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Post by ratty on May 2, 2017 3:55:30 GMT -5
Honestly, the only part of the Barco setup that I am not at all happy with is the point or rather zone convergence. It's usable, but it seems I can never get the very edges right no matter what I do. I played a bit with the 808s focus last night, and after a bit of tweaking on the optical and some adjustment of the electronic focus, then a quick run of IRIS just to see the results, I managed to get a setup where at 1280x1024 I have properly readable text throughout the entire screen. It is actually pretty good now, in fact I have much superior focus to the 9PG, but the HD8 really has terrible haloing compared to the HD6/HD145 lenses. Also I noticed some artifacts in more dense patterns, which makes me think I may need some caps replaced in the RGB section, but that is for another day. My problem with the 9PG is exactly the focus. The spot-size is simply never tight enough for my liking. With the plus, I can go a little tighter, but both my plus machines are only 6PGs. As far as the colours go, I have to say NEC nailed it. And for retro gaming, they're very nice, but for anything higher res, they're just too soft. Also, while the settings are very versatile, I have to say that even after the chassis has been completely recapped, it takes three clicks of any adjustment to make any difference on the screen, at which point it jumps too much. So while technically it -looks- more precise then the barco, it's not really... :\ But let's not diverge too much, thread's about the Barco I plan to do a blend so it shouldn't be as taxing on the projectors, being distributed between the two, it should be sharp enough provided I can do the focusing properly. (I also need a proper screen finally.)
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Post by ratty on Apr 30, 2017 16:58:35 GMT -5
Yep, I'll just have to be the guinea pig with my 808s. I do have a set of crispy but working tubes that we can test with, and I'm relatively not too far from Gabor, so it should be a fairly painless process. Also I don't mind pulling it apart as I do need to experiment with the beam limiter circuitry to figure out why it's flickering. It's not on the RGB board for certain as I had to replace that at one point and it's still doing it. For the high-res, I intend to use the HDMI outputs of my gaming rig (6 core i7,16gb ram, watercooled GTX1080), it should have no qualms about such meagre resolutions From what I gather the blend-zone can be done with software on the PC too. It's 1280x800 doubled up. Not sure what the exact standard is, but it's the highest resolution via HDMI that I think can actually still look good. I might go for 2560 x 1440 to keep it 16:9. Might be a better idea to save on vertical resolution. As for the Onyx, I just did a very rough setup on it to check it out. I had multiple revelations 1, My BG808s is set up very sub-optimum... Focus with the crappy HD215 on the Onyx is still better then with the HD8 on the 808s. Apparently whoever replaced the tubes in my 808s did a very crappy job with the magnetics. 2, The colours on the Onyx are definitely nicer then on the un-colour-filtered HD8, but the old PG9 with colour filtered HD6C still has more intense colours. It might be a colour setup thing, in fact I'm sure I could get nicer colours, as in a completely darkened room I could actually see the raster to the sides of the active image... It feels a bit as if brightness was cranked a little too high and contrast set a little too low. (Also my memory of the PG9 might be embellishing the difference... I will test for colours tomorrow I think. Unfortunately I have no good camera to take pics with otherwise I would.)
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Post by ratty on Apr 30, 2017 16:29:47 GMT -5
My BG808s is ceiling mounted yes. Anyways, I pulled that little wireform from my 808s (took a bit of doing but it was easier then I expected). I tried to make a copy from .8mm spring steel, but I don't have small enough pliers to do the little bend precisely enough. So for the time being I put it over to the Onyx. I will get a spare one whenever I get a chance to go out to my workshop.
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Post by ratty on Apr 30, 2017 3:06:50 GMT -5
I'm probably going to see what gjaky's mod can do for my Barcos, and if that works, bandwidth will never be a problem that is for certain. (Now if only someone added more convergence zones, that would be the tits. But that ain't happening ) As for multiple resolutions, I only want two really. One being an 1080p blend done with hardware, for blue-rays, game consoles etc, and one (2560x1600) done directly with a PC. For just using two resolutions, there should really be no big problem. My older PJ has 11k hours on it, and being used every other weekend for a full night (6+ hours) I have not found any noticable drifting of convergence settings. I'm thinking with 446 hours the Onyx probably won't do any drifting either. I am considering rotating the tubes for better vertical resolution if things become too soft. If ultimately I find I can't keep the two resolutions working reliably, I will just do the insane thing and use two NEC PGs for the 1080p, and the Barcos for 2560x1600.
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Post by ratty on Apr 30, 2017 2:49:10 GMT -5
That's a relief! I'll pull one off of an old pinball machine coin door and see if it's the same. It should be, they're the same switches only with less contacts.
What has me a little more worried is that if that little metal pin is rattling around inside the chassis, who knows what it could short...
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Post by ratty on Apr 29, 2017 16:14:12 GMT -5
Hello everyone! I need a bit of help/advice from someone with more experience with the Barco 808 series.
So I actually got around to opening up my Cine 8 Onyx. Set approximate ok position on the ground for the moment, just to see whereabouts I would want it mounted on the ceiling. Might as well set the scan switches so I can actually do a quick-setup, but at least read what's on screen right? Horizontal switches all click nice. I pull the port3 board, and find that the vertical scan switch's spring is being held by only the mercy of god.
After squeezing the end of the spring much tighter so it would sit behind the retaining tab tight (whoever invented this type of switch and used that big a spring without a C-clip on the switch shaft... well... let's just say this is a common problem on this type of switch) and the better part of an hour of battling to put the spring back without having to remove the entire motherboard... I noticed the little metal wireform is missing from the switch that would allow it to stop in the pressed position...
I never actually had to replace this little wireform toggle (or whatever you call it), so I am not sure what the exact shape of it is. I can fold a replacement, no problem, but I am suspecting it is not a simple U shape, but one end is longer and actually goes through the switch shaft and folds to the side to hold it in place ? Anyone have any experience with this? Please tell me I can do this without having to desolder the switch.
If I do have to desolder it, is it possible to get access to the bottom of the motherboard without having to pull the entire board out? I don't really want to roll this machine over as the black is painted, and my other barco is on the ceiling.
Thanks for any help!
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Post by ratty on Apr 26, 2017 5:09:39 GMT -5
That's the thing, I'd like to give it a shot and see whether I am okay with limited bandwidth or not. For movies, there's no real sense in 2560x1600, most of what I watch is FHD tops anyways, but for gaming, higher resolution might look better then lower res with full bandwidth.
Just not sure what to use for the D/A conversion of the video signal. Something that can support custom resolutions straight from a PC. Is there even such a piece of gear, or are all these converters locked to pre-set resolutions?
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Post by ratty on Apr 25, 2017 16:02:21 GMT -5
For regular movie viewing, I'd definitely stick to 1080p, but for gaming I would like to go at least somewhat higher. I don't fully know the math to calculate it, but for gaming, some loss of low light level detail is probably more acceptable then for movies. Both PJs have the 120mhzh neckboards, so I think going somewhat higher should be no problem. How do you calculate for bandwidth requirement? What would be the highest resolution that is still within the 120mhz peak?
I will check your link, as hoenstly the only thing I would need them for is converting the digital HDMI signal to RGBHV. And possibly to remove HDCP, though I ordered a splitter that should also do that.
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Post by ratty on Apr 25, 2017 10:20:12 GMT -5
Hey guys!
I recently picked up a Cine8 Onyx with 446 hours on the set. I also own a BG808s with 11000-odd hours on the set with new tubes. I would like to pick your brains on theoretical and actual limitations regarding blending, resolutions and whatnot.
The idea? Convert 808s to Cine8 Onyx clone, then blend.
Cine8 Onyx: Dump the HD215 lenses and replace with HD18 and matching C-elements. (I already have a set of HD18 that just arrived to gjaky today.) Q: Is there another 8" alternative to the HD18 that might have better resolution? How much better is it? Throw distance should be about the same as a HD145. Also, are the manuals for the Onyx available anywhere online? Unfortunately I didn't get any paperwork nor lens covers for it.
As for the 808s conversion: I already have the LC chambers with some used tubes and clear C-elements. The idea is to copy the tube mounting bridges of the Onyx and install these. I will need a set of new tubes and convert the neckboard sockets for the different tubes. Will also need another set of HD18 and C elements. I also need to FIX the damn beam limiter circuit as it's doing the traditional candlelight flicker (and yes I would rather fix it then just disconnect it. If anyone's ever actually fixed this, I'd appreciate some info on this.).
Now provided I can pull the conversions off, I would like to make a blend, and take advantage of it by using the highest resolution possible (which I realize is limited, but one can try...) Based on the fact that each PJ should be able to handle 1080p, 2560x1600 should be a doable resolution for a blend as each would have to resolve 1280x1600. 1600 vertical res might be a bit too much I'm told, but I don't mind if the picture goes a little soft provided it can actually be displayed.
I bought two Tv One C2-1250 scalers, each having an output resolution limit of 2048x2048, so on the output side I should be okay, the interesting part is getting a HDMI output split/converted to analog... is it even possible? Or would I need to use two HDMI outputs from a PC at that resolution and convert that to analog somehow? (I want to use the scalers for fullHD from PS4 and the sort so I will need the scalers either way really.)
I ask this as my setup is meant to be multi-purpose. I realize I could do software hacks with an older dual-analog output VGA card and a HTPC to drive a blend (anyone have links for this by any chance?), but I would also like to do a bit of gaming here and there, and for that, an older VGA is not an option. My current gaming setup is using 4k/UHD, which I know can't be done with CRT, but 2560x1600 on a 3metre wide screen from CRTs would still be pretty fun I'm sure. The challenge is getting that to blend on two projectors. Q: Would it be easier/better/possible to use two HDFuries on two HDMI outputs and driver-hack-blend? Is this working on new nVidia VGAs? (GTX1080) I am not even certain the HDFury would support 1280x800?
Thanks for any help!
(PS: Where the heck can you get white blackout material in ~280cm fabric width? I want to build a 4:3 screen that's 3metres wide so I need the height, but I've not had any luck in any of the local drapery stores Sad )
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Post by ratty on Apr 25, 2017 9:58:33 GMT -5
Are these still available? I'm looking for a second set just now, though also for HD18 lenses. If there's no scratches and you still have'em, let me know how much Shipping to Hungary would be.
Cheers
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