Hey Woodman

[cam]

Before I say anything, let me start by saying I value your expertise and opinions. I have added this to other threads but maybe you did not follow up or maybe you ignored me. But anyways here is my situation. I currently have a anologue 27" Panasonic GAOO which to this day still looks awesome. I bought it in 95 and it is still chugging along perfectly. My home consists of 2 big windows on either side of my fireplace, a sliding glass door off my dining room, a window and skylight in my kitchen which is open to my living room and my entrance area adjacent to my living room has a huge 4 x 4 skylight. Lots of light. My wife every morning opens up all the blinds even on cloudy days to let the light in. And personally if she did not open them I would. Lets just say we both like (need) light. With that said, all that light even on sunny days does not leave my crt unviewable , but I believe it would leave a crt rear projection un-watchable unless we closed all the blinds (and put blinds on the skylights as well). Since me and my wife do not want to live in a dark room during the day and still want to view our programs why would a toshiba 34 inch crt widescreen at $1700 CAN including stand be a risk. They say crt's should last minimum 10 years. $170 a year is still a good deal. I know that these 34 inch widescreen crt's use to be $3500-$4000 machines, but now they are very affordably. Please comment but keep in mind that closing all the blinds during the day is not an option. Maybe a projection lcd or dlp will fit my situation better then a crt projection. If lcd or dlp will work in a lit room then I will get one, just waiting to see if the rumour about big screens dropping in price by 30% by year end is true.

[woodman]

Before I say anything, let me start by saying I value your expertise and opinions. I have added this to other threads but maybe you did not follow up or maybe you ignored me. But anyways here is my situation. I currently have a anologue 27" Panasonic GAOO which to this day still looks awesome. I bought it in 95 and it is still chugging along perfectly. My home consists of 2 big windows on either side of my fireplace, a sliding glass door off my dining room, a window and skylight in my kitchen which is open to my living room and my entrance area adjacent to my living room has a huge 4 x 4 skylight. Lots of light. My wife every morning opens up all the blinds even on cloudy days to let the light in. And personally if she did not open them I would. Lets just say we both like (need) light. With that said, all that light even on sunny days does not leave my crt unviewable , but I believe it would leave a crt rear projection un-watchable unless we closed all the blinds (and put blinds on the skylights as well). Since me and my wife do not want to live in a dark room during the day and still want to view our programs why would a toshiba 34 inch crt widescreen at $1700 CAN including stand be a risk. They say crt's should last minimum 10 years. $170 a year is still a good deal. I know that these 34 inch widescreen crt's use to be $3500-$4000 machines, but now they are very affordably. Please comment but keep in mind that closing all the blinds during the day is not an option. Maybe a projection lcd or dlp will fit my situation better then a crt projection. If lcd or dlp will work in a lit room then I will get one, just waiting to see if the rumour about big screens dropping in price by 30% by year end is true.

No cam, I didn't ignore you ... just got busy.

As to your "problem" - just how much television (or DVDs) do you watch in the daytime? I don't quite understand why daytime viewing is such a big deal that you would base a buying decision on it. Anyway - you want my opinion ... here it is:

Why not use your existing 27" Panasonic for daytime viewing, and get yourself something MUCH bigger and more involving to watch after the sun goes down? Doesn't that make sense to you? Or, do you work at night and daytime viewing is all you have available to you?

One other thing I want to make you aware of. Sony is about to release a new type of screen for front projectors that uses a black material instead of white or gray! I've not seen it in action myself, but the idea behind it is to make front projection very watchable in rooms with lots of ambient light! Sound interesting? According to industry insider reports, it should be coming to market this fall. If I were you, I'd hold off doing anything until this new screen comes to market to see if it isn't just what you're looking for.

Hope this helps you

[skeptic]

" Sony is about to release a new type of screen for front projectors that uses a black material instead of white or gray! I've not seen it in action myself, but the idea behind it is to make front projection very watchable in rooms with lots of ambient light! Sound interesting? "

Sounds expensive Woodman. Sony TV always is. Unless the image is much much brighter than their current offerings, I don't see how there can be that much of an improvement. Time will tell.

[woodman]

Sounds expensive Woodman. Sony TV always is. Unless the image is much much brighter than their current offerings, I don't see how there can be that much of an improvement. Time will tell.

The whole idea behind the "black screen" is some technoligically marvelous accomplishment that reflects only the light from the projector and not any of the ambient light that's present. Howinthehell it does this, I haven't a clue - but it sure sounds like it could alter the playing field for front projectors in a most dramatic fashion. Also, the rumors have it that the screen will come to market at somewhere around the $500 level. Considering the fact that there are projection screens listing for $2K and more, this wouldn't qualify as "expensive Sony TV".

[skeptic]

How it will work is anyone's guess right now. Here's a thought, the screen is beaded glass and the glass is polarized say vertically. The projector lenses are polarized in the same alignment. Therefore, the screen only reflects the components of light from the projector and not all of the randomly polarized light, ie sunlight. This would certainly make the colors more vivid against a blacker background. I have eliminated reflected light on office VDTs (crts) by using parahex lenses on fluorescent light fixtures which focus light at a very sharp cutoff angle. This eliminates the glare you normally get from 2x4 fluorescent overhead lighting. (If you've never seen it before it's a very weird experience until you get used to it. The only ceiling light you see is the one directly over your head, the walls are dark almost up to the ceiling, the ceiling itself looks completely dark, and yet the entire room is brillianly illuminated.)

In my own house, I have Sony XBR TVs which are in brightly sunlit rooms but are in the shadows being "backlit" by outside windows so there is little reflected ambient light directly on the screen. It doesn't matter. At maximum illumination, they are still overwhelmed by the ambient light. Human sensitivity to light like human sensitivity to sound is logarithmic. A daylight lit room, even lit on a cloudy day can be millions of times brighter than a room lit with incandescent lamps at night. The iris of your eyes like the iris in an automatic exposure camera adjusts for the average total illumination of the room closing down so that you are not blinded. Relatively dimly lit objects like a television screen whether direct or projected seem dim by comparison to other objects in the room. That's why IMO, the only real way to be able to view a TV image well in a brightly lit room is to make the image much brighter itself. I'll hold my judgement until I see what Sony has developed but as usual, I am a SKEPTIC.