Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners DLP TV's

Hello. I was just wondering if many people here are using DLP TV's? If so, could you offer any advice to someone who will be upgrading in the near future. I see that you can get them from RCA, Samsung, Mistubishi, Toshiba, Panasonic, and some other companies. I would be interested in any stories about what you bought, and why. AND, what would you do differently (if anything), in the future?

Thanks!

Shane D

I have Samsung 43" HDTV DLP I purchased a year and a half ago. Apart the problem with the lamp, I am very happy with it. Unlucky I had to change my lamp after a year of purchase, since it was defective. First time that Circuit City protection plan was worth it (I paid nothing to have my lamp replaced at home by a technician). I would strongly suggest that you purchase a protection plan with your retailer, since the technology of all these DLPs, Plasmas, LCDs, etc is rather new, and you'll never know what happens in near future.

I am strongly leaning toward one of the new Samsung 1080P HD TVs. Read post #1 from the following:

samsung

Lots of excellent information on this thread but it will take you a day to read all of it. Post #1 covers everything fairly well. The new sets should be out later on this month. When? Who knows. I'm looking at one of the 61" models from the TVA PowerBuy.

I'm quite active in that thread linked above (under the same name). I'm planning on purchasing a 61" Samsung 1080p DLP in a very short period of time.

Samsung TV's are awesome....... Mitsubishi also makes some nice stuff, as does Sony, Panasonic, etc.

However I'm set on a Samsung and will enjoy it immensely.

Your best bet is to do some reading at AVSForum, look at some in stores (try to go to higher end stores rather then best buy). and Ask Ask Ask if you have questions.

Cheers!

- D

Daphoid: interesting seeing you post here!!!!

I still haven't placed an order because I would like to actually see one, in person, first. I've seen the 1080 P Quaila next to the Samsung 720 P and there was quite a difference. But, if I wait too long, I risk missing the PowerBuy. I would also like some user feedback before I buy, but that may also take longer to get than the PowerBuy is open.

Your thoughts and comments?

Also, what are you going to do about an extended warranty? I have asked that question, several times, on the AVS thread and have not received many comments. Right now, I am "leaning" against it.

Comments and thoughts?

I have the Toshiba 52HM84 purchased from one call $2000 free shipping + $189 for 2 year warranty that does cover the bulb. smooth transaction they are a great company to buy from but their regular prices are sometimes a little steep. but their sale prices are usually good. I got the Tosh because everthing else in its class was $400 - $600 more and when i went to the store i liked the picture the best. the few complaints i would have seem to be common in all dlp/hdtv's. if i had to do it over again i would purchase the same model.
Jake

My DLP recommendation is...plasma. Had to support my camp.

Seriously, I've seen a few of the Samsungs, very nice. In fact, if I wasn't going for the flat panel, I would've went this route. Regarding 1080p, is it really worth paying for it? (Though I don't know the cost differential.) Yes, HD DVDs are coming w/ the new format war, but it'll probably never come as a broadcast format for a long time...

I have plasma as well. 1080P is an awesome picture. Voom had some great stuff on while it lasted. Now I'll just have to wait for the HD DVD. My son in ABQ is waiting for 56 inch 1080P. Money in the bank. Samsung is the leader so far he tells me.

I have to second snakeyes, I have the 52HM84 DLP as well and I love it. I haven't used the HDMI input yet.

Thanks for all the replies folks! I think I will pass on the 1080p for now. Samsung looked really good two years ago. I bought a regular Toshiba 42" because of the price. The new Samsungs were double the price. Since this is for a bedroom, I am going to keep it to a max of 50". The new HLR series is out from Samsung next month, I believe (in Canada). I was really wondering about the RCA and Toshiba models in comparison to the Samsung. Two years ago I thought the RCA big screens were kind of junky, but the new DLP's have pretty good specs.
Any input is always appreciated!

Shane D

I have had my Samsung HLN617W DLP for 13 months now and have enjoyed it immensely. I'm not a videophile, in fact I know diddly about video but I do know that this TV has a very sharp picture even from DBS and is gorgeous on DVD. The colors are bright and beautiful (all of this probably describes a lot of TVs these days).

I love the fact that this TV weighs a mere 109# and that the picture seems borderless because of the tiny frame.

I did have a problem with it though. After about 4 months of use, I began to hear a "fan" like noise and it grew louder as time went by. I thought it was the cooling fan but I was surprised to learn (from repair dude) that it was the revolving color wheel. According to repair dude, the wheel spins at about 9k rpm and mine had gotten out of balance. It was a warranty repair but repair dude said that it would cost about $350.00 without warranty. I'm kinda glad I bought the extended warranty.

That was about 5 months ago and it has been ultra quiet and trouble free since. I don't regret the purchase even with the repair.

That was one of the reason's I didn't buy that model. A business associate had the same problem and warned me about it! Otherwise, a nice unit!

I went for the TVA PowerBuy and also, got the AVS forum discount. Guys it is an awesome price (like $850 off the retail price).

The set HL-R6168W will be delivered at somewhere between last week of july and mid-august.

I will post later about this one. In AVS I found people leaning for the Toshiba DLP technlogy, but I can't wait longer or miss this price offer.

My understanding is that the TVA price will be good for at least another 30 days. Its not real clear how they set the date.

I am also leaning toward the Samsung 6168, but I want to see one, in person, first.

My son is waiting also. Let us know what you think. I'd like to pass your thoughts along to him.

Thought I'd revive this thread, cause I'm kinda in the same boat. I think I've narrowed my choice down to the 50'' Samsung DLP (HLR5064, which is the cdn version of the 5067) and the 52'' Toshiba 52HM85. I'm going to check them both out at Best Buy in a few days, but was wondering if anyone had any experience with these models?

Hi Craig_P,

I had an opportunity to compare the Toshiba with the Samsung and about a dozen other brands at the Texas Instrument's booth at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. All the sets were carefully aligned and had the same program material.

The Samsung, Panasonic and Toshiba all looked comparably excellent; the Mitsubishi seemed not to have quite as much "punch" to the picture. The Optoma was not up to the first three. A 61-inch RCA, the one that's 7 inches deep and hangs on a wall (expensive) also looked excellent.

I have had a 50-inch Samsung (HL 5063w) for about a year (it does not have an internal HD tuner) and it's generally excellent with HD programming and DVDs. Like many HD sets, standard definition stuff is variable. I particularly like the Samsung's picture memories for its many inputs, so you don't have to constantly re-tweak the picture settings when you switch inputs. Check that the Toshiba has memories for all its inputs. (I seem to recall reading a review that suggested it did not, but I may be mistaken.) I know some sets lack that feature. I would not own an HD set that didn't have memories for picture settings.

The newer Samsung models seem to have an improved and easier to use menu system (a friend just bought the 46-inch Samsung).

Incidentally, the Samsung demo of the improvement brought by 1080p was interesting, but it's subtle. You had to carefully compare the side-by-side sets (one 1080p, the other not) to spot the nuances.

Regards,

In reply to:

---

You had to carefully compare the side-by-side sets (one 1080p, the other not) to spot the nuances.

---

Uh-oh. Spiff has been waiting for 1080P

Spiff- Hurry up and buy a 720P while you can get them!

Hi,

You know, I thought of Spiff as I wrote that! The thing is, 1080p is better, but it's not dramatically better in the way that say, DVD (very good) is to VHS (relatively awful), or HD (720p or 1080i) is (at times, dazzling, like the live HD broadcast on INHD Net this morning of the shuttle lift-off) is to analog NTSC (mediocre compared to HD).

Regards,

Thanks for the input Alan. The 1080p sets aren't really in my priuce range, especially since I don't think there's a huge difference, and I know I won't be upgrading to HD-DVD/Blu Ray for a while.
From what I've read, I believe the new Toshiba's do have memory for each settings, which is definitely a major selling point. I'm basically just looking to see if either of these TV's have some major flaw, or strange idiosyncrasy that I won't find until after I've plunked down my cash.

Before anyone buys any of the new HD TVs, especially the Samsung, check out the lip sync and video delay issues.

The "jury" is still out, but lip sync mayb be a show stopper for me and a Samsung. I may have to wait for the next generation of Samsung's or some other brand.

Ratpack- do you have a link to any articles about these issues you mentioned? I've not heard of this before. A buddy of mine just got the Samsung HL-R4667W and so far it's amazing. No problems at all.

The picture is beyond anything I've ever seen. It really makes me wonder how much better the next step up in the Sammy line really is, and if it's worth the additional few thousand dollars.

Thanks-
Kevin

i think those delays usually come from the dvd player (or other source) you use. from what ive heard also i think a lot of the receivers now have lipsync delay adjustments to make upp for it.

We've had the 50" Samsung DLP for over a year and a half now and we watch it alot. We are on the original bulb still and absolutely marvel at the sharpness, contrast, and color accuracy of the unit. We have HD cable and also use it as a PC monitor. You can hear the fan and color wheel but it is half as loud as a quiet PC. On some channels/DVD's, sometimes, there is lip-synch error. It comes and goes. At first it was somewhat bothersome but soon you don't even realize it as the picture is just amazing. The problem is totally random and is only apparent about 2-3% of the time. Beware that noisy analog signals on a DLP will look very much like noisy analog signals. It's very GIGO, Garbage In Garbage Out. We looked at Plasma, LCD and LCD projection and Tube TV's before selecting the Samsung DLP. Color, Contrast, Brightness, Viewing Angle, are unmatched IMHO.

Try reading these when you have a little time:

lipsync

owners

It will take you a little time to go through "all" the posts, but it will give you a little better idea of what is going on.

My Sony is most probably on its last leg and I really would like to get one of those new DLP HDTVs. From what everyone says, the picture is just OUTSTANDING!!

But, what to do with the audio?? I sure don't want to spend a bundle on a new TV and then have the wife say "this d*** thing doesn't work" because of lip sync or video delay.

If the delays were fixed or constant, I could get a delay line or new receiver and program the delay. But, they don't seem to be constant.

I'm still thinking about this PROBLEM!!!!!!!

i have the toshiba 52hm84 and i have no lip sync issues except with my dvr but that has nothing to do with the tv i just have to ff or rw to fix it (very annoying)

Just so Canadians are aware...

Best Buy has last years Samsung 61'' HLP6163W on sale for $2999 cdn, which is $1500 off the regular price. And they're throwing in the Samsung stand for free, which is $500. So its a $2000 total savings. Not too bad.

That is a FANTASTIC price!!!!!

BUT,

That set is a 720P. If you can really believe what we are hearing about the NEW 1080P sets, they have an OUTSTANDING picture that wipes away the 720P.

I would strongly suggest that anyone who is interested go look at both set before buying either one.

I'm never getting a new TV. Sigh....

OK, why not??????????

The tech keeps moving too fast, I always want the latest tech, I can't afford the latest tech, my TV is still working, and, well, there's WAF... Plus, I realized when the US switches to Digital TV, they're not forcing HDTV, are they?

Ken, just get your wife pregnant and slowly start adjusting the TV's tint toward the green. In a couple months she'll cave.

Is that the secret... Well, having a broken TV would help, too.

She ain't gonna like you much when she sees that post...