buying a new TV after xmas and was wondering what you guys think is best since I'm just now decifering everything. I've looked at a couple Sonys and Samsungs, they both seem pretty good, but I have no idea what I'm looking for really so any advice you have would be great.
Only thing I know for sure is that games will be played on the TV a lot so burn-in is a concern.
TIA!
Dlp does not suffer to burn. I recently purchased the hlr-6168 and it is amazing. Also to answer your question are there brands you perfer? what types of things will you be doing on this set.? do you want the total cost under 2500 or after taxes is fine if it goes above a little?
I am a big fan of the look and styling of the Samsung DLPs. I also think that they perform quite well. I prefer the "wobulated" chipsets incorporated into a number of their sets (others really don't like this look, feeling that it softens HD too much - I think it makes DVDs look lreally flim-like). Note that some DLPs, including the Samsung, suffer from video/sound lag problems. If you're a big gamer, this might be an issue, since accurate response timing sychronized to an on-screen meter (like shooting basketballs, kicking field goals, etc.) is essential.
For under $2500, you can get quite a lot of TV, though.
I Recently did a lot of research and TV comparing but then i decided to spend my money on my new speakers instead =p. Anyway I found I did not care for the DLP wobulated picture. Mostly because of the fact that I am very sensitive to refresh rates etc(to the point where flourescent lights can give me headaches) which made me sensitive to the so called rainbows. I found picture wise I loved the Sony SXRD's with their new LCOS. Simply beautiful television(aside from the dumbo ear speakers).
You should give them a look,
> are there brands you perfer?
Not really yet, most look pretty good to me but I've just started looking. However, I do like the look of the 50" Grand WEGA™ 3LCD HDTVKDF-E50A10. Nice clean design, but I don't yet know how the picture stacks up.
> what types of things will you be doing on this set.?
60% tv
20% games
20% movies
> do you want the total cost under 2500 or after taxes
> is fine if it goes above a little?
Anything around there is fine, i just want to get a decent value for my money. Trouble I have is I've seen some samsungs around $1700 that look pretty good which is a big savings over the $2500 sony, but I don't really know which is the better deal.
> Note that some DLPs, including the Samsung,
> suffer from video/sound lag problems
Whoa, I did not know that. How can I know if a set has this problem or not?
> i decided to spend my money on my new speakers instead =p
I already did that! I've had the vp150, m22s, and qs8s for a couple years now
Now I'm trying to update the last piece -- my 36 inch tv.
> Sony SXRD's with their new LCOS.
The picture is very nice, this is the first set I've seen where you could easily see a difference over all the others. Too bad I can't take those damn dumbo ears, not sure what they were thinking there.
In reply to:
> Sony SXRD's with their new LCOS.
The picture is very nice, this is the first set I've seen where you could easily see a difference over all the others. Too bad I can't take those damn dumbo ears, not sure what they were thinking there.
I have one under (beside) the Christmas tree. Can't wait till Christmas morning.
All, the dumbo ears sort of "grow on you."
I've had my 60" SXRD for a couple of months now, and, I don't eaven notice the "ears" anymore.
Don't know if any of you watched the HDTV special about/ on Rockafeller Center, but it was FANTASTIC with the HD and the surround sound. The wife is still talking about it. It was as if we were right there.
WOW!!!!
Merry Christmas to all the Board Members!!!!!!!!
If you can accomodate one, go front projection man, there is nothing like having your own theater.
> All, the dumbo ears sort of "grow on you."
sure, but I don't have any use for them AND I don't have the room for them either.
In reply to:
All, the dumbo ears sort of "grow on you."
will i have to get all new hats then?
snake: only if your hats are too small.
LOL!!
I go to open the SXRD 50 in Christmas morning. 2 days of movies and I am impressed so far.
anyone know how regular tivo looks through these sets? one friend said his regular tivo looked like crap on his HD set, and everything I watch is on tivo!
Here is a
Tivo forum thread on this HD on Regular Tivo topic.
I guess that it all depends on your tivo recorder and its actual performance.
http://reviews.designtechnica.com/review1911_main9563.html
I've had the Toshiba 52HM84 for over 8 months now and I haven't had a single issue. Picture quality is fantastic, 2 HDMI connections and no problems with DVR playback which occurs through my Comcast/Motorola Receiver.
You have 2 hdmi connections? or are you using a switch box? if so which one?
Jake
snake: my Sony SXRD also has 2 HDMI connectors.
Every time I audition sets I have ended up finding the Sony KD-E50A10 as good as anything I see on the floor and I don't believe anyone can really argue for a better picture than the Sony SXRD sets if you want to spend the extra $$$. The latest issue of The Perfect Visoin reviews the latest sets from Mitsubishi, Samsung and Toshiba. They all come up somewhat short with the Toshiba sounding like the best of the bunch. I'd go with one of the Sonys.
Rat,i was questioning doubtingthomas because i have the Toshiba 52hm84 also and it only has one hdmi. by the way i love my set i got almost a year ago onecall.com had a great price free shipping and one year free financing.
alright I'm now looking at the Samsung HLR5078W which does the higher 1920 x 1080 resolution *and* isn't too wide for my space (the sony with dumbo ears looks great, but won't fit).
Any thoughts on this model? Things to look out for? Does the higher res introduce any new issues? Why aren't more people after the higher res?
TIA!
The 1080p models are really just starting to break through now. 1080i and 720p will die a quick death now. 1080p should remain the standard for some time. (1920x1080 is the industry (film and tv, not tv manufacturers) standard HD rez, and has been for ages). My boss and I have alway gotten a hoot out of 1080i and 720p being called HD. It really should have been called "AHD" or "SHD". (Almost HD or Sorta HD)
I'm just hoping that it trickles down to the smaller displays soon.
It will, though it won't be all that necessary for small displays. How small are you talking? It's already available in 36" LCD's.
A 27" or smaller TV really doesn't need to resolve 1920x1080, unless you plan on watching from about 1' away.
So when does 1080P get down into the sub $2000 price range for 50+ inches? I'm hoping August, since that is my target date for a TV.
Oh. I didn't realize it was on the 36" TVs. That's good to know.
I think I might be able to get my wife to accept a 32-36" widescreen TV on the argument that it's the same height as our current 27" model. Oh, who knows. I'm not about to buy a new TV anytime soon. But I can dream...
But I
want the higher res! I mean, my 15" laptop is 1440x960...
And you typically are probably no further away from your laptop then 1-2'.
That's a major reason why it's important for monitors to have such high resolutions.
btw...if you shop online you can find 1080p sets for
under $2500 already. By next August I'd imagine they'll be easy to find for $2000.
note: Butterflyphoto.com's
bizrate info
That and so I can fit more stuff on the screen. I understand the why, it's just the want that's difficult.
willy: I came within a knat's hair of buying a Samsung 6168. I just couldn't pull the trigger with the DLP technology and Samsungs QC issues. When I saw a Sony SXRD next to the 6168, the Sony won hands down.
I looked and considered, and looked and considered some more for over 6 months.
Go to a store and look at both, side by side, on the same feed. Look a long time at both. Go home, read some of the boards. Then, go back and take a longer look at both of them side by side.
When you look at the shading, contrast, edge effects and black levels, the SXRD will win, hands down!!!!!
I saw the SXRD that everyone seems to have fallen in love with last night at Best Buy. It was in an area by itself as the "feature" TV, so I couldn't compare it side by side to anything. SD did not look all that great, but no worse then many other sets, the HD did look good though. I see what you mean by the dumbo ears. I'd rather not have the side speakers and save the space.
The salesguy was trying to tell me it was LCD, or some new thing...I mentioned LCoS and he said no, it's not that. Shows what he knew, but what do you expect from Best Buy. At $5000, I wasn't going near it anyway. I'm sure it is much cheaper elsewhere.
They only had 3 1080P sets. This one, a 72", and a 37". Maybe they will come out with a model at CES that doesn't have the dumbo ears.
The 60" SXRD can be had for about $4000 if you look around.
Just forget the ears!! Its the picture that counts!!!!
Cut and pace from price grabber search........
Sony Grand WEGA KDS-R60XBR1 60" LCOS Projection TV
(16:9, HDTV - SKU: KDSR60XBR1)
Price Range: $3,326.00 - $4,999.99 from 27 Sellers
Rebates & Special Offers: $25.00 Bonus available
Description: Sony’s 60" Grand WEGA™ SXRD™ Rear Projection HDTV is the perfect addition to your living room. The KDS-R60XBR1 is equipped with SXRD technology which employs three Silicon X-tal Reflective Display panels, which aid in the response time of i.... Read More
Looks like the price has gone down a little. There are some pretty good buys listed there.
I bought my 50 SXRD from a local hifi shop for 3599 (cheaper than BB or CC). I am very pleased with it.
I don't mind the dumbo ears. I'd LOVE to own one of these new sony's...the trouble is with those ears it won't fit where I need to place my new tv!
I doubt it will fit for me either, unless I rearrange the room, but then I lose the proper placement for the QS8's as surrounds. There isn't a good place to mount them if the room is setup the other way. The one side wall would be open to the next room.
In reply to:
Rat,i was questioning doubtingthomas because i have the Toshiba 52hm84 also and it only has one hdmi. by the way i love my set i got almost a year ago onecall.com had a great price free shipping and one year free financing.
I stand corrected, my t.v. has only 1 HDMI out. Thanks for catching that, I hate giving incorrect info.
No prob i was just worried i had gotten a baad deal. lol
1080i and 720p will face a quick death? That is absolutely untrue. Very little (if any) editing software or hardware is available in Hollywood for post production at the 1080p standard. Everything is downconverted and then edited. Porbably even more importantly though is the fact that most if not all broadcasters do not have the capability to transmit at that rate even if the content were available. It is very tough now to "fit" the 1080i signal in the 6MHz bandwidth space that exists "per channel" and add to the fact that many broadcasters currently multi-cast and you pretty much have a guarantee that 1080p isn't going to happen anytime soon. On yet another note, most of the 1080 tv's that exist WILL NOT accept a 1080p signal. They simply upconvert all signals to 1080i and with varying degrees of success based on what video processors they use.
Scott
What you say is correct. My Sony upconverts 1080I or 720P to 1080P. There have been some reports of a few folks using one of the ports and transmitting 1080P directly to the TV but you don't find anything about it in the instruction manual. At least, I haven't found it yet.
Some of the new 2006 models take 1080P directly input through the HDMI port, I believe.
Anyway, because of the much wider bandwidth requirement of 1080P, you probably won't see over the air or cable TV using that format any time soon. Games and DVDs??? Well, that is another story.