Audio Video News

Even the best can't rest on their laurels. Runco International, one of the world's best in the CRT-projection arena, has announced a new 9-inch CRT, the DTV-1200. The new model incorporates significant improvements in convergence, focus and astigmatism, according to a mid-September press release.

The DTV-1200 features several improvements over its predecessors, including a new multi-zone electromagnetic focus control said to give the new model an edge in focus performance over all other 9-inch CRT designs. The DTV-1200 delivers "unsurpassed resolution and detail," according to the statement. The new multi-zone focus feature is complimented by full astigmatism (dot focus) control on the remote itself, meaning that the installer can accurately calibrate the astigmatism without even having to open the projector.

"The DTV-1200 represents the pinnacle of CRT technology in terms of design as well as performance." Says Mike Woods, Runco's Technical Director, "Never before has a CRT projector been able to provide the unprecedented picture quality of the 1200 in the home theater category. This projector incorporates picture quality adjustments not found on any other CRT projector, which not only improve the accuracy of its calibration, but also brings many adjustments out of the projector and into the remote control- greatly speeding up calibration time. With these features, this model will fully resolve all HDTV signals including 1080i and 720p with awesome detail and color accuracy more than any other projector on the market. We feel that the 1200 will be the benchmark to which all other 9-inch CRT projectors will be measured against."

In addition to the Multi-zone electromagnetic focus and astigmatism controls, the DTV-1200 has over three times the number of convergence points compared to its predecessors. The result: "airtight convergence over the entire image."

The DTV-1200's three 9" CRTs are liquid coupled tubes, a technique claimed to improve the contrast ratio and reduce light scatter. Color accuracy is improved by color-filtered C-elements, and color-corrected high-definition lenses. Every aspect of setup can be adjusted via the projector's 32 discreet memories. Each completely independent memory remembers customized aspect ratio, color-temperature, and scan-rate settings-all easily accessible via the supplied remote control-as well as any necessary variations of conventional picture settings such as brightness and contrast. Each memory further stores individualized convergence data, and stored convergence settings may be "copied" from one memory location to another, dramatically speeding up and simplifying setup. With such exhaustive setup capabilities, the DTV-1200 should work in almost any situation.

The DTV-1200 can display multiple aspect ratios, including 4:3, letterbox and anamorphic images. The RGB/component video input is compatible with video processors or DTV decoders, and has an improved horizontal-scan rate up to 132 kHz. Runco claims that the DTV-1200 one of the most versatile high-performance projection systems ever created. The new projector should arrive at authorized dealers this fall, and will carry a suggested retail price of $44,995.