Getting ready to buy my first projection TV

[Arkitech]

I'm gearing up to buy my first projection TV (this will be my 2nd hdtv) and I'm having a hard time in choosing between DLP and LCD. Can anyone give me a little insight on their experiences with either technology?

I'm looking for a set that will do at least 720p, with a screen size of 40-46 inches (preferably widescreen but not a neccessity) and at a price of 2k or less including warranty and taxes. I'm not opposed to buying a refurb if I can get a substantial savings and a good warranty. I plan on using the TV for lots of DVD viewing, video games, HTPC applications and cable.


Thanks for any suggestions

 

[suse920]

I just got a samsing 42 inch dlp from circuit city for $1236. The tv was on sale for $1500 at the time. It was like a free tv stand

Oh and the tv itself is awesome!

 

[MrChad]

Check out HD-ILA TVs from JVC. Comparable in price to DLPs, but supposedly superior picture quality.

 

[DingDingDao]

Widescreen should be a requirement for you, not a preference. If you buy an HDTV and it's not widescreen, you will regret it.

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: suse920
I just got a samsing 42 inch dlp from circuit city for $1236. The tv was on sale for $1500 at the time. It was like a free tv stand

Oh and the tv itself is awesome!

friggin sweet price dude, how long ago was that and from which Best Buy?

 

[suse920]

Originally posted by: MrChad
Check out HD-ILA TVs from JVC. Comparable in price to DLPs, but supposedly superior picture quality.

JVC's three-chip LCoS-based rear-projection TV offers up leading edge technology. Picture quality is lacking, however, with substantial mosquito noise visible in many images from DVD source material. The JVC unit had the poorest dark levels of all the units we tested. If you can find it for a good price, it might be worth considering, but it was the weakest TV in our roundup.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1729309,00.asp

This paired with JVC's terrible reliability rating i wouldnt reccomend it.

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: DingDingDao
Widescreen should be a requirement for you, not a preference. If you buy an HDTV and it's not widescreen, you will regret it.

Cool, thanks for the tip.

 

[akubi]

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: suse920
I just got a samsing 42 inch dlp from circuit city for $1236. The tv was on sale for $1500 at the time. It was like a free tv stand

Oh and the tv itself is awesome!

friggin sweet price dude, how long ago was that and from which Best Buy?

the best buy downtown called circuit city

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: MrChad
Check out HD-ILA TVs from JVC. Comparable in price to DLPs, but supposedly superior picture quality.

Looking them up right now

 

[purbeast0]

Go with DLP. IMO, it goes DLP > LCD > Plasma. However, it really is a personal preference, but as far as image quality, Plasma is the worst of the three (while still very good).

I chose DLP after seeing all the TV's I was looking at in motion. I too watch a lot of movies, and a lot of different types of movies. I quickly noticed that on LCD that the blacks do not display in true black, they have a blueish color to them. You will know what I mean if you look at a black sceen on an LCD RPTV.

The downside of DLP is that some people experience the rainbow effect. I personally do not know what this is exactly because I don't see it at all on my TV, nor does anyone else that has watched my TV. I have heard that it gives people headaches and what not, but again, I've never experienced it.

Picture wise, DLP > LCD. Again, thats my opinion. It really is personal preference. The picture on my 50" Samsung is just breathtaking when watching movies or HDTV.

Oh, and btw, HDTV standard is 16:9, so if you get a HD 4:3 TV you are making a HUGE mistake. And all HDTV's will do 720p or 1080i.

HDTV standard is 16:9 @ 720p/1080i

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: akubi

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: suse920
I just got a samsing 42 inch dlp from circuit city for $1236. The tv was on sale for $1500 at the time. It was like a free tv stand

Oh and the tv itself is awesome!

friggin sweet price dude, how long ago was that and from which Best Buy?

the best buy downtown called circuit city

doh, I meant to type Circuit City

 

[suse920]

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: suse920
I just got a samsing 42 inch dlp from circuit city for $1236. The tv was on sale for $1500 at the time. It was like a free tv stand

Oh and the tv itself is awesome!

friggin sweet price dude, how long ago was that and from which Best Buy?

I got it at the Salem, NH circuit city last friday. For soem reason this store had a sale going, while other stores in MA were selling it for $1499. Anyways OTA HD has been awesome on sundays :evil:

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: suse920

Originally posted by: MrChad
Check out HD-ILA TVs from JVC. Comparable in price to DLPs, but supposedly superior picture quality.

JVC's three-chip LCoS-based rear-projection TV offers up leading edge technology. Picture quality is lacking, however, with substantial mosquito noise visible in many images from DVD source material. The JVC unit had the poorest dark levels of all the units we tested. If you can find it for a good price, it might be worth considering, but it was the weakest TV in our roundup.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1729309,00.asp

This paired with JVC's terrible reliability rating i wouldnt reccomend it.

The user reviews on avsforum.com seem to disagree. The model you linked to is last year's, and the new 'G' models have significantly improved picture quality.

As for JVC's reliability, I've had a 32" JVC TV for a little over 6 years now and it has worked like a champ. Not sure about their overall history.

 

[DaveSimmons]

DLP has great picture quality. One slight drawback is that for attaching a console you need to use 480i analog in instead of 480p digital or there apparently are lag issues.

No one knows, but the hope is that 720p / 1080i native next gen consoles won't have this issue since their picture won't need to be scaled up by the TV.

Right now if I were buying a TV (which I might soon) I'd get a Samsung DLP either the 46" 720p -7 series for around $2200, or the 50" 1080p -8 series for about $3500.

(Unfortunately the Samsung 42" is an older -6 series)

My brother went crazy and got himself a Samsung 61" 1080p -8 series for close to $5K, and absolutely loves it.

 

[suse920]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: suse920

Originally posted by: MrChad
Check out HD-ILA TVs from JVC. Comparable in price to DLPs, but supposedly superior picture quality.

JVC's three-chip LCoS-based rear-projection TV offers up leading edge technology. Picture quality is lacking, however, with substantial mosquito noise visible in many images from DVD source material. The JVC unit had the poorest dark levels of all the units we tested. If you can find it for a good price, it might be worth considering, but it was the weakest TV in our roundup.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1729309,00.asp

This paired with JVC's terrible reliability rating i wouldnt reccomend it.

The user reviews on avsforum.com seem to disagree. The model you linked to is last year's, and the new 'G' models have significantly improved picture quality.

As for JVC's reliability, I've had a 32" JVC TV for a little over 6 years now and it has worked like a champ. Not sure about their overall history.

Interesting, but yeah JVC's reliability has been terrible in the past years. Anyways could be worth checking out.

 

[Linflas]

I have been looking at this Toshiba DLP sold at Costco. The picture on the one I saw at the store was gorgeous and that is hard to do in Costco lighting.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
DLP has great picture quality. One slight drawback is that for attaching a console you need to use 480i analog in instead of 480p digital or there apparently are lag issues.

No one knows, but the hope is that 720p / 1080i native next gen consoles won't have this issue since their picture won't need to be scaled up by the TV.

Right now if I were buying a TV (which I might soon) I'd get a Samsung DLP either the 46" 720p -7 series for around $2200, or the 50" 1080p -8 series for about $3500.

(Unfortunately the Samsung 42" is an older -6 series)

My brother went crazy and got himself a Samsung 61" 1080p -8 series for close to $5K, and absolutely loves it.

That console problem is only on PS2 (not sure bout gamecube.) I play my xbox at 480p daily and don't have any lag issues, and I have a samsung dlp.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: Linflas
I have been looking at this Toshiba DLP sold at Costco. The picture on the one I saw at the store was gorgeous and that is hard to do in Costco lighting.

my friend has that exact tv. it is badass! :thumbsup:

 

[gar3555]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
Go with DLP. IMO, it goes DLP > LCD > Plasma. However, it really is a personal preference, but as far as image quality, Plasma is the worst of the three (while still very good).

I chose DLP after seeing all the TV's I was looking at in motion. I too watch a lot of movies, and a lot of different types of movies. I quickly noticed that on LCD that the blacks do not display in true black, they have a blueish color to them. You will know what I mean if you look at a black sceen on an LCD RPTV.

The downside of DLP is that some people experience the rainbow effect. I personally do not know what this is exactly because I don't see it at all on my TV, nor does anyone else that has watched my TV. I have heard that it gives people headaches and what not, but again, I've never experienced it.

Picture wise, DLP > LCD. Again, thats my opinion. It really is personal preference. The picture on my 50" Samsung is just breathtaking when watching movies or HDTV.

Oh, and btw, HDTV standard is 16:9, so if you get a HD 4:3 TV you are making a HUGE mistake. And all HDTV's will do 720p or 1080i.

HDTV standard is 16:9 @ 720p/1080i

that is the exact TV I just ordered this weekend...its on its way right now

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Linflas
I have been looking at this Toshiba DLP sold at Costco. The picture on the one I saw at the store was gorgeous and that is hard to do in Costco lighting.

I would buy that but there are two things stopping me:

1) I hate the speakers on the side, why can't they put them at the base like Samsung does? Supposedly Toshiba is aware of this and will change it on the next model.
2) Price. If it were $1299 I'd buy it in a heart beat. CostCo's next "passport to savings" coupon book should be released January 2006 like it is every year. They usually have 1-2 HDTV's on sale.

CostCo's prices + warranty =

Edit: I assumed you linked to theToshiba 46" not the 62"

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Linflas
I have been looking at this Toshiba DLP sold at Costco. The picture on the one I saw at the store was gorgeous and that is hard to do in Costco lighting.

I would buy that but there are two things stopping me:

1) I hate the speakers on the side, why can't they put them at the base like Samsung does? Supposedly Toshiba is aware of this and will change it on the next model.
2) Price. If it were $1299 I'd buy it in a heart beat. CostCo's next "passport to savings" coupon book should be released January 2006 like it is every year. They usually have 1-2 HDTV's on sale.

CostCo's prices + warranty =

Edit: I assumed you linked to theToshiba 46" not the 62"

The one I linked to is not the same exact one I was looking at in the store. The one I want has the tuner and cable card slot built in. I would prefer the speakers elsewhere as well but it is not a deal breaker for me.

 

[Amused]

If you're going to be doing a lot of theater style veiwing in a dark room, I would consider a CRT based RP over a DLP.

While DLPs are very nice, nothing beats a good CRT based RP for black levels, still. A good CRT will make a DLP' blacks look washed out and gray by comparison in a dark, theater style environment. Not nearly as bad as an LCD based RP, but still not as good as a CRT.

If the vast majority of viewing will be in a well lit room, DLP is your best choice.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Linflas

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Linflas
I have been looking at this Toshiba DLP sold at Costco. The picture on the one I saw at the store was gorgeous and that is hard to do in Costco lighting.

I would buy that but there are two things stopping me:

1) I hate the speakers on the side, why can't they put them at the base like Samsung does? Supposedly Toshiba is aware of this and will change it on the next model.
2) Price. If it were $1299 I'd buy it in a heart beat. CostCo's next "passport to savings" coupon book should be released January 2006 like it is every year. They usually have 1-2 HDTV's on sale.

CostCo's prices + warranty =

Edit: I assumed you linked to theToshiba 46" not the 62"

The one I linked to is not the same exact one I was looking at in the store. The one I want has the tuner and cable card slot built in. I would prefer the speakers elsewhere as well but it is not a deal breaker for me.

Speakers on the side isn't a deal breaker for me if the 46" were heavily discounted.

$1299 instead of $1699 and I'd buy it.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: Amused
If you're going to be doing a lot of theater style veiwing in a dark room, I would consider a CRT based RP over a DLP.

While DLPs are very nice, nothing beats a good CRT based RP for black levels, still. A good CRT will make a DLP' blacks look washed out and gray by comparison in a dark, theater style environment. Not nearly as bad as an LCD based RP, but still not as good as a CRT.

If the vast majority of viewing will be in a well lit room, DLP is your best choice.

wow dude I am going to have to disagree. My bro's roomate got a 65" Mitsubishi CRT RPTV (the one thats like 350lbs) and my bro's roomate, my brother, and I, all agree that the TV picture on my 50" DLP looks better than the picture on the 65" Mitsubishi TV.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I see purbeast0 mentioned Rainbow effect.

Arkitech, make sure you check out some DLPs before you decide if you want one.

I've found that material where there's a black background with a few bright white patterns on the screen is when they are most apparent for me.

Opening credits on a black background would be a good thing to test with.

Try moving your eyes quickly from one side of the screen to the other while viewing something like that to see if you see them or if they bother you.

I can see them if I do a test like that, but can't see them 99% of the time. When they do show up in situations like that, I'm not really bothered by them.

This is a personal thing that affects some people pretty badly (enough to make them sick) so check it out.