Thread: Interesting Chauvet Hurricane 1250 observations

I wouldn't say plasma or LCD is better they are different technologies to achieve the same end.

I have and LCD, but I would have preferred a plasma.

The reason I bought an LCD is because I live in Colorado, and plasma has a buzzing problem at altitude. While the plasma manufacturers have said they have fixed this problem on newer models, burned once twice shy.

Plasma is more power hungry then LCD, especially the new LED back-light LCD.

Plasma does burn in as well, just like the old CRT displays. LCD does not burn in but the older generation did have a image retention problem.

Plasma is less expensive to produce then LCD, but as the LCD technology began to compete with plasma, the plasma prices remained inflated but just below the price that the LCDs were being sold at. This kind of makes the plasma manufacturers look greedy.

all being all - I think the plasma picture is better due to the fact that it is more like the CRT that we all grew up with.

All that and Also to add, plasma had a much larger angle of view. LCD's (at least used to) be limited to pretty direct on viewing.

when I bought my Samsung LCD, I looked at Plasma and LCDs, the Plasma was a darker picture the LCD was more bright and vibrant (of course this is in the eye of the beholder I suppose) but the plasma has burn in issues and wasnt as sharp as the LCDs I looked at. I was warned over and over of the problems with plasma's as I shopped.......but the only thing that matters is that the owner is happy...

Originally Posted by GrimShady

All that and Also to add, plasma had a much larger angle of view. LCD's (at least used to) be limited to pretty direct on viewing.

my LCD doesnt have that issue

Originally Posted by Scott N.

first time I ever heard Plasma was better then LCD, I have always heard LCD beats the snot out of plasma in every way

Contrast ratio: the difference between dark and light is a key component to the picture. Plasma screens start at 10,000:1 and go up of real contrast. Very similar to performance of tube televisions.

LCD screen can be as low as 800:1 for some crappy no names and for really good one 3000:1. To compensate they employ scene adjustment contrast where they boost backlight levels on darker scenes automatically, but this does not help high contrast scenes. Its a "fix".

Another key aspect to LCD panels is their refresh speed, plasma tvs have far better refresh speeds. If you watch a fast moving scene on a plasma it should be better than on an lcd panel.

The new (very expensive and not quite ready for prime time) organic lcd panels will literally rewrite the book on contrast ratio 1,000,000:1! But they havent been too successful at making them really big yet. And they will be really expensive.

So yes a plasma may be more power hungry or not work a 10,000 feet but they are a better choice if you love watching television.


Back to the Chauvet thing, its all about marketing, and interpretation of numbers. And that the consumer relies on figures to make an objective decision, They know this and will push the limit of proper business practices to sell their product.


IB

I dunno, I cant agree with you based on what I saw while comparing LCDs and Plasmas but to be fair, I was only looking in the less then $1000 range and I got a Samsung 42" LCD that boasts a 70,000:1 contrast ratio and in that price range it looked better then the plasmas I looked at..........but enough said on this off topic stuff....

Read This Before Buying a Plasma or LCD TV | BestStuff
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Excerpts from the link above
PLASMA:
Keep in mind that true HDTV resolution can't be found in plasma TVs smaller than 50 inches. There are two HDTV broadcast standards – 1920x1080 interlaced (1080i), and 1280x720 progressive (720p). So, in order for a plasma TV to be considered truly 'HD', it should have at least the same amount of pixels as a 720p signal, or more.
Even though the picture is not HDTV, you'll find that HDTV programs still look spectacular and noticeably more detailed than standard programming. Of course, if you plan on sitting real close to the TV or are buying a larger screen size, then HDTV is the way to go.

Now to address a few concerns about plasma: First of all, today's plasma TVs don't have the same problems with premature image aging (burn-in, burn-out) that plagued older plasma monitors and TVs. That's because the mix of gases used in the panels have been changed to improve longevity. You'll hear the figure '60,000 hours' thrown around; be conservative and figure half that, which is 30,000 hours.

30,000 hours is the equivalent of watching eight hours a day of television, seven days a week for 10 years. I don't watch that much television, but perhaps you do. Assuming you operate your plasma TV in the 'Normal' or 'Cinema' picture modes and don't play video games on it too often, you should be in fine shape for quite some time.
Yes, some plasma TVs make a lot of noise at high altitudes. That noise is the mechanical 'buzz' created during the plasma's on-off imaging cycles. At low altitudes, the air pressure is sufficient to keep the glass from vibrating very much. But at high altitudes, air pressure is lower, so the glass vibrates more – and you hear it.


LCD's
Unlike plasma TVs, all widescreen LCD TVs over 15 inches in size have true HD resolution (usually 1280x768 pixels, sometimes more). Bigger models starting at 46 inches and up actually have 1920x1080 pixel resolution, but they command quite a price premium at the moment.

LCD TVs don't suffer from 'burn-in' or 'burn-out' like plasma panels do. They can, however, have 'stuck' or dead pixels. The leading manufacturers have higher standards for defective pixels, so you can usually purchase from those companies with confidence that you won't see white, black, red, green, or blue dots on your TV programs that won't go away (and if you do, your warranty offers some protection).

Although plasma TVs can generate extremely bright images, they have an automatic brightness governing system to keep them from doing so with high luminance program material so as to avoid burn-in and premature phosphor aging. LCD TVs have no such braking system and will usually make a much brighter image on the showroom floor and in your home.

Because plasma TVs employ phosphors for imaging, they are susceptible to glare from indoor and outdoor light. LCD TVs don't have this problem; they create images by shuttering light through tiny color filters and generally handle annoying reflections from open windows or nearby lights with no difficulty.

What LCD TVs don't have is deep, rich black levels. On average, the level of 'black' measured on the best LCD TVs is about 10 times as high as that measured on the best plasma TVs. Also, colors on LCD TVs don't appear to be as rich (or even accurate) as a plasma TV. As a result, you will probably find that LCD TVs seem to look better under normal room lighting, but plasma TVs excel when the lights are turned down.

LCD TVs are expected to last between 50,000 to 60,000 hours, and that's usually the time it takes for the backlight to burn out. However, you should read the fine print in your owner's manual: Those life expectancy numbers are not for full brightness, but only 50% or even 25% of full panel brightness. (Tests have been done to confirm this.)

The upside is that LCD TVs are available in so many sizes that you can put them just about anywhere you'd wish in your house. I've used 15-inch and 17-inch sizes as HDTV displays in my downstairs bathroom each year during the Super Bowl!

LCD TVs, as a general rule, use less power than plasma (25% on average) and also weigh less in equivalent screen sizes (about 20% on average). And they are slightly thinner, too, although when you are talking about TVs that measure only 3" to 5" in thickness, who really wants to split hairs?

Another good link:
Buying a new HDTV – Plasma Vs. LCD - BUY.BLORGE

In my original post I mentioned that my Chauvet 1250 worked one year and then didn't last halloween (2008). I contacted Chauvet this year based on other peoples issues with not being able to get the heater above 800W, I contacted the local authorized dealer. He contacted Chauvet and they confirmed that they were replacing 1250's with 1300's and was told to have the customer, me, contact Chauvet directly.

They provided a contact at Chauvet and I left several voicemails without success. I then sent an email to the contact listed in this thread and hope that someone will contact me. I plan on being more aggressive in contacting them over the next week or two to see if I can get my 2007 Chauvet 1250 replaced. Anyone else had any luck on this? It's hard to believe that the 1250 rated at ~1200 W puts out only 10k CFM whereas the 1300W puts out 20k CFM huge difference so I suspect the 1250 was never meant to put out ~1200W despite being advertised as such..

In the meantime I did purchase a 1300 for the 2009 halloween and it worked without a problem all night ~6 hours. Much more output than the 1250 by far. I had 20' of perforated pipe from Home Depot and put bags of ice every 1-2' along the pipe. The pipe end was closed off using a 4" pvc cap and duct tape. The temperature was about 60 degrees going down to the fifties towards the end of the night and it worked fairly well.

The main issue was that I was fogging an entry way and every time someone walked through it, the breeze dissipated the fog. Not the effect I was looking for i.e. a 1-2' deep ground fog but it was pretty good. Scared the kids away from the house with lightning etc.

Quick question came to mind as I was wrapping up this year was how does everyone store their foggers? In the past I cleaned them with a mixture of vinegar like it states by Chauvet and ran them till they were dry. Should they be stored with fog fluid in them or cleaning fluid or ?

TIA

Paul

Originally Posted by paulr1

Quick question came to mind as I was wrapping up this year was how does everyone store their foggers? In the past I cleaned them with a mixture of vinegar like it states by Chauvet and ran them till they were dry. Should they be stored with fog fluid in them or cleaning fluid or ?

TIA

Paul

Never store your fogger with cleaning fluid in the tank! Only clean your machine if you really have to. That is, if you have a noticeable decrease in performance. Otherwise, cleaning is not required.

Read this: Theatre Effects - Cleaning Fog Machines (Not!)

My 3 fog machines have been running trouble free for 11, 10, and 8 years now. I can't include my new one yet because I just used it once for this past Halloween!