A visit with Scott Wilkinson on this week's Tech Guy.
February 2, 2013 
Some 30 years or so ago, the only giant TV screens were projection TV’s. And there was Beamscope (and Beamscope II), which claimed to be better than any projection TV system on the market back then. The biggest difference was the price. While a projection TV was $2,000 to $4,000 for a 40-50" system, a Beamscope II, which could be compared to a 41" TV, was about $200. Beamscope II was a “precision” ground lens; complete with stand that you placed in front of your smallish TV, so you could watch a much bigger picture. I owned 2 of them. The 1st one I bought turned my 21” TV into a 32” TV. The picture quality was pretty good, but only the person sitting directly dead center in front of the Beamscope got an undistorted view. Two people sitting close together side-by-side had a pretty good view too. But sitting too far off center meant you saw a totally distorted picture. The Beamscopes were expensive too, for their time. About $100 for the 32” one, and almost $200 for the 42” model which came out a year later. And they were HEAVY! One model came with a rolling stand so you could roll in front of your TV for the shows you wanted to watch on “the big screen”. I used it mainly for watching movies on TV. I really didn’t need to watch The Match Game with the Beamscope. I didn’t have the one with the stand. I hung mine from the ceiling and lowered it for the movies. I piped the sound from my TV through my stereo amp. I guess I had one of 1st home theatres.
Reader Comments (2)
Don't count the Beamscope out. I have a 35" Beamscope (29" wide x 21" high approx.) and by accident I discovered it could provide me with exciting new experiences. When I place the lens approximately 61 inches from my 52" LCD TV (curved side of lens facing TV) I get a wonderful Imax effect and the picture is sharp from corner to corner. (Great for wide screen scope movies) When I turn the Beamscope around and pull it a little further back it gives me Cinerama! Although the side images are slightly distorted the total immersion effect is there as you are not aware of the edges of the picture. For both I have the lens about 29" from the floor. The main disadvantage is that only one person can watch at a time so I call it my personal virtual home theater.
It compares quite favorably with both the Imax and Cinerama theatrical experiences and the Beamscope also adds a very subtle 3D effect. I often check out Imax and Cinerama theaters (the latter being very rare but there is one in Hollywood where I live) just to see how close my personal theater is to the theatrical experience. And I never cease to me amazed at how similar the experience is.
So don't throw out the Beamscope--Some videophiles may have one just gathering dust in a closet. Pull it out and treat
yourself to an amazing new experience in home theater.
I tried another TV magnifier but it did not produce the same effect.,
William Bergfeldt
1946 Vedanta Place
Hollywood CA 90068
323 465 7114
In my previous post about the Beamscope's capabiliies of
delivering both an Imax and Cinerama experience I forgot
to list my e mail address.
William Bergfeldt
wbperkyb@gmail.com