Buying a Barco

1. Do I have room to properly place the projector on the floor without ever moving it again OR can I mount it safely to the ceiling without risking getting killed by a 140 lbs piece of plastic, glass and metal?


2. Have I properly checked the Barco Lens Program (see downloads section) and made sure the projector can be mounted at the proper projection distance as it has no (I repeat NO!) zoom option


3. Is ambient light in my room controllable so I can watch the screen in the darkest possible environment? (see recommendations)


4. Do I have a 1.2 max gain screen so I can avoid color hotspotting caused by the fact that each tube projects an image under a different angle? (so pearl screens are out of the question)

1. Does my girlfriend, wife, partner, roommate or whoever else is living with me fully understand the implications of having such a large device prominently visible in the room and if not, what are the chances of her/him/it leaving or divorcing me once that actually sinks in? "It's too big for me" might sound flattering at first but history shows that the missus usually has the last say when it comes to furniture arrangements and whatever else you can put in a room.


2. How will you deal with it when she changes her mind? :)

1. Can I live with the fact that a CRT projector makes a significant amount of noise (depending on the model) knowing that I can only reduce that noise by heavily modifying fans or building a hushbox with external ventilation?

1. Can I live with the fact that from now on any sub-standard quality DVD will become completely unwatchable on my screen since crappy images are so much more noticable?


2. Can I live with the fact that from now on any good quality DVD and particularly Bluray and HD video will look ridiculously good. So good even that I may forget about regular cinema theaters altogether?

1. Am I willing to spend countless hours tweaking and optimizing my CRT projector tube alignment, convergence and focus setup in my quest for the ultimate image quality? (because this thing will get you hooked on high end tweaking and babble about high end home cinema for sure!)


2. Am I willing to take some startup time into account when watching movies (in order for the projector to reach its normal temperature and avoid convergence drift (ES setups like the Barco Data 800 in particular)?

1. Can I fit such a beast into the trunk of my car?


2. Can I get somebody to assist me in carrying the projector to and from the car because it's quite heavy and there's no way I can carry it by myself alone?


3. If I buy this on ebay, how much will it cost me to get it to my house and will it survive the trip?


4. Do I have proper padding/protection to protect the projector from damage during transportation?

1. Do I have the means to drive the projector with a proper source be it a home theater PC or upscaling dvd player with the proper outputs?
2. Do I have the equipment to convert the source signal to the appropriate RGBHV with negative sync signal if necessary? (HD Fury or scaler comes to mind)*

1. Does the CRT projector model that I chose support the RGB Bandwidth and refresh rate that my video source or player requires?


2. Does the CRT projector that I am about to buy support progressive video input? (some old smaller models will only do interlaced video)

1. Is my projector setup for flat screen projection instead of simulations (curved screens used in military simulations)?


2. Does the CRT projector that I am about to buy NOT have significant tube wear (caused by high contrast and brightness settings and/or long running hours) that may require tubes to be replaced in the near future? (see tube wear table)


3. Does the CRT projector that I am about to buy NOT have any tube burn (caused by static images or electronic issues such as faulty power supplies)? Because if so, the tube usually will require immediate replacement or the image will be unwatchable.

(If demonstration is not possible make sure you bring a flashlight to check signs of tube wear or burn. If demonstration IS possible, put on some sunglasses before staring into the tubes or you'll regret it bad)

4. Does the CRT projector that I am about to buy NOT have retrace lines visible, show other weird artifacts that shouldn't be there or have g2 issues (see Common Problems section on this website) that may require parts to be replaced or repaired?


5. If the CRT projector that I am about to buy has liquid coupling, is the liquid clear and without fungus?
6. Does it come with a matching and working remote control? Setting up a Barco without a remote is not much fun if you are 9 feet below the projector and unable to reach it easily once it's installed.


7. Does this CRT projector model have any spares available on Ebay or other second hand markets? (Tubes are relatively expensive and some more obscure and high end models require tubes that cost a small fortune!)

1. If you are buying your projector from a (fellow) forum member, look up his posts and see if there have been any problems with the unit. If so, how have these been solved?


2. Is my vendor a reliable source and willing to help out if things aren't working as expected upon installation?


3. Does the previous owner have significant knowledge about CRT projection and did he/she operate it at the correct projection distance? Too far away may have caused visible wear on the outer edges of the tube phosphor area! Too close may have caused damage to the tubes due to heating of uncooled areas of the glass tube
4. Is my vendor not somebody claiming to be a descendant of a Nigerian prince in desperate need of a bank account, quick sale or other trade that sounds to good to be true and thus is?


5. Does the vendor accept a payment method that is not prone to fraud? (Western Union payment only is usually a sign to run away as fast as you can)
6. Is the vendor willing to demonstrate the unit before purchase / payment? If not, is there a decent explanation as to why not?

YES????

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