Dwin 500/700

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Having problems setting up your CRT projector? Watch a pro do a setup from start to finish on this CRT Projector Setup Guide!

Dwin, like most of the true CRT projector manufacturers (Electrohome, Barco, NEC, Sony, etc.) built its model 500 and 700 projectors from the ground up instead of OEM'ing a chassis from a third party. 

As of the time of this writing (August 2009), DWIN appears to be out of business, as their website is now a blank page. DWIN sold thousands of the DWIN 500 and 700 CRT projectors, which were very popular as they are very small and *extremely* quiet for data-grade (HD capable) projectors. Actually, quiet is probably misleading as the two models are actually, for all practical purposes, completely silent.  The 500 has absolutely no fans in it (completely convection cooled) while Dwin added a tiny fan to the 700 power supply to offer slightly better cooling.  The fan is completely inaudible unless you're a few feet away in a completely silent room.  How many projectors can achieve that without a hushbox?

Both the 500 and 700 sets scan to 64Khz, so they make good little 1080i or 720p devices. The sets are rated at 1000 lumens, more than enough for most home theaters, and generally are reliable units. The Dwin 500 will work with positive or negative sync while the newer Dwin 700 requires negative sync, so make sure that you’re feeding the RGB inputs with a negative sync if you use a Dwin 700. If your source has positive sync, then use an Extron 202 box, Box1040, RTC2200, or GammaX to convert the source to negative sync.

The DWIN uses a proprietary remote control that was based on a universal remote, long since discontinued, so if you buy a DWIN, make sure the remote control comes with the unit, as the unit is useless without it. The DWINs only have an RGBHV input, and cannot accept a component, video or SVideo signal without an external adapter or line doubler/scaler.

The DWIN 500 uses EM focusing tubes, the more popular 700 uses Toshiba P16 ES focusing tubes. The DWIN 700 tubes are the same as used in the Barco 708/Cine 7 series, the 500 used Toshiba tubes unique to the DWIN 500.

The Dwin 500 and 700 are extremely similar as the table below shows.

Some important details/differences to make note of:

• Both models only offer one RGBHV input.  Composite, S-video inputs are not offered. Not much of a loss as composite and s-video are low-grade (480i only) video inputs.
   
• The older 500 uses the technically better electromagnetic (EM) focusing while the newer 700 uses simpler electrostatic (ES) focusing. Focus quality is somewhat similar between the two models however given that the 700 uses newer Toshiba "large neck" tubes which are shaper to make up for the less advanced ES focusing.
   
• The minimum horizontal scanning frequency on the 700 is 30Khz, meaning that it requires a minimum of a line doubled signal to display an image. You will not be able to feed it a 15.75 standard-definition (480i) signal without some sort of doubling or tripling (not that you would want to - the scanlines of a 480i signal on a large screen are far too annoying).
   
• On a 16:9 ratio screen, the 'sweet spot' resolution where scanlines just meet is around 600p-720p. Both are very capable at displaying 1080i HDTV material perfectly well (as 1080i has the same scanrate requirements as 540p).
   
• The 700 offers handles which makes moving around and installing this small and light projector a bit easier.
   
• Both models offer fully colour-corrected lenses but neither is colour filtered. Colour correction preserves the colour produced by the CRT as it passes through the lens and is found on basically all CRT projectors ever manufactured. Colour filtering is done via tinted coolant glycol or lenses and corrects colour errors in the tubes' phosphors. Very few projectors offer colour filtering as while it improves colour accuracy, it sacrifices light output and increases cost.  The good news is that colour filtered red and green HD-145 lenses are commonly found on other projectors (such as NECs) so it's an easy job to replace the two lenses with colour filtered versions if you want this feature.
   
• The 700 is a bit easier to setup from scratch than the 500 if multiple memories are required. For each new memory set up on the 500, the setup has to be done completely from scratch. When new memories are set up on the 700, it uses a similar memory as a starting point so less work is required.
   
• Though both are very similar in appearance, the 700 cabinet is slightly 'sleeker' looking.
   
• The 700 appears to have better uniform brightness across the screen (left to right). The 500 is brighter in the center.
   
• Both projectors use the popular Home Theater Master SL-8000 remote which is OEM'ed by many manufacturers.
   

To see how the Dwin 500/700 rank in relation to other projectors for use in a home theater environment see the Projector Rankings page.

See the Advanced Procedures page for various DIY instructions on maintaining and improving CRT projectors.

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