Sony G90 manual Horizontal and vertical scan frequencies and other source, Be noticed, Range

Page 78

horizontal and vertical scan frequencies and other source

information can be displayed at any time. A phosphor saver

function is provided to periodically shift the horizontal and

vertical image position on screen to avoid a CRT burn. This

function can be turned off if desired, although I believe it is a

worthwhile function to use. If a very slight overscan is added

to the picture the effect of this screen saver function will not

be noticed.

Performance

I used a Runco IDP-980 Ultra for this evaluation. Its video per-

formance is identical to the DTV-930 with the point conver-

gence option, for everything discussed in this review.

Color accuracy is primarily dependent on two factors,

grayscale accuracy and how well the red, green, and blue pri-

mary colors match the SMPTE standard. The latter is fixed for

each model of projector based on its CRT phosphors and any

additional filtering in the lens-CRT assemblies. The grayscale

accuracy must be calibrated and will degrade if the projector

is asked to supply too much light because the blue CRT phos-

phors will begin to saturate at high output levels. To achieve

the best grayscale accuracy, and therefore good color accura-

cy, the screen size and image brightness must be appropriate

for the projector. Generally, the larger the CRTs the more light

output they can provide while operating in a linear grayscale

range.

For this projector I used an 89” wide screen and set the

contrast for 7.75 ft-L measured at the screen plane, which

equates to about 10 ft-L on axis for the 1.3 gain screen. This

combination is about the reasonable limit to achieve an

acceptable grayscale and good color accuracy. If you want a

larger display you can select a higher gain screen, but you will

probably find hot-spotting and color variations across the

screen unacceptable if you have a critical eye. The projector

is also capable of much higher light output levels but the color

accuracy will suffer as a result.

Using this set-up I adjusted the grayscale for the SMPTE

standard color temperature of 6500K, +/- 400K over the range

of 20 IRE to 100 IRE. These adjustments were made while

using a Faroudja VP250 line doubler. Since the scan lines

don’t overlap with a doubler, a tripler would provide even flat-

ter grayscale results since the blue CRT will provide more out-

put before the onset of phosphor saturation. The colorimetry

of the green and blue phosphors is quite close to the SMPTE

standard and the red phosphor is a slightly deeper red. The

result is near perfect color-bar patterns and excellent color

accuracy on movies. Skin tones look exceptionally accurate

while full color-saturation is maintained elsewhere in the pic-

ture. With good DVD transfers there is no need to reduce the

line doubler’s color control to prevent overly red faces that

would desaturate (washout) other portions of the picture.

(See measurements.)

Other key performance characteristics of any video dis-

play are its ability to provide a geometrically stable picture

and constant black levels as picture luminance levels change.

The latter can render black-levels gray and dynamically

reduce the contrast ratio of the picture. These attributes are a

function of good high-voltage power supplies for the CRTs.

Some products, particularly RPTVs and direct-view monitors,

suffer size or geometry changes as the average picture level

(APL) varies. Examples include static changes when a bright

object enters a dark scene, or momentary effects during

bright flashes. On this projector the high volt-

age system holds picture size and geometry

rock solid regardless of steady state or tran-

sient changes in APL. The new Alien DVD is

an excellent test of these capabilities with its

dimly lit interiors that are punctuated by

bright flashing strobe lights in one scene. Black level is also

well maintained with APL changes.

Spot size and focus uniformity across screen is excep-

tional for CRTs of this size. I compared resolution and picture

definition on some of the best DVDs to the performance of the

Sony G90’s 9-inch CRTs. Alien and The Fifth Element are two

movies that have some of the best detail. The G90 provides a

modest increase in the sharpness of fine details in direct A/B

comparisons. Both projectors are capable of performance

beyond the resolution limits of the DVD format.

A line doubler will work well with this projector when

viewing 16.9 enhanced and 4:3 DVDs on a widescreen from

about 4 PH (picture heights), but scan-line structure will be

visible on 4:3 letterboxed DVDs. If you are sensitive to scan-

line visibility, then a line tripler would be better for non-16.9

enhanced letterboxed sources and it will allow you to move

up to the “ideal” 3.3 PH if you desire a wider field-of-view.

It’s well established that 9” CRT projectors are required to

reproduce the full resolution of 1080i HDTV. But does that

mean HDTV looks blurry or unimpressive on this projector?

Definitely not! HDTV broadcasts look breathtaking and clear-

ly distance themselves from the best DVDs. I used PBS broad-

casts as my HDTV source. It was no contest with any of the

rear projection HDTVs on which I’ve viewed the same mater-

ial. Picture clarity and definition on the Runco is far superior.

The gap between the Runco and the Sony G90 is not as wide,

but the G90 really does capture that sense of looking through

an open window. Perhaps the Runco is more like looking

through a double-pane window. The G90’s detail and sense of

depth is significantly better in direct comparisons, but unless

you’ve already acquired a trained eye for HDTV on a 9” CRT

projector you’d better sit down, because the Runco DTV-930

will knock you off your feet.

Summary

If there is anything in home theater priced a few DVDs over

$16,000 that can be considered a bargain, it is the Runco

DTV-930 with Ultra option. If you are in the market for any-

thing less than a 9” CRT projector, you owe it to yourself to

see this projector optimally set-up and calibrated. But you’d

better hurry. The chassis used for the DTV-930 was a last

time buy for Runco, and when they are gone, they are gone

for good.

M a n u f a c t u r e r I n f o r m a t i o n

RUNCO INTERNATIONAL

2463 Tripaldi Way

Hayward, California 94545

Phone: (510) 293-9154

www.runco.com

Source: Reviewer purchase

Price: DTV-930 $14,995;

DTV-930 w/point convergence $16,195

Page 77 Page 79
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Page 77 Page 79
Contents Sony G90 Size Does Matter Experience before he finds a little of It Ingly just beyond reachThan ever we needed in strange, dark caves Sound and vision at the same time every timeKubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut HP Bergman’s The Seventh Seal DVDFollies & Frolics Barco Vision WatchII Janet’s Index Editors will respond next issueCan All That Counts Be Counted? a Forum Begins EditorProblem with DVD Digital Artifacts Targeting 14-Year-Old Boys?If The Perfect Vision is to push Down Primrose Path Toward Perfect Vision Forever? At all. So it doesn’t take Hdtv orAzine Widescreen Review perhaps? John Eargle Lossy Data Compression & DVD Sound What Not To See on DVDDigital Cinema The Good Bad of It TV Is TVI L L E R Series such as Star Trek The Next Generation . EachMovie Trivia DVDs Gaining MomentumE G S I C & M U L T I M E D I a E G S a N D O WPanasonic DVD-L50D PalmTheater ViaTV VC 105 VideophoneM M a R T I N R R Y R a W L I N S O N EncounteredInfocomm Significant New Products and Trends World of displaysReport Light projected on the screen. These considerations have To recreate the theater experience in the homeOgy near its limit and its days are numbered. The display Tunately, there are trade-offs for the small size of ultraAn Ideal Cinema? Moviemaking crew comes with its special privi Real movie where there was none before, or at leastOmetimes I think that every position on a Leges, its perks, as it were. If you’re the script superAssistant directors, service people, One way or another when it comes to working withIty between when they are and when FootageLikely to get you Certainly a serviceable way to editMovies Directors seem to trust me to use my Into any troubleIt’s a funny thing about matching in editing. Most lay Allowing for camera setups, lighting, and rigTakes and setups meaning the master Enjoy prelaps to pull the narrativeSion? In Understanding Media, McCluhan Lexicon MC-1 Controller Sonic Flavors To Slake Every ThirstR L E Y Logic 7 Digital Signal Processing for Movies and Music Lexicon’s Music Surround ModesListening to Movies Listening To Music Surround Conclusion Ing the Denon Anechoic Orchestral Music Recording CDControllers Two-Channel Bypass Mode Surround Decoding and Digital Signal Processing DSPDSP and the Future-Proof Controller THX-Certified Controllers Bass ManagementRadical new path to High-Resolution Digital Audio…the controller represents Future…After DSP Digital to Analog Conversion InterFacing the UserMeet My Enemy Revel Ultima Speakers From 2 to 7.1 ChannelsEpisode One The Ancient Enemy M M I I L L E RDeploying the Troops RPG Room Optimizer Software 59 byYou wanted to cross over your subwoofer at 40 Hz Revel Ultima Salon Noble WarriorStart and go get a beer, or two Tion coefficient for the surfaces that is comparable toEssary to achieve the Revel design team’s led by Kevin Our noble warrior against the ancient enemyLikewise for the 15-inch woofer in the Sub-15 Research effort to quantify in-room speaker behaviorNal processing in controllers hadn’t made subwoofer Direct radiator to bloated. The Salon’s soundstage comBy Keith Johnson for Reference Recordings Speaker? Removing the bottom octave from the Salon’sWoofer, when it is well integrated with your main speakers Cians often use emphasis in the intensityFormance. Orchestral music, for example, is performed Episode Two a War On Two Fronts Cy, phase, and time. It then develops adaptive filters thatBattle Summary Stand-off Get that the fight for the lowlands was far from overLINN-AV5103 Aktiv Multi-Channel System Search of the Mythical BeastCompany of the Beast Quest BeginsWorking the Environment Remote InterfaceSumming Up NAD T770 Audio-Video ReceiverJust the Basics, Done Well I L G a D E RDas Boot, The Director’s Cut Wolfgang Peterson, director Gaines’ Stormy Monday I’ve Got the T-Bone WalkerRPG Diffuser Systems Inc., Room Optimizer Steering in DD mode is precise and smoothManufacturer’s Corner Designs go, the NAD T770 is all steakWant My DVD Major Labels’ Plans for Classical Music on DVDI D I W a L E S O N Tan Opera Guide to Opera on Video and executive direc From the two main mikes and brought it to the rear ones Audience, he says. We fed that information to the rearTion from the main mikes as well as the spot mikes Have been considered typical indeed, good for aFall was so high. This was an elaborate joint See review, this issueQuering technology issues, Moorhead says. Most of our Computer and TV combinedMade for DVD Original, so they’re not going to fake it for DVDStars. God, was I skeptical To Turandot’s collection the Chinese nation, ruled by an Dramatic confrontation, in the second scene of Act TwoMust answer three riddles. If his answers are correct, she Ple either turning cynical, or lusting for more bloodTucks into a tiny corner of the staging. Hordes of Chinese Turandot. And why would there be? Yes, Puccini conscienPreoccupation like that made more sense, but Moon onstage we see a corps of Chinese dancers, wearingClassical DVD Sampler DVD-nessFull of pomp and circumstance, but much less lifelike Ment of that, and when I listened, I found I’d chooseWith the sound either way, or with the sound of the Scala PerformancesLike institutional persona, Herr Music Director of All Role mostly as a force of nature, powerful but blankStart of each one, there’s Karajan on screen, his face That’s simply ravishing This performance is broadJargon Roger Reynolds Watershed Mode 70, DVDSurrounded Experiment in a New MediumYes, theorists can find all sorts of relationships among Are so new that we all need orientationThough, is that Reynolds is way too impressed with Areas of music rhythm, loudness, and tone color, forBut in rhythms he himself creates. In practice, these, to Musical scoreMaybe, succeeded by metallic effects That, while Otto is allegedly creating syntax by movingMents of a Clockwork Orange What Ever Happened to Baby Pop With a TwistB G E N D R O N Performance we see on DVD begins with a filmSon’s Dead to the World. Nope Perfect timing and careful choreographyBelow-average vocal performance Horizon, probably to his death. It is a scene that demandsInsignificance of the media and with a DVD, with its digitally clear resolutionTabloid, because of its sensational pur Ly slurs the tune’s climactic line,WhatDent films Gods and Monsters, Cookie’s Fortune that Godzilla, Armageddon, Instrument is better thanWith 1991’s In on the Kill Close Encounter Voices of Light/The Passion of Joan of ArcD R E W Q U I N T Special presentation of Voices of Light/The Passion of Joan Each other. Seen together, they seemed inseparable yet Obvious. The movie is about as complete as it can be.Other instances, were not merely happy coincidences, nor By much of the sound reinforcement heard in BroadwayPhysics of Color An Introduction to Digital VideoPart 2 Video Color Concepts Human Color PerceptionLuminance ColorblindnessColor Concepts for Video Additive Color Hue and SaturationCIE Chromaticity Diagram Display Color Accuracy RGB Primaries The Color TriangleWhite Reference Color Temperature Grayscale Color TemperatureColor Measurement Color Bars Are used in some circumstances Other color signals will alsoColor errors. Instrument known as a color analyzer or a spectroAdjustments Color and HueAvia Guide to Home Theater pro Sony VPH-G90U Multiscan Projector PhysicalE G R O G E R S Scan Rates Installation and Set-upConnections Operating FunctionsPerformance SummarySpecifications Runco DTV-930 Multiscan ProjectorDescription Inputs/Outputs Convergence Labs Test Report Greg Rogers Formats can be selected directly from the remoteRange Horizontal and vertical scan frequencies and other sourceBe noticed Combination is about the reasonable limit to achieve anRemote Control IEV Turboscan 1500 Line DoublerLine Doubling = Deinterlacing Ics-grade front projector Video outputs. As a progressive video reference, I used aCreates progressive video without deinterlacing artifacts 3Dfusion do each in different ways. The TurboscanPioneer Elite DVL-91 Combination CD/LD/DVD Player Look and FeelL L C R U C E Up menus allow you to configure such things as onscreen lan Meaning clearLy, the remote of the DVL-91, like that DVD PerformanceLD Performance Wrong one in the darkDvdo iScan Plus Line Doubler Celebrate Film Classic Comedy’s Second Coming Roberto Benigni L M & M O V I E SThough a number of films in which Benigni Quently escape was Benigni’s first American and EnglishRoberto on the Internet Sound Cute cameo which perhaps hints at a sequelAspect ratio and running time incorrectly Original Pink Panther film go figure. Sad to sayNo thanks to Warner’s folks Small wonder Special Editions Kubrick and The Space MonstersFirst wave of anger and incredulity. The DVD set was Set consists of Lolita, Dr. Strangelove, 2001 aBoth Clockwork and Full Metal Jacket exhibited pinkish Special Editions Few Weird Thoughts What Dreams May ComeWorth a Look Relatively Recent Arrivals Navigator a Medieval Odyssey, the other is Map Human HeartTo say that the film is developing a cult following some How beautiful she was when she was married to RogerMovie would have had the solid foundation it needed Smooth as could be and given the importanceBiopics Three British Royals Love.1 AsOtranto Man in the Iron Mask 1939. But it is his Old Dark House 1932, The Invisible ManHP Comments Mon with The Shining than with any other Kubrick opus Ic in this context in cloud cuckooland, with theirYou have an idea of what’s really going on in the film Food-storage roomFrom Art to Cult N a T H a N V a L I NNot content to present us with an allegory of the eternal Only later goes on to give them human dimensions. EvenSuch blatant symbolism can sustain an entire movie Face the questions that vexed and hauntedIssues 111 Letters to the Editor Back Issues Website Change of AddressQuestions About Your Subscription Editorial SubmissionsA S S I F I E D a D O R D E R F O R M Name Company Address CITY, State , ZIPVision Watch
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