Hi CV (and Theo),

I'm sure DLP and Texas Instruments will strive to remain very competitive. After all, DLP is a brilliant American invention, and for years it was the clearly superior front and rear-projection technology in terms of brilliant contrast levels, excellent blacks, visual clarity and "punch."

Now all of America (and Canada) are falling over themselves going for flat-panel LCD and plasma displays, understandably because of the "cool" appearance and lack of bulk (in rear-projection). LCD has come a long way in eliminating many of the earlier legitimate complaints--grayish black levels, blurring or ghosting with fast lateral action, visible screen-door effects--and DLP is likewise developing LED light sources to get rid of the spinning color wheel/rainbow effects that may bother some viewers.

I think we'll continue to see innovation from DLP/Texas Instruments engineers in the years to come. Whether they'll effectively compete with LCD flat panel and projection or plasma remains to be seen.

Regards,

Alan, thanks for weighing in.

Yeah, if I was going to get another TV, it would be hard not to go for something slimmer and wall-mountable. I mean, I still plan on wall-mounting my current SXRD, but it would be nice not to have it sticking out so much. Screen size is going to be the reason I'd upgrade again, though, which means front projection. I say 4-5 years, but I wonder if I'll be able to last that long.

I'm a fan of doing things for weird reasons, and one of the big reasons I'd like to move to front projection is so I could make my current 60" my bedroom TV. I tell people at work that that's what it's going to be, and they glare at me.

Speaking of my SXRD, I turned it on today to suddenly find yellow discolorations all over it. I just can't catch a break.

Did you drink a lot last night and mistake your TV for a urinal?

I think the God of Electronics did. That dude really needs to get it together.

How appropriate that this is my 666th post.

You didn't buy it from Randy, did you?

Ha ha, not Randy, but maybe it was another knight of the 2.35:1 table.

CV, what SXRD did you get? XBR1, XBR2, A2020? I've heard of the green blob issues and purple cloud with them, but not the yellow stain.

Any chance you had a pic of a fire hydrant on it and the dog thought it was real?

I originally had an XBR1, but they replaced it with an XBR2 when they couldn't fix it. My XBR1 started out with the same yellow splotchy problem, though not nearly as pronounced at first.

But yeah, after turning my TV off and turning it back on later, it wasn't there, so I'll have to wait until it comes back and is there regularly before I call on it.

The XBR is a great set. Good luck with the fix.

I was a DLP fan a couple years ago when looking for a RPTV. But after doing more research I heard stories of light enging failures, color wheel issues and premature bulb failures, so ended up with a LCOS based set as well.

Personally I think DLP will end up like the GM Corvair of the 60's or Ford Pinto. The negative buzz around reliability will push RPTV and projectors sales to LCD and LCOS based systems.

I guess I haven't really paid attention to DLP reliability issues. Are the LED DLP sets doing any better in that regard?

CV,

I haven't heard anything about DLP reliability issues. I'm into my 4th year on the original bulb and three friends with DLPs have had no problems with their sets, nor have they had to replace a bulb yet.

I've heard far more about LCD and LCoS rear-projection problems, mainly Sony, than about any DLP issues. Friends with DLP front projectors have not experienced any trouble so far.

Regards,

Alan, CV...there are many satasfied DLP users, but my opinions stem from my purchasing experience on a RPTV.

I was set on the Samsung HLRxx63 series of Samsung TV's, but they had problems with light engines and supposed colour wheel bearing issues, then I turned to the Toshiba HMX85 series of TV which was known for having premature bulb failures.

I also considered LG, but a local dealer that sells their plasmas as well as the full Hitachi line said every one of the LG DLP's he sold had a repair issue and the sale wasnt worth the disgruntled customers. I also looked at HP, which touted full 1080P but it was 1080x960 and used "wobulation" to create the 1080x1920 display(kind of horizontal interlacing) and now HP no longer sells DLP sets.

In the end, after 1.5 years of research and discussions, I deduced that LCDRP was a more solid state technology, but the limitations of seeing the pixel structure was not desirable to me. I have my JVC 97 series HDILA and love it(LCOS). (Yes their G887 series had lamp issues.)

I have never researched projectors and maybe their performance is not like the RPTV's. As said before I fell in love with DLP projection TV's, but every one I liked seemed to be plagued with issues. That along with the decreasing costs of plasma and LCD will likely mean RPTV's will go the way of the cassette anyways.

Sitting here with Monday Night Football in HD on my 61" Samsung LED DLP - it just can't get any better!! And only $2100.00 - life is good!

Thanks, Ted. Maybe I'll get "lucky" and they'll have to send me a new TV every year.

I only compared the LED DLP to plasma and LCD. The only time they looked better than the DLP picture was at very close distance and very wide angle, which is not an issue in a dedicated HT setup. It's a great picture out of the box, and I have not even done any detailed setup on it yet - waiting for the new Avia DVD to be released.

This new DarkChip4 sounds interesting. Mitsubishi is planning on coming out with new laser technology that replaces the bulb. It is supposed to rival Plasma. Smaller in footprint and weight. Maybe I can wait until they combine both into one unit.