# Help me to choose a VP for htpc & xbox to CRT projector



## Stigmata (Jul 2, 2010)

Hi all, I think I need some help with choosing a video processor.
I have a crt projector (marquee8000) which only has one RGBHV input: I'd like to feed it with an HTPC for movies (both dvd and blu-ray) and an Xbox360 slim for some gaming. I don't want to use HDMI, I'd like to use vga -> rgbhv output from htpc and component out from xbox. Htpc will do color management too.

That said: I have the opportunity to buy a Crystalio VPS 2300 or a Lumagen VisionPRO (the one with bnc-only connectors) for about 400usd. I think that video processor outputs should be [email protected] or [email protected]/71.928 for blu-ray, [email protected] for dvd and [email protected] for xbox.

Do you think that one of those two could be useful to me? If so, which one and why?

Thank you all for your help

Bye
Francesco


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## nholmes1 (Oct 7, 2010)

Of the 2 I would go with the VisionPro as it has a larger installed base out there and a very enthusiastic user community and its a strong unit. The Crystalio is nice but finicky and if something fails its harder to get repaired.


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## RollsRoyce (Apr 20, 2006)

Before you buy that processor, allow me to recommend that you make sure that your HTPC will output Blu-Rays to the projector via VGA by connecting directly to it with a VGA-RGBHV (5 RCA or BNC connectors on one end) cable. You _might_ have to send them via HDMI because of digital rights management issues, and if so, the processor will be of little use unless you add an HDMI-RGBHV converter.


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## Stigmata (Jul 2, 2010)

Thanks for your replies.
I think that vga out will work with blu-ray discs, as hdcp is only for digital connections, a quick google search seems to confirm this. As per the Lumagen, I've been told that it does not accept 1080p input, is it true?


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## RollsRoyce (Apr 20, 2006)

My concern is that your projector won't be sending any EDID information over RGBHV the way that computer monitors do over a VGA cable. The lack of info indicating a valid video sink might cause your player software to refuse to send Blu-Ray video at HD resolutions (the program's DRM would "see" this as a possible attempt to record the content), and this is what I'm recommending you check for _before_ buying a processor.

Lumagen's products are pretty much out of my budget, so I haven't paid much attention to them. You could check their website for information about the unit you're considering.


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