to Liquid Couple...or not to Liquid Couple...that is the question...

[KennyG]

I have been wondering this for about 2 months...do liquid coupled projectors put out a better picture than air coupled units???
For those who don't know, LC'ed projectors have fluid between the crt face and the first lense of the lense assembly. This fluid creates a denser environment between the tube face and lense assembly, this effectively stops the image reflections that bounce back from the lense to the crt face.
Some tell me the image quality of an LC'ed projector is noticably better, others have said it's not that noticable...thursday I will find out, I have an NEC xg110LC coming in, it is the exact same unit as my xg135, all the specs are the same except the max horizonal scan rate (135 vs 110mhz) There is one other difference, the 135 has 1900hrs on the tubes, the 110LC has 250hrs, so I'm not sure how this will effect things, I realize light output should be down on the higher houred unit, that should be about it.
For this comparision I'm leaving the xg135 hanging on the ceiling, I'll set the xg110LC on a table below the 135...should make for an interesting couple of days.

[KennyG]

I got the xg110LC today, set it up on the table, did an initial focus, calibrated G2, grayscale and all it's reference white settings.
I will say, the LC'ed unit has just as sharp an image as the nonLC'ed unit...there is something slightly different about the LC's picture, but right now I can't figure out what it is...hopefully I'll figure it out over the weekend.
These pictures are very close in quality, in fact if I were to take a blind test at this stage of the setup I don't think I could tell them apart.
Perhaps living with the LC'ed unit for a couple days will get me adjusted.
For me to keep the xg110LC it's picture is going to have to be better. LC'ed projectors have a longer throw distance, so not only must I move the ceiling mount, but also the hot air evac inlet and the hushbox...ah yes, the fun of Doing It Yourself :)

[JonMarsh]

You know, Kenny, a lot of my friends out here in CA think I'm kind of crazy, too much of a perfectionist- and that I work too hard at this HT and audio stuff. Too bad I can't introduce you to them, so they know what someone *really* hard core is like. With the level of "non-difference" you describe, I don't think there is anyway I could talk myself into doing that much work- much less get an involved SO to humor me in our home. But then, I don't have an SO in a domestic arrangement, so I don't have to deal with those issues when I decide to do musical computers, shuffling all the PC's in the home, and upgrade half the systems to WIN2K or XP- just my daughter gives me weird looks, but since she's only 16, she doesn't get full voting rights yet.

If I had more room and more loose change in my pockets, I'd sure like to know what your XG135 would look like on a DA-LITE High power screen. Sigh.

Have a great weekend. I'm getting ready for a roadtrip to the southeast- Huntsville AL, Raleigh NC, and Atlanta. Love that humidity- not! ;)

-Jon




Earth First!
_______________________________
We'll screw up the other planets later....

[KennyG]

Jon, who are you trying to fool? I read your posts, I am no more hard core than you!
It's just that we both pursue perfection at our interests, many of our friends do it too, just in other areas.

[KennyG]

Jon, I tried to send you an e-mail, but got a standard "out of office" reply.
I was telling you I'm only about 5 hours from Atlanta, and wanted to give you an invite to the Gulf Coast, I realize your schedule probably doesn't allow it, to bad, some of the best mexican food you could ever have is here in Pensacola...of all places.

[draganm]

I have yet to see an LC coupled machine, but I know eaxctly why they were built. Look at a bright object on a very dark scene with an AC coupled machine, the TT logo works well. Now look about 20 inches away from the center of said object and you will see a big halo. You're projector has to calibrated very well with a good Black pedestal to see this. Your room also has to have very good light conrol ,no white ceilings. If you alrerady have an AC coupled 8" CRT installed , LC is not worth it IMO. I am currently looking fro one because the ceiling in my HT drops down in the front and my PJ is about 12" too far back. It's in a spot that would be perfect for an M8500LC throw formula.
A couple of other significant points is that LC optics use the all-metal HD10 lenses, fairly superior to HD8s and HD 45s' with their plastic housing. LC optics also allow you to add color corrected C-elements on the R+G tubes for those that want that last 5% of color fidelty.

[JonMarsh]

Well, this is why I'm eager to get my NEC 10PG+ setup- got those HD10 lenses, big tubes, etc. But I've been on a diet of working 7 days a week that hasn't quit since early this summer, and doesn't look to letup until late October. My new boss is "talking" life balance issues and less travel, but it setting up more trips for me... what's wrong with that picture? ;)

~Jon

[Dean McManis]

The basic advantage of liquid coupling is that it replaces the air space between the CRT and the lens elements with a liquid, reducing the amount of light loss through secondary reflection. This results in an increase in contrast and brightness. 8)

But beyond that, the value is that liquid coupling was used in high end CRT projectors, which had larger (8"/9") CRTs enabling tighter spot size, and had better electronics with higher scan rates, electromagnetic focusing, and a host of other features that enabled better adjustment and a higher quality picture overall than less expensive models. :T

[draganm]

The basic advantage of liquid coupling is that it replaces the air space between the CRT and the lens elements with a liquid, reducing the amount of light loss through secondary reflection. This results in an increase in contrast and brightness. 8) Well the Marquee 8500, 8500LC, and 9000 are all rated at 1200lums, so the light isn't realy "lost" , It does get scattered however with air-coupled lenses and contrast is less.
I'm afraid now that i've actually seen the Halo's on dark scenes with my 8500 I will obsess about them more and more, unti l'm forced to upgrade to an Lc machine (isn't that what this hobby's about?) Heck, if I'm going to do that I might as well go with a 9 inch tubed machine. Nice Vision 1 on flea-bay right now in the Blue Penforina case, probably close for $7K + cost of divorce when my wife see's it. :B

[JonMarsh]

Nice Vision 1 on flea-bay right now in the Blue Penforina case, probably close for $7K + cost of divorce when my wife see's it. :B

Yeah, it's those "incidental" costs, "indirect" they're sometimes called, that can be a real problem..... ;)

~Jon