Tick Tock, Tick Tock, cant wait for the meet!










Cliffy


----------



## overclkr

Here is some detail for you big dog:


----------



## overclkr




----------



## overclkr




----------



## overclkr




----------



## overclkr












Muhwahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!










Cliffy


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *rajdude* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Mike,
> 
> You gotta post some animated pics for comparison man !
> 
> Those cartoon pics (from Cliff) look mighty impressive to me!
> 
> 
> 
> And Cliff,
> 
> I gotta say this (and I am sure lots of people would be offended here and probably think I am mad!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> )
> 
> Why dont I see too much shadow detail in real world / movie shots (NOT cartoons) every time I see a G90? That is supposed to be the best PJ right?
> 
> I am NOT just talking about these screenshots...I am refering to my personal experiences about actually seeing pics projected by a G90.
> 
> 
> 
> I have seen two of the best setups and both times I did not see much shadow detail. For example, someones black jacket simply becomes a fat blob of really black area!
> 
> 
> The best explanation I have heard is "because these guys prefer ultimate blacks" (and thus, end up sacrificing shadow detail)
> 
> 
> (Flame suit on
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> )



What is shadow detail?































Cliffy


----------



## Art Sonneborn




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *rajdude* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Why dont I see too much shadow detail in real world / movie shots (NOT cartoons) every time I see a G90? That is supposed to be the best PJ right?
> 
> I am NOT just talking about these screenshots...I am refering to my personal experiences about actually seeing pics projected by a G90.
> 
> 
> 
> I have seen two of the best setups and both times I did not see much shadow detail. For example, someones black jacket simply becomes a fat blob of really black area!
> 
> 
> The best explanation I have heard is "because these guys prefer ultimate blacks" (and thus, end up sacrificing shadow detail)
> 
> 
> (Flame suit on
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> )



Well no doubt I give up some shadow detail for the ability to get a much ,much more three dimensional image and total black outs. I have no gamma control presently so I'm one who finds this to be a great trade.


Oh ,and you are absolutely right, it is the best projector.










Art


----------



## mark haflich

You just can't bring a G90 up to the PQ level of an extreme modded 9500LC ultra. Its a question of bandwidth. The Marquee video pathway is a VIM and three neck boards. A real simple pathway. Easily moddified with the latest and greatest chips and parts. i've seen em both. The G90 si nothing to sneeze at, but the 9500LC can be taken to a whole other level.


----------



## madpoet

Mark, you're making me drool... I need my boards Mike!


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *rajdude* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Why dont I see too much shadow detail in real world / movie shots (NOT cartoons) every time I see a G90? That is supposed to be the best PJ right?
> 
> 
> I am NOT just talking about these screenshots...I am refering to my personal experiences about actually seeing pics projected by a G90.
> 
> 
> I have seen two of the best setups and both times I did not see much shadow detail. For example, someones black jacket simply becomes a fat blob of really black area!





> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Art Sonneborn* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Well no doubt I give up some shadow detail for the ability to get a much ,much more three dimensional image and total black outs. I have no gamma control presently so I'm one who finds this to be a great trade.
> 
> 
> Oh ,and you are absolutely right, it is the best projector.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Art



Rajiv,


Moome's gamma really made a huge improvement.


The other thing is to make sure that you watch those low-IRE scenes in a total light-controlled mode, with your eyes adequately adjusted. With any lights on in the room, the dark shadow details can get lost in the ambient light.


"Batman Begins" HD-DVD:






























James Taylor tribute HD-DVD:


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Art Sonneborn* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Well no doubt I give up some shadow detail for the ability to get a much ,much more three dimensional image and total black outs. I have no gamma control presently so I'm one who finds this to be a great trade.
> 
> Art



Well, guys look at my images very closely. And please note that screenshots do not represent the absolute best, but for some reason. My screenshots show excellent low end performance. And if you're able to see that in a screenshot, just imagine what it looks like in person..










And it does it without an additional gamma circuit. And it'll even do it without the PJ being calibrated for best black level performance..










Check this out very carefully, and do note how distinct the images are. To include, everywhere that black is, you can see it..









*1920x1080P /60hz*


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *rajdude* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Mike,
> 
> You gotta post some animated pics for comparison man !
> 
> Those cartoon pics (from Cliff) look mighty impressive to me!



Cartoons are just too easy to do, plus there's nothing about them that would reveal anything performance related. They present absolutely NO challenge what-so-ever for a high performance video system.


----------



## Art Sonneborn

Tremendous screen shots Mike and certainly places where nothing touches a great CRT. So you can get total black out and not lose shadow detail.


A nice little test that Cliff and I have noticed. Get your HDDVD player look at the logo at the bottom right . You should see a clear distinct complete reflected looking image of the logo below the primary image.


Art


----------



## mark haflich

Everywhere black is you can see it? Rather, everywhere there is black there is an absence of light. You don't see it, therefore it is black, rather than you see black!


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Everywhere black is you can see it? Rather, everywhere there is black there is an absence of light. You don't see it, therefore it is black, rather than you see black!




If you had a blue wall and you took a gallon of flat black paint and painted that wall black. Would that wall then be consider black, or absence of light?


And if absence of light. what happened to the black paint?


----------



## mark haflich

Where did the black paint go? It was used to cover the blue wall. Eliminating all color from the wall and leaving the absence of color which you perceive as black. You do not see any color, you see the absence of color, that is black. Bot don't worry, my wife won't like it and will want me to paint it purple tomorrow, and red the next day.







MP. I'm spoofing.


----------



## wkosmann

And now a word from our sponsor....


Great news. Today Pixel Magic replied to my email from last week. They have offered to ship me a loaner Crystalio II 3800 Pro for the East Coast BlendZilla Meet. We will have what is probably the best current video scalar to run sources through, and perform interesting and revealing experiments with, in conjunction with what will be one of the finest Reference projection systems on the planet.


Gary, please continue to plan to bring your Crystalio II to the Meet. I have asked Pixel Magic to ship the loaner immediately. I will let you know when it arrives. If it does not ever arrive, I would still like you to bring yours, so we are certain to have one.


William


Let the screen shot wars continue.........


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *wkosmann* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> 
> Let the screen shot wars continue.........




Nah, no screen shot wars. Just good times.










I'm really looking foward to seeing the setup!


Cliffy


----------



## rajdude

Clarence,

Thanks for the tip...I am trying to get the new Moome now.


Hey this particular screenshot is very nice.











This is much better than what I saw when I visited you last time , did you do something? Added the moome+gamma ckt?




And Hey! you HAVE to come over someday to see my Ampro. I'd love to hear your comments about it.

After what I have done to it recently (by Scott's help, of course) it looks awesome!











> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Rajiv,
> 
> 
> Moome's gamma really made a huge improvement.
> 
> 
> The other thing is to make sure that you watch those low-IRE scenes in a total light-controlled mode, with your eyes adequately adjusted. With any lights on in the room, the dark shadow details can get lost in the ambient light.
> 
> 
> "Batman Begins" HD-DVD:


----------



## rajdude

Mike,

your screenshots are impressive too.

And I totally agree with your take on the cartoons thing. I notice that real movie shots are so much more difficult to do.


Hey one more thing.

You may want to double-check your aspect ratio of the projected image. I feel your images are vertically squished.


got to bring out the tape measure.












> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mp20748* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Well, guys look at my images very closely. And please note that screenshots do not represent the absolute best, but for some reason. My screenshots show excellent low end performance. And if you're able to see that in a screenshot, just imagine what it looks like in person..
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And it does it without an additional gamma circuit. And it'll even do it without the PJ being calibrated for best black level performance..
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Check this out very carefully, and do note how distinct the images are. To include, everywhere that black is, you can see it..


----------



## overclkr

Tick tock, the clock goes on and we are OFFICIALY almost less than a week to go!


Most excellent that I am not HOSTING THE MEET!


Clifffy


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Muhwahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cliffy



Muhwahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!










Mike, time to get your groove on!!!!!!


----------



## overclkr

Oh hell ya!!!!! Bringing the ultimate cam!



















Cliffy


----------



## mp20748

I still like this one. At 1080P 72Hz, it simply amazes me that my lowly 8" Marquee can do so well with this image. Not perfect, but hey - It's an 8 incher.


What marvels me is that I'm able to clearly see the very top of the bridge (background), to include the far off lights off to the right of the bridge. At this resolution, these two things in the image should be blurry...


----------



## mp20748

Here's another one of my favorites. The vertical size is off big time on this one, but again, so is the setup on the projector.


----------



## overclkr

Very very nice Mike!!!!! I think I'm going to have to get you drunk and take advantage of you when I come out. :^)


(just kidding)


Cliffy


----------



## Art Sonneborn

Mike, I have to say that as far as engaging quality screen shots you are the king ! That eye picture is scary. I'm glad I can't see inside that SOB.










Art


----------



## mark haflich

I thought you straightened his teeth!


----------



## wkosmann

Today the SmX 12 foot wide 2.35:1 aspect ratio acoustically transparent screen kit arrived. Tomorrow, both the BlendZilla and the Crystalio II 3800 Pro are supposed to arrive.


Great days are soon upon us!


----------



## overclkr

Here we go!!!! Cant wait!


Cliff


----------



## wallace1234




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Here we go!!!! Cant wait! Cliff



I agree!!




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *wkosmann* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Today the SmX 12 foot wide 2.35:1 aspect ratio acoustically transparent screen kit arrived. Tomorrow, both the BlendZilla and the Crystalio II 3800 Pro are supposed to arrive. Great days are soon upon us!



Are you gonna need any help getting all this stuff assembled/installed? Let me know.


wallace


----------



## wallace1234

Anyone know where to get 1/4 keg of Corona or any other type Mexican beer in the N VA area? We have Michelob on order, but would like to get some "South of the Border" type in honor of Cinco De Mayo.


pm me.


wallace


----------



## Gino AUS

I am getting screenshot envy.. wish I could post some of my latest, but I am waiting until after the meet. Be on the lookout soon though for some from the *15 ft* BlendZilla in spain


----------



## wkosmann

Dear Gino;


There is no need to wait. Please post the screen shots now.


William


----------



## Gino AUS

I would, but I didn't bring my computer with me to Spain. I'm sure the 15' blend will be worth waiting for though.


----------



## Art Sonneborn

The meet is one week away. How are things going with the set up itself ? I'm assuming with folks coming from so far etc that it's there to look at by now. Some pics of the set up etc for those of us not coming would be a nice gesture.










Art


----------



## wkosmann

Both the DVX-8022 BlendZilla and the Crystalio II 3800 Pro scalar were received yesterday, unpacked and are sitting in the Home Theater, waiting to be integrated into the system. Those wonderful people at Pixel Magic in Taiwan overnighted a brand new 3800 to me as a "loaner".


On Thursday, the 12 foot wide 2.35:1 aspect ratio SmX frame kit arrived. Last night, my lovely young wife and I put the frame together, and installed the screen material (which had arrived separately, weeks ago). Today the new screen will be hung (under the stockings with care.) Today also, major projector work commences.


Cliffy, its one day closer to brain frying time!


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Guys!


Well, we are one week away now and the pieces are coming together. Many thanks to Mike Parker for his ingenuity and tireless efforts, to the volunteers who are pitching in to help for no money, and to William Kosmann for hosting this occupation of his house for the advancement of HT, and we expect he will soon be the owner of BlendZilla Number Four!!!!! WooHoo!!!


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *wkosmann* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Both the DVX-8022 BlendZilla and the Crystalio II 3800 Pro scalar were received yesterday, unpacked and are sitting in the Home Theater, waiting to be integrated into the system. Those wonderful people at Pixel Magic in Taiwan overnighted a brand new 3800 to me as a "loaner".
> 
> 
> On Thursday, the 12 foot wide 2.35:1 aspect ratio SmX frame kit arrived. Last night, my lovely young wife and I put the frame together, and installed the screen material (which had arrived separately, weeks ago). Today the new screen will be hung (under the stockings with care.) Today also, major projector work commences.
> 
> 
> Cliffy, its one day closer to brain frying time!



Awesome! How do you like the screen?


Cliff


----------



## Belcherwm

Here are a few pictures from Saturday's work.


First one is of William and Cheryl's screen construction efforts:












A couple of the other main attractions:











Rear view:












JB and MP getting down to business:











Interesting component in the rack:











BIG Screen is hung:











Time to get to work:


----------



## overclkr

Very nice!!! I didn't realize that there were so many grey colored theaters out there!


Here is a couple of shots from my new room:




















Looks like you have some pretty serious audio horsepower going on in there.


If you end up keeping the setup, are you going to ceiling mount the beasts?


Cliffy


----------



## SmX

Looking good guys, the screen is almost as wide as the room










I have a couple suggestions, if you haven't thought of this already. Since the SmX screen is audio transparent and you have it directly in front of the walls it will most likey reflect light off the grey walls back through the screen and blur/washout the projected image in those sections (especially on bright scenes).

You may even get doubling of projected text and bright objects on dark backgrounds.


Even flat black paint reflects light and flat grey paint will reflect even more. You guys are working hard to achieve the best projected image so I suggest the following. Go to a fabric store and pick up some black velvet, duvetyne or felt to cover the grey walls that are directly behind the SmX. You can either use 3m spray adhesive (the 90 series) to apply it to the walls or black tacks that get tacked behind the frame parts.


Also, cover that white box and wood above the screen with black velvet so it doesn't distract the audience.


It's amazing to see the amount of work you guys do to put on a kick ass show.


Ruben


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *SandmanX* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Looking good guys, the screen is almost as wide as the room
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I have a couple suggestions, if you haven't thought of this already. Since the SmX screen is audio transparent and you have it directly in front of the walls it will most likey reflect light off the grey walls back through the screen and blur/washout the projected image in those sections (especially on bright screens).
> 
> 
> Even flat black paint reflects light and flat grey paint will reflect even more. You guys are working hard to achieve the best projected image so I suggest the following. Go to a fabric store and pick up some black velvet, duvetyne or felt to cover the grey walls that are directly behind the SmX. You can either use 3m spray adhesive (the 90 series) to apply it to the walls or black tacks that get tacked behind the frame parts.
> 
> 
> Also, cover that white box and wood above the screen with black velvet so it doesn't distract the audience.
> 
> 
> It's amazing to see the amount of work you guys do to put on a kick ass show.
> 
> 
> Ruben



Lovin' that new frame of yours big dog. Any plans in the works for motorized masking?


Cliff


----------



## SmX




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Lovin' that new frame of yours big dog. Any plans in the works for motorized masking?
> 
> 
> Cliff



Thanks Cliff, we are working on it now, its gonna be slick and it seamlessly adapts to this new frame. William is the offical first owner of the SmX Pro-Line frame and he may be the official first owner of the SmX adaptable masking system as well.










Ruben


----------



## wkosmann

Yesterday some serious progress was made. The SmX screen was completed. A custom "L" shaped wooden bracket was designed (by Bill Belcher and myself), constructed, and installed. Finally, the 12' wide 2.35:1 SmX screen was hung for the first time. Mike Parker proclaimed it the nicest screen he has ever seen. We all are particularly impressed with the "blacker than black" velvet material that covers the screen frame. This stuff actually absorbs incident light, making the projected image look like it is floating in the air. Major kudos to Ruben and the SmX gang. Mike can't wait to see how the SmX material performs in the blend. Bill took some before, during and after pictures, which he has already added to the thread, above.


In addition, Mike and John almost completely rebuilt both 9500LC Extremes. Both projectors would have been completed, except for the tiny fact that the new Red, Green and Blue CRTs I purchased in January ended up being 2 Green CRTs and 1 Blue CRT. All 3 new CRTs were in fact installed. Mike and John went home to get (among other things) a new Red CRT. The glycol in the one remaining Red CRT was replaced, and a new Red C Element was installed.


Today Mike and John will install the new Red CRT with another new Red C Element in the second 9500LC Extreme, and both projectors will be installed on the ceiling, after some preliminary on-the-floor assimilation.


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Hehehe


In looking at the throw distance and aspect for each of two M9500s on a 2.35 dedicated screen here, with a ten percent overlap we find that the screen of 144" (twelve foot width) wants two "halves" projected, each half of 61" x 80" (80" being 55% of 144") so if that isn't Max Phosphor Usage, then tell me whut is.........!







Many thanks to Mike Parker and his team of helpers for their tireless efforts in pulling this flagship event together!!!!!


----------



## mp20748

Man I like that screen material... can't wait to finish this up..


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *SandmanX* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Thanks Cliff, we are working on it now, its gonna be slick and it seamlessly adapts to this new frame. William is the offical first owner of the SmX Pro-Line frame and he may be the official first owner of the SmX adaptable masking system as well.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Ruben



Ruben,


I have nothing but pure respect for your hard work and it shows every time I turn on the G90's.


Thank you for such a kick ass setup.


Stewart doesn't hold a candle to your material.


Cliff


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mp20748* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Man I like that screen material... can't wait to finish this up..



Looking foward to having a couple of important conversations with you when I fly out this week Mike.


I have a couple of small things on my mind that I want to convey.


Looking foward to checking your mods fo sho. I have some flaws in my setup that are not projector related that I really would like to straighten out.


Cliffy


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *wkosmann* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Yesterday some serious progress was made. The SmX screen was completed. A custom "L" shaped wooden bracket was designed (by Bill Belcher and myself), constructed, and installed. Finally, the 12' wide 2.35:1 SmX screen was hung for the first time. Mike Parker proclaimed it the nicest screen he has ever seen. We all are particularly impressed with the "blacker than black" velvet material that covers the screen frame. This stuff actually absorbs incident light, making the projected image look like it is floating in the air. Major kudos to Ruben and the SmX gang. Mike can't wait to see how the SmX material performs in the blend. Bill took some before, during and after pictures, which he has already added to the thread, above.
> 
> 
> In addition, Mike and John almost completely rebuilt both 9500LC Extremes. Both projectors would have been completed, except for the tiny fact that the new Red, Green and Blue CRTs I purchased in January ended up being 2 Green CRTs and 1 Blue CRT. All 3 new CRTs were in fact installed. Mike and John went home to get (among other things) a new Red CRT. The glycol in the one remaining Red CRT was replaced, and a new Red C Element was installed.
> 
> 
> Today Mike and John will install the new Red CRT with another new Red C Element in the second 9500LC Extreme, and both projectors will be installed on the ceiling, after some preliminary on-the-floor assimilation.



Big dog, did you get the black backing with the screen? Are you going to pull down your current screen to make sure the audio kicks arse? It looks like you have some serious horsepower on the amp side so I want to be impressed!!!!


MIKE, GET YOUR ASS TO WORK!!!!!!

















Cliffy


----------



## rajdude

Wow ! Everything Looks excellent! That screen is HUGE!


Cant wait ! Still got to go through 5 days !


----------



## rajdude

Ruben, others,

Has anyone thought about this?


Even if one does NOT plan to use speakers behind the screen, how about still using a AT screen and putting some serious acoustic tiles behind the screen ?


Think about it... A projection screen may be the single most reflective wall of a HT. Taming it may improve audio performance, right?





> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *SandmanX* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Looking good guys, the screen is almost as wide as the room
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I have a couple suggestions, if you haven't thought of this already. Since the SmX screen is audio transparent and you have it directly in front of the walls it will most likey reflect light off the grey walls back through the screen and blur/washout the projected image in those sections (especially on bright scenes).
> 
> You may even get doubling of projected text and bright objects on dark backgrounds.
> 
> 
> Even flat black paint reflects light and flat grey paint will reflect even more. You guys are working hard to achieve the best projected image so I suggest the following. Go to a fabric store and pick up some black velvet, duvetyne or felt to cover the grey walls that are directly behind the SmX. You can either use 3m spray adhesive (the 90 series) to apply it to the walls or black tacks that get tacked behind the frame parts.
> 
> 
> Also, cover that white box and wood above the screen with black velvet so it doesn't distract the audience.
> 
> 
> It's amazing to see the amount of work you guys do to put on a kick ass show.
> 
> 
> Ruben


----------



## mark haflich

With a nonperfed fixed screen with motorized masking such as a Stewart, there is room behind the screen material to install absorptive material. The screen will reflect frequencies above 300 cycles but will pass htose below 300. However a few inches of absorptive material behind the screen will do little below 300 perhaps taming the 200 to 300 band. Making a screen transparent (5%) seems not worth it since most high frequencies would still bounce off it if coming from the front (not worth it given the cost in video gain). The fix is to prevent high frequencies from hitting the screen by treating the other walls in the room properly.


----------



## SmX




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *rajdude* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Ruben, others,
> 
> Has anyone thought about this?
> 
> 
> Even if one does NOT plan to use speakers behind the screen, how about still using a AT screen and putting some serious acoustic tiles behind the screen ?
> 
> 
> Think about it... A projection screen may be the single most reflective wall of a HT. Taming it may improve audio performance, right?



This is something that is brought up allot and is very true. A large solid screen is a large reflective wall for audio to bounce off. Most people that do an audio transparent screen usually treat the wall behind it for audio reflections.


The only way to do a dedicated theater IMO is by using an audio transparent screen. Movies are mixed with the dialogue intended to come from the screen, not above or below it.


People are mostly worried about degrading picure and audio quality when considering an audio transparent screen. Most audio transparent screens such as perforated/microperforated and negative gain weaved screens will degrade picture quality and that is what most people base their opinions on. This use to be my opinion as well, that's why I did the research I did to find a superior solution.


The SmX material also provides a perceived sharper image which helps out the softer projectors.


Ruben


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *SandmanX* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> The SmX material also provides a perceived sharper image which helps out the softer projectors.
> 
> 
> Ruben



Yeah, and for that reason, I'll deal with a compromise in sound for a better image. Mainly since I'm not so concerned with higher frequencies in movies anyway.


I've seen similar screens before, but have never liked them. They always looked dull and flat. However, the screen surface of what I'm working with on this project, is something completely different. It's so different, the screen itself is good to look at.


----------



## SmX




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mp20748* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Yeah, and for that reason, I'll deal with a compromise in sound for a better image. Mainly since I'm not so concerned with higher frequencies in movies anyway.
> 
> 
> I've seen similar screens before, but have never liked them. They always looked dull and flat. However, the screen surface of what I'm working with on this project, is something completely different. It's so different, the screen itself is good to look at.



Hi Mike,


Your words hold a lot of weight, it is great to hear this from someone of your caliber that works on providing the best image anyone has ever seen. I'm just overwhelmed knowing that the top dogs in the CRT world are using this screen for such critical events.



Ruben


----------



## JBJR

I also have to say I am very impressed with this screen. Working with Mike on this project we both went WOW when we walk into the room and saw the screen. It is the brightest white screen I've seen that does not have a reflective sheen to it!

It was easy to do, and see what we were focusing on the screen and it was sharp, no hazy or fuzzy edges on test patterns or images!


This screen deserves serious consideration if you are planning a HT or new screen!


----------



## Chuchuf

Looks like Galen and I will be there.


Terry


----------



## mark haflich

Ruben. We love ya but your posts are sounding like advertising! End users OK, but not by the manufacturer.


That said. If one doesn't have the space for behind the screen speakers, would you recommend using a woven screen given the gain trade off? Do you believe, the screen should be mounted slightly off the wall, in such as case, so that sound absorptive material can be placed behind it to suck up whatever may make it through the unneeded weave?


Serious questions.


----------



## Belcherwm

Mark,


I have to disagree with your perceptions of Ruben's posts. It appears he is making direct answers to questions posed to him. I hope he continues to be involved in this ongoing "conversation", especially as it relates to this meet. If you have questions as to the appropriateness of his posts please take them to a moderator off line.


The screen is about 6 to 8 inches from the speakers. William's other screen came down within a couple of inches. I think William plans to make sure the mounting boards are all painted to match the rest of his room.


William,

I was thinking that for the meet you may try some speaker/grill cloth that I have to "line" the back of the screen. Maybe thumb tack it to the back of the board the screen is mounted on. I think I probably have only enough to cover about half of that monster screen! I'll pull it out and see what I have.


----------



## SmX




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Ruben. We love ya but your posts are sounding like advertising! End users OK, but not by the manufacturer.
> 
> 
> That said. If one doesn't have the space for behind the screen speakers, would you recommend using a woven screen given the gain trade off? Do you believe, the screen should be mounted slightly off the wall, in such as case, so that sound absorptive material can be placed behind it to suck up whatever may make it through the unneeded weave?
> 
> 
> Serious questions.



Yes you are right, I was starting to sound like a banner







. I had to fix that last post.


To be honest, it depends on what soild screen I was using. If I needed a high gain screen then I would go for whatever solid screen makes sense for my situation. High frequency does pass through this material with a slight rolloff up high with inaudible combfiltering. So that tells us that more sound is passing through the screen than bouncing off of it.


So would treating the wall behind the AT screen benefit a person not using speakers behind it audiowise? Yes, it would be better than a solid screen wall as far as audio reflections go. Is it worth the trade off? That depends on the user and the amount of gain they need to achieve the FL they are looking for and what they want for audio in their room.


For the CRT guys, I imagine they are usually looking for high gain screens so any weaved AT screen is not going to compare to a high gain solid screen as far as brightness goes.


Everything has it's trade-offs, high gain screens hot spot, have sparklies, narrow viewing cones. Matte screens are not bright enough for everyone. Most weave screens have negative gains, and perforated/micro perforated screens moiré and combfilter. Everyone just needs to find a happy medium.


Ruben


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Belcherwm* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I was thinking that for the meet you may try some speaker/grill cloth that I have to "line" the back of the screen. Maybe thumb tack it to the back of the board the screen is mounted on. I think I probably have only enough to cover about half of that monster screen! I'll pull it out and see what I have.



I think I might have enough (black speaker grill fabric from PartsExpress.com) for the other half


----------



## Gino AUS

Looking good there guys... Andres and I have just got the blend up... geez that spaniard swore a lot when he saw it... we are running 72Hz! and..... 15ft wide!








This thing is enormous, and super bright too! Pics to come very soon.


----------



## wkosmann

Dear Ruben;


I have implemented both of your suggestions. I have painted the custom woodwork near the top of the new screen. The paint is the same flat grey used throughout the rest of the Home Theater. I have also purchased and attached some black velvet to the wall behind the new screen. You will be able to see the result of your "cover the new woodwork" suggestion the next time we take a picture of the SmX screen. The pros will have to attest as to the qualtiy of implementation of your black backing suggestion once we have blended images to view.


Please keep providing suggestions for improvement. They are highly valued.


William


----------



## Clarence

Sounds like it's going to be a great crowd!


I already gave away my Ampro Light Valves at this event, but if anyone is bringing a truck and wants a free jumbo Barco retro (will trade for a 6-pack







), LMK.


I also have a nice BG1208/2 with very nice tubes that I should list in the For Sale forum in case any one is driving this way... I'm too lazy to build a crate. And I should clear out my equipment closet, tubes, lenses, sources, switchers, speakers, Coke machine, Pepsi machine







... maybe we should have a swap meet in the back yard.


----------



## rajdude

This is EXACTLY what I have on my mind for my own situation.

I dont have space for speakers behind the screen, but I want a tilted screen to save on keystone adjustment.


Then I could put some acoustically absorbent material behind it.


With a AT screen I may kill two birds with one stone!



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> 
> That said. If one doesn't have the space for behind the screen speakers, would you recommend using a woven screen given the gain trade off? Do you believe, the screen should be mounted slightly off the wall, in such as case, so that sound absorptive material can be placed behind it to suck up whatever may make it through the unneeded weave?
> 
> 
> Serious questions.


----------



## Tim in Phoenix




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gino AUS* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Looking good there guys... Andres and I have just got the blend up... geez that spaniard swore a lot when he saw it... we are running 72Hz! and..... 15ft wide!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This thing is enormous, and super bright too! Pics to come very soon.



Hehehe


What is the Spanish word for MOUAHAHAHAHA?


----------



## Chuchuf

BTW, If anyone need a perfect new tube G90 up there and wants to save on shipping, I've got one I'll bring along......
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=841094 


Terry


----------



## mark haflich

Tim. I think its typussirario


----------



## wallace1234

It's almost time. Weather is supposed to be great; High Saturday and Sunday 70 (and sunny), Low Saturday and Sunday 46!!


Now, lets talk BEER and food!


First off - We will have a ½ keg of Michelob and some of the smoothest Margaritas this side of Mexico. And Clarence has a great idea; whoever is able; bring a six-pack of your favorite Mexican (in honor of Cinco de Mayo) or micro-brew beer.


Second - Food:


There will be BBQ beef brisket and pork provided and beef jerky for in-between beers.


William has some other items, I'm not sure what.


Emdawqz1 - (John) (with Beef Chili, hot wings, mild wings, etc.) YEA!!! (BTW- your chili; does it have beans?!?!)


Rajdude - (Rajiv) You said: By the way, my wife is a good cook, anybody likes Indian food? Heck yea! Bring whatever you can/like!


Audiophil - (with food (?)) Bring it on!


Anyone else cares to chip in on the eats, post back and let us know.


wallace


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *wallace1234* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> It's almost time. Weather is supposed to be great; High Saturday and Sunday 70 (and sunny), Low Saturday and Sunday 46!!
> 
> 
> Now, lets talk BEER and food!
> 
> 
> First off - We will have a ½ keg of Michelob and some of the smoothest Margaritas this side of Mexico. And Clarence has a great idea; whoever is able; bring a six-pack of your favorite Mexican (in honor of Cinco de Mayo) or micro-brew beer.
> 
> 
> Second - Food:
> 
> 
> There will be BBQ beef brisket and pork provided and beef jerky for in-between beers.
> 
> 
> William has some other items, I'm not sure what.
> 
> 
> Emdawqz1 - (John) (with Beef Chili, hot wings, mild wings, etc.) YEA!!! (BTW- your chili; does it have beans?!?!)
> 
> 
> Rajdude - (Rajiv) You said: By the way, my wife is a good cook, anybody likes Indian food? Heck yea! Bring whatever you can/like!
> 
> 
> Audiophil - (with food (?)) Bring it on!
> 
> 
> Anyone else cares to chip in on the eats, post back and let us know.
> 
> 
> wallace



Wallace,


Really looking foward to the trip this weekend. This week is going to be an absolutely awesome week for me. Thursday, Gino and Jessica, Arli and his wife, my family and I hang out for some stackin' lovin and my place. Then Friday, I fly out to your neck of the woods to hang with Clarence. Saturday, I have the priviledge of meeting you, and hanging out with some of the elite from AVS!


Oh yeah, I get some ZILLA LOVIN' AS WELL!































Couldn't ask for more.










Cliff


----------



## NautikaL

Make sure you have some water/soda for me on Sunday...I'm not 21 yet







. Don't worry though...I will be accompanied by my dad







.


----------



## wallace1234




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *NautikaL* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Make sure you have some water/soda for me on Sunday...I'm not 21 yet
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> . Don't worry though...I will be accompanied by my dad
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> .



You got it! Whatever flavor you want, just let me know.


We plan on having water, Gatoraid, basic soda and stuff.


wallace


----------



## overclkr

A good idea of the rough rack from the last meet from the G90's:


Bomrat, one of my BEST friends hangin with me through this with a SMILE on his face:











Pretty little Pearl sitting in the middle wishing she could hang with the big boys.










One of my favorite pics thanks to Art:











A nice close up thanks to Clarence of the SMX material:











I'd most definitely hit it multiple times:











Camera doesn't know what the hell to do with this kind of light output:









































Oh my God am I going to be in heaven this weekend. The master will lay his hands on the blended monsters and make once again forum history........


Cliffy



'


----------



## overclkr

Worst case of the blend zone from the last meet:











Camera took so much detail, it didn't know what the hell to do with it:











Guys, this is going to be SO MUCH FUN!!!!! Can't wait for the weekend!










Mike,


Hope your hanging in big dog! Keep it all fresh for yourself as your much well deserved hard work has a HUGE reward.










Cliffy


----------



## Gino AUS




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> This week is going to be an absolutely awesome week for me.



Tell me about it mate, this past week i´ve been basking in the sun by the beach, beautiful latinas, awesome food. Setting up the biggest blend in history 15´!!!


Now off to yours tomorrow, then Art´s, then 2 days of more blending goodness


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gino AUS* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> beautiful latinas.



For some reason, this is all I see when I read your post.

















Have a safe flight big dog!


We decided against going out for dinner because of time constraints, plus, my neighbor has been bitching about my subs so I told Arli to get you here ASAP after you get off of the plane.










Dinner for tomorrow night will consist of Beer, Makers Mark Whiskey, Wine, Mike's hard flavors, and PIZZA! Chicago Style!!!










Cliffy


----------



## Tim in Phoenix




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> We decided against going out for dinner because of time constraints, plus, my neighbor has been bitching about my subs so I told Arli to get you here ASAP after you get off of the plane.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cliffy




No joke man, you're blocking his driveway........


----------



## mark haflich

Woodford Reserve, 20 year old Pappy Van, and if that is gone, 15 year old Pappy Van.


----------



## mark haflich

Time for a ststus update? Have the projectors been hung yet?


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Time for a ststus update? Have the projectors been hung yet?



Easy killer.










This is the hardest part. I know from experience.


See you Saturday!


Cliffy


----------



## wkosmann

Dear Mark;


You need to bring some of that 20 year old stuff to the East Coast BlendZilla Meet so all of us can share in it.


William


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *wkosmann* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> You need to bring some of that 20 year old stuff



If he's really good, he'll scrounge up a bottle of the 23yo reserve


----------



## mark haflich

I know I have a full bottle of the 15 year old, its 107% proof., I purchased it in Lexington, KY three weeks ago. I'll look for a bottle of the 20 although its only 90.4% proof.. It sells for $100 a bottle. The 15 year is only $50. The 23 year old stuff is something like 95.6% proof. Pappy is on its 4th bottling of the stuff. The first three runs were sold out. A fourth run of 3000 bottles is planned for this Spring. I'll call them tomorrow but i doubt its available here so close to the Mason Dixon line. One HAS to add a splash to the 15 year old stuff. It's strong enough to hoist those two projectors to the ceiling.


Seriously. How's it going? My question was serious and not intended to be offensive. Hopefully you'll get them up tomorrow and Mike can finish it off Friday.


I'll be there Sunday. Can't come on Saturday unless around 8PM. Of course everyone will be so drunk by them I can come with a bottle of the cheap 10 year old and no one wil know the difference. Maybe I could even sneak in a bottle of their Rye. Will the party be a cigar free zone?


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Will the party be a cigar free zone?



If so, I plan on being one foot beyond that zone a couple of times


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I know I have a full bottle of the 15 year old, its 107% proof., I purchased it in Lexington, KY three weeks ago. I'll look for a bottle of the 20 although its only 90.4% proof.. It sells for $100 a bottle. The 15 year is only $50. The 23 year old stuff is something like 95.6% proof. Pappy is on its 4th bottling of the stuff. The first three runs were sold out. A fourth run of 3000 bottles is planned for this Spring. I'll call them tomorrow but i doubt its available here so close to the Mason Dixon line. One HAS to add a splash to the 15 year old stuff. It's strong enough to hoist those two projectors to the ceiling.
> 
> 
> Seriously. How's it going? My question was serious and not intended to be offensive. Hopefully you'll get them up tomorrow and Mike can finish it off Friday.
> 
> 
> I'll be there Sunday. Can't come on Saturday unless around 8PM. Of course everyone will be so drunk by them I can come with a bottle of the cheap 10 year old and no one wil know the difference. Maybe I could even sneak in a bottle of their Rye. Will the party be a cigar free zone?



Um, whilst I'll be drinking the "cheap" stuff throughout the weekend, I would absolutely love even the "10 year old" stuff. Could you bring some with big dog?










BTW, your question was not offensive at all. I just know at about this time the state I was in and it was not good, well, except for hanging with Clarence literally until the wee hours of the morning because that is the only time I had to "chill", hence, NO SLEEP.

















Kick it in High Gear MIKE!!!!!! Good luck and I cant wait!!!!!!!










Cliffy


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Tim in Phoenix* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> No joke man, you're blocking his driveway........



That damn thing needs to get circumcised.


----------



## mark haflich

I think maybe they could use the crane in the background. Digital guys usually get their wives to hang their projectors, rather simple, just some scotch tape or a little velcro.


----------



## Gino AUS




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> We decided against going out for dinner because of time constraints, plus, my neighbor has been bitching about my subs so I told Arli to get you here ASAP after you get off of the plane.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Dinner for tomorrow night will consist of Beer, Makers Mark Whiskey, Wine, Mike's hard flavors, and PIZZA! Chicago Style!!!



Sounds good. You know we arrive at 2:20pm right? We´re currently in transit at madrid airport, waiting for our ten hour flight to o´hare. i´m on zero sleep, was up all night watching IMAX


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Seriously. How's it going?



Fine!


----------



## mark haflich

Too much info.


----------



## Art Sonneborn




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gino AUS* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Sounds good. You know we arrive at 2:20pm right? We´re currently in transit at madrid airport, waiting for our ten hour flight to o´hare. i´m on zero sleep, was up all night watching IMAX



We are looking foward to seeing you tomorrow. I probably won't be able to get the strippers we talked about ,they are working a boxing match in Kalamazoo on Friday sorry.










Art


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Art Sonneborn* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> We are looking foward to seeing you tomorrow. I probably won't be able to get the strippers we talked about ,they are working a boxing match in Kalamazoo on Friday sorry.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Art



SNAP!!!! I almost had to make a detour!










Cliffy


----------



## mark haflich

Kalamazoo strippers. Another example of a post with too much info!







Close your eyes. Kalamazoo srippers. Ugh. Detroit strippers. Umm. Ann Arbor strippers.


----------



## Boilermaker

William - Is it too late for me to come on Saturday? I just had a cancellation that allows me to follow my passion. I can pick up the trash, sweep the floor and wash your car!

Thanks,

Bob


----------



## mark haflich

William has posted elsewhere its an open invite. Room for whomever wants to come. So I think its quite OK to come.Just bring one of those 23 year old special Pappy Van Winkle's. Bring two and I'll buy one fro you.


----------



## overclkr

Only a few more hours until Gino arrives!!!!!!

*LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!!!!!!*
































Cliffy


----------



## NautikaL

oh man you're crazy cliff!


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Tim in Phoenix* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Anyone near D.C. with a Toshiba HD Player and some HD movies on disc please call Mike Parker, need Friday morning thru Sunday Thanks!



I'll bring my Toshiba HD-A1 tomorrow morning.


In addition to a regular stack of HD-DVDs, I found a couple of demo HD-DVDs that should work nicely for this event...


I already gave the host one of these:










And here are the menus from HD-DVD Demo #2:




















Plus a few more secret jawdroppers.

















I'll swing by tomorrow and drop off my Toshiba before I pick up Cliff at the airport.


----------



## NautikaL

Nice...lord of the rings







.


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *NautikaL* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Nice...lord of the rings
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> .




















Another fun title I found...


----------



## NautikaL

Ahh that's awesome. One day I'm going to watch all three in a row...one day.


----------



## Tim in Phoenix




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I'll bring my Toshiba HD-A1 tomorrow morning.
> 
> 
> In addition to a regular stack of HD-DVDs, I found a couple of demo HD-DVDs that should work nicely for this event...
> 
> 
> I already gave the host one of these:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And here are the menus from HD-DVD Demo #2:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Plus a few more secret jawdroppers.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'll swing by tomorrow and drop off my Toshiba before I pick up Cliff at the airport.




Thanks Clarence


Bring also any RCA-BNC cables for component you might have or any gigital-to-DVI-D cable is appreciated as the DVX has DVI-D in.


----------



## overclkr

Yo Dogs what's up????


Mike, how is the setup coming? Did Terry try to kiss you yet????











Gino and I have out lasted the ladies and are in screenshot mode at this point.


What a great young man he is and I am extremely glad that I met him!


His old lady is a HOTTIE too!!!!


Graturas screen shot:











Cliffy


----------



## overclkr




----------



## overclkr

Here is a kick ass pic from Gino's 12 megapixel Canon 5D. Absolutely sick camera. I wish I had one!!!!!


----------



## overclkr

Ladies,


Gino is off to some much needed rest al though he won't get much because it's off to Art's this morning but I just had to post about this young man that has incredible ability in regards to picture quality.


Not only did he put up with my BIG ASS MOUTH all night, but he stayed patient and pointed out to me things that I really DONT want to hear about when it comes to film.


Yes, I see them, yes, it doesn't bother me enough to take my system up to the kind of par that would be expected for a guy like him.


Yes, he rocks, yes, I'm buzzed, and yes fo sho it has been a blast.


Gino rocks......


Off to sleep for a "few" hours and off to Clarence's place in the morning.


This will be most awesome.


I see a Mike Parker mod in my future for the weekend that will correct the flaws of a stock CRT even like the G90.










Cliffy


----------



## overclkr

Did I mention that his lady is a hottie!!!???


You will all find out soon enough. What an absolute great evening!


Cliff


----------



## rajdude

Wow!

I wish I could afford a digital SLR with a full-frame (35 mm sized) sensor!










That is a smoking hot camera!











> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Here is a kick ass pic from Gino's 12 megapixel Canon 5D. Absolutely sick camera. I wish I had one!!!!!


----------



## rajdude

William,

I am thinking I will bring along something to serve as "dessert" for the people with a sweet-tooth!


So do we show up on saturday at 11AM or it is at 2 PM?


----------



## antorsae

Hey- those pics look really amazing!!! Congrats!!!


Yes, Gino is really off the charts when it comes to seek the perfect PQ!!! 


Cliff - those shots look really bright. How many ftL are you getting?


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *antorsae* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Hey- those pics look really amazing!!! Congrats!!!
> 
> 
> Yes, Gino is really off the charts when it comes to seek the perfect PQ!!!
> 
> 
> Cliff - those shots look really bright. How many ftL are you getting?



Oh God, I'm learning first hand to direct result of sleep deprivation.

















Oh well, you pay to live right?










Gino and Jessica just left in the Limo to fly out to Art's place and check out the KING of theaters.

















I'm off to shower, pack up, and head to the airport. Looking foward to meeting EVERYONE and hanging with the AVS ELITE!










BTW, big dog, 10.5 foot lamberts.










Cliffy


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Guys!


We need another Toshiba HD player and some movies as spares, BluRay welcome also, anyone driving in please bring your players.


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Tim in Phoenix* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> We need another Toshiba HD player and some movies as spares, NluRay welcome also, anyone driving in please bring your players.



I've got special doorprizes for anyone who brings a player


----------



## Dave Harper

Can anyone there right now tell me if Terry Ferrentinos is there? I'm supposed to meet him there w/ a BG1208 for a mutual client in Atlanta. I'm right by there waiting 4 his return call.


Also can someone PM me Mike Parker or anyone else's # so I can call.


thanx










Dave


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Dave


Try 540 687 3802, they are there.


----------



## Clarence

Yes, Terry is there.


Dave, Terry needs a HDMI-DVI cable or adapter if you happen to have one or pass a store that sells one, Terry said he will reimburse anyone who can bring one today.


Dang, that SMX screen frame is the prettiest screen I've ever seen. Incredible design and manufacturing quality. I want one.


Gotta go pick Cliff & Arli up at the airport...


----------



## Belcherwm

I've got a couple. I'll take them up in a few minutes.


----------



## rajdude

Anyone interested in a HTPC with a HD-DVD player with the latest nVidia 8600 GTS card + Purevideo?


I can bring one along.


BTW, what time? 11 or 2 PM


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Hehe


Early telephone reports from the scene indicate "Moooahahaha" type image quality on the twelve foot wide SMX screen.


Send More Pix!!!!!!!!!


----------



## wallace1234




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *rajdude* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Anyone interested in a HTPC with a HD-DVD player with the latest nVidia 8600 GTS card + Purevideo?
> 
> 
> I can bring one along.
> 
> 
> BTW, what time? 11 or 2 PM



Rajdude,

Not sure about the htpc, and not sure if William will be on to read the forum tonight. But I think we is starting around 2:00 tomorrow and was thinking about 11:00 on Sunday. Hopefully, he will log on tonight and clarify if I'm wrong.


Maybe give him a call tomorrow morning and see what the scoop is.


The screen is outta-sight!! Blending is really cool!!


Bring something for desert? Great!


See you tomorrow.


wallace


----------



## Art Sonneborn

Well ,Gino ,Jesse ,Angela and I had a nice evening but poor Gino had already been through the ringer at Cliff's. I think Cliffy had already had his way with him so he had needed AV viagra by the time he got here.










Art


----------



## Chuchuf

First report.........LOOKS GOOD.........more to come


Terry


----------



## mark haflich

The lap dancers just arrived! They keep asking where's Art, Curt and Tim? Then somebody spoke the word Blendzilla and two of the girls lit up with big smiles and said the hell with Curt, Tim, and Art, and if I tell you what they did next to Cliffy, Tryg will have me banned. Mamma! Sad thing is Cliffy is sooo sloshed I'm not sure he will remember it.


----------



## Dave Harper




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Tim in Phoenix* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Dave
> 
> 
> Try 540 687 3802, they are there.



Thanks Tim







I was able to get hold of the homeowner William and then drop the unit off with Terry.


I wish I could have stayed longer







I was running VERY late for a later appt and had to leave after only a few minutes checking it out.


It was GREAT to meet everybody there and shoot the bull for a bit. It's been a few years since I've seen a few of them like Ken, Galen, Mike P., etc.


Thanks for running that BG1208/2 down to Atlanta for me Terry!!!


Mark H. thanks for making some calls and hooking me up.


Have fun guys







!!!


----------



## Curt Palme




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> The lap dancers just arrived! They keep asking where's Art, Curt and Tim? Then somebody spoke the word Blendzilla and two of the girls lit up with big smiles and said the hell with Curt, Tim, and Art, and if I tell you what they did next to Cliffy, Tryg will have me banned. Mamma! Sad thing is Cliffy is sooo sloshed I'm not sure he will remember it.



Umm, I sent those girls in my absence. DIdn't they wave their Canadian flags and show their beavers?



If not, I want a refund!


----------



## mark haflich

One of them brought this shiny brass flag pole. From my boy scout nature merit badge, I thought Canadian beavers were covered in brown hairy fur. These beavers were bald. At least that is what it looked like when Cliffy and Clarence came up for a breadth of fresh air. Those boys reminded me of skin divers without scuba tanks they way they kept coming up for air and then going back down.


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Guys!


Talked to William a moment ago, he sez the crowd is around 25 right now and the picture is freakin' amazing........many thanks to Clarence for supplying his HD clips discs for the demos and some door prizes!!!!! More soon and some pix I hope.


----------



## NautikaL

awesome....i hope its just as good tomorrow!


----------



## rx-8

Pix...show us the pix!


----------



## SmX

Someone please take some people pictures!


Ruben


----------



## Tim in Phoenix




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *SandmanX* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Someone please take some people pictures!
> 
> 
> Ruben



Hehe


Would those would did not tell their wives "I'm going Bowling tonite" please post some pictures......


----------



## Audiophil

So what time are you guys firing up the big three guns tommorow?







11-12?


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Say Phil


Eleven am is a good bet.......


----------



## wallace1234

OK. I can't figure how to post pics, so here are some attached pics. BTW, I was in charge of beer, BBQ and maragritas. NOT pics. Someone else needs to post some decent ones.


----------



## wallace1234

More.


----------



## wallace1234

more.


----------



## wallace1234

my head hurts. more tomorrow.


wallace


----------



## overclkr

William,


My God what a beautiful home you have. Not like you haven't heard this before from me.










Today was a blast but I must ask, why in the hell is my big ass in all of these pics?

















Don absolutely AMAZED me with the pork, the beef brisket, and the jerky.


The jerky was by far THE BEST I have ever placed in my big ass mouth. Just simply incredible.


I FINALLY got to meet Terry. Bastard looks JUST LIKE MY DAD!!!! What a kick ass guy. Too kool. Loved the inside look of the AVS Elite!


AWESOME!


Mike,


Finally nice to meet you and looking foward to your visit!


Art,


Wish you were here to check the gig big dog! Sorry I kept Gino up all night! Miss you man.










Everyone else, it was most awesome to put faces to the names and I must say that there is some really cute AVS CRT members. I'm almost thinking at this point that I'm going to switch genders!

















Cliffy


----------



## Don_Kellogg

Dam Dam Dam... missed out on the fun... looks like you guys had a great time..


----------



## mark haflich

I was the last to arrive getting there about 8:30PM. Mark Conner and I were the last to leave about 1:15 AM. JBJR and Gino and wife were staying the night. Mark and I had about 1 1/2 ride back home. Supposed to be back 11 AM tomorrow.


The food and drinks were superb! Beef brisket and jerky, great stuff. The margaritas--strong, strong, strong, the lime did not hide the taste of the liquor and the secret ingredient? A little whole milk added to the blender. Smooth, great tasting and potent.


The set up and picture quality--still a work very much in progress. Be very interesting to see this after a bit more dialing it in.


----------



## zGman

Status - Terry & Galen safely back in hotLanta.

Operational Status - multiple AmberBocks =/ Coffee consumption + driving.

William - Awesome host, great coffee and bacon cheese burgers! Thanks!

Mike and John - Best thrash since the Porsche racing days!

Relentless attention to details and video quality, incredible technical prowess!

Three days nonstop to 3AM & just like Christmas morning on Saturday......

Terry - Never ceases to amaze me - never stops until it's right on!

Don - Best BBQ ever!!! (serious praise from a southern boy....)

Ken - Great working with you on the Blend Zone (& 110% + feedback on the PJ)

Cliff & Clarence - great to meet you! So many posts and now some faces too!

Pete - Wish we had more time, please hook up next you're up this way!

Ashley - you are one sweet pup.....


Video Quality = Awesome

I have no idea what you saw after we left, but what I saw Saturday morning

when Mike and John and I did an A/B comparison of the MP Xbox vs. HTPC

was absolutely stunning. The combination of Mikes PJ mods, the setup up work

from Terry and Ken, the fact of using the full raster(= power) on the PJ's = the

most immersive picture I have ever seen or even imagined possible.

The detail in the low end and the effortless power in the bright scenes just

made the whole effort totally worthwhile. By far, the best sources that I

saw were the MP Xbox and Terry's HTPC, the toshiba/crystalio a credible 2nd,

toshiba to blender - not even close (color space wrong & very bad stuttering)


Screen impressions - A very pleasant suprise! Good job on the frame!

Some color shift due to the the higher gain coating used to compensate

for the fill ratio. The color shift makes the blend match a little difficult,

but the acoustic improvement will no doubt make the trade off worthwhile.


Blender impressions - challenging to sort out under time pressure, some

functionality issues (loading saved setups, etc) but hey, the fact is the darn

thing works, and it works well - according to Mike the next step up is about $50K.

Sure, you could spend hours tweaking - but the fact is - a very watchable blend

can be achieved in fairly short order.


Status - sleepy now.......


Thanks,

Galen


----------



## zGman

Guys, seriously.....

after all the talk about strippers.....words completely fail to describe

my disapointment when when Cliff showed up with the little black box!!!

Cheers,

G


----------



## mark haflich

What I watched in the evening was very limited. Terry left before i got there. We watched the Toshiba fed into the Crystalio fed into the Blendzilla, I didn't get to see the MP modded Xbox and Terry's HTPC. The Toshiba into the Crystalio into the Blendzilla was NOT the most awesome I have seen. Could also be limited by the HD DVD transfer we watched. Definitely limited by the room. Not a black pit and it showed. The room needs some black tuning!


----------



## wallace1234

Back out again today for more bbq and beer!


wallace


----------



## mark haflich

The host william and family were great. Very very enjoyable visit and I will be back. I need to see the better sources. The Toshiba first gen feed into the Crystalio is not the champ. No way. I am not shure the Crystalio was in there either. Someone said it was, someone said it wasn't.


----------



## mark haflich

Wallace! My wife (who was up when we rolled home at 2;15 AM or so) was impressed by the compliments my guest Mark and I were giving your barbeque (remember Mar Conner is the dairy ranching and cheese and yogurt production business in Dallas, wants you to cater the brisket and sauce for a large party we are having later this summer. Man was that stuff GOOD.


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I need to see the better sources. The Toshiba first gen feed into the Crystalio is not the champ. No way. I am not dure the Crystalio was in there either. Someone said it was, someone said it wasn't.




The source issue was the last to iron out on this. And no one there on Saturday morning knew anything about the Crystalio, so it was a learning project. Though I would not rule it out for performance, as metioned, it has a color space problem. It's not handling HD colorspace, which makes the image look a bit dull, because the colors appear shifted. And a color space issue will rob an image of pop. Other than the color space issue, it seemed to be doing well with everything else. So hopefully, if a download can fix the color space issue, it may turn out to be a pretty good unit overall.


Both Marquees could use more setup and focus, but still at the resolution that we've been running them at (1400x1050 @ 72hz = 78H / 72V), they are doing very well. They are both cruising along at higher bandwidths. And they're still showing the very smallest text being readable from the rear of the room..










So today, we plan to work with more sources... more later, go to go!


----------



## SmX




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *zGman* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Screen impressions - A very pleasant suprise! Good job on the frame!
> 
> Some color shift due to the the higher gain coating used to compensate
> 
> for the fill ratio. The color shift makes the blend match a little difficult,
> 
> but the acoustic improvement will no doubt make the trade off worthwhile.



Hi Galen,


Thanks for your feedback. Mike Parker posted above that the color shift was caused by the Crystalio having a color space issue.


The screen doesn't have a gain coating and it doesn't color shift. It is very neutral in color.


Ruben

.


----------



## SmX

Everybody is posting about how good the Barbeque was and how nice the people were, that is not a very good sign so far. I hope the next set of posts are not comparing tap water quality.










Ruben


----------



## NautikaL

Man I hope people are still there today










So is it at 11am today?


----------



## mark haflich

Actually, there are three water districts involved in the DC immediate area. DC, MD, and Northern Virginia. Of the three northern Virginia actually has the best tasting water. A small amount of it is delicious surrounded by a big slug of bourbon.


----------



## bomrat

well, i don't know about the tap water, but the margaritas were fricken awsome... it was great to meet everybody, and it is my 3rd blending meet, it was great to see what the marquees can do in that setup... don w makes some wicked food... thanks much don.. as usually i love the smx screen its definitely what i am going with the next theater..


thanks much william for hosting this meet.


----------



## AnalogRocks

Sounds like a slam dunk. Keep those screen shots comming


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Guys!


Well it is Mike Parker towards the back here, who are the others?


----------



## Chuchuf




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> What I watched in the evening was very limited. Terry left before i got there. We watched the Toshiba fed into the Crystalio fed into the Blendzilla, I didn't get to see the MP modded Xbox and Terry's HTPC. The Toshiba into the Crystalio into the Blendzilla was NOT the most awesome I have seen. Could also be limited by the HD DVD transfer we watched. Definitely limited by the room. Not a black pit and it showed. The room needs some black tuning!



Mark,


What I saw of the Toshiba and Crystalio were OK, but not close to what Mikes XBox or the HTPC provided at 1080P directly to the blender. That was the picture to look at. I'm surprised that they didn't hook Williams HTPC up which we had running HD DVD when I left (that's why mine came out of the system).

While I was there the small experiment we had done with the Toshiba and Crystalio on Friday evening showed it was not in the same league as the HTPC or modded XBox360 for HD DVD playback from a picture quality point.

And as I was leaving the A1 was hooked up directly to the blender and it just didn't have a good picture quality at all. Colors were way off and that was a setup that we hadn't tried.

Yes the 9500's needed some more dialing it (probibly a full days worth), but they were close enough for the demo. Same goes for the blender. But we were all time limited in trying to pull this off.

But then this was all a big experiment in the first place for William to see what could be accomplished with blending and his theater, and William did get to spend some quality time Friday seeing a HTPC and modded XBox running through his system.......so he knows what it can look like. In that regard this was a big success.


It must have been Margaretta time by then.


Had fun, nice meeting and working with ya'll, and a big thanks to William for his hospitality.


Terry


----------



## Chuchuf




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Wallace! My wife (who was up when we rolled home at 2;15 AM or so) was impressed by the compliments my guest Mark and I were giving your barbeque (remember Mar Conner is the dairy ranching and cheese and yogurt production business in Dallas, wants you to cater the brisket and sauce for a large party we are having later this summer. Man was that stuff GOOD.




I live in BBQ country, and that was the best BBQ I have ever had. That and Wallace's "special" BBQ sauce.


Terry


----------



## Chuchuf




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *SandmanX* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Hi Galen,
> 
> 
> Thanks for your feedback. Mike Parker posted above that the color shift was caused by the Crystalio having a color space issue.
> 
> 
> The screen doesn't have a gain coating and it doesn't color shift. It is very neutral in color.
> 
> 
> Ruben
> 
> .



Ruben,


What Galen is referring to had nothing to do with the input or source. What we say was with all white patterns generated by the PJ's thenselves.

What color shift there was seen was very minor and could be easily dialed out. Don't be concerned about your screen. It was surprisingly good and performed way beyond what I would have expected considering it's accoustic transparancy.


What Mike is referring to has to do with the colors being produced in the picture played back from the Crystalio and HD DVD player which when I was there no focus was put on at all to set up at all.


My hat's off to you for a great innovative screen design.


Terry


----------



## Chuchuf




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *SandmanX* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Everybody is posting about how good the Barbeque was and how nice the people were, that is not a very good sign so far. I hope the next set of posts are not comparing tap water quality.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Ruben



Ruben,


Like I said in an earlier post, this was mainly an experiment for William to try blending and different sources.


For some reason after some of the early guests got there there was an immediate push by them to hook up the Toshiba A1 and Crystalio for HD DVD playback which they did. We had this set up briefly the night before and had dismissed it as inferior to the HTPC or Mikes modded XBox360 both for HD DVD playback. So to that end I didn't understand why there was this push to set the A1 up again.


But again, this was an experiment for William rather than a "structured" HT meet were the sources had all been dialed in carefully long before he meet and there weren't any other sources available.


What we had seen the day before and the yesterday morning while doing the install and setup were some of the best HD DVD playback I have ever seen using HTPC or Mikes modded XBox360 and Mikes modded 9500's. The black were great with fantastic sharp black detail. No gamma correction needed. The punch from the picture was very 3D looking. The screen was a good complement to the picture.


To be honest if the A1 stayed set up yesterday, the guests really didn't their monies worth at all.


Terry


----------



## Chuchuf

Tim,


Left to right.....

Cliff, John, MP and Galen.


Terry


----------



## SmX

Do you know if the frame sample ever got there? I tried to get in contact with William to confirm but he must of been busy.


Ruben


----------



## Chuchuf




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *SandmanX* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Do you know if the frame sample ever got there? I tried to get in contact with William to confirm but he must of been busy.
> 
> 
> Ruben



Yes the sample did get there Ruben.

We were particularly impressed w/ the frame, it construction and how well it masked any overscan.


Terry


----------



## SmX




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Chuchuf* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Yes the sample did get there Ruben.
> 
> We were particularly impressed w/ the frame, it construction and how well it masked any overscan.
> 
> 
> Terry



Awesome, thanks.


Ruben


----------



## rx-8




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *SandmanX* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Everybody is posting about how good the Barbeque was and how nice the people were, that is not a very good sign so far. I hope the next set of posts are not comparing tap water quality.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Ruben


----------



## zGman

Hi Ruben,


The screen is great both in quality of construction and picture.

I would not hesitate to recommend it or spec it for an installation.


I meant no pejorative earlier, just some technical observations

after a very long day and 10 hour drive. Color shift is primarily

a crt pj effect due to the separate physical mounting of the

tubes/lenses. It was very minor, and not in any way a problem.


The frame design is very well thought out and implemented.

The mesh material and separate black mesh backing should give

incredible acoustic performance. I wish we had been able to stay

until the sound was going, hopefully we will have another chance.

I have a sample here though, and will at least be able to check it

out over a speaker in the near future.....


Regards,

Galen


----------



## NautikaL

Well it was nice meeting everyone and seeing Ken, Mike, and Gino in action, but somehow I have a headache even though I'm not even old enough to drink







. Maybe Cliff's hangover somehow transferred to me?


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

I quote Nautikal:


Gino, Ken, Mike, and William were really busy today because the entire setup had to be redone for some reason...i think the memory got erased somehow? You all should really see Gino hold a remote though...he looks like he's holding a sword or baseball bat







.


Anyways, the picture was great once everything was setup. We watched lots of King Kong as well as various clips from Clarence's HD DVD disk via the xbox. I left a little early cause I have school tomorrow and exams this week so I'm sure they had lots more fun afterwards.


----------



## Gino AUS

Really great meeting everyone and talking amongst fellow enthusiasts.


They put me to work today that's for sure. I almost feel sorry for those that didn't get to see what we had achieved by this afternoon. From what I saw had been achieved yesterday, there was a real long ways to go. So William approached me this morning and asked for some help, and so I decided we really needed to start from the beginning. Due to obvious time constraints we couldn't really dial things in, so once things were satisfactory we moved on to the next step. I did a quick geometry setup with William, as this really needed work. I'd say in this area we went from 20% to 60%. Then Mike and I worked on focus/lens flapping. The thing I was most impressed here was the ability to focus with contrast at 100. This really made things sharp edge to edge. I'd say again another 10x improvement here. I then spent time tweaking geometry in the blendzone. William and I worked on convergence, then we played with the blend curve. Gallen did a very good job here and we only need slight changes. Then Ken worked his magic (I hope you'll come down under!) We had a great blend going here, but only 5-6 footlamberts. We pushed contrast to about 75ish and got to 7 ftL. We should be getting more output but we weren't able to maximise raster usage as the throw distance was too long. If we maxed this out, and shortened the throw, Ken thinks we should be able to get to 8+


The end result was special, and a massive and I mean massive improvement. However there is still room for more tweaking.


I'll post more on this soon, after I recover from this whirlwind trip, I'll start a thread later on my global CRT odyssey!


----------



## wallace1234

What a heck-of-a time! The last 3 days were some of the best I have had in my 51 years!


A HUGE thanks to William and his family for having this party! Beautiful house and great home theater. My many thanks to everyone that attended as I learned so much. Especially how grumpy people get when the margaritas need to be made







.


Terry, Galen, Mike, John, Ken, Gino, Cliff, Clarence all in the same house at the same time? You talk about a lot of horsepower; WOW!!


Gino really got the blending in Sunday afternoon. I guess this was a working vacation for him. But it was worth it for the rest of us.


Hope I can make it to the next one.


wallace


----------



## wallace1234

pic. Dont blame me for the crumy quality. Beer and bbq are more my speed.


----------



## mp20748

Here are a few screenshots that we took a little earlier this evening. I'll post back with comments later. must rest.


These are from the door prize demo DVD's. Xbox 360


----------



## wallace1234

MP's pics are much better...


----------



## wallace1234

more


----------



## wallace1234

more,


----------



## wallace1234

again, more.


----------



## overclkr

Awesome pics Don!!!! It was really great meeting you and everyone else. What a family we have huh? :^)


Cliffy


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Chuchuf* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Ruben,
> 
> 
> Like I said in an earlier post, this was mainly an experiment for William to try blending and different sources.
> 
> 
> For some reason after some of the early guests got there there was an immediate push by them to hook up the Toshiba A1 and Crystalio for HD DVD playback which they did. We had this set up briefly the night before and had dismissed it as inferior to the HTPC or Mikes modded XBox360 both for HD DVD playback. So to that end I didn't understand why there was this push to set the A1 up again.
> 
> 
> But again, this was an experiment for William rather than a "structured" HT meet were the sources had all been dialed in carefully long before he meet and there weren't any other sources available.
> 
> 
> What we had seen the day before and the yesterday morning while doing the install and setup were some of the best HD DVD playback I have ever seen using HTPC or Mikes modded XBox360 and Mikes modded 9500's. The black were great with fantastic sharp black detail. No gamma correction needed. The punch from the picture was very 3D looking. The screen was a good complement to the picture.
> 
> 
> To be honest if the A1 stayed set up yesterday, the guests really didn't their monies worth at all.
> 
> 
> Terry



Yeah, I should have kept my big ass mouth shut so I'm going to have to take the blame for that one. It actually would have worked out though if the damn color space of the Crystalio would have been out putting the proper greens for HD instead of outputting NTSC green for HD.










Somebody at that company needs a good spank on the tush for that fo sho.










Cliffy


----------



## mark haflich

Man. I am exhausted and all I did was eat, drink, watch, and drive about 400 miles this weekend. Great party. A lot of very talented people helped put things together. There is a tremendous learning curve here to get things right and with all that talent performance reached maybe 60% of potential. No one person had the skills or nowledge to do this right.


MVP? Gino. Witout him there and his tremendous knowledge of the blendzilla and the things you have to get spot on in setting the two projectors up, geometry both the same and perfect, convergence, identicle gray scales (the mighty Ken) before you can get the perfect blend. Now it really needs to be done again, move the projectors forward and do EVERY THING again, yet better. Doing this right is one massive feat and requires a lot of varied talent. And to maximize performance you really need a black room. Yada. Yada.


At the end, things looked much much better today. I slept one hour last night. And I only had one drink on saturday and one beer on Sundau. Cliffy has a hollow leg.


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *SandmanX* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Awesome, thanks.
> 
> 
> Ruben



Ruben,


That frame was bad ass big dog. Simply awesome.


You already know how I feel about the screen.










Cliffy


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Man. I am exhausted and all I did was eat, drink, watch, and drive about 400 miles this weekend. great party. A lot of very talented people help put things together. There is a tremendous learning curve here to get things right and with all that talent performance reached maybe 50% of potential. No one person had the skills or nowledge to do this right.
> 
> 
> MVP? Gino. Witout him there and his tremendous knowledge of th blendzilla and the things you have to get spot on in setting the two projectors up, gometry both the same and perfect, convergence, identicle gray scales (the mighty Ken) before you can get the perfect blend. Now it really needs to be done again, move the projectors forward and do EVERY THING again, yet better. Doing this right is one massive feat and requires a lot of varied talent. And to maximize performance you really need a black room. Yada. Yada.
> 
> 
> At the end, things looked much much better today. I slept one hour last night. And I only had one drink on saturday and one beer on Sundau. Cliffy has a hollow leg.



I'm not quite sure what to make of the hollow leg thing as I am tired as hell and need to get my ass up to bed, but, I will have to say that I whole heartedly disagree about the "lack" of talent at the meet in regards to anyone's ability or lack of "skills" was by any means the reason why the setup was at 50% of it's potential.


I've done this before myself and it does take a STEEP learning curve in regards to a full setup. After looking at those screen shots, I see that everyone there today that came down after lunch and after I left got a hell of a show.


I'll leave it at that and it was nice meeting you Mark.


Cliff


----------



## zGman

Greetings,


I am going to have to disagree with the assertion that there

is that much room for improvement by increasing raster usage.


Due to the laws of optics as applied to crt projection, the light output

falls significantly as we move away from the optical centerline.

That is, the relationship of light output to raster size is not linear,

and it is definitely not 1:1, there is a point of diminishing returns.


There is maybe 5% more raster usage on those machines before

you will start to hit the tube corners - 5% more area might give

you 2 or 3% more output. To get from 7 to 8 ftL will require 14%

more output, which will require at least 25% more raster area,

and I know for a fact that is not available - not even close.


I am getting 6.9 ftL with the 9500LC Ultra on a Stewart Studiotek 130

screen, that seems plenty bright to me - and it is just 16:9.


Bear in mind this is a mesh screen, some appreciable percentage

of the light is not being reflected back to the viewer. If you stand

behind the screen it is possible to clearly see the room - I would

guess there's at least 15% of the light being transmitted rather

than reflected. This is an acceptable compromise in light (hoho!)

of the excellent acoustic properties, etc....


Good theater is a balance of sometimes conflicting parameters,

excessive focus on one parameter may move away from

the overall best possible experience. For example, what have you

gained when a totally maxed raster leads to dimmer corners and

a vertical luminance irregularity in the blend zone?


Cheers,

Galen


----------



## JBJR

Hey Guys, just got home, man I'm wiped. It's been a long two weekends, but, I wouldn't trade em for anything! It's been loads of fun! Once again thanks William for allowing me to stay at you fantastic home, and meeting your wonderful family, and Ashley the dog and three cats.


All I can say right now is totally awesome! I want one of these soooo bad right now!

I'll post more later, off to bed!


John


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Man. I am exhausted and all I did was eat, drink, watch, and drive about 400 miles this weekend. Great party. A lot of very talented people helped put things together. There is a tremendous learning curve here to get things right and with all that talent performance reached maybe 60% of potential. No one person had the skills or nowledge to do this right.
> 
> 
> MVP? Gino. Witout him there and his tremendous knowledge of the blendzilla and the things you have to get spot on in setting the two projectors up, gometry both the same and perfect, convergence, identicle gray scales (the mighty Ken) before you can get the perfect blend. Now it really needs to be done again, move the projectors forward and do EVERY THING again, yet better. Doing this right is one massive feat and requires a lot of varied talent. And to maximize performance you really need a black room. Yada. Yada.
> 
> 
> At the end, things looked much much better today. I slept one hour last night. And I only had one drink on saturday and one beer on Sundau. Cliffy has a hollow leg.



After much labor and being a part of a very powerful fellowship with some really great people, I happen to click on the forum and read something like this..










Hopefully, you guys who were present would overlook this, and not play into it. There were no MVP's at this meet. And this event was much more than what happened on the projectors. I could list 100 things that went wrong over the month, but if it took 100 wrong things to allow me to be part of the great people i got to hang out with this weekend, then those 100 things were worth it. And if it was even 1000 things that went wrong, the rights would still out weight the wrongs. And for me, it was a blast.


Pulling this thing off was a miracle, and it took a many people to make it a success.

Or maybe I'm out to lunch for seeing this event as being a success. I love to be around good people, and there were many good people present, involved and along the way. To me, that's worth more than anything that went wrong, or could have went wrong.


It was a real gas for me to work with both Terry and Galen. I've always admired Terry for being the person that he is, and that he was so willing to drive up from Georgia to help out. And for the first time, I got to meet Galen. And meeting Galen, was like meeting another Terry. And to be able to work with the two of them was a real treat. These two guys put up their best, and If anything did not happen, that should have happened, it's not important. It's not like we had time to really dot every 'I' and cross every "T" It was just more important to me that they were there, and that they were so willing to help out, and they did just that. And you'll never know how much that meant to me, to see so many people so willing to help out. So for whatever the goal was with this meet, there were things that happened that was way more valuable to me than the expectations. Or am I being a bit selfish here?


William and his wife were exceptional host. And they did an excellent job of opening their house up to even folk they did not know. These people are special.


Seeing and meeting folk from the forum that I've not met before was also special, and everyone of them was just great people.



There's a lot of people I can thank and post something about, but there's one i must mention, and that's my best pal JB. I would not know where to start in expressing my gratitude for his friendship. I can't think of a time when I've needed help, and he was not there, or did not offer to be of help...


I can go on, but i'm so full of joy, that I'll just go back to sleep and look forward to the rest of my life to include yet another grand and memorable moment to reflect back on.


You guys let Mark wobble in his negativity - and move on. You all were just fantastic. And if you're not feeling that, thank you for being so fantastic this past week in my life.


----------



## antorsae




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Man. I am exhausted and all I did was eat, drink, watch, and drive about 400 miles this weekend. Great party. A lot of very talented people helped put things together. There is a tremendous learning curve here to get things right and with all that talent performance reached maybe 60% of potential. No one person had the skills or nowledge to do this right.
> 
> 
> MVP? Gino. Witout him there and his tremendous knowledge of the blendzilla and the things you have to get spot on in setting the two projectors up, gometry both the same and perfect, convergence, identicle gray scales (the mighty Ken) before you can get the perfect blend. Now it really needs to be done again, move the projectors forward and do EVERY THING again, yet better. Doing this right is one massive feat and requires a lot of varied talent. And to maximize performance you really need a black room. Yada. Yada.
> 
> 
> At the end, things looked much much better today. I slept one hour last night. And I only had one drink on saturday and one beer on Sundau. Cliffy has a hollow leg.



Mark - I agree that getting a Blendzilla rig up and running requires a monumental effort.


I also think that it IS possible for one single person to amass all required knowledge to do everything right (physical setup, magnetics, lens, geometry, convergence, geometry alignment in blend zone, D6500K in *ALL* areas, etc.)... and based on my interactions with Gino I think he is very close to that if not there yet (I really hope to get there too). I was amazed to see what he did to my setup in such a short time!!!










Blending is not for everyone, and neither is stacking. Stacking may be a bit (not much if you want to nail it) forgiving wrt to color matching but it is not with convergence; whether blending has its own quirks.


Is all this really worth it? For fun yes, for absolute sick people when it comes to seeking PQ (I must admit that I enjoy PQ more than actual movies) yes, and for the pleasure of getting it done, yes... but even the above than average person would be more impressed by a brighter (or bigger) image than by a better one.


Based on everything I am reading it looks like you all had a great time. All I can say is that I wish I was there!!!


----------



## Gino AUS




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *zGman* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I am going to have to disagree with the assertion that there
> 
> is that much room for improvement by increasing raster usage.
> 
> 
> There is maybe 5% more raster usage on those machines before
> 
> you will start to hit the tube corners - 5% more area might give
> 
> you 2 or 3% more output. To get from 7 to 8 ftL will require 14%
> 
> more output, which will require at least 25% more raster area,
> 
> and I know for a fact that is not available - not even close.
> 
> 
> Good theater is a balance of sometimes conflicting parameters,
> 
> excessive focus on one parameter may move away from
> 
> the overall best possible experience. For example, what have you
> 
> gained when a totally maxed raster leads to dimmer corners and
> 
> a vertical luminance irregularity in the blend zone?



Hi Galen, it was a shame I wasn't able to chat with you as you left once I arrived.


But I'm afraid I disagree with you here. Yes, perhaps there was only 5% more available raster usage. Therein lies the problem. You are assuming that the blendzilla is outputting an image to entirely fill that raster. The timings are one of the issues that really annoys me about the DVX. If you look at the actual image used within that raster, you have a massive 20% atleast to gain! There is serious wastage of raster usage. And this is only in width, there is still more in height to be used when shortening the throw. So you see, this amount of increased raster, combined with a reasonably shorter throw, should get you this extra ftL.


Get William to post a picture of the tubes when a movie is playing in 2.35:1. Have a look for yourself. I just checked to make sure I'm correct, but I've packed my camera as I'm leaving soon.


Corners may be dimmer, I'm not sure though this is a real issue. I think contrast modulation helps here. As far as irregularity in the blendzone... well, if you turned off your blend it is actually lighter here... so it's really just a matter of redoing the blend curve.


----------



## JBJR

Gino, I forgot I had my Moome DVI card in the car. Did you still want it?

Shoot me an email and I could mail it to you at your hotel in New York before you leave.


John
[email protected]


----------



## mark haflich

I am shocked at the interpretation here!. My post was not intended as an insult to anyone. What the F is somebody reading my post as a comment that talent and skills were lacking? There was a wealth of talent and skills present. A team of super stars. And it took all of them to get where they got. 60% according to Gino. The man with blend experience.


My point was that doing this right is a tremendous effort. A lot of very talented people worked on this set up, long and hard and my guess is is that most learned quite a bit about doing a blend. There is no substitute for experience in CRT and HT set up land.


If this gathering involved a single CRT set up, hell it would have been a snap. The talent and skills present, hell those guys wouldn't even had to break a sweat.


An overlap stack. Not child's play,but several present have done it. A fair amount of experience


A blended stack? Whole nother story. Getting it to videophile PQ? The skills of many are required. And most don't have a lot of experience doing a blended stack.


----------



## mark haflich

Cliify. I never said or used the word "lack". Hollow leg means you can drink a lot and still function great. The only edit I made to my earlier post was to correct the mispelling of geometry.


This exercise was not a demonstration of the best. It turned out to be a demonstarion of how to set up what ultimately may be the best. It was like a demonstration of the best in the business doing a first time medical operation for them. A guy who has done the operation before came and helped make the operation a sucess. Experience in doing a heart transplnt operation by a very skilled team doing it for the first time. My hats off to the group. I stand by what I said, I wouldn't change a word. AND NOTHING I SAID WAS A NEGATIVE. You all know me a lot better than that. There's nothig I wouldn't do for anybody there to help them do anything in the future. I appreciate their herculen efforts. You couldn't put together a more knowledgeable or skilled group.


----------



## rajdude

Awesome Meet guys !









Wallace, thanks for hosting this event. You are a gracious host!









Don's BBQ and the jerky was one of the best I ever had !

It was nice to meet all the CRT whiz - kids all at one place.



Now for my technical nonsense:


1. I think that Toshiba A-1 left a lot to be desired in terms of judder. I hope the second generation is better.










2. I went back and checked my nVidia 8600 GTS (latest gen, not the older one) based HTPC,.... just to double check the no-judder claims I was making in the meet. And yes, absolutely no judder at 60Hz!! Just a extremely smooth image while panning!

















Guys you just want to run the PJs to 72 Hz just to get rid of the judder, right? Why not get this card and be happy at 60Hz? At 60Hz the image will be much sharper too, since you wont be exceeding the bandwidth of these prehistoric beasts!









And guess what? No mods required!










3. Now that I have seen both, I think I prefer a blend to a stack. The image is sharper since "no trying to converge 6 dots". And as of course, no matter what they tell you....size matters.










4. This is the first time I saw 9500LC. Are they up to par with the G90? Ooops! Sorry, just had to ask










5. I dont get all this talk about getting more foor-lamberts on the screen? Whats up? That image I saw already was very bright. What do we achive by getting so bright an image?










I go to the local cinema....that image is no too bright either. But sit in there for 10 minutes and your eyes adjust to it and everything seems good.


So, all these efforts to get more brightess will simply be nullified with the human eye's iris narrowing, right?


Now if only someone showed up with a RS1!


----------



## Chuchuf




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gino AUS* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> If you look at the actual image used within that raster, you have a massive 20% at least to gain! There is serious wastage of raster usage. And this is only in width, there is still more in height to be used when shortening the throw. So you see, this amount of increased raster, combined with a reasonably shorter throw, should get you this extra ftL.



Gino,


I have been thinking about this since you posted last evening.


I am a bit confused here so let me explain why.


Normally when I hang a PJ for the first time, I take the highest frequency source and project it through the PJ w/ a 100% image size. The PJ is on a rolling cart and I project G only doing a very basic geometry then rolling the cart to a position that it fills the screen. OK now I have the starting throw distance.

We then translate that to the ceiling and mount the PJ there but with unistrut which allows us to move the PJ back and forth for final adjustments.


When we arrived at Williams there weren't really any any sources available yet as none of us knew how to operate the blendzilla. There were two of them there (one working and one not working) so we decided to use the internal test patterns of the PJ. We maxed and centered this cross hatch pattern to the tube face, projected it on the half of the screen +/- ~10% and slid the 9500 on a table back and forth until we determined the throw distance. At that point it was 114".


Once we got to the ceiling (at this 114"), we opened the PJ's size on these internal test patterns to the mid 90's and located that PJ by sliding back and forth on the mount. We did this with Mike as he wanted to be in the 95% size area projected over the screen half +/- ~10%. This moved the PJ forward ~2" to 112" to the front of the lens. We then took and made sure that the throw distance on the right PJ was exactly the same as the left and the throw distance was with 1/8".


Now lets look at some throw distances and see where this is at for an 80" wide screen:


* EHome distance calculator says that with HD10GT17 lens 126.5"


* I believe that Tim uses 1.35 x screen width which works out to ~ 108" with Marquee lens's"


* Barco Lens program for the Barco 909 with HFQ900 lens's works out to ~110" to front of lens.


Considering that the lens's used on these 9500's were HFQ900's we felt that we were within a reasonable spec at out final distance of 112".


When we first arrived and until the second day of setting up Blendzilla, we were told that the width of each screen would be about 78.5" with blend. We actually ended up with a slightly smaller blend zone than anticiped by a few inches which equated to a slightly smaller screen size than the 78.5". There were also blendzilla changes in resoltion from the broken one to the operating one which could also have an effect on image size.


The point of all this is that yes there may be a few inches that the 9500's can be moved forward based on the blend zone size and different lens types, but I don't believe that will equate to 20% increase in picture size on the tubes. This few inches of travel cam be easily sone with the unistrut mounting system.


There are a few other points that Galen will address having to do with the trapezoidal pattern on the tube face, projection angle when ceiling mounted and Gaussian distribution of light in an optical system (which is very interesting when you consider color shift, loss of light output at the edges and how "pros" set up the pattern in a blended simulation system).


Terry


----------



## Chuchuf




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mp20748* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> It was a real gas for me to work with both Terry and Galen.



Mike,

It was a real pleasure to work with a pro like you as well. You and John work very well together and I found your on site repair abilities to be nothing short of amazing.


Terry


----------



## D6500Ken




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *rajdude* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> 5. I dont get all this talk about getting more foot-lamberts on the screen? Whats up? That image I saw already was very bright. What do we achive by getting so bright an image?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I go to the local cinema....that image is no too bright either. But sit in there for 10 minutes and your eyes adjust to it and everything seems good.



The typical theater measures somewhere between 12-14 fL. Whereas I agree that you can have a very enjoyable image with much less light, the eye craves contrast more than anything. Ask anyone who has seen a three-chip DLP installation with 20+ fL coming off the screen (or Art's and Cliff's with 10 fL)



Ken Whitcomb


----------



## Belcherwm

Really enjoyed myself over the last week or so. As Mike said the people are what make this kind of thing special.


William, it was a treat and I admire how you kept your sanity! Really enjoyed talking with Cheryl and your sons.


Here's some of my pictures:

*Friday*










*Dueling convergence*










*Big Desktop*










*Saturday*




























*My Blend Zone is bigger than your Blend Zone.*













More to come.


----------



## Belcherwm

William working the corner











Gino in his zone











Color space issues from the Crystalio?











Cliff checking the Forums. He must be either challenging HDTVFanatic to a duel or describing how he'd "hit that", Big Dog.











No, it's not a refergirator. It's Don's magic machine!











Don, thanks for the BBQ.











Ashley chillin'












I'll post some screen shots a little later.


----------



## Chuchuf

I think we all know and agree that CRT's put out less light than most if not all digital's. A comparison between the two is certainly not the focus of this thread.

My G90 on a torus with w/ 3.1 gain screen puts out a bit over 7fL and I find this to be a bright image. Williams put out about 6fL and found his to also be a bright CRT image.

That said, you aren't going to get this 12-14fL out of any CRT. The fact that stacked G90's produce 10fL proves this point.

6-7 fL is certainly a very enjoyable good contrast viewing image for CRT. The overall contrast and ability to transition from black to there contrast levels we achieve is what sets the CRT apart from any other technology out there.


Terry


----------



## NautikaL

I can't even fathom why you would even want over 7fL. I have a torus with a 3.1 gain screen and I have to turn the contrast down to 50% because if I go higher I have to wear sunglasses whenever there's a bright scene!


----------



## rajdude

wow!

if you guys are getting 7 fL with a 3 gain screen I wonder what I get with my (lowly) Ampro 4200 on a UPW over drywall (read no gain) "screen" ???


2 fL ????????



I wonder why I never feel the need for more brightness


----------



## Tim in Phoenix

Hello


The Marquee/BlendZilla System on a nine or ten foot screen width is about all the light output you could stand with Contrast around 50, I do most viewing with Contrast 42 and it is grand. Those with batcaves and new tubes can push a bit more screen size with Contrast 55-60 if they understand that tube wear may be a bit faster.


Thanks to all who contributed their efforts in making the East Meet happen!


----------



## zGman

Mike,


So great to get up and read your notes on the weeks work.

I always learn a lot when we have talked via phone, and it was

an absolute blast to meet you and work together on such a challenging

time frame. I know you do much more complicated blend systems

for commercial applications on a regular basis, and was just amazed

by the depth of your knowledge. I learned more intricate, in-depth

details in a few days than I would in a year of just reading and working

on my own! I must say it was a pleasure working with John as well,

he has a lot of knowledge and a great ability to focus on a problem,

often quietly working while others are debating - and then bam - he's

figured it out and we were moving again. Like I said - best workfest in years!


Bill - great pics! Thanks for keeping up with that!


Wish we had more time to enjoy the party, and certainly appreciate

William's hospitality and the peaceful and beautiful setting of his home.

Also wish I had thought to nab some of Don's BBQ - lunch today is looking

very boring in comparison!


Gino - also wish we had met and had some time. Hope you had a great trip and

return safely. Certainly appreciate your enthusiasm for the blend system also.

However, I really don't understand though why you came in and hooked up the

worst possible combination of source/blender. The MPXbox 360 was setup and

ready to go, it would have only made sense if you had A/B compared the two.

But of course - people can debate technical details forever. If you can get a full

on-axis picture of the raster, I will be happy to do a graphical analysis and apply

the luminance curve transfer function, and calculate any theoretical possible

increase in light output.


Great fun meeting everyone!

Galen


----------



## Art Sonneborn

Just for reference ,Ken measured just under 12 fL in my front row (most adventageous seating for an angular reflective screen) and 10 fL in the back row( poorest spot for my screen). I'm using a 1.7 gain screen.


I've been very very happy with that amount of light but no doubt more has a seductive quality. In a recent issue of WSR Joel Silver recommended 20fL as a starting point for screening rooms. I think we can argue about the merits but in my room there is not just a brighter image but the color saturation goes up rather dramatically when you have one projector muted then see both together.


Just my take...............


Art


----------



## mark haflich

Its sort of like the digital guys a year ago saying all a CRT does better is the blacks (On/off CR) and that isn't very important and them a bulb projector comes a long with much better blacks (the RS1) and they all have to have it.


We say high foot lamberts aren't that important (hell I (me) live with 5 or so and am quite happy, really enjoy it). BUT there isn't much you can do in CRT land to increase brightness, high gain screens (not an acceptable solution to me) or stacking machines. Yet, when one sees 10 ft lamberts, one goes wow. I want that too. I haven't seen 20 yet. Defend low ft lamberts too much and you sound as bad as a digital guy saying blacks aren't so important. We(CRT guys) know better and our arguments why low ft lamberts are OK for low foot lamberts make sense, BUT as Art says, see it and you want it. Just not practicable for most in CRT land.


----------



## mp20748

I'll finish up from my previous post here.


Again, there's no MVP's from this event. And I'm not taking anything away from Gino, I've expressed both praise and appreciation directly to him. And I've also told him that he would be the most qualified person there to deal with the blend, mainly because he has one. And after seeing what he has learned about blending in such short time, he's one remarkable person.


Now, If an award or If there were one person that should get the single praise, it would be Ken. I must say, this guy is a professional in every way. And every time I get to see him at his work, I learn something new. But what really keeps him as one at the top with this. Is his ability to find issues within the video chain, or system itself. he just refuses to force a calibration, because he wants what the customer wants (the best).


I was amazed at how many times he went back over the adjustments, though it had nothing to do with what he had already done, he was more than willing to correct on the changes we were making along the way. He just wanted to be a part of the team, and he wanted to make this event the best it could be. And he surely proved that with both his efforts and the end results.


Again, thanks Ken. You are truly a first class person and if not the best calibrator on the planet, it's because you're not that well known globally. You've been a great and tremendous help, and I can't thank you enough. watching you and the other pro's at work inspired me to look beyond all obstacles. And that's why it was great to work with a great team.


I mentioned to Clarence that I was hoping to get a picture of the team that worked together that weekend. JB, Gino, Galen, Terry, Ken, and I guess I'm worthy to be named with you guys - great job!


----------



## Ericglo

Could we get some screen names connected to the pics to see who is who? Is Ashley's screen name emdawgz?


----------



## Gino AUS




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *zGman* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> However, *I really don't understand though why you came in and hooked up the worst possible combination of source/blender*. The MPXbox 360 was setup and ready to go, it would have only made sense if you had A/B compared the two.



In NY safe and sound, and finally rested. Can't post long, gotta take Jess shopping now! Yes Cliffy... agree with you 110%.. she is a HOTTIE










I just want to ask what you're on about here Galen. Worst combination?? We tried the Xbox direct to the DVX.. in fact when we demoed the blend when we had it at its best it was this way. Why not the MPbox? Because of the limited time, Ken wanted to calibrate what William would most likely be using, and MP said that calibrating on his box may be an issue. We tried looking at the Crystallio just to show others what gamma bumps do, and we tried the A1 too, but just for kicks and only very quickly.


As for the questions on raster usage... just get William to post pics of what is actually being used. My screen is larger at home, and my throw is about the same, if not shorter!


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gino AUS* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> In NY safe and sound, and finally rested. Can't post long, gotta take Jess shopping now! Yes Cliffy... agree with you 110%.. she is a HOTTIE



Glad you made it safe big dog.










You are truly a VERY VERY lucky man to have a beautiful and not only beautiful, but extremely intelligent, kind, and giving woman. There really arent that many left these days. Especially in the U.S.


Enjoy the rest of your trip big dog and we'll talk soon.


Cliff


----------



## damon

Scowl on my face was immediately after being informed that the BBQ needed 20 more minutes.


Great event & lots of thanks to go around. The host family was outstanding!!


It was indeed good to put faces with names & in some cases voices.


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Ericglo* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Could we get some screen names connected to the pics to see who is who?



Top-left: Terry (chuchuf), Galen (zgman), Mike Parker (mp20748), John (JBJR)










Terry and Galen...










From left: Ken W (black shirt), Gino, Terry (sitting), Rajiv (rajdude with orange shirt), MP, Galen (at laptop)...










Cliff, Galen, Ken, Terry, Rajiv, Pete (zphoto), MP, and I'm sitting on the floor...










Arli (bomrat) and John (JBJR)...










Cliff...










Cliff:










NautikaL and Don (BBQ Master)...


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *rajdude* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I went back and checked my nVidia 8600 GTS (latest gen, not the older one) based HTPC,.... just to double check the no-judder claims I was making in the meet. And yes, absolutely no judder at 60Hz!! Just a extremely smooth image while panning!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Guys you just want to run the PJs to 72 Hz just to get rid of the judder, right? Why not get this card and be happy at 60Hz? At 60Hz the image will be much sharper too, since you wont be exceeding the bandwidth of these prehistoric beasts!


_"absolutely no judder at 60Hz!!"_


Hmm... now I definitely have to come visit your setup, because IMHO saying "no judder at 60Hz" is akin to saying "I found a rooster that lays eggs".


I'll have to show you 60 Hz judder vs silky-smooth (47.95 or 71.928).


Now I will admit that some media players and some video cards will play 60Hz smoother than others at 60Hz, and I've seen video cards and media players that "stutter" at 48/72, but when I show you judder-free 71.928 on your video card you'll say "OHHH! Now I definitely know what you mean by silky smooth".


The HD-A1 (and 99% of all other HDDVD and BD players) will always have judder... they only do 60Hz.


AFAIK, all video cards will judder on 60 Hz with film content. It's a mathematical artifact of turning 24 frames per second into 60, using 3:2 pull-down.


60Hz judder is a lot more subtle than dropped frames. It's easiest to notice on long, slow angular pans. You might only notice it once or twice during a movie. But once you make the mistake of learrning how to spot 60Hz judder, it's annoying. Like fade-to-black... once you see how a good video setup can handle it properly, you seek it, you appreciate it, and you strive for it.


----------



## beerbujit

Hello to all,


WOW! what a great meet. I would like to thank William and family for the hospitality they provided for ALL. I really enjoyed myself. What a fine family we are







. I do wish I could have made it for day 2, as it sounds things were much different. I would like to know who threw out my margherita and beer when I went to the can.... I'll wait....Just kiddin. Thanks Don. I also found out that snickerdoodle road goes on forever when you go the wrong way







Oh before I forget Clarence you also should get much credit for the fine demo dvds, very nice indeed.


Steve


----------



## NautikaL

Well I was so inspired by the meet







...that I redid most of the color setup on the XG to the best of my ability. The main thing I did was to get rid of a slight red tint at low IRE so black levels are very good now. I'm sure it looks no where near as good as Ken could do, but even my mom noticed a difference and she doesn't even know what contrast means







.



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *beerbujit* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I also found out that snickerdoodle road goes on forever when you go the wrong way



Ouch...well at least its a pretty fun road to drive on as long as you're not scared by the fact that you can't see around the corners







.


----------



## Ericglo

Thanks, Clarence!


I feel sorry for Pete having to make another trip so soon!


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *beerbujit* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Hello to all,
> 
> 
> Oh before I forget Clarence you also should get much credit for the fine demo dvds, very nice indeed.
> 
> 
> Steve



Hell ya. Clarence is the CRT forum HD DVD MASTER when it comes to making kick ass demo discs. He Rocks.


BTW, Clarence,


I owe you one now big dog. You and your wife's amazing ability to make me feel at home was nothing short of spectacular. Thank you so much.


Like you haven't heard it before.










Your a TRUE FRIEND!










Steve,


It was nice to meet you and YES, it's one hell of a family. Unlike anything I have EVER EXPERIENCED.










Cliffy


----------



## Curt Palme




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> ... and not only beautiful, but extremely intelligent, kind, and giving woman. There really arent that many left these days. Especially in the U.S.
> 
> 
> Cliff



Or Canada. I see a road trip in my near future to down under. And according to the Aussie ladies, we Canadians have such cute accents..


----------



## Ken Tripp




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> The HD-A1 (and 99% of all other HDDVD and BD players) will always have judder... they only do 60Hz.



I'm pretty sure that there are three Blu-ray players that output 24p and current digital pj's will happily display it at 72hz or better still 96hz. Now that's judder free.


Ken


----------



## Don_Kellogg

Did someone say Florida...


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Don_Kellogg* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Did someone say Florida...



Dude, I'm in Daytona next week. Wanna do dinner you little ***?

















Cliffy


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Ericglo* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Thanks, Clarence!
> 
> 
> I feel sorry for Pete having to make another trip so soon!



Great pic of Arli. What a most kick ass dude. Who is that **** in the middle?


Most excellent!


Cliffy


----------



## Don_Kellogg

hmm 443 miles one way... let me see if I can get to jacksonville we have a site there that needs help. How long will you be in town mon-fri?


----------



## overclkr

 http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...ghlight=ht5000


----------



## zGman

Greetings,

I was just tickled to find that my tired old back was mistaken for Gino's

young slender physique! At least I am pretty sure I remember duelling

convergence with Terry, he always wins though...hohoho!!

Finally caught up on sleep and getting over the enormous hole my usually

placid oversized Lab chewed in our new carpet during a thunderstorm

Friday night! Watched a funny movie on my 2002 9500Ultra and didn't

adjust one darn thing! Very Glad William's setup came together in time

and pleased you guys could put in the extra day of setup. Really hope he had

a totally fun day enjoying all that he had planned for and anticipated for so long.

The screenshots looked very good also.

Looking forward to getting my new LUG's and red c-element installed, some

quiet fan mods, finishing the Barco twins down in the shop and oh yeah - back to

work on the house.

Best Regards,

Galen


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Don_Kellogg* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> hmm 443 miles one way... let me see if I can get to jacksonville we have a site there that needs help. How long will you be in town mon-fri?



Monday through thursday big dog. Don't push it if you don't have to.....


We'll be haning soon enough.


Cliff


----------



## damon

NautiKal,


Must say that I am very much impressed at your level of interest & all that you have acheived at such a young age. Did not really realize the nature of your attendance at the Kosman meet until I talked briefly with your father.


Sorry that we did not get a chance to talk but good luck with all future CRT endeavors. I vividly remember being around your age & getting laughed out of some high-end audio stores in the 70's. Kudos to your father as well for aiding you in pursuing your interest.


Now I am hoping I have this right & "NautiKal" was the young man that came out with his father from Rockviille. His substantive post here differ wildly from his appearance.


----------



## Don_Kellogg




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Monday through thursday big dog. Don't push it if you don't have to.....
> 
> 
> We'll be haning soon enough.
> 
> 
> Cliff




Word Son Word...


Hope the beaches are as nice as they are in Pensacola, hmm of course thet are.


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Ericglo* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Could we get some screen names connected to the pics to see who is who?



Some more...


Gino and William (the host)...










William (wkosmann), JBJR, MP, Gino (with remote), John (emdawgz), Mark Conner (damon), Pete (zphoto), Ken W (the jedi calibrator), Mark Haflich, and I'm not sure about the last guy in the black shirt...


----------



## rajdude




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> 
> Hmm... now I definitely have to come visit your setup, because IMHO saying "no judder at 60Hz" is akin to saying "I found a rooster that lays eggs".



Well, I have been inviting you over for ages now!









Give me a heads up beforehand and I will bring the HTPC to my house. (The HTPC with the 8600 is not really mine, I built it for someone)


My own HTPC is older, with a FX550 card and no HD-DVD (yet).



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> 
> I'll have to show you 60 Hz judder vs silky-smooth (47.95 or 71.928).
> 
> 
> Now I will admit that some media players and some video cards will play 60Hz smoother than others at 60Hz, and I've seen video cards and media players that "stutter" at 48/72, but when I show you judder-free 71.928 on your video card you'll say "OHHH! Now I definitely know what you mean by silky smooth".



Ok, I am up for it, but I can't imagine how much smoother this can be. It is already 100% jerk free.



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> 
> The HD-A1 (and 99% of all other HDDVD and BD players) will always have judder... they only do 60Hz.
> 
> 
> AFAIK, all video cards will judder on 60 Hz with film content. It's a mathematical artifact of turning 24 frames per second into 60, using 3:2 pull-down.



I'm not sure about if the content I watch is film content or not but none of the clips on your HD DVD demo disk and the 3 movies I have watched (King Kong, Babel and Deer Hunter) had any issues with jerky pans (AKA judder right?)



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> 
> 60Hz judder is a lot more subtle than dropped frames. It's easiest to notice on long, slow angular pans. You might only notice it once or twice during a movie. But once you make the mistake of learrning how to spot 60Hz judder, it's annoying. Like fade-to-black... once you see how a good video setup can handle it properly, you seek it, you appreciate it, and you strive for it.



I know I know. I am very sensitive to it







My plasma does it all day! But the same thing when I watch on the Ampro PJ, it is smoooooth. (talking about the Comcast DVR and DVDs)


----------



## Art Sonneborn

Just for fun I have the judder poster child for all of you. If you can smooth it out you are there. Fight Club early in Ed Norton is describing the contents of his condo as the items and prices are overlayed as the camera pans across the room. Almost impossible to read at 60Hz. I have the Dtheater if anyone wants it for the test.


Art


----------



## antorsae

Guys, did you run the blend at 60 Hz or 72 Hz?


We tried both 60 and 72 Hz on my setup and the difference was NOT subtle... HD-DVDs from HTPC looked super-smooth.... at 72 Hz and not so much at 60... That and the freaking rainbows was the final topping for me to go 72 Hz (I'd like to try 96 Hz but it is outside specs of single channel DVI-D I think).


BR - Andres


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *antorsae* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Guys, did you run the blend at 60 Hz or 72 Hz?
> 
> 
> We tried both 60 and 72 Hz on my setup and the difference was NOT subtle... HD-DVDs from HTPC looked super-smooth



Everything was coming out of the Blendzilla at 72 Hz.


We tried the Toshiba HD-A1 directly into the blendzilla and got slight judder. And we tried the HD-A1 into the Crystalio II and then into the Blendzilla.... IMHO this was even worse... we got ripping, judder, and colorspace issues.


We also tried to run HDMI out of the HD-A1, but the DVI HDCP box would not feed a signal. Of course the very next day after the meet, Toshiba released firmware update v2.2 to fix the HDMI-DVI issues...
http://209.167.114.38/support/ceg/do...LL/D000004.asp 


I was not in the room when they hooked up the xbox drive through HTPC... I'm assuming they were running 71.928 smoothly.


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *antorsae* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Guys, did you run the blend at 60 Hz or 72 Hz?
> 
> 
> We tried both 60 and 72 Hz on my setup and the difference was NOT subtle... HD-DVDs from HTPC looked super-smooth.... at 72 Hz and not so much at 60... That and the freaking rainbows was the final topping for me to go 72 Hz (I'd like to try 96 Hz but it is outside specs of single channel DVI-D I think).
> 
> 
> BR - Andres



We ran everything at 72hz. Both projectors were getting 1400x1050P @ 72hz (78khz / 72hz).


72hz should be the highest rate you'll want to do for film. Especially when doing progressive scan to the projectors.


72hz also gave us a very smooth image, but not with the Crystalio (broke). The Crystalio's only virtue was gamma adjustment. Other than that, it made a real mess of the image. It looked OK on "happy feet" but with true film source material, it was a joke.


The Xbox 360 into the Blend unit at 1080P /60hz produced the best image by far. And because we were trying different sources and variations, it was not used for most of the meet. And barely used on Saturday.


----------



## mp20748

In speaking with William yesterday. I think we're going to do this again. Maybe somewhere like 3 to 4 months from now.


I have to go back out there in a day or so, to get a few things I left that I'll be needing asap. While there, I'll take a bunch of screen-shots with the Xbox in the setup. We'll post them from Williams sometime this week.


There were several things at this meet that sticks in my mind today. One was the ability of the Blend units to do what it does without softening the image. It did extremely well there - truly amazing!


the second was Gino. This guy has an eye. To not be someone who's either trained or has extensive experience with this stuff, he has this ability to see stuff with the image, that leaves you wondering, how did he acquire this skill in such short time.


Amazing guy!


And of course, those Marquee's..


----------



## zGman

Well I sure am glad we stayed up until 3am friday night watching

the xbox with mp mods, it was just awesome. The A/B tests

we did saturday before lunchtime with the htpc and mpxbox

running the same video material(KK) simultaneously and sync'd

was absolutely the technical highlight of the whole trip for me.

(well, besides fiddling about the the blend processor....)

I still can't understand why anyone would want to watch a

another source with that one available, there was such a big

difference. But I guess that's why they call it testing...hohoho!

Cheers,

G


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mp20748* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> The Xbox 360 into the Blend unit at 1080P /60hz produced the best image by far.



Aside from the fact that the XBox wouldn't display the entire image at 1080P from the VGA connector... we were losing over a foot of the image on the left side.


To keep the aspect ratio correct, they also had to crop the top and bottom of the image when viewing 1080P from the XBox.


This was frustrating because the HDDVD menu is always in the very bottom of the frame, so you couldn't control chapter selection, etc.


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Aside from the fact that the XBox wouldn't display the entire image at 1080P from the VGA connector... we were losing over a foot of the image on the left side.
> 
> 
> To keep the aspect ratio correct, they also had to crop the top and bottom of the image when viewing 1080P from the XBox.
> 
> 
> This was frustrating because the HDDVD menu is always in the very bottom of the frame, so you couldn't control chapter selection, etc.



Yeah, and that was the main reason for trying to make the other sources work. To include, we wanted to have an HDMI option, and see what that would look like.


So it was a combined effort to look at all available sources, and to be able to judge between them all what was best. It would have been great to be able to dial custom resolutions out of that Crystalio. However, things did not turn out the way we had hoped. And the only thing that bothered me was that Crystalio. I would have been fine, but when someone had the same problem posted on a computer, then I started to get a bit pissed about that Crystalio. It's obvious that the manufacturer KNEW that unit was broke, yet they sent it to use regardless..










But it's all good still.. we had a great time!


For me, seeing those Marquees step above that high scan rate, made it for me..


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Art Sonneborn* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Just for fun I have the judder poster child for all of you. If you can smooth it out you are there. Fight Club early in Ed Norton is describing the contents of his condo as the items and prices are overlayed as the camera pans across the room. Almost impossible to read at 60Hz.



Here's Art's "Fight Club" judder test snippet:
 
http://crtforum.com/img/Fight_Club_judder_test.ts (27 Mb)


And here's the judder test scene from the opening title of "Sahara":
 
http://crtforum.com/img/sahara-5sec.ts (10Mb)
http://crtforum.com/img/sahara-45sec.ts (83Mb)


----------



## zGman

I am not sure when this occured, after Mike figured out the settings

to get the MP xbox input to sync with the blend unit (about 1:30 am friday night)

we spent some time with the H width and position controls, and had good

success getting the image centered and sized, there was a few inches

lost on the left, but nowhere close to a foot - based on the xbox menu screen.

However the H controls were both maxed at this point. I can imagine after

another setup and perhaps using the non-modded xbox, that the overall

configuration had changed. Certainly we found that the blend unit does

a lot of work in the porches as you increase the active blend area,

(very frustrating with the geometry setup iterations!), and of course the H

position/size is working in the porch settings. And of course my favorite

position for a quiet moment is out on the back porch...hohoho!!!

Cheers,

Galen


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *zGman* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> there was a few inches lost on the left, but nowhere close to a foot - based on the xbox menu screen.
> 
> 
> I can imagine after another setup and perhaps using the non-modded xbox, that the overall configuration had changed.



The mod doesn't affect the 1080P VGA cropping issue. We used both... modded and unmodded.


I'm talking about Sunday afternoon, particularly with the "Seabiscuit" HDDVD main menu.


And with the "Sahara" HDDVD menu. It says "Play" on the very bottom... but we couldn't see it because of the zoom crop necessitated by the XBox360's 1080P VGA cropping issue. But it won't play if you press "Play" on the front panel nor if you press "Play" on the remote. You must press "OK" on the remote.







Who's the genius HDDVD menu author that allows that on most HDDVDs?


The Xbox still had 60Hz judder, even when processed to 72 by the Crystalio and/or directly to the Blendzilla. Gino and I tried the Toshiba *and* XBox through the Crystalio *and* directly into the Blendzilla... all combinations still had judder on the Sahara test scene.


IMHO, you have to use the external XBox360 HDDVD USB drive on a HTPC at 71.928 to get the full image (no cropping) without judder.


----------



## NautikaL

Clarence,


What about if you use component or DVI out from the Xbox and transcode it into VGA? Same results or is this a VGA specific issue?


----------



## Clarence

That's what I'm doing now. But 1080i component or DVI through a transcoder or deinterlaced to 1080p in a video processor like the Lumagen pales in comparison to straight 1080P HDMI.


To keep this on topic for William's setup, I think he should seek HDMI 1080p @71.928


But I think we all found out the hard way that's easier said than done. There always seems to be a hiccup in the video path...


The XBox360 cropped the 1080p image from VGA










The Crystalio II had the wrong HD colorspace










The Toshiba HD-A1 HDMI is only 1080i. The Gen2 players should be better... they do 1080p and I've heard the HDXA2 can also give 24p.


The PS3's 1080P HDMI wouldn't output though the dtrovision DVI converter. The component 1080i deinterlaced by a video processor to 1080p is much softer than HDMI 1080p.







1080p HDMI straight into moome's card was stunning. But then it's still 60Hz... I'd like to get it to 47.95 or 71.928.


A good HTPC might be able to do X360 HDDVD at [email protected], but that won't help with other HD sources like HDTV.


I'm interested in trying HDMI from Ben's X360 Elite... I'll have to check to see if 1080P is an option.


I also wish that the blendzilla would support 1080P instead of 1440x*1050*. I don't think you'd notice except on a one-on/one-off alternating single-pixel line pattern, but it'd still be nice to eliminate every possible pixel manipulation.


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> That's what I'm doing now. But 1080i component or DVI through a transcoder or deinterlaced to 1080p in a video processor like the Lumagen pales in comparison to straight 1080P HDMI.
> 
> 
> To keep this on topic for William's setup, I think he should seek HDMI 1080p @71.928
> 
> 
> But I think we all found out the hard way that's easier said than done. There always seems to be a hiccup in the video path...
> 
> 
> The XBox360 cropped the 1080p image from VGA
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The Crystalio II had the wrong HD colorspace
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The Toshiba HD-A1 HDMI is only 1080i. The Gen2 players should be better... they do 1080p and I've heard the HDXA2 can also give 24p.
> 
> 
> The PS3's 1080P HDMI wouldn't output though the dtrovision DVI converter. The component 1080i deinterlaced by a video processor to 1080p is much softer than HDMI 1080p.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 1080p HDMI straight into moome's card was stunning. But then it's still 60Hz... I'd like to get it to 47.95 or 71.928.
> 
> 
> A good HTPC might be able to do X360 HDDVD at [email protected], but that won't help with other HD sources like HDTV.
> 
> 
> I'm interested in trying HDMI from Ben's X360 Elite... I'll have to check to see if 1080P is an option.
> 
> 
> I also wish that the blendzilla would support 1080P instead of 1440x*1050*. I don't think you'd notice except on a one-on/one-off alternating single-pixel line pattern, but it'd still be nice to eliminate every possible pixel manipulation.



Yeah, I'd love to see 1200P at the very least.


Cliff


----------



## madpoet

"The Toshiba HD-A1 HDMI is only 1080i. The Gen2 players should be better... they do 1080p and I've heard the HDXA2 can also give 24p."


Sadly, it can't do 24p yet. Supposedly this summer it will get a firmware update.


----------



## Clarence

Thanks. Then I'm not going to rush out and upgrade from my HD-A1 yet.


I'll get the PS3 and/or flip my X360 to upgrade to the new Elite360 w/HDMI.


----------



## NautikaL




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *damon* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> NautiKal,
> 
> 
> Must say that I am very much impressed at your level of interest & all that you have acheived at such a young age. Did not really realize the nature of your attendance at the Kosman meet until I talked briefly with your father.
> 
> 
> Sorry that we did not get a chance to talk but good luck with all future CRT endeavors. I vividly remember being around your age & getting laughed out of some high-end audio stores in the 70's. Kudos to your father as well for aiding you in pursuing your interest.
> 
> 
> Now I am hoping I have this right & "NautiKal" was the young man that came out with his father from Rockviille. His substantive post here differ wildly from his appearance.



Yep that's me... I got a CRT projector when I was 15. I started doing research for a "big screen tv" in 2004 and went from a RPTV, to a digital projector, and then to a CRT projector after somehow finding Curt's site. Unfortunately I'm limited in what I can get though...both in terms of money and the fact that this is my parents' house after all (I couldn't paint the walls black for example).


One day I hope to have something similar to Gino, Art, Cliff or whoever else has that caliber HT. Gino's sound system sounded ridiculous when he was describing it back at the meet! Until then, it's 400$ speakers along with an XG in quite a ghetto home theater room (my chairs are a couch and there's black fabric on the floor to cover the white carpet for example







). But hey, it works and the picture quality is far better than I imagined back in 2004...and its twice the size.


----------



## Clarence

Cliff,


When we returned from dropping you & Arli off at the airport on Sunday afternoon, Gino had finished the re-setup from scratch. Ken did another color balance calibration and then Gino and Galen tweaked the blend curve.


Bottom line, the final results were 4.72x better than they were when you'd left a few hours earlier.


IMHO, the results from 6-9pm on Sunday night were still a bit less than the results that you and Ken achieved on your G90's. But considering that the projectors weren't even ceiling-mounted and the blendzilla wasn't even connected until Thurs/Friday, I think that the final result on Sunday was very good.





As Gino hinted earlier, if you attended on Saturday or left before the BBQ on Sunday, then you missed seeing how it really came together.


Cliff learned that it takes more than 6 hours or 6 days to climb the Blendzilla's steep learning curve. Galen was doing a good job. Gino made it look easier after applying what he'd learned during his 6 months of ownership.


MP did a great job with the mods. Gino was impressed when he was able to crank contrast to 100 without blooming when he was doing EM focus.


And Ken did another perfect job with the color balance... extremely critical, especially when you have 2 separate projectors sitting next to each other... the slightest color shift jumps out at you.


I'd also like to thank Cliff and Ken for touching up my G90... my sources and video chain have changed significantly in the past year. Plus I changed the screen and the new frame was an inch closer than the original setup. I've been too lazy to do anything much more than basic convergence touchups.


And for the past several months, I'd been worried by a cyclical drifting or orbiting every 5 seconds or so, my blue grid would drift about a pixel to the right, then drop down about a pixel to the bottom, then drift back in and repeat every 5 seconds or so. I showed it to Cliff and he said he saw something very similar when he placed a fan in his hushbox. He asked if I had a fan or anything in my ceiling mount. I said no, and then looked up and said the only thing on top of my projector is a UPS. Doh! As soon as we removed the UPS, the orbiting disappeared.


Cliff, Ken, Arli, Pete, and I had a lot of fun (too much fun) staying up until sunrise watching movies and sipping beverages... followed by a few rounds of Wii golf and bowling on Sunday morning.


----------



## zGman

Hi Clarence,

Guess I don't know what you saw there after we left, just wish I had

more time to carefully take pics of the setup I saw so we could compare

results....I do think there's some confusion about scaling, etc. though.

All the sources are 16:9, 2:35 material shown on the 2.35 screen is

just a slice out of the middle, maybe 8xx by1920. The Blender is

frustrating in that there's no easy way to do constant height setups

for a single input, it didn't allow us to load saved setup parameters.

(I felt better when Cliff mentioned he had discovered the same issue.)

So, as I understand it, we were scaling a 8xx by 1920 image slice onto

a 1050 by 2600 total screen (the output per PJ was 1050P x 1400)

Total H rez = 2 times 1400 = 2800, minus 200 blend zone overlap = 2600.

We had the same cropping issue with the output of the HTPC, although

with that it was easy to just move the task bar over to the side.

I guess every solution has some issues, I found it was really engaging

to be able to watch 2:35 material at full height, and the 12' wide wasn't

too shabby either....hohoho!

And I am finally getting to snack on my last momento of the event, a bowl

of chili from Dank's Deli in Middleburg - highly recommended!!

Let's just look in the cupboard for something to blend it with...!

Cheers,

Galen


----------



## Kevmann




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Chuchuf* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Ruben,
> 
> 
> Mikes modded XBox360 both for HD DVD playback.
> 
> Terry



Do we know what Mike does to the Xbox? I wonder how a stock Xbox would perform on its own? Does Mike sell his XBox mod?


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Kevmann* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Does Mike sell his XBox mod?



No.




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Cliff,
> 
> 
> When we returned from dropping you & Arli off at the airport on Sunday afternoon, Gino had finished the re-setup from scratch



Actually, Gino re-did the geometry. And both him and I worked on lens flapping and tightening up the focus on both of the Marquees. The focus was only off on the bottom of the right Marquee. The left Marquee was nearly perfect.


Focus was never an issue on this setup, though the entire process took me only about two hours to do both once they were installed on the ceiling. And the only thing that I worked on was the focus.


The image never had any sharpness issues. Gino was highly impressed with the level of detail they both produced the night before. We both were looking at how well they both displayed the very fine text on the screen, and they did it at 87khz at 72hz. Which has always been a real task for any CRT to do - until now...


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Gino had finished the re-setup from scratch





> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mp20748* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Actually, Gino re-did the geometry.



I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that Gino had to completely redo _everything_ on his own without help from anyone and without building upon the majority of the previous setup which was expertly done.


I'll refrain from making any further comments about what I saw, who did what, the frustrating constraints of the sources, or anything that I thought could be improved upon.


Everyone did a great job. It really was a fun weekend. And dang, Wallace's BBQ was great!


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Cliff,
> 
> 
> When we returned from dropping you & Arli off at the airport on Sunday afternoon, Gino had finished the re-setup from scratch. Ken did another color balance calibration and then Gino and Galen tweaked the blend curve.
> 
> 
> Bottom line, the final results were 4.72x better than they were when you'd left a few hours earlier.
> 
> 
> IMHO, the results from 6-9pm on Sunday night were still a bit less than the results that you and Ken achieved on your G90's. But considering that the projectors weren't even ceiling-mounted and the blendzilla wasn't even connected until Thurs/Friday, I think that the final result on Sunday was very good.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> As Gino hinted earlier, if you attended on Saturday or left before the BBQ on Sunday, then you missed seeing how it really came together.
> 
> 
> Cliff learned that it takes more than 6 hours or 6 days to climb the Blendzilla's steep learning curve. Galen was doing a good job. Gino made it look easier after applying what he'd learned during his 6 months of ownership.
> 
> 
> MP did a great job with the mods. Gino was impressed when he was able to crank contrast to 100 without blooming when he was doing EM focus.
> 
> 
> And Ken did another perfect job with the color balance... extremely critical, especially when you have 2 separate projectors sitting next to each other... the slightest color shift jumps out at you.
> 
> 
> I'd also like to thank Cliff and Ken for touching up my G90... my sources and video chain have changed significantly in the past year. Plus I changed the screen and the new frame was an inch closer than the original setup. I've been too lazy to do anything much more than basic convergence touchups.
> 
> 
> And for the past several months, I'd been worried by a cyclical drifting or orbiting every 5 seconds or so, my blue grid would drift about a pixel to the right, then drop down about a pixel to the bottom, then drift back in and repeat every 5 seconds or so. I showed it to Cliff and he said he saw something very similar when he placed a fan in his hushbox. He asked if I had a fan or anything in my ceiling mount. I said no, and then looked up and said the only thing on top of my projector is a UPS. Doh! As soon as we removed the UPS, the orbiting disappeared.
> 
> 
> Cliff, Ken, Arli, Pete, and I had a lot of fun (too much fun) staying up until sunrise watching movies and sipping beverages... followed by a few rounds of Wii golf and bowling on Sunday morning.



Dude,


That was that absolute LEAST I COULD DO considering your hospitality and great friendship. Your top notch big dog.










Bummer that I missed it tweaked out. What really sucks is our flight got delayed so we didn't take off until after 8:30.










Cliffy


----------



## mark haflich

Clarence. Sipping or chugging?










As some might say, this gathering was a CLASSIC!


BTW thanks for putting up all those all stars at your house. CRTers are really a big brotherhood.


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Sipping or chugging?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> CRTers are really a big brotherhood.



Cliffy, I think Mark is poking fun at our beer bellies again.










Beer bellies, BBQ bellies, buffalo wing bellies (thanks emdawgz)...

Plus, I whipped up a big breakfast buffet, so now we have big breakfast buffet bellies.


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that Gino had to completely redo _everything_ on his own without help from anyone and without building upon the majority of the previous setup which was expertly done.
> 
> 
> I'll refrain from making any further comments about what I saw, who did what, the frustrating constraints of the sources, or anything that I thought could be improved upon.
> 
> 
> Everyone did a great job. It really was a fun weekend. And dang, Wallace's BBQ was great!



Why, I love to read your commentary on things. And there's nothing wrong with discussing things that could have been done better. After all, there seems to be an East Coast Blendzilla 2 already in the plans. So maybe there's still somethings to learn about sources and anything else as it relates to this thread and event. I think it would be great for discussion. It would surely help out the next event, if we know ahead of time. The only source device I was familiar with before this event, was the Xbox 360. Everything else was new to me and I knew nothing about the blend unit.


----------



## antorsae




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> MP did a great job with the mods. Gino was impressed when he was able to crank contrast to 100 without blooming when he was doing EM focus.



WOW. What was involved in getting that? MP mods? Magnetic mods? Frankenyokes?


----------



## JBJR

Just MP's latest greatest mods!!!


----------



## antorsae

But wasn't those Thonsom focus yokes responsible for blooming? I never thought the neck boards could cause blooming...


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *antorsae* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> WOW. What was involved in getting that? MP mods? Magnetic mods? Frankenyokes?



It's a combination of two things. First, the magnetics and coils are stock.


On any of the mods i've been doing the past two years, you should notice that you'll be able to crank the contrast up a bit before blooming. This is an indication of a clean video chain. Or better put, tighter video chain, because increasing the contrast will also raise the noise floor in the video chain. So some parts of that bloom is noise.


On the set of boards (mods) that's in those two Marquees, they are special. They were done specifically for this event.


But that's not all, you'll have to align the magnetics a certain way to bring this out. I was showing this to Terry and Galen.


In a day or so, I'll be posting screenshots of the blend setup. Just as with You and Gino, the emphasis will be on detail.


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *antorsae* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> But wasn't those Thonsom focus yokes responsible for blooming?



No.


----------



## mark haflich

Not the yokes. Its the MP mods to the VIM and neck boards. Mike could answer whether its both or one. Regardless, the mods do raise the E-homes to a whole nother level. Eliminates a lot of noise from the image too.


A lot of BIG EGOS in CRT land. The meet was great, lots of fun, lots of learning. Things to criticize? A lot but everyone is holding back because of the danger of bruising egos. A lot of cooks in the kitchen. The biggest problem I think was the meet was too close to installation. One might say it was simultaneous with installation. There were problems with one of the projectors drifting and different aged tubes. The projectors were not mounted at the right distance because the sources were not there at the time of mounting. Time forced compromises. Equipment showing up at the last minute with problems. One of the two blendzillas was bad. The Crystalio was not right. Old gen HD-DVD player. Not the latest blu ray players. Not a lot of set up experience with the blendzilla except by Gino. All sorts of source problems. By the next meet, things will be perfect. Things were pretty damn good by Sunday evening. Everyone contributed and really enjoyed themselves.. To hell with egos. They only keep you from getting better. Let suggestions and criticisms fly. We still all be friends.







I'll just keep wallowing in my negativity.


----------



## mp20748

Oh, I forgot to mention. The video chain would not only have to be clean, it has to have higher bandwidth than the signal applied.


I was showing Gino the difference between the internal grid and the external test pattern grid from the laptop. The external grid should be used for this. in comparison, the internal grid would bloom less. While the external would be more difficult to keep from blooming.


Also, the goal to maintain the bloom is necessary for high bandwidth sources. If the video chain cannot maintain blooming at high brightness, it will not handle finer detail in brighter scenes. So the ability to maintain blooming at higher contrast adjustments, is very necessary for high bandwidth performance.


The projector are not really bright, but they do extremely well in bringing out that finer detail. And if you're able to capture finer detail in a screen-shot, it's in your face.


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> The biggest problem I think was the meet was too close to installation. One might say it was simultaneous with installation.



IMHO, this was actually always the intent. Speaking with the host before the event, it was clear that the emphasis was on *him* seeing what would work together and what wouldn't. He wanted to see as many source options as possible to help him get a feel for what he should acquire and what he should avoid.


He invited us to his house to collaborate and contribute... at the end of the week I think we all have a MUCH better understanding of what works, what is close to working, and what will never work.


We learned a lot more in this past weekend than we could learn from a year of rambling in a thread called "what HD sources and processors should be used to provide top-notch PQ on a 12' wide CRT setup?"


The host wasn't simply inviting us to see the finished product. Instead, we were graciously invited to watch over the shoulders as the whole cake started to bake. We got to lick the batter as it cooked. And yes, it took longer to bake than the recipe indicated.


The chefs took 2 separate sheet cakes and placed them side-by-side with nary a seam. They got the base layer of icing on the cake, but they never got to put the fancy flowers and flourishes on before everyone jumped in and grabbed several pieces.


Now we're hearing the taste tests... needed a pinch of salt... too much sugar. And suprisingly, maybe a squeeze of lemon.


OBTW, I never knew that Grand Marnier and milk/cream could make such a smooth margarita.


----------



## mark haflich

He means maintain NON blooming,


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> IMHO, this was actually always the intent. Speaking with the host before the event, it was clear that the emphasis was on *him* seeing what would work together and what wouldn't. He wanted to see as many source options as possible to help him get a feel for what he should acquire and what he should avoid.
> 
> 
> He invited us to his house to collaborate and contribute... at the end of the week I think we all have a MUCH better understanding of what works, what is close to working, and what will never work.
> 
> 
> We learned a lot more in this past weekend than we could learn from a year of rambling in a thread called "what HD sources and processors should be used to provide top-notch PQ on a 12' wide CRT setup?"
> 
> 
> The host wasn't simply inviting us to see the finished product. Instead, we were graciously invited to watch over the shoulders as the whole cake started to bake. We got to lick the batter as it cooked. And yes, it took longer to bake than the recipe indicated.
> 
> 
> The chefs took 2 separate sheet cakes and placed them side-by-side with nary a seam. They got the base layer of icing on the cake, but they never got to put the fancy flowers and flourishes on before everyone jumped in and grabbed several pieces.
> 
> 
> Now we're hearing the taste tests... needed a pinch of salt... too much sugar. And suprisingly, maybe a squeeze of lemon.
> 
> 
> OBTW, I never knew that Grand Marnier and milk/cream could make such a smooth margarita.



Damn dude, you need to start writing for a living!!! Too Cool!!!!

















Cliffy


----------



## mark haflich

I do not think we had the right sources. We did not have the latest gen HD-DVD and Blu Ray. We had a sick Cystalio. I am sure one of the intents was indeed to compare sources. But IMNSHO the intent was to have the projectors up, aligned, geometricized, blended, calibrated yad yada YADA before the meet started on Sauturday. That was the intent. That didn't happen. Now everything was combined, trying differentr sources while doing everything else. Not the way to do it. Once again, time got too compressed as I and others knew it would. **** happens. No one's fault and yet at the same time the fault of many. But the faults were eseentially harmless given the great time had by all.


----------



## mark haflich

Squeeze of lime, not lemon. Grand Marnier adds refinement and a slight orange taste to the mix. The cold milk, that was an ingredient I have never seen used in the drink. It indeed added smoothness and a touch or a creamy texture. I learned and it will go into my chain of ingredients not to mention marinating brisket in Dr. Pepper.


----------



## Clarence

Everyone was invited to bring sources. I brought the HD-A1... if I had a gen2, I would've brought it. Cliff brought the PS3 from Chicago... if he had a better BD player, he would've brought it.


I think we were lacking in the HDCP arena. My internal G90 devices weren't usable in a Marquee. And due to a Toshiba bug that wasn't fixed until yesterday (in firmware v2.2), the HD-A1's HDMI didn't work with the dtrovision DVI stripper. We'd hoped to have moome's latest external box, but that didn't materialize.


The Crystalio wasn't sick, it's flawed with the wrong colorspace for HD.


I think the whole weekend is fairly representative of buying a bunh of stuff only to find out that half of it doesn't work like you hope, or only works 80% with everything else you have.


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Everyone was invited to bring sources. I brought the HD-A1... if I had a gen2, I would've brought it. Cliff brought the PS3 from Chicago... if he had a better BD player, he would've brought it.
> 
> 
> I think we were lacking in the HDCP arena. My internal G90 devices weren't usable in a Marquee. And due to a Toshiba bug that wasn't fixed until yesterday (in firmware v2.2), the HD-A1's HDMI didn't work with the dtrovision DVI stripper. We'd hoped to have moome's latest external box, but that didn't materialize.
> 
> 
> The Crystalio wasn't sick, it's flawed with the wrong colorspace for HD.
> 
> 
> I think the whole weekend is fairly representative of buying a bunh of stuff only to find out that half of it doesn't work like you hope, or only works 80% with everything else you have.



Yep. I would have loved to bring my ISS switcher with the latest moome input card like you have in your G90 that I use to power the stack and all of those problems would have dissapeared.


Unfortunately, my baggage would only hold the PS3. It's bad enough that security ravaged through my luggage because I brought that!


By no means is the Toshiba A1 flawed in any way and they rank the PS3 blue ray playback among the Elite of BD players.


Yes, the A1 is only 1080i, but with the right scaler, it's absolutely stunning.


I'm not going to even think about getting started on the whole 72hz vs. 60hz thing.


ANYBODY WHO PUSHES THE ISSUE WITH ME, I'LL JUST PUT MY FINGERS IN MY EARS AND SCREAM BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH!!!!!!
























Cliffy


----------



## wallace1234




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Chuchuf* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I live in BBQ country, and that was the best BBQ I have ever had. That and Wallace's "special" BBQ sauce.
> 
> 
> Terry



Terry,

Thanks for the compliment! I'll pm you the bbq sauce recipe this weekend.


wallace


----------



## mark haflich

Cliffy sticking his fingers in some orifices in his body and screaming is something I do not want to see or hear. So please let's make it 48 or 60.


----------



## wallace1234




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> What a family we have huh? :^)
> 
> Cliffy



Cliff,

Outstanding family!!! Just let me know if anyone needs any cooking or drink making done..










Really cool time, and really cool to meet you guys. Hope some of the jerky made it back home...


wallace


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *wallace1234* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Cliff,
> 
> Outstanding family!!! Just let me know if anyone needs any cooking or drink making done..
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Really cool time, and really cool to meet you guys. Hope some of the jerky made it back home...
> 
> 
> wallace



Wallace,


My family destroyed it. It's almost all gone already.










Thanks so much big dog!! Absolute best jerky I have ever put in my mouth!


Guess what I've been doing to the wife after eating it??? Ever done the pull the covers over the head gig?
























Cliffy


----------



## wallace1234




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *beerbujit* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I would like to know who threw out my margherita and beer when I went to the can.... I'll wait....Just kiddin. Thanks Don. Steve



You know it wasn't ME who threw out any drink! But I do recall some "whining" when the margaritas were out...










Hey, I'm ready to go for it again! I have a bunch of other drink recipes as well as (ok, here I go blasting my big ass mouth as Cliff would say) the best beef fajitas you ever had!










wallace


----------



## wallace1234




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *overclkr* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Ever done the pull the covers over the head gig?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cliffy



You dog!!! I just fell out of the effing chair when I read that. Damn right! No good marriage is complete without the "cover over the head" trick. Really good when it's an SPD (silent but deadly).


Dude, you crack me up!!!


wallace


----------



## zGman

Thanks for the effort, nicely done! and for the most excellent demo disc!

There are and will be a ton of technical details about this to learn and

discuss - and different people have different ways of expressing themselves

and some of us can get pretty wrapped up in whether exact numbers

thrown out as descriptions make good engineering sense ( ...who me....?)

I like the story about the UPS on the PJ, I had that squirelly picture thing

on my nice Viewsonic years ago and chased that problem forever....!

Cheers,

Galen


Turns out I had one good picture, must have been Thursday night, before

the lack of sleep and caffeine OD kicked in, Terry is actually smiling....

Although I still don't get how to get around the pixel limit of avs?


----------



## Gino AUS




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> William (wkosmann), JBJR, MP, Gino (with remote), John (emdawgz), Mark Conner (damon), Pete (zphoto), Ken W (the jedi calibrator), Mark Haflich, and *I'm not sure about the last guy in the black shirt...*



That was one of William's sons.


----------



## Gino AUS




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Everything was coming out of the Blendzilla at 72 Hz.
> 
> 
> We tried the Toshiba HD-A1 directly into the blendzilla and got slight judder.



Guys, 72Hz doesn't judder. I bet if you got 72Hz out of that sahara scene from the source, you wouldn't have a problem. When Andres had his htpc setup to output this correctly, it was the most fluid film I had ever seen, almost like watching video material.


Despite the DVX outputting [email protected], the problem was that it was being fed at 60Hz. I've said it before that I'm not impressed with the DVX's deinterlacing ability, and I don't think it even does 3:2, and this is why it wasn't displayed smoothly. For best results with the DVX, it should not be set to an internal rate of 72Hz, but rather set to sync with or follow the input source rate, so if you can feed it 72Hz, it will lock with it and you'll get judder free playback.


Hope this clears up this issue.


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *zGman* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Turns out I had one good picture, must have been Thursday night, before the lack of sleep and caffeine OD kicked in, Terry is actually smiling....


----------



## wallace1234




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Squeeze of lime, not lemon. Grand Marnier adds refinement and a slight orange taste to the mix. The cold milk, that was an ingredient I have never seen used in the drink. It indeed added smoothness and a touch or a creamy texture. I learned and it will go into my chain of ingredients not to mention marinating brisket in Dr. Pepper.



Grand Marnier gives it the "top shelf" drink. Dr Pepper for the marinade, I can't take credit for that. Just using a recipe that someone gave me when we lived in Texass.


Glad you enjoyed it; my pleasure for sure!


wallace


----------



## Gino AUS




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mp20748* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> the second was Gino. This guy has an eye. To not be someone who's either trained or has extensive experience with this stuff, he has this ability to see stuff with the image, that leaves you wondering, how did he acquire this skill in such short time.
> 
> 
> Amazing guy!
> 
> 
> And of course, those Marquee's..



Geez, thanks for the kudos guys, especially from you MP. I did keep hearing that I had an eye for this, I think it is my drive/passion for top PQ, and the fact that I'm a dentist means that I'm always looking at things under a microscope and going for best aesthetics possible.


As I told others at the meet, because I am so remote and I couldn't get anyone to help me out, I had to learn this all myself, and this pushed me to learn it as well as I can, but I'm still pushing and learning. This trip was the first time I had seen another CRT projector besides my own, so it was always something in the back of my mind whether I was doing CRT's justice.


I don't have time to chat, Jess has been really supportive and wonderful this trip that I'm taking her around NY shopping and wining and dining as deep as my wallet can go. But I'll start a thread of my own when I return home as there are many people I need to thank.


----------



## Clarence




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gino AUS* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> That was one of William's sons.



That makes sense. I met the wreck from Ga Tech. That must be the Hokie brethren from Va Tech.



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gino AUS* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I did keep hearing that I had an eye for this, I think it is my drive/passion for top PQ, and the fact that I'm a dentist means that I'm always looking at things under a microscope and going for best aesthetics possible.



That's exactly what Art told me when I talked to him on the phone... he said being a dentist means you're anal-retentive about details. And that's a perfect trait for AV.


----------



## wallace1234

From my standpoint, this whole weekend was like watching the Discovery channel when a bunch of the BEST surgeons get together. There were so many times when someone would finish doing their part and just say, "Ok, your next". Then, that person would step in and do their part.


If something was wrong before, or changed because of new settings of other adjustments, it was "just fixed"! GIT-R-DONE! Thats what it amounted to.


Truly amazing to watch a bunch of people dedicated to something 110% and strive for the best outcome.


Damn I wish this stuff would happen more often.


Top shelf!


wallace


----------



## wkosmann

Well Ladies and Gentlemen;


So many people to thank. Mike, without whom this isn't possible, and who has been unbelievably generous with his time and expertise. John, for driving down many times, always being there, modden the Xbox, fixen a 1000 other problems, and maken the Belden 1694 RGBHV cables. Terry and Galen, who drove up from Atlanta to rescue us when everything was falling apart, and who, with Mike, mounted two 9" CRTs in one day. Ruben, who busted his ass to get me the brand new first in the world SmX screen frame in time for the Meet. Wallace, who smoked up the best pork and beef barbeque, beef jerky, and margaritas in the frikken universe. Ken, who calibrated again, and again, and again, and again, and never complained, not once. Gino, who flew all around the world, then worked like hell on Sunday to give the system one more college try, and ended up contributing in a major way to creating the best image we got. Jess, for putting up with theater after theater after theater, with grace and style, and a smile on her face all the time. Clarence for bringing the Toshiba, the HD DVD clips, the cables, and the stripper (sorry Cliffy, she came on Friday). Cliffy for bringing the PS3, our only Bluray player. And for everyone who flew, drove or walked to the Meet, who enjoyed themselves, and who hopefully got something out of the gathering. If I have forgotten anyone, it is not intentional.


I have not been posting since the end of the meet, as I have been in tear down mode, alone. Boxed up and shipped are the bad BlendZilla (to Analog Way), a red and a blue CRT (to Tim), a box of cables (to Galen and Terry), the bad Crystalio II (to Pixel Magic), and the SmX Pro Frame sample (to Ruben). A pile of stuff for Mike sits on the bumper pool table, awaiting his next arrival. Still have to pull John's cables through the ceiling conduit, so that only enough is left to hook up to the projectors. Then, Tim's BlendZilla, the new HTPC, and the new modded Xbox 360 have to be set up in the equipment rack, cables connected, and everything tested.


The Home Theater is not operational at this point. As soon as it is, I will take an image of each CRT raster, while something at 2.35:1 is being projected. I have followed with great interest the debate as to whether moving the projectors forward 5 or so inches closer to the screen will increase light output noticably. This is not an academic discussion, as the first thing Mike and I were going to do is remove the projectors from the ceiling and remount them closer to the screen. Would hate to do that and not see any benefit.


Mike has already spilled the beans, so I will amplify a little. I feel badly that we were not completely done with installation and setup before the Meet started. That had been the original intent. I would like to make it up to everyone who came, by offering to host another East Coast BlendZilla Meet, in like October, say the 20th/21st. Picture in your mind's eye driving down the driveway with the 20 Norweigen maples in full bloom, a dazzling display of every hue imaginable from red to orange to yellow, on the way to a fully optimized twin Electrohome Extreme BlendZilla setup, projecting (from source to screen) only 1080P/72 native, via either HD DVD or Bluray. Mike standing on the side, beaming at his babies. Ken already having finished his work, able to sit there and simply enjoy the result. Clarence challenging the rig with the nastiest, most difficult to correctly process clips he can find, and the rig properly responding with ease. Mark challenging everything. Cliffy challenging everyone (and playing his favorite scene from Crank). Don's cooking hanging in the cool crisp autumn air.


The Mars orbiter aeronomy mission proposal I have been working on for almost 2 years is due to NASA on October 19. The 20th seems like a good day to start a party................


William


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gino AUS* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Guys, 72Hz doesn't judder. I bet if you got 72Hz out of that sahara scene from the source, you wouldn't have a problem. When Andres had his htpc setup to output this correctly, it was the most fluid film I had ever seen, almost like watching video material.
> 
> 
> Despite the DVX outputting [email protected], the problem was that it was being fed at 60Hz. I've said it before that I'm not impressed with the DVX's deinterlacing ability, and I don't think it even does 3:2, and this is why it wasn't displayed smoothly. For best results with the DVX, it should not be set to an internal rate of 72Hz, but rather set to sync with or follow the input source rate, so if you can feed it 72Hz, it will lock with it and you'll get judder free playback.
> 
> 
> Hope this clears up this issue.



BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH on the 72hz thing!










Anywho, my buddy at work that I was telling you about says you look just like Bruce Lee.


I have to agree.


Your kind of cute. I'd HIT IT!!!! (JUST KIDDING DAMNIT!)


Here is to that flight to Aussie that I hope to take one day soon and BTW, here is the link to that band I bragged about so much:

http://www.aussiefloyd.com/ 


You must see them if you get the chance. Unreal they are!










Cliffy


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *wkosmann* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Well Ladies and Gentlemen;
> 
> 
> So many people to thank. Mike, without whom this isn't possible, and who has been unbelievably generous with his time and expertise. John, for driving down many times, always being there, modden the Xbox, fixen a 1000 other problems, and maken the Belden 1694 RGBHV cables. Terry and Galen, who drove up from Atlanta to rescue us when everything was falling apart, and who, with Mike, mounted two 9" CRTs in one day. Ruben, who busted his ass to get me the brand new first in the world SmX screen frame in time for the Meet. Wallace, who smoked up the best pork and beef barbeque, beef jerky, and margaritas in the frikken universe. Ken, who calibrated again, and again, and again, and again, and never complained, not once. Gino, who flew all around the world, then worked like hell on Sunday to give the system one more college try, and ended up contributing in a major way to creating the best image we got. Jess, for putting up with theater after theater after theater, with grace and style, and a smile on her face all the time. Clarence for bringing the Toshiba, the HD DVD clips, the cables, and the stripper (sorry Cliffy, she came on Friday). Cliffy for bringing the PS3, our only Bluray player. And for everyone who flew, drove or walked to the Meet, who enjoyed themselves, and who hopefully got something out of the gathering. If I have forgotten anyone, it is not intentional.
> 
> 
> I have not been posting since the end of the meet, as I have been in tear down mode, alone. Boxed up and shipped are the bad BlendZilla (to Analog Way), a red and a blue CRT (to Tim), a box of cables (to Galen and Terry), the bad Crystalio II (to Pixel Magic), and the SmX Pro Frame sample (to Ruben). A pile of stuff for Mike sits on the bumper pool table, awaiting his next arrival. Still have to pull John's cables through the ceiling conduit, so that only enough is left to hook up to the projectors. Then, Tim's BlendZilla, the new HTPC, and the new modded Xbox 360 have to be set up in the equipment rack, cables connected, and everything tested.
> 
> 
> The Home Theater is not operational at this point. As soon as it is, I will take an image of each CRT raster, while something at 2.35:1 is being projected. I have followed with great interest the debate as to whether moving the projectors forward 5 or so inches closer to the screen will increase light output noticably. This is not an academic discussion, as the first thing Mike and I were going to do is remove the projectors from the ceiling and remount them closer to the screen. Would hate to do that and not see any benefit.
> 
> 
> Mike has already spilled the beans, so I will amplify a little. I feel badly that we were not completely done with installation and setup before the Meet started. That had been the original intent. I would like to make it up to everyone who came, by offering to host another East Coast BlendZilla Meet, in like October, say the 20th/21st. Imagine driving down the driveway with the 20 Norweigen maples in full bloom, a dazzling display of every hue imaginable from red to orange to yellow, on the way to a fully optimized twin Electrohome Extreme BlendZilla setup, projecting (from source to screen) only 1080P/72 native, via either HD DVD or Bluray. Mike standing on the side, beaming at his babies. Ken already having finished his work, able to sit there and simply enjoy the result. Clarence challenging the rig with the nastiest, most difficult to correctly process clips he can find, and the rig properly responding with ease. Mark challenging everything. Cliffy challenging everyone (and playing his favorite scene from Crank). Don's cooking hanging in the cool crisp autumn air.
> 
> 
> The Mars orbiter aeronomy mission proposal I have been working on for almost 2 years is due to NASA on October 19. The 20th seems like a good day to start a party................
> 
> 
> William



William, your amazing. I couldn't have put it better myself. What an extremely kick ass guy you are and I am so glad from top to bottom that I met you.


Words couldn't describe you.










Your that damn cool!










Cliffy


----------



## zGman

Great to hear from you William, really enjoyed our visit!

I could go for 2 or 3 days just asking about all the very cool

space projects in your office! What an outstanding fellow....

Just one raster pic will be fine, red or blue is best since

they will have a little bit of horizontal keystone

It will be interesting to follow up on that aspect. It would

also be fun to follow up on Gino's suggestion to run the

HTPC at 72Hz (71.928), I had wanted to try that while

we were there but never got around to it. I have tried it

here and it definitely helps with film material, but of course

the projector is squealing at that point. Which is a problem

you will clearly not have to worry about - thanks to Mike!

Fall sounds great, and as we say in the south - ya'll come see us....

Regards,

Galen


----------



## mp20748

Last night I took a bit of time and converted a VIM to what we had at the meet. This VIM is new to my 8500. And we're using the same camera and everything. With only the camera being a bit further back this time.


This version of the mods I had planned to announce at the meet. That did not happen for one reason or the other. It was being called "extreme." It's should from now on be called SV2, which is short for Super version2.



Marquee 8500 / Xbox 360 HD-DVD / 1920x1080P /60hz


----------



## zGman

I cannot escape the feeling I have left my black levels and details

up in ol' Virginny....hohoho!!! Its going to be very difficult to be

satisfied with a stock 9500Ultra - and who woulda thunk it....

G


----------



## madpoet

Heh, I hear ya. I've got my mods on order and am eagerly awaiting seeing everything that the mods have to offer


----------



## wallace1234




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *wkosmann* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Don's cooking hanging in the cool crisp autumn air.
> 
> William



In that crisp autumn air, I can smell some "Deep Fried Turkey, Hot Buttered Rum drinks" (with another secret ingredient), and some other good stuff!


Can't wait.


wallace


----------



## zGman

You are the man!

I recall getting up early Sat AM, and glancing out the

bedroom window to see you carrying in a tray of meat the

size of a poweramp!, and then a few minutes later, another

one....way to go!

G


----------



## JBJR




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *zGman* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I cannot escape the feeling I have left my black levels and details
> 
> up in ol' Virginny....hohoho!!! Its going to be very difficult to be
> 
> satisfied with a stock 9500Ultra - and who woulda thunk it....
> 
> G




And a pair of your sneakers???


















John


----------



## Belcherwm

Here's a few screen shots from Saturday. Sorry for the delay. Work has been hell and we're getting ready for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life this weekend (see my signature).


These are from Happy Feet. I'm prettu sure it was the Toshiba to the Blendzilla, but someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Ben, tell me if your shots were worse than mine.


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Belcherwm* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Here's a few screen shots from Saturday. Sorry for the delay. Work has been hell and we're getting ready for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life this weekend (see my signature).
> 
> 
> These are from Happy Feet. I'm prettu sure it was the Toshiba to the Blendzilla, but someone correct me if I'm wrong.
> 
> Ben, tell me if your shots were worse than mine.




Wow, it's hard to believe the difference from Saturday to Sundays later showing. Just kidding. I remember these scenes, but looking much better. And things were much better on Sunday.



These are the ones we took later Sunday evening:


----------



## mark haflich

Tonight I am going to insert the SV2 modded Vim 003 and neck boards in my 9500LC ultra and fire it up. Ken is here to set the gray scale. Unfortunately all I have is my VP50 and its ringing scaler to feed it fed by DVD 480i SDI or NR from my HD sat DVR. I'll take home a blu ray to use The MP5 transcoder will go in there too. In a week or two I should have my beta Radiance. Because of the NDA I won't be able to post much about it. Also until I get a hdmi to RGBHV converter I won't even be able to use it. I figured back in Sept at Cedia, that Moome would have a new card in my hands by now. Still waiting. But I am sure they will be shipping by August. Probably earlier. I really think end of June. I'll have to plug the Radiance into a plasma. At least it is phosphor based. I don't use game boxes or computers to feed my HT.


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Because of the NDA I won't be able to post much about it



It's a good thing I'm not a betting man..


----------



## mark haflich

I am not allowed to disclose anything not already disclosed or disclosed in the future.


----------



## mark haflich

I don't get this test material you guys use--bugs, penguins, large gorillas, the insides of fake submarines.


The true test should be HD porn. Dark bed rooms. Now we are talking gamma correction to enhance shadow detail. Something that counts.


Let's see. One is watching a bug movie where a large bug is ready to eat a brave soldier out of bug amo. Hey Honey, did you see that nit sitting on a nat on the dark speck on the black spot on the bottom of the large bug. No? I'll run it back in case you missed it. Honey. Please, don't leave. I was only kidding.


Or.


Honey. Yea Yea, You're the best. God! That's great. Honey. Stop for a second, will ya? Take a breath. Did you see that scene just a second ago? No? I'll run it back again. Yea, Did you see what he/she just did with . . . . .? WOW. Yea. It turns me on too. You turn me on. You're the best. I love you. Can we try that? Yea. That's it. Oh my! Yes.!


You guys gotta set your priorities straight.


----------



## overclkr

Lol!


----------



## Chuchuf

Mark......best post I've read in a looooooooog time.


Terry


----------



## Scott Lyons




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Clarence* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> 
> The Crystalio wasn't sick, it's flawed with the wrong colorspace for HD.




I believe someone was having this same trouble with the Crystalio & a JVC RS 1 on the digital forums.From the digital forums it was brought up at the company that makes the Crystalio & they found the problem & will release a firmware update to fix it.


Quote:

Tom came back and we sorted out the problem. There is a color decoding issue in the Crystalio when it is fed YCrCb 4:4:4. Regardless of whether the output is RGB or YCrCb to the RS1....we saw the gross elevation(


----------



## mark haflich

My beast lives! My theater is dark no more. Well it's dark, but now there is meaningful light on the screen. It's been three weeks. Later tonight I'll watch it and report. I'm so happy. Who said man could never fly. Hell, I might even switch to the nature channel and watch some bugs and spiders.


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Belcherwm* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Here's a few screen shots from Saturday. Sorry for the delay. Work has been hell and we're getting ready for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life this weekend (see my signature).
> 
> 
> These are from Happy Feet. I'm prettu sure it was the Toshiba to the Blendzilla, but someone correct me if I'm wrong.
> 
> Ben, tell me if your shots were worse than mine.



I'm still somewhat recovering from this event, which was very exhausting to say the least. Now that I'm a bit more rested, I'd like to address a few things I had planned to get back to. Of all the things that went on there and may have went wrong, I find the posting of these blurred images to be the most bothersome to me. I can't in my wildest imagination find myself taking screenshots at an event like this and posting them in less of an manor than they were displayed. Was this meant as a joke? If so, I'm having a very hard time laughing, especially since all that went into making this event a good one. And the many of the things that went wrong, were a combination of various mistakes, that had nothing to do with one person or any group of people. I'm sorry, this is just too hard to take for whatever reason.


Since these images were posted to represent what was shown on both screens, I'll clear that up here by posting that both screens were verified to show scan lines on a white sheet of paper. And the scan lines were visible at 1050P @ 72hz. Also, both projectors had their contrast set at 100 (maxed). Which was done by me for flapping and still used for focusing, but not known by Gino when he took over focusing that the contrast was set at 100. And this is what amazed Gino. To be able to maxed out the focus on any CRT projector, and get fine and tight lines is not something that's common any CRT.


We had two 9" CRT projectors that was verified to produce scan lines at 1050P @ 72hz - which is 78kh / 72hv. And the same person that verified this, also said to me, that they had never seen Marquees that sharp... now, how could these projectors produce such images..










The problems we were having were source related only. And though the sources had problems. Nothing about the sources produced blurred images. So I would have a better appreciation for this attempt or effort, if the screenshots were trying to convey the problems we were seeing. But since nothing about these screenshoots reflect any of the problems experienced...



> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Gino AUS* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> The thing I was most impressed here was the ability to focus with contrast at 100. This really made things *sharp edge to edge*



And if screenshots were to be posted. It would only be fair to post them taking after we got to a better place with the setup. Though both projectors were still verified to show scan lines at 1050P @ 72hz before both Gino and I worked on flapping. Which only corrects focus on the edges.


So what was the point with these images?



> Quote:
> Ben, tell me if your shots were worse than mine


----------



## overclkr




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mp20748* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I'm still somewhat recovering from this event, which was very exhausting to say the least. Now that I'm a bit more rested, I'd like to address a few things I had planned to get back to. Of all the things that went on there and may have went wrong, I find the posting of these blurred images to be the most bothersome to me. I can't in my wildest imagination find myself taking screenshots at an event like this and posting them in less of an manor than they were displayed. Was this meant as a joke? If so, I'm having a very hard time laughing, especially since all that went into making this event a good one. And the many of the things that went wrong, were a combination of various mistakes, that had nothing to do with one person or any group of people. I'm sorry, this is just too hard to take for whatever reason.
> 
> 
> Since these images were posted to represent what was shown on both screens, I'll clear that up here by posting that both screens were verified to show scan lines on a white sheet of paper. And the scan lines were visible at 1050P @ 72hz. Also, both projectors had their contrast set at 100 (maxed). Which was done by me for flapping and still used for focusing, but not known by Gino when he took over focusing that the contrast was set at 100. And this is what amazed Gino. To be able to maxed out the focus on any CRT projector, and get fine and tight lines is not something that's common any CRT.
> 
> 
> We had two 9" CRT projectors that was verified to produce scan lines at 1050P @ 72hz - which is 78kh / 72hv. And the same person that verified this, also said to me, that they had never seen Marquees that sharp... now, how could these projectors produce such images..
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The problems we were having were source related only. And though the sources had problems. Nothing about the sources produced blurred images. So I would have a better appreciation for this attempt or effort, if the screenshots were trying to convey the problems we were seeing. But since nothing about these screenshoots reflect any of the problems experienced...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And if screenshots were to be posted. It would only be fair to post them taking after we got to a better place with the setup. Though both projectors were still verified to show scan lines at 1050P @ 72hz before both Gino and I worked on flapping. Which only corrects focus on the edges.
> 
> 
> So what was the point with these images?



Slow down there kipper!










I don't think in any way it was meant as a joke and yes, the first thing I did on Saturday and on Sunday was grab a piece of paper, put it up against the screen and low and behold at 1050P 72hz:


BIG ASS SCANLINES.


Very nice job Mike!










Cliffy


----------



## mark haflich

Screen shots taken with a $100 camera by an amateur photographer displayed on a LCD computer laptop monitor. Yes Sir. No sense attending a meet. You can see it all in the screen shots. WTF are you guys babbling about.? Its screen shots! We are talking screen shots.!All most screen shots do is take up thread bandwidth. Scree nshots! Now we are arguing about blurry screen shots.


----------



## CRT_Ben

Well MP, that's why I didn't post mine, because they were far from optimal.


However, I wouldn't upset yourself over the posted shots, because I think just about anybody can tell that they don't represent (well) the image that was on the screen - just the amount of noise contained in those shots would obscure fine detail even if the camera was sharply focused. I really don't think that people will look at those images and say "Wow, so two blended 9500LC's look that bad, huh?"


Bill - my images have about the same focus, but are free from the noise that yours have (just a function of the DSLR's larger sensor and better sensitivity). But still not representative of what I was seeing, and that was on Saturday, and I understand that it was much more finely tuned on Sunday.


Ben


----------



## mark haflich

How can you screw up a screen shot?



Basically, with a digital camera there are a bunch of user variables beyond the resolution of the digital image and the quality of the lens.


You can screw up the white balance. That is really easy and will change the colors big time.


Now to take the correct exposure you can vary ISO, apeture and shutter speed. The ISO adjusts how much light is needed by the sensor to get the correct exposure, and then the apeture adjusts how wide the lens is set at and the shutter how long the shutter is open.


Now every image needs the proper amount of light for a correct exposure. Usually a battle of trade offs to a good photographer. You can switch to a high ISO setting. Bingo, you can use a high shutter speed to stop the blur and a relatively cheep lense of high f stop but you will introduce digital noise into the image. High ISO means you will be pushing the amplifier circuits in your camera and they will become noisy.


You can stop down your lens (high F stop number, e.g., small apeture) and then to get a proper exposure your shutter will have to remain open and the image will look blurry if there is action in the image, ta da.


Finally, ypu can use a reasonable ISO, set a high shutter spead to stop the action, and then hopefully have a big enough lens to gather in the necessary light.


This is not a course, just an illustration of how one could obtain a correct exposure that didn't represent what the viewer saw on the screen.


----------



## mark haflich

Forgive me if I don't post any screen shots of my projector working. : Also there is no case right now, its in the nude. Rather ugly.


The beast is functioning with the latest MP mods. Really scary you can crank the contrast to 100 without any blooming. Resolves 1080p, sharp.


MP is coming over later this week to fine tune the dots with his artist hand on the magnets and the remote (astig adjustments). The red became a little off for some reason and rounding could be somewhat improved all around. Scary to turn the contrast up to 100 and the focus to complete defocus and then adjust those fuzzy bright shapes. Rather easy but I do not want to touch the magnets my self.






I did manage to improve white field uniformity a bit by doing a RGB electronic focus. Thinking about it, a small amount od differentation on the blue across the screen could lead to non white field uniformity. My blue was a little out of focus on the left and fixing it help. Thanks to Ken W for the suggestion. Ken touched up the colors


My Radiance is coming and I might actually be able to use it if Moome actually starts shipping his new card. Oh well. I can hook the Radiance up to my plasma, ugh.


----------



## mark haflich

After Ken's calibration, he got 7 plus foot lamberts of my 110" D 1.78 Studeotech. That's with the contrast set to 54! Black at 78. My tubes have several thousand hours on them and the green and red are filtered. Plenty bright for sports but for last night basketball game I cranked it up to 58 and turned the black up a bit to bring up crowd detail.


----------



## mp20748




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *mark haflich* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> After Ken's calibration, he got 7 plus foot lamberts of my 110" D 1.78 Studeotech. That's with the contrast set to 54! Black at 78....
> 
> 
> ......and turned the black up a bit to bring up crowd detail.













The black settings in your VP50 must be off for a brightness setting of 78 or more on that Marquee. Unless the VP50 works much different from any of the sources that I run on my lowly 8" Marquee. If you have the MP-5 in the loop, then you could end up with a slightly higher brightness setting, because of how it transcodes the component signal.



Below are a few shots I've taking from my 8" Marquee (1920x1080P /60hz - Xbox 360)


Contrast at 60, brightness (black) on the Marquee set at 50.


Look very close at the lighted areas in the backgrounds. It is equalized through-out the image, because you'll want both good contrast without clipping to include perfect light in darker areas of the background scenes. Though there are three different dark background images, the contrast and brightness settings were not changed for any of them. This is the 0 to 100IRE window I was talking about at the meet. Once that reference window is set with both contrast and brightness set at 50. The green G2 should not be moved (and there should be very little change with final brightness setting). Everything else around it can be adjusted, but don't touch the green G2. It would be your reference, and it should be setup using the internal step pattern.


With the mods, it's more important to use this reference, because the projector can go up a bit in gain setting without clipping (higher contrast). So proper reference is important for best dynamics and image punch within the IRE window.


The internal step pattern helps in setting up the video gain structure of the Marquee. And for the absolute best video gain structure setup overall, the processors (VP50) black level should be set using a scope. And that's why you have that pot on your VIM. It's there to help if the incoming pedestal is off a bit (and cannot be corrected with a black level control on the source).


For the absolute best in low end performance. The video chain gain structure should be setup using proper pedestal level setup from source to projector, to include proper step pattern setup in the projector. This produces the best path for a 0 to 100IRE window:


----------



## mark haflich

Are you talking to me? Ken? Or the public in general? I didn't set the contrast and brightness. Ken did. I doubt he touched the control on the VIM. I'll check the G2 green number. OK it's 65.


It will be interesting when you come over.


----------



## Belcherwm




> Quote:
> Of all the things that went on there and may have went wrong, I find the posting of these blurred images to be the most bothersome to me. I can't in my wildest imagination find myself taking screenshots at an event like this and posting them in less of an manor than they were displayed. Was this meant as a joke? If so, I'm having a very hard time laughing, especially since all that went into making this event a good one. And the many of the things that went wrong, were a combination of various mistakes, that had nothing to do with one person or any group of people. I'm sorry, this is just too hard to take for whatever reason.



Wow. Nope, wasn't a joke. I was only trying to give people a sense of what was happening over the weekend. I just assumed that people would know that my crappy little pictures wouldn't be indicative of what was actually on display at the meet. If the pictures are that disturbing to you I'd be glad to delete them. Let me know.


I enjoyed myself immensely. Tried to help out where I could. Got to meet some fine people and see some real talent at work.


----------



## Kysersose




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Tim in Phoenix* /forum/post/0



Love that picture. Nice shot!


----------



## jimmy46

where can I find other events such as this?


----------



## JBJR

Here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=844261


----------



## Clarence

Happy Cinco De Mayo, William!


Today's the one-year Anniversary for your Blendzilla Meet.


----------



## Gino AUS

Brings back good memories


----------



## Don_Kellogg

Man I wish I could have made that, I can't believe a year has already passed.


How about a reunion in Australia =8^)


----------



## wallace1234

yep. when you look at all the folks that where there over the course of 4-5 days, there was a LOT of horsepower! It was a great way for me to get to meet a lot of people in a short time frame.


"The good ol' times are then and now".


wallace


----------

