Which one to get?

[daveymark]

I can get the Samsung HLT5676S 56" UltraSlim 1080p DLP for $1.1k

or I can get the Hitachi P50H401 for $1k


which do you recommend? I'm leaning towards the DLP for more real estate and true 1080p.

 

[Shawn]

plasma

 

[daveymark]

Originally posted by: Shawn
plasma

why

 

[Chapbass]

Need more info. How many people plan on watching? Lot of off-angle viewing? How far away is everyone going to be.

What sources do you have? Is the room light controlled?

 

[SlickSnake]

Originally posted by: daveymark
I can get the Samsung HLT5676S 56" UltraSlim 1080p DLP for $1.1k

or I can get the Hitachi P50H401 for $1k


which do you recommend? I'm leaning towards the DLP for more real estate and true 1080p.

If those are what you narrowed it down to, the Hitachi, definitely. I wouldn't want a DLP unless it was an LED one. But if I had a 3rd choice in the same price range, but a bit smaller, like a 46" I'd get an LCD over those 2 types of displays.

 

[superbooga]

Personally I would take the DLP because of it's higher resolution and larger size. At 56", the higher resolution does make a difference. We have a large Samsung DLP sitting the office, and it produces a terrific image -- it's got a smooth image with no screendoor effect or distinct pixels, while still maintaining sharpness. It's not going to as bright as a plasma and the lighting isn't going to be perfectly even, but when it comes to pure detail it's hard to beat. Still, you should go to a store and see if you're comfortable with a DLP.

At the end of the day though...size matters. Think about how much better game playing/video watching is when you have a large monitor. Once you get used to the bigger size, it's hard to go back to a smaller size screen.

 

[daveymark]

Originally posted by: Chapbass
Need more info. How many people plan on watching? Lot of off-angle viewing? How far away is everyone going to be.

What sources do you have? Is the room light controlled?

Mostly for me and g/f. every once in a while there might be other people there. not a huge amount of off angle viewing, but I checked out the DLP in store and the angle is not bad. not as bad as I thought it would be.

everyone will be around 7 to 9 feet away

sources for now are component xbox/HD DVR cable box. thinking of upgrading to hdmi and blue/ray/hd dvd sooner or later. DVR box has HDMI, xbox does not

There is a small amount of ambient light, but for the most part light controlled. majority of viewing will be done after dark

The thing that bugs me is the bulb thing, and having to replace it. But I'm not sure if that would be a huge problem as I have upgraded TV's every year. I know I might reach a plateau soon.

I currently have a 42" EDTV plasma which I'm satisfied with. I'm thinking of maybe just getting a 720p projector instead and whipping that out when I want to watch something on a huge screen...and then I can upgrade to a 1080p projector down the road

looking at Mitsubishi HC1500

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: daveymark

Originally posted by: Shawn
plasma

why

better overall PQ, imo.

but I also like DLP. in this case though, I would go with the DLP b/c of larger size and 1080p (hitting the size where 1080p starts to matter)

the resolution on that "1080i" Hitachi is just too funky for me.

it has been brought up in several other threads in this forum. search around and see what others have said. YoYo has dug up some good technical information about it.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: daveymark

Originally posted by: Chapbass
Need more info. How many people plan on watching? Lot of off-angle viewing? How far away is everyone going to be.

What sources do you have? Is the room light controlled?

Mostly for me and g/f. every once in a while there might be other people there. not a huge amount of off angle viewing, but I checked out the DLP in store and the angle is not bad. not as bad as I thought it would be.

everyone will be around 7 to 9 feet away

sources for now are component xbox/HD DVR cable box. thinking of upgrading to hdmi and blue/ray/hd dvd sooner or later. DVR box has HDMI, xbox does not

There is a small amount of ambient light, but for the most part light controlled. majority of viewing will be done after dark

The thing that bugs me is the bulb thing, and having to replace it. But I'm not sure if that would be a huge problem as I have upgraded TV's every year. I know I might reach a plateau soon.

I currently have a 42" EDTV plasma which I'm satisfied with. I'm thinking of maybe just getting a 720p projector instead and whipping that out when I want to watch something on a huge screen...and then I can upgrade to a 1080p projector down the road

looking at Mitsubishi HC1500

If you do have a light controlled room / after dark situation, the effect of a front projection set is really pretty impressive. Have you checked out some properly configured ones to see what it looks like?

For the ED Plasma / Front Projection combo, were you thinking of a pull down / electric screen that would come down in front of the Plasma?