$2000 for a new TV, suggestions?

[BigJim_inFLA]

Looking at TV's and for around $2000 I can get a 40" or 42" plasma or LCD, or I can get a 50+" rear projection TV. Which would be better and why?

[Hdale85]

Well the cheaper plasma's and LCD's arent the greatest. But for 2 grand you can get a high end rear projection like a micro dlp/lcd tv. Like the Sony Grand Wega I just got is a 42" and I think you can find it in stores for around 1699 or so. Its got an awsome picture. I'd deffinately recommend it. Heres a link to the page about it.

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=KDFE42A10&Dept=tvvideo&CategoryName=tv_ProjectionTVs_RearProjection_42to51TVs

[htsteve]

Ideas and one suggestion

BigJim,

If you can extend your budget a bit, the new Sony SXRD 50" RPTV is an excellent choice. The list on these is $2800. Street price should be lower. I have the current version 50" SXRD and it is outstanding. For $2000, the Sony LCD RPTV is also a solid choice.

As for plasma vs rear projection, they each have their strenth's and weaknesses. For me, we couldn't do a flat panel, so we concentrated on RPTV's. We then looked for the best picture. To us it was the SXRD.

My suggestion is that you consider having whatever TV you get professionally ISF calibrated (this is not the same as using Avia or DVE, which are good). I had this done to my SXRD. The improved performance was outstanding. All TV's are screwed up out of the box, in areas that user can't get to, like the greyscale. An ISF calibrator knows how to fix this as well as the other areas of a TV. A typical calibration is about $300. A bit pricey, but the resulting picture is well worth it.

Hope this helps.

[aud19]

I agree with Dougie, at that price your looking at cheap (ie: crappy) and/or small flatpanels.

If you HAVE to have a digital display, I'll also second Steve's recommendation for the 50 SXRD from Sony, they have a great picture :T DLP is another option though personally I'd wait until the LED lit sets arrive in the next couple months though they may be priced at a premium.

And as always.... the best PQ out there is from a quality CRT RPTV (Hitachi, Mistubishi) if you've got the floor space. You can get one of these in a 50" model, ISF calibrated for well under $2k and it will demolish anything else in that price range (and beyond) in PQ.

[BigJim_inFLA]

Thanks for your thoughts. I was thinking that the RPTV would be the way to go too. I was looking at many sets at the local stores and the flat panels in my price range did not look as good as I was hoping. I've got floor space about 60" x 24" that should be able to fit just about anything, I could even go a bit deeper if I had to. That 50 SXRD looks sweet but it's just a bit out of my price range right now with the calibration. I might have to go check it out in the store with the Mrs. if it looks really good maybe she'll let me spend a bit more. :B

[Hdale85]

Unless she's a special woman nothing looks better then price I get the comment all the time "but this one for 500 looks just as good as that sony for 2000" and I just kind of roll my eyes and say "yeah ok dear" My woman lets me have my way all the time though lol.

[aud19]

Thanks for your thoughts. I was thinking that the RPTV would be the way to go too. I was looking at many sets at the local stores and the flat panels in my price range did not look as good as I was hoping. I've got floor space about 60" x 24" that should be able to fit just about anything, I could even go a bit deeper if I had to. That 50 SXRD looks sweet but it's just a bit out of my price range right now with the calibration. I might have to go check it out in the store with the Mrs. if it looks really good maybe she'll let me spend a bit more. :B

Sounds like if you (and your spouse :lol: ) don't mind the cabinet size, CRT could be for you :T Best PQ potential (though as usual they'll not be calibrated in the slightest and look like crap in-store :roll: ) Or if your wife let's you spend a bit more, SXRD would be a sleeker (though less value for money) option.

Remember if you do go CRT, look at Hitachi and Mitsubishi. You will not be happy with the cheaper brand CRT's left on the market. And at the price point they're already at, there's really no bennefit on getting the cheap model

[BigJim_inFLA]

Well you were right about the CRT RPTV's not looking good in the store. Went looking today and saw a Hitachi 51f59. I know PQ will be much better when properly set up and the price is certainly attractive, but I just don't think I can use something this tall. I'm currently using a wide low rack for my electronics and the TV would have to go on top of it. This would put the screen almost 5' off the floor. Anyone enjoy that front row of the theater feeling? The 50 SXRD looked amazing even in the store, but the price was a bit too high. That leaves me where? The Grand Wega that Dougie mentione also looked very nice and is well within my price range so it may be the winner here. Any idea if the SXRD sets might be coming down in price in the near future? They did just arrive in stores though so I guess not soon enough.

[peterS]

what about samsung dlp... current models are much improved from last year (not that they needed to be)

i dont like lcd rear projection and the sxrd at this point is not worth it considering the new model is coming out
also the sxrds have a problem with turning green in the corners.... i have seen it a lot but never read about it on the forums... seems to crop up after much use (ie shelf displays or a few years down the road for you!)

[aud19]

what about samsung dlp... current models are much improved from last year (not that they needed to be)

Peter, as I mentioned above I'd wait until the LED-lit units come out in the next couple months and see what they can do personally but they are certainly another alternative.

Jim, pretty much any freestanding CRT RPTV has a base that will cause a problem for placement on top of a cabinet. There used to be some 42" "table top" models available but I don't believe Hitachi/Mitsubishi has anything below 50" anymore and I can't comfortably recommend other brands of CRT sets. The Sony LCD RPTV's are pretty good as well and likely the cream of the LCD RPTV crop but you can get better displays for your money IMO. As for SXRD, the new years sets should be out shortly which could mean close-out pricing on last years stock....?

[peterS]

Peter, as I mentioned above I'd wait until the LED-lit units come out in the next couple months and see what they can do personally but they are certainly another alternative.

Jim, pretty much any freestanding CRT RPTV has a base that will cause a problem for placement on top of a cabinet. There used to be some 42" "table top" models available but I don't believe Hitachi/Mitsubishi has anything below 50" anymore and I can't comfortably recommend other brands of CRT sets. The Sony LCD RPTV's are pretty good as well and likely the cream of the LCD RPTV crop but you can get better displays for your money IMO. As for SXRD, the new years sets should be out shortly which could mean close-out pricing on last years stock....?

the LED's are going to be above his price point
the 50" cost is still above his budget if i remember correctly

[aud19]

I had no info on pricing but I was worried they'd be a bit of a premium....

What are we talking here for size/dollars? If he can pick up the smallest one for say ~$500 over his budget it may be worth it in the long run on bulb replacements alone. Nevermind any of the other inherent bennefits.

[peterS]

its been a while since i saw the pricing... i want to say 60% more but dont quote me on it.... how much will these bulbs cost to replace?
it may not all be possitives since if it goes it may be BIG bucks
also id shy away from any firsr gen tech

[aud19]

also id shy away from any firsr gen tech

There is always that too

Last price I saw on bulbs was ~$200 and up... so not cheap and they are in pretty high demand too.

[peterS]

regular or led? because thats starting price on regular bulbs
the thing with bulbs is that a manufacturer can always stop making them a few years down the road... you would be surprised at the number of rear projections best buy replaced due to parts no longer being made (some only 6 months old!) toshiba is the most common to do this

[aud19]

regular or led? because thats starting price on regular bulbs
the thing with bulbs is that a manufacturer can always stop making them a few years down the road... you would be surprised at the number of rear projections best buy replaced due to parts no longer being made (some only 6 months old!) toshiba is the most common to do this

Regular bulbs With LED's it shouldn't technically be a problem as they shouldn't need replacing in the average lifetime of the set unless there's a manufacturing flaw/abuse etc problem. Yeah there's lot's of problems with replacemnt bulbs... price, availability, longterm availability etc. Just one of the reasons, (besides CRT's better PQ), that I have trouble recommending backlit, chip based techs over CRT's still.

[peterS]

Regular bulbs With LED's it shouldn't technically be a problem as they shouldn't need replacing in the average lifetime of the set unless there's a manufacturing flaw/abuse etc problem. Yeah there's lot's of problems with replacemnt bulbs... price, availability, longterm availability etc. Just one of the reasons, (besides CRT's better PQ), that I have trouble recommending backlit, chip based techs over CRT's still.

well the biggest problem with crts is exactly that... not finding replacement parts... happened all the time

the best picture quality i have ever seen is on a mitsubishi crt BUT it still suffered from hot and dark spots.... the average person is much more inclined to get the space saving uniform brightness 'digital' rear projections

good think i dont care about video as much as audio or id be real broke 8O

[aud19]

well the biggest problem with crts is exactly that... not finding replacement parts... happened all the time

the best picture quality i have ever seen is on a mitsubishi crt BUT it still suffered from hot and dark spots.... the average person is much more inclined to get the space saving uniform brightness 'digital' rear projections

good think i dont care about video as much as audio or id be real broke 8O

Did it have the lenticular screen removed?

[begood]

I disagree with the notion that 2,000.00 will not buy you a decent Plasma or LCD Panel

Vinc (Vizio) makes a very good 50' Plasma that can bought for less than 2,000.00. As far as I know, it is one of the few plasmas that uses Faroudja DCDI processing and does not process any input that is already set to it's native resolution (720P).

Also, Westinghouse makes a 42' and 47' LCD panels that have a native resolution of 1080P! You can get the 47' for about 2,500.00 and the 42' for less than 2,000.00

[peterS]

I disagree with the notion that 2,000.00 will not buy you a decent Plasma or LCD Panel

Vinc (Vizio) makes a very good 50' Plasma that can bought for less than 2,000.00. As far as I know, it is one of the few plasmas that uses Faroudja DCDI processing and does not process any input that is already set to it's native resolution (720P).

Also, Westinghouse makes a 42' and 47' LCD panels that have a native resolution of 1080P! You can get the 47' for about 2,500.00 and the 42' for less than 2,000.00

never mind they like crap
i use a westing house as a pc moniuter / video games and i am still left wanting
un watchable for tv

hp looks real bad too while we are at it
maxents current offerings look ok but prices are such that price difference is negligable when panasonics or such go on sale

[peterS]

Did it have the lenticular screen removed?

not familiar with that

[aud19]

not familiar with that

The lenticular screen is used on RPTV's to focus light to the center of the screen for a brighter appearing image, however the cost of this is the hotspot you mentioned above where the screen is brightest in the middle. It also contributes to the poorer off axis viewing attributed to RPTV's (particularly CRT's) as all the light is directed towards the center of the screen for viewing directly infront of it. Hence by removing the Lenticular screen you remove the hotspots and increase off axis viewing but sacrifice a bit of peak light output.

[Hdale85]

I saw some Westinghouse LCD's in BB and thought they looked amazing for how much they were. I want to say there was a 37" for 1500. It was very good looking though pretty dark blacks and everything...I'd still say your best bet in this price range would be a LCD/DLP Micro RPTV.

[peterS]

I saw some Westinghouse LCD's in BB and thought they looked amazing for how much they were. I want to say there was a 37" for 1500. It was very good looking though pretty dark blacks and everything...I'd still say your best bet in this price range would be a LCD/DLP Micro RPTV.

the 720 p are popular.... you'd be the first to comend the 1080p especialy for congtrast ratio :E

[SteveCallas]

Is this the same peterS who speaks so highly of the Westy 42" 1080p at AVS forum? What gives?

[peterS]

Is this the same peterS who speaks so highly of the Westy 42" 1080p at AVS forum? What gives?

lol um no