Whatever Happened To JBL Video Products Group & JBL Projectors?

[Genghiskahn]

Does anyone know what ever happened to the JBL Video Products Group? JBL Professional makes no mention of them on their website or their products.

JBL Video Products Group was the official name given to JBL Professional's attempt to get into the video projector market back about twenty years ago when CRT projection technology was still the status quo.

I installed several JBL model 6810 or 6850 Video Projectors during that time. I still have a JBL Professional Video Products Group Field Service Manual and a Technical Training Manual for the JBL model 6810 Video Projector.

I also have a working (last I checked) mint condition, in factory packaging, JBL model 6850 Video Projector gathering dust. It was a demo model we used in our display room back in the day.

Harman Electronics in Northridge, California managed the JBL Video Products Group for JBL Professional and this relationship went sour.

The video projectors were high end units for their day running upwards of $10,000.00 or better just for the projector and not intended for the consumer market.

There is very little information on the Internet about JBL's video projectors or the JBL Video Products Group. They and the JBL video projector line faded away about 10 years ago.

Anyone know what happened to JBL Video Products Group? Harman Electronics of Northridge, California? Anyone else have any experience with the JBL Professional Video Projectors?

Thanks!

[Mr. Widget]

I have run into a couple of JBL branded CRT projectors... like their Vidikron and Runco contemporaries, they are big and heavy and have almost no value in today's market.

What happened to them? That marketplace was simply too competitive... it is very difficult to remain profitable in a market place where the technology has been rapidly changing and the pricing is so competitive. You end up spending so much on R+D and constantly retooling your factories... JBL is far from alone in the list of companies that have left that market.


Widget

[pierce]

indeed, a few game changers, like the GE Talaria Light Valve, and then later the TI DLP's, and it would be pretty darn hard to keep up.

[ThinMan]

I actually have one that is looking for a good home. If anyone is interested let me know.

[jcrobso]

I worked part time for an AV company, we did NCR, Electrohome and Sony projectors. They were big and heavy and very tedious to set up.
DLP/LCD set it, up aim it at the screen your done.

[jbl_daddy]

Wow blast from the past, the JBL 6810 was my first projector. It was ok and used sony crt's, that was back in the early early 90's. A good CRT still eats a modern projector, I still use my bid electrohome but have just purchased a 1080p DLP unit to play with. My father refuses to give up his sony 9500lc as well but the time is comming.

[Mr. Widget]

A good CRT still eats a modern projector...

I suppose you mean that a CRT projector has a superior picture to a modern DLP?

Now, if you were to say that a 9" CRT can crush a DLP or LCD, I'd have to agree with you, but some of the new DLP projectors are simply amazing. Of course I am not talking about the $900 Epson data projectors, but if you bought a new CRT back in the day they were $20-$30K... today's $20-$30K projectors are so superior to those dimly lit soft imaged monsters that need calibration every few hundred hours...


Widget

[jcrobso]

I suppose you mean that a CRT projector has a superior picture to a modern DLP?

Now, if you were to say that a 9" CRT can crush a DLP or LCD, I'd have to agree with you, but some of the new DLP projectors are simply amazing. Of course I am not talking about the $900 Epson data projectors, but if you bought a new CRT back in the day they were $20-$30K... today's $20-$30K projectors are so superior to those dimly lit soft imaged monsters that need calibration every few hundred hours...


Widget

When shopping for HDTV in '05 I spent about 4 months looking everything.
CRT, LCD, LCoS, DLP, plasma, direct view and rear projection.
Remember I was looking at home HDTVs, I ended up getting a CRT-RP by Samsung $1000 at Sam's Club. Why? Very simple at the time to get a picture = to or better than on any of the other types of HDTVs I would have to spend two to three times more.
I also have worked with some high-end Barco 3 chip DLPs ($80,000) and no CRT could keep up with them. The down fall of the home DLPs was the rotating mirror, lots of problems. HD-movie theaters use very BIG 3 chip DLPs.
If I were to go shopping today most likely I would get a LCD, so much has changed in the last 5 years.
I feel that in a home setting a properly converged CRT would look better than $2000 DLP or LCD projector, but they would be brighter.

[Steve Schell]

I seem to recall part of a snippet of conversation from a visit to JBL years ago. It was mentioned that the JBL projectors were built for them by one of the leading makers of three gun projectors (Runco? Barco?) but I cannot remember the details or who provided them.

[jbl_daddy]

You are on the money, the Electrohome 9500LC is still king with the 9'' tubes. I just wish i could still get an HDMI card for it, the converters are a pain. If it helps the JBL 6810 was identical to an Infinity projector my brother had, just a different box.