Has anyone purchased one newer DLP tv's? I'm looking at the Samsung hl-p5063.

Personally I prefer the Tantus models, but I am waiting for the models with the xHD3 chips to come out. My reading of reviews lead me to believe that the new HLP models offer a number of improvements over the HLN models but sacrificed some picture clarity. I read one review where an owner of an HLN set bought an HLP model and set them up side by side for a while. He decided to take the HLP set back.

For my money it is worth waiting for the technology to mature some more. I figure once I buy I'm going to be looking at it for at least six years. I would like to avoid buyers remorse in six months.

From what I can learn, early next year I will be able to tell a lot better. I think the whole technology of non-crt high definintion rear projection is in its infancy. We are moving from both crt and analog technology at the same time. Both need time to mature together so I am still waiting.

I have a Samsung HLN467W that I bought last spring. Overall I love the TV.
- It has an outstanding picture (colors are stunning and blacks are decent)
- The syling of the set is great (very high WAF)
- Plenty of connections for anything you want to throw at it, including a port for PC video so you can browse the web from the couch (haven't got it set up yet but am working on it - I just need a really long cable)
- It doesn't take up much space at all. The 46" model was perfect for my space.
- It's lightweight enough that I can move it easily (<70 lbs) although bulky enough that you would want some help before picking it up.

So far here's what I don't like about it:
- In direct sunlight the picture looks a little washed out; simple fact that a tube set is just brighter (not much of a problem for me as I don't watch TV during the day all that much).

- Sometimes when I start it up there are vertical lines spaced about a couple inces apart. They go away when I shut the TV down and wait to restart it for a minute or two.

- The DVI port doesn't sync with HD cable box (Comcast) when I switch over to the DVI input on my TV. I have to unplug and re-plug in the DVI cable and then it works. Spoke to Comcast about this problem and they told me that it is a common situation with TV's. Still not sure whether it is a Samsung issue, a cable issue (using the one Comcast supplied) or a cable box issue.

What about JVC's version of LCoS.....DILA?

Has anybody checked those out yet?

Greetings,
Ever since I had my 6 year old Hitachi RPTV calibrated last fall, I have been wondering about upgrading the display now that my Axiom/HSU/Yamaha surround sound is in place. Samsung looks to be the dlp leader for now, but if you check over at the AVS Forum, they have had a number of significant quality issues. Samsung is the only manufacturer currently using the hd3 chip, with the hd2+ starting to show up on Mits & Toshiba. The hd2+ willl have a higher contrast ration for better blacks, and Samsung is due to release those in the fall. In the meantime, who knows, since the technology is changing so fast...The good old CRT display is still alive for now...

I would stick to CRT projection TVs myself, but I just came back from CostCo (kid was a pain in the butt!) where I saw a 61" Samsung DLP for $3699. For a DLP type TV it seems like a pretty good deal.
They also had some of those speakers that look like rocks - five or seven of those scattered about the family room would have to be high on the WAF-scale. They probably would sound a lot better than in-walls, too.

Have you heard the rocks? There's no way they sound better than anything except maybe boombox speakers. Eurch.

Just had a Mitsubishi WD-52525 delivered last Wednesday... 52" set with HD2+ DMD chip, tuner, cablecard, firewire, HDMI, and 3 component inputs... having much fun with it

Have heard some very good things about it. When you've spent some time with it, please post the pros and cons for us, would you? Very interested. Thanks.

Mitsubishi just started shipping some DLP sets, and the one I saw recently had an astounding picture. If you're in the market for a new tv, be sure to give it a look.

No problem...

Overall I have been very impressed with the set. My dad has a Mitsubishi Diamond CRT from last year and I have been comparing it to that. I have my plain old SD digital cable box hooked up using the RF input and the other RF input I use with an indoor antenna. I have Xbox and PS2 hooked up to two component inputs. Overall 4:3 SD viewing is very good on this TV. It is on par with my dad's CRT. It turned out to be much better than expected. The sets internal scalars seem to do a very good job of upconverting signal to the native 720p... Off-the-air HD looks amazing. I was watching the Olympics in HD and the colors were very vibrant. The picture had very nice depth to it and it was very sharp. Comparing this to my dad's CRT, the colors looked more vivid and the picture was sharper, although both sets looked very good. Black levels approach that of CRTs... not 100% there, but very close.

Xbox games look awesome on the thing. I only have one 720p game and the rest are 480p. Again, the video scaling on the TV is very nice. If you want a TV that does gaming well, this is the one... no noticeable lag or anything. PS2 looks not as good as there are only a few games that do 480p... the 480i games look jagged, but not bad.

I have no DVD player worthy of hooking up to this thing. I have a 4 year old Sanyo that has audio RCA cables for the component video outputs... I am waiting for Denon's newer DVD players with DVI outputs to be available within the month. The Denon DVD-1910 and DVD-2910 are two possibilities.

The cable guy is coming this week to hook me up with a cablecard so I can ditch the cable box and get digital cable as well as HD programming... hopefully that works out as it is really new and the kinks are still being worked out.

If there was any negatives, I would have to point out that the fan is a tad loud. Not a problem at normal listening levels, but becomes noticeable at very low volumes. The protective screen also shows a lot of glare. This could be a problem for brightly lit rooms, but if you have decent lighting control, it is of no consequence. The screen can be removed and underneath lies a screen that is much like the ones found on the Samsung DLPs. The later models will have better anti-glare screens so maybe they will be swappable. The tuner can be a little glitchy sometimes, but nothing major. Actually the firmware on the TV is user upgradeable via a memory card provided by Mitsubishi so any future fixes can be easily added. Other than that, I have been very pleased with the TV. The picture quality is very good... in my opinion, better than all the other newer DLP sets out at this time. Plus, this is currently the only set to have the latest HD2+ DMD chip with an ATSC and QAM tuner with cablecard. All other HD2+ integrated sets are slated to be available at the end of the year or next year. After waiting almost a year to buy a big screen TV, I had to go with this one since it had all the features I was looking for. So far, it has proven to be a good move....

Wow...sounds very impressive.

Can you tell us what you paid for it?

List price at the store was $4k + tax + delivery... The guy basically gave me a little more than 7% off so it came to a shade under $4k including sales tax and delivery. They had a 24 month same as cash financing so that was nice plus if I find the TV for sale at a lower price within 90 days anywhere else, they refund me the difference. I am guessing that the other two DLP models from Mitsubishi will be out by then and hopefully the price will go down... 3 months is a rather long time when it comes to technology...

FYI for you LCos waiters...

LCos Dying?

Wow that blows, I was one of the ppl hoping LCoS would take off cause on Intel getting into all this.

Curtis, there is a very good article/review on the JVC 61 inch D-ila "is LCOS ready to battle plasma?" in the decmber 2004 home theater magazine www.hometheatermag.com along with intels presense. I have the Samsung HLP5063W, I love it, but I came so close to returning it. As an advid NFL fan/freak, the non HD games are literly terrible. everything is just a saturated mess. I resorted to watching games on the ol 27" JVC in the bedroom. I was going to wait a bit on the HD box. well, I got it sometime ago and in HD the games are so real, so crisp it's unreal. I just don't know why sports so just a night and day difference than other programing. Anyway, I love my DLP, but I would use a MINIMUM of 4 times the screen height for viewing distance. Picture quality close-range is not their strong suit.

In reply to:

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I just don't know why sports so just a night and day difference than other programing

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Sports DO look incredible in HDTV.... better than anything else. I just mentioned that to my wife last night while we were (unfortunately) watching the Dolphins spank the Pats. We've only had hi-def for about two weeks so there's still a huge "wow" factor!

As someone who works in the field, I should know the answer why, but I really don't. I don't think it's a matter of 720P VS. 1080i.

Th only reasonable answer I can come up with is that there's a little bit of purposeful softening going on with produced, scripted programming. When I'm shooting with my full-size broadcast cameras, and shooting an older CEO for example, I apply a touch of soft focus in post... and that's shooting standard def. There has been much concern with many actors and other talent that hi-def is NOT going to do them any favors in the "aging" department and that good makeup artists are going to be worth their weight in gold.

Thiis assuming programming that originates on video. Craig (Spiffnme) could elaborate much more thoroughly than I can as to the "perceived" sharpness of film-based originals....

Mark, Jon, and all,

I would agree totally on the HD sports. I believe they look better partly because many are broadcast live, although I looked at a repeat broadcast of an HD basketball game the following morning and it seemed to be as sharp as the live broadcast I'd watched the previous evening. But if you watch instant HD replays, there seems to be a slight degradation visible in the image if you look for it. And in the old days of analog NTSC, a live broadcast always looked best.

Then again, I've seen shows on DiscoveryHD that are simply stunning, as clear, sharp and vibrant as live HD sports.

Sometimes HD movies actually appear sharper and clearer than standard movies in some cinemas. Those can vary a lot. The Che Guevera movie, Motorcycle Diaries, looked quite crappy in the theater. I don't know if it was a video transfer to film or a blowup from a smaller format or what. But it looked fairly crummy.

Perhaps some movies in HD have been remastered digitally and tweaked. I'm not sure. Other times, I can see the film grain structure. All these comments apply to viewing on a Samsung HLP-5063W. By the way, I will say that with the Samsung you never, ever see the pixel structure, which could be annoying with some LCD RPTV. Recent ones I've looked at seem to be largely free of that. DLP blacks are better than LCD, and overall I find the image crisper and contrastier than CRT rear-pro.

Regards,

I watched a HD NFL game the other day at some relatives' house on an LCD RPTV. It looked fantastic as long as the players weren't moving quickly. When the action started there were tracers and blurry images everywhere, unfortunately.

I'm considering an HD box, but my TV only has one set of HD component video inputs. I'll lose my progressive scan DVD picture unless there is a way to run both signals into the same input. Maybe simple RCA 2:1 splitters will work?

Mark, there are component switches available for less than $100.

Here's one that even has a remote

I've used this one, but it's manual. You have to get up off your butt and push a button. Boo! Hiss!

Thanks Jack!
I think I'll opt for the manual one because I'd rather not add another remote in the mix (the wife is technologically challenged).

You're welcome, Mark.