MixFixJ,

You said -"Even with all of the improvements to FP and RP systems, I still find the images darker than I'd like, the viewing 'sweet spot' much smaller than I'd like, and the pictures just don't 'seem' as sharp or accurate as tube systems. I just haven't seen an RP or FP system that compares to a tube system. The only time that I've seen an FP system that I was impressed with, was when I was doing a show in conjuction with a GE Light Valve projector with a 40', yes foot, image.

Hmmm... when you say FP and RP that ONLY means Front Projection, and Rear Projection, but I think you 'probably' mean 'digital microdisplay' front or rear projection right??? Is that what you mean?

When you say 'none compares to a tube system', do you mean a 3 gun CRT tube systems or, 'direct view' tube, or BOTH???

Very confusing question without knowing for sure what you mean since both FP and RP are available as digital and TUBE based. My 65" RP is tube based BTW -as are most RP's.

One thing that sucks about all FP systems is that room you watch them in becomes the 'box' (like the box a RP is in) so any light in the room (or bouncing around the room from off the screen) is going to screw up contrast. This effect might be what you mean by 'too dark'???

Black velvet walls and zero lights will show you how good any FP system can be, but I don't wanna live in a room like that.
More FP owners 'comprimise' by having dark-ish colored walls. White walls is very un-good.

Digital microdisplays use a light bulb for it's light output, and are typically MUCH brighter than tube based FP (CRT), so I don't really get what you're saying or thinking?

RP's (whether microdisplay or CRT based) should both be as bright as needed. You might not think they're bright enough when set properly, but it's not like volume control 'preference' in audio.

You can "Overdrive" the CRT guns and make the picture far too blindingly bright than it should ever be -and that SHOULD be brighter than you'd ever want (I hope!)

With micordisplay systems, the bulb is always on at full light output, so you set contrast and brightness to adjust how much light gets deflected away from the screen by the microdisplay chip/s (that's ALL the chip is for).

You can set that wrong too though and output a picture that's too bright/incorrect contrast, but you can never "Overdrive" the microdisplay or bulb. You're never changing the bulb's brightness.

Have you ever 'tested' any of these sytems that you think are too dark? Where have you seen them? In stores?

All it takes is a disc that has some video test screens like Avia, Vid. Esentials, and many THX movies even. This will show you how they display the deepest black-through the gray scale-to it's brightest white.
Stores often don't have the systems set right (or customers screw them up). Do you have crappy flouresent lighting in your room like most stores do?

Except for horrible sets like the LCD-based Sony Grand Wega (which can't come close to hitting black) you should find them all pretty much bright enough to be correct (tube or digital).

You're probably just used to direct view tube TV's that can get VERY bright without as much damage to them. It won't be set 'correctly' though -That's part of why movies don't usually look like film on direct view sets.

Do you like to watch movies in a brightly lit room or something??? You shouldn't have a prob. if you don't.

With FP, the only 'sweet spot' issue is really a matter of what screen you use (hi-gain screens can produce 'hot spotting'), NOT the display itself.

You could project any FP onto a flat white wall and it would have a perfectly uniform picture as seen from anywhere in the room.

Rear Projection technically does have a sweet spot problem, but IMO very little/none in practical use w/ modern sets.

Set up so the center of the set's about eye level when sitting (pretty much what all floor standing RP's are set to), and sitting at a decent distance (I'm at ~12' from my 65" Mitsu.) and the picture is perfectly uniform within a fairly wide horizontal window.
I'd say ~6'-7' window (about as wide a window as a typical couch). If you're much farther off center than that it will get dark edges the futher away you go.
But WHY would you ever sit way off center??? Your audio will be totally screwed up too sitting like that. Leave those spots for guests and children who don't know any better.

'Real world' use, and a typical HD-RPTV will be a VERY uniform picture.

Maybe you're seeing them all at stores where you're standing taller then the sets, and standing closer than you'd actually be in you home?

As far as 'sharp' and 'accurate'. Well, inaccurate HOW?
Set correctly my 65" Mitsu (since you wanted an example) is very accurate in every way a picture is judged. Not perfect of course, but it's flaws are tiny. You can have a set maxed out by an ISF tech, and it'll be damn near perfect.

As far as 'sharp'... uh.. you'd have to see some HD on this set. Too bad there ain't much available, but that's not the set's fault. PBS is always showing travel video in HD. Helicopter overhead shots of all diif. places around the world.

Pretty boring to really watch for very long, but VERY VERY sharp, and a higher res than a direct view tube can display -not that it needs to display that much 'cuz a direct view is so much smaller you can't see the diff. unless you sit too close to it.

JVC's digital LCoS chips (currently used only in FP systems) are the highest res. you can get right now, and have a very tight fill factor. Invisible unless you're sitting stupidly close.

What exactly are you looking for?

It's not about which technology's the best. It's about in the end what has the best picture and is it big enough, easy enough to live with, and cheap enough to afford.

Like speakers.. ribbons, cones, domes, or panels? It's about which sounds the most accurate, and you can afford.

Performance and cost.

Right now I consider my 65" HD-Mitsu. to be great performance (great black level, awesome color incl. 'true red'), big enough (not as big as I'd like, but it's big), easy to live with (plug it in and set it correctly), and I still haven't paid for it (got a one year no pay deal).

A FP can be bigger, but the diff. between an 80" FP hung on the front wall, and a 65" 2-3' closer in the form of a RP isn't much of a diff in size.
Picture-wise the CRT based Mitsu. is true HD res. and better contrast than a FP can have (unless no ambient light and black room).

FP can be worth all the extra hassles and compromises IMO if you go to a much larger screen than available in RP (I'd like to see an 80" digital RPTV though), but then on top of all the inherent troubles of FP, it can also be hard to set up your audio correctly with main speakers w/ 4'-6' feet of air around them and ~7-8' apart at the max.

With a screen that big you'd have to place it too high probably (which screws up it's uniformity) or else you'll be putting the main speakers too close to the front wall so they don't block the screen (depends on the speakers though). And lots of people place their mains too far apart anyway, incorrectly using the center speaker to 'fill the gap'.

Off topic, but ...If you don't sit way off center (and again... why would you?) you don't need a center speaker. If your main speakers aren't faaaar more open sounding, and inherently perfectly matching compared to any center speaker then they're set up wrong.
If they don't image as sharply as a (so-called) center speaker, then they're either set up wrong or they aren't very good speakers.