Toshiba CRT or Samsung DLP?

[Snap]

I keep hearing stuff about the Toshiba CRT, but I live in the sticks and I have to drive an hour just to get to a circuit city to even look at one. To make things worse, when I went there the other day they did not have ANY of the Toshiba CRT TV! Now, I have seen the Samsung 56 in DLP with the HD2 chip and that is a sweet pix. My question to you all is which one is going to be the best deal overall?

Also I think that 56 inch might be a bit large for my room. I will have 11.4 feet from the front of the TV to the couch. Is 56 inches going to be too much?

Thanks So much!

Snap :T

[BlazeMaster]

Snap, it's hard to answer the questions that you asked, because the "best deal" is going to be really subjective. Both of the TVs that you are eyeing have pros and cons. Circuit City in my area carries Hitachi CRT RPTVs and they're also very well regarded in the CRT RPTV field. The most popular CRT RPTV makers are usually Mitsubishi, Hitachi and Toshiba/Panasonic. They're known for a good picture quality.
Not sure if you already know this, but the DLPs RPTVs are much slimmer in depth, so you will probably gain about 1' of viewing distance by going with a DLP.
As for the size question, the general rule is that you want to be about 2 or 2.5 times the screen width away from the screen. With a Front Projector, you can be a little bit closer. IMO, the 56 in. is a little big for that viewing distance. I sit about 14-15 feet away from my 53 in. CRT. Not that I can't sit closer, but when I do, I start seeing the pixels crawls and don't like the overall picture quality. Also, are you planning on getting surrounds speakers soon? If so, you might want to plan on sitting even closer, to accomdate the space needed for surrounds speakers.
IMO, a Front Projector is the way I'd go, and I wish I knew that option before I bought my RPTV. I'm planning on selling mine soon for the FP. I can get an image that can be adjusted if I ever move to a bigger or smaller place. But the tradeoff is that you have to have a fairly to completly dark room. So it's not optimum for day TV watching. If I have to go with a TV set, I'd take the CRTs. But you might want to consider going slightly smaller due to your limited viewing distance. Take a tape measure with you next time you go and get a feel of watching it with the right distance. CRTs are still have the best PQ and should be considerably cheaper than the similar sized DLP. Make sure you spend enough time demoing the DLPs also. Some people get dizzy when watching it for a while and some may see rainbows. Don't get too caught up in what's rainbows, if you don't see it, then don't go looking for it.

[Snap]

Thanks

That helps out a lot! The wife likes to watch TV during the day on her days off, and there is a good ammount of light durring the day. I like the idea of using the tape measure. I am going to go to sears and use thier Panasonics to get an idea of what 11 feet would look like. But it looks like that rules out the Samsung DLP 5674. Thanks once again for the advice. (As for surround sound speakers I have them, Earthquake Orbitals with MKV sub) An no, Moma will not let me move the coutch any more! The sweet spot is about 3 feet away from the main sitting postion, but that is the best that I can do using my RTA and space availible.

Thanks once again with the advice.

[Shane Martin]

The best deal overall will be the CRT. You'll likely save about $1,000-$1,500 over the DLP. That's 1000-1500 dollars to put towards speaker upgrades, receiver.

11 feet back from a 55" set is fine. I sit back that far and its great.

One thing I'd strongly consider if you go the Toshiba route, remove the glare screen. HUGE DIFFERENCE.

I would also consider Hitachi, Mits and Sony.

[BlazeMaster]

why would you rule out the DLPs so quickly? IMO, they're great because they do offer more resolutions natively. As I said before, only some people get dizzy and notice the rainbows. The percentage of people that can see them are a very small percentage. You and your wife should go together and judge them side by side with the PQ. By the way you sound, you can afford the DLPs, so take the PQ that looks the best to you folks.

[Snap]

We did just That

8) Blaze,
Me and my wife did just what you sugested Friday night. We drove for ever but we looked a couple of custom audio video stores (They cheat! They have the place so darn dark you can not even see what the tv is standing on. So darn near every TV looked like it was perfect.) But we looked there then went to Sears, and Best Buy. Sears I thought was the best place to check out day time viewing. For those who are wondering. That place is very bright, and you will get a nice idea of what the picture will look like watching a Sat afternoon football game.
Blaze I will tell you this, my wife saw the RPTV and then saw the Samsung 5674, and that was all she wrote. now we just have to find the perfect stand to place all my stuff on. The picture on the Panasonic PT-50LC14 is sweet by the way. IMO it was better than the Toshiba 57H84, and it was almost as good as the DLP. The blacks were better on the Pan for sure. Like most familys the Panasonic Lost due to it being HUGE, and not as pretty as the DLP. (Hey NO Poking fun at Snap, Momma has a say too!

Thanks once again for all the help and GREAT advise! :T

[aud19]

Just a note here....

The custom audio shop you first mentioned likely actually had the sets calibrated and you are really supposed to judge a sets picture in a dark room as that's how you will view critical programming and it will also give the best results allowing you to judge the true PQ of the set. Sears on the other hand I can almost guarantee did not have the sets calibrated and the set with the brighter light output and brighter colours (ie: NOT accurate) that could compete most with the ambient light, likely looked more impressive. DLP sets do have more light output than CRT's but at the expense of black level. CRT's still produce the most accurate picture out there of any display when properly calibrated.

If you take issue with the size of CRT cabinets or daytime viewing is more of a priority to you than accurate, critical viewing in a properly light controlled room, by all means get a DLP. If not, CRT still offers the best PQ and at signifigantly lower prices. I personally recommend Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Toshiba and Panasonic CRT's.

[BlazeMaster]

And plus, also add to the point that aud19 mentioned, there's no better way to judge a TV in the dark. So you're only judging by the picture quality, and not to fall to the trap of the different manufactures' marketing schemes by selecting the TV by the design of the cabinets. IMO, I'd do my business or at least most of my critical demoing at the higher end store. Find out which technology looked the best to you there and then do your price shopping everywhere, to get the best price. I'm pretty sure the higher-end store will make an effort to match the price that the retail chain stores offer.

[Snap]

Wow, thanks for all the advise guys, I was also noticing that below this thread was another thread were Mez was looking for a HDTV as well. I will have to go back to the High End audio store and see if there is a JVC DILA there. I totally understand what you all were saying about in dark you will actually see the best PQ, the reason we went to the Sears and stores like that were several fold.

1. I had no idea what the TV would look like in BRIGHT condidtions. The thing might look perfect in the dark, but in my BRIGHT living room, that TV could look terible.

2. I know for a fact that the pro guys have there stuff calibrated, I wanted to see what it would look like straight out of the box. Then I can always calibrate it when I get it home.

That is my train of thought, if I am off line then please let me know. But how would some one get a chance to see what the TV looks like in BRIGHT light? I guess as the High End shop to turn all the lights on?

Me and the wife will continue to shop. I wish this was as easy as pro audio! Pro Audio is a snap compaird to HT!

[aud19]

1. I had no idea what the TV would look like in BRIGHT condidtions. The thing might look perfect in the dark, but in my BRIGHT living room, that TV could look terible.

First of all no display will look good with sunlight glaring on to it's screen. DLP's higher light ouput will compete better with sunlight but still will not look "good". They'll all look "terrible". DLP will just be slightly more visible. You can't possibly do critical viewing with high ambient light no matter what the set. So pardon my bluntness, but who cares what it looks like in daylight? What perecntage of viewing do you even plan on doing in daylight? Of that how much will be "critical" (HD sports, movies etc). Now after you figure that out consider that no set will look it's best in bright light. What are you left with?

Really if daytime viewing is going to be a large chunk of your watching, then by all means go for the DLP. If you however want the best possible picture in light controlled conditions, go CRT. A top of the line CRT fully ISF calibrated will still be cheaper than a DLP. You can always later add light control to your room as well

2. I know for a fact that the pro guys have there stuff calibrated, I wanted to see what it would look like straight out of the box. Then I can always calibrate it when I get it home.

Again, sorry for my bluntness but, why? That's like wanting to know what a car handles like with half inflated tires, a loose stearing rack and the wrong springs in it.

[Snap]

No Worries

I totaly understand every thing that you are saying. Thanks for the Bluntness aud19. I guess I need to answer your post.

My wife works nights and I work days, I also work 2 nights a week part time. So I would say that there is going to be a LARGE amount of TV being watched durring the day, so I can not afford to drop 2K or 4K on a TV only to have the me and the wife upset that picture on the big new TV sucks more than the 36 in TV that we bought at Wal-Mart! Me and my wife quite often rent a dvd from block buster and watch it durring the day snuggled up on the sofa. So I would say that we watch as much TV durring the day as we do at night, if not more durring the day.

And the calibration issue, the pro guys said that they have their VP-403,CP5000 and the laptop software to go with it. They do not use a DVD Disk or stuff that I would be able to afford. So I wonder if I have the skills to calibrate the TV to get it to look like the pro's using HT mag calibration disk? Probably not. So knowing what the default setting look like gives you a good understanding of what the worst is going to look like. IMHO ops:

But like you all have ALL said, SHOP! and that is what me and my bride will do!We will make a few more trips and see what the DLP, and the RPTV looks like. Spend a little more time in the High End shop then Best Buy, or Sears. Even though Best Buy is rather dark too.

At any rate thanks for all the advice. Aud19 I hope that explains my train of thought. I am sure that you all will let me know if I am off line with my thinking! :lol: After all that is why you post! TO make sure that you do not make a 4 grand MISTAKE! :M That would not be good. I am sure that by the time I do get the TV it is going to be the best one for me and my family, and a large part goes to you all! Thanks!

[aud19]

Glad you took my post in the spirit it was intended

As I said, you may find DLP best suits your needs with it's higher light output for daytime viewing. However if it was my money I'd spend that money on a CRT, professional ISF calibration and light control (blackout curtains etc).

[Snap]

haha

No Worries Aud 19 I have been a Marine for the last 11 years! h: That is one of the reasons that I use this Forum. You all are fair and straight up. Just the way I like it. Who knows you all might have saved me and my wife from making a HUGE mistake! Thanks once again. I will have to let you know what TV I actually get!