Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater SXRD or DLP? I'm going shopping!!

+1 @ctown.

I haven't had time yet to post "my story", but I recently took the plunge on the JVC HD-61FC97 (Costco). I looked at A LOT of sets at a lot of stores. I cannot imagine how I could be happier with this acquisition. It looks great.

I could have saved a token amount of money by going through Vanns or Buy.com, but then I would have had to deal with shipping/waiting, and Costco provides a second year of the Mfr warranty for free.

Tom, congrats on the new purchase and welcome to the world of HD, looking forward to hearing your impressions.

Tom, contgrats on getting a set.

I looked at a lot myself and also ended up with the 61FC97 last year. Only thing I regret is they are much cheaper now, but I guess thats the price I paid for 13 months of HDTV enjoyment.

Just watched some ALCS and Sunday night football in HD last night and man do the M22's sound great instead of the speakers on the TV.

Enjoy the set and make sure you calibrate it with Avia or DVE. My settings are in Standard mode Contrast -23, Brightness +2, Colour +5, Tint +2, Sharpness 0, Iris 4 and turn off all the auto pic enhancements. Yours may be slightly different, but the contrast needs to be around -25 for true black.

Hey there Wheelz999.

It seems like a lot of the SXRD televisions are made in the USA. For example, see story at http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06200/706728-28.stm

If this is true, couldn't you import the KDS55A3000 without needing to pay duty/tariffs? If it is on Sony's website at $2,000 ($1,933), I'm betting it can be obtained even cheaper elsewhere in the US. EX: according to pricegrabber.com, Vann's has it for $1,700 USD or ~$1,644 CAD.

I'm also looking at TV's but I use my set almost solely for movies, and supposedly, as you likely read too, the newer 120 Hz refresh televisions are purported to be much smoother/more pleasant for hi def viewing.

Can anyone confirm that USA SXRD tv's are made in the US?

I also read that Panasonic Viera's are made in Mexico, which should afford them the same duty free treatment (I'm currently waiting on confirmation from Canada Border Services on that one).

Tom,

Can you comment on the fan noise from the JVC hdila. I have read some reviews on amazon.com that claimed there is excessive fan noise from this set similar to the level of noise from the PS2. I am planning on getting this set in the 56" model early next year but I will only be sitting 7 or 8 feet from the set. So the fan noise may be something to take into account. My second choice would be the Sony SXRD, but the processor on the Sony is supposed to be inferior to the one on the JVC (Most processors are inferior to the one on the JVC though).

- Nick

Tom, it's about time!!!! Congrats on entering video nirvana.

The fan noise on the JVC is only noticeable at startup in a silent room. IF you have a very cozy space, AND are very close to the set, AND have a very quiet house AND very quiet content, you might accidentally notice it. My opinion is that it is inconsequential in my environment. I think that fan and/or hard drive noise from both my old Philips DirecTivo and the Wii are louder. I KNOW that forced-air HVAC is louder. I'll try to quantify its impact on the ambient noise in my room if I get a chance. At any rate, I would dispute the accuracy of the word "excessive" in this case.

Michael, ctown, Ray - thanks. I'll try to compose a complete story as soon as I can. For me, the JVC was the perfect solution and an excellent value.

Thanks for that tip Perc, I'll definitely look into it. I've seen some model 3000's on eBay for really cheap.