TV to compliment home theater - 10/09/05 01:36 AM
This might be off topic, so if it is, I apologize. People on this board seem quite knowledgable, however.. so I thought I would ask here.
I need help picking a display technology. I have spent hours trying to determine the best technology, but all have there advantages and disadvantages. Without living with one for a while, I think it’s impossible to tell what is more important. I am hoping people with sets can tell me what they like/dislike about their sets. I plan to sit back 9-11’ from the TV and have an entertainment center opening of 50”. As the technologies go, here is how I see them:
CRT- 30”-34”
In the traditional CRT HDTV 16:9 sets, it seems Sony is the only clear winner here. Their 30” set for $999 and their 34” set for $1899 are clearly superior to other sets that I have seen. They look good 10’ away, but that’s partially due to their smaller size.
Pros: good picture, well-understood technology
Cons: 150-194 lbs, Burn-in, small screen
Models Considered:
Sony KV34HS420 - $1499.99 Best Buy
Plasma- 42”
These look stunning, no question. I am probably going to go with the HP Pavillion 42” HDTV (any comments on EDTV?) or the Panasonic. It would appear that Panasonic is the manufacturer behind HP’s hardware. MSRP is $3499, but RC Willey has the HP for $3099. My biggest concern here is burn-in. I am confident the 60,000 half-live will serve me well for over 10 years, but what about ESPN’s side bar that has the potential to burn in. One of the non-Panasonic/hp screens had burn-in, I believe it was a Toshiba.
Pros: Great picture, little/no pixelization, good color
Cons: $$$, burn-in, wish it was 50”—but no $$$
Models Considered:
HP Pavillion PL4200N – R.C.Willey $3099
Rear Projection DLP- 42”-52”
Looking at these, it really depends on what you are watching. Football games look great. (Especially on the 1080p Mitsubishi.) Mitsubishi seems to be the clear winner here for quality of image, but they don’t sell anything for less than $3499! The Samsung 42” DLP set I have seen for $1799 and their 50” in the $1999 range. 720p is probably just fine for me and the DLP seems like great technology. Not too much pixelization on fast images, but here’s my problem. I was watching a concert on one. The background was dark, highlighted by floods. The background was “flickering.” It’s like the DLP can’t reproduce a still image very well. That occurs frequently in movies. I don’t see the rainbow that people talk about, but I can here the color-wheel/fan.
Pros: Decent picture (2nd best IMHO), Decent cost for screen size, pixelization not bad, no burn-in
Cons: Fan/Color wheel noise, Flickery still images
Models Considered:
Samsung HLR-R4267W 720p- $1799 R.C.Willey
Samsung HL-R4667W 720p- $1999 Vann’s
Samsung HL-R5067W 720p- $2199 Vann’s
Mitsubishi WD52628 1080P- $3499 R.C. Willey - BEST PICTURE
Rear Projection LCD- 42” or 50”
Okay. Hands down Sony appears to have the edge here with their 3LCD technology. Here’s the major drawback I see in their set. Football games, where they get close-ups of the runners, appear very pixelized. I fear that fast moving movie images would be just as bad. I would hate to drop $1800 for the 42” LCD rear projection to be disappointed in how pixelized everything would be.
Pros: Fair picture (similar to DLP), Decent cost for screen size, pixelization was bad on ESPN HD broadcast, no burn-in
Cons: Pixelized moving images
Models Considered:
Sony 50” Grand WEGA 3LCD KDF-E50A10 – $2299 Circuit City - BEST PICTURE
Sony 42” Grand WEGA 3LCD - $1799 R.C. Willey
Mitsubishi WD-52527 - $2399
What are peoples’ thoughts? Which technology wins, and why? What did you buy? Any regrets? It’s my feeling Mitsubishi makes the best DLP TV’s and Samsung is second. If I was going 1080p, it would be Mitsubishi. Sony makes the best RP LCD’s and CRT’s. Plasmas all look similar to me, but the HP/Panasonic have a good price/feature ratio.
I need help picking a display technology. I have spent hours trying to determine the best technology, but all have there advantages and disadvantages. Without living with one for a while, I think it’s impossible to tell what is more important. I am hoping people with sets can tell me what they like/dislike about their sets. I plan to sit back 9-11’ from the TV and have an entertainment center opening of 50”. As the technologies go, here is how I see them:
CRT- 30”-34”
In the traditional CRT HDTV 16:9 sets, it seems Sony is the only clear winner here. Their 30” set for $999 and their 34” set for $1899 are clearly superior to other sets that I have seen. They look good 10’ away, but that’s partially due to their smaller size.
Pros: good picture, well-understood technology
Cons: 150-194 lbs, Burn-in, small screen
Models Considered:
Sony KV34HS420 - $1499.99 Best Buy
Plasma- 42”
These look stunning, no question. I am probably going to go with the HP Pavillion 42” HDTV (any comments on EDTV?) or the Panasonic. It would appear that Panasonic is the manufacturer behind HP’s hardware. MSRP is $3499, but RC Willey has the HP for $3099. My biggest concern here is burn-in. I am confident the 60,000 half-live will serve me well for over 10 years, but what about ESPN’s side bar that has the potential to burn in. One of the non-Panasonic/hp screens had burn-in, I believe it was a Toshiba.
Pros: Great picture, little/no pixelization, good color
Cons: $$$, burn-in, wish it was 50”—but no $$$
Models Considered:
HP Pavillion PL4200N – R.C.Willey $3099
Rear Projection DLP- 42”-52”
Looking at these, it really depends on what you are watching. Football games look great. (Especially on the 1080p Mitsubishi.) Mitsubishi seems to be the clear winner here for quality of image, but they don’t sell anything for less than $3499! The Samsung 42” DLP set I have seen for $1799 and their 50” in the $1999 range. 720p is probably just fine for me and the DLP seems like great technology. Not too much pixelization on fast images, but here’s my problem. I was watching a concert on one. The background was dark, highlighted by floods. The background was “flickering.” It’s like the DLP can’t reproduce a still image very well. That occurs frequently in movies. I don’t see the rainbow that people talk about, but I can here the color-wheel/fan.
Pros: Decent picture (2nd best IMHO), Decent cost for screen size, pixelization not bad, no burn-in
Cons: Fan/Color wheel noise, Flickery still images
Models Considered:
Samsung HLR-R4267W 720p- $1799 R.C.Willey
Samsung HL-R4667W 720p- $1999 Vann’s
Samsung HL-R5067W 720p- $2199 Vann’s
Mitsubishi WD52628 1080P- $3499 R.C. Willey - BEST PICTURE
Rear Projection LCD- 42” or 50”
Okay. Hands down Sony appears to have the edge here with their 3LCD technology. Here’s the major drawback I see in their set. Football games, where they get close-ups of the runners, appear very pixelized. I fear that fast moving movie images would be just as bad. I would hate to drop $1800 for the 42” LCD rear projection to be disappointed in how pixelized everything would be.
Pros: Fair picture (similar to DLP), Decent cost for screen size, pixelization was bad on ESPN HD broadcast, no burn-in
Cons: Pixelized moving images
Models Considered:
Sony 50” Grand WEGA 3LCD KDF-E50A10 – $2299 Circuit City - BEST PICTURE
Sony 42” Grand WEGA 3LCD - $1799 R.C. Willey
Mitsubishi WD-52527 - $2399
What are peoples’ thoughts? Which technology wins, and why? What did you buy? Any regrets? It’s my feeling Mitsubishi makes the best DLP TV’s and Samsung is second. If I was going 1080p, it would be Mitsubishi. Sony makes the best RP LCD’s and CRT’s. Plasmas all look similar to me, but the HP/Panasonic have a good price/feature ratio.
I love my 10ft screen 2.35 screen.....