Is the "silk-screen effect" EXCLUSIVELY caused by the TV itself?

[Ovation]

I spent several hours yesterday making my first serious examination of HD displays (first of many, before I pull the trigger) and while looking at various RPTVs (DLP, LCoS and LCD) I noticed a "shimmering" effect that looked like specks of dust or graininess. This included the top of the line XBR SXRDs (whose vertical off centre performance was not as good as I'd anticipated, particularly on the 70 inch model). I found this graininess quite annoying in bright scenes, enough that I don't think I could live with it on a regular basis. However, if the effect is at least partially owing to external lighting conditions, then I might be able to compensate for it and let the RPTVs remain the in the running.

Best picture I saw was on a Pioneer plasma (5070), followed very, very closely by a Samsung plasma (don't remember the model number) and then a Samsung LCD flat panel (hooked up to a BD player with Superman Returns--colours not as vibrant as the plasmas (running a generic hi-def feed at unknown resolution) but the smoothest, most film-like image I've seen on a television), followed by a Sony XBR LCD. In another store, I'd found the SXRD better than anything except the new uber-expensive Pioneer 1080p plasma, but I did not spend nearly as much time looking on that day. Yesterday, the SXRDs disappointed me a bit, both in off centre viewing and, mostly, with the "silk screen effect". A couple of Hitachi plasmas were a pleasant surprise--quite close to the Pioneer and Samsung plasmas, and notably ahead of the Toshiba, Philips and other plasmas (did not look at the Panasonic for a sufficient length of time to place it in this preliminary ranking).

[aud19]

I'm not sure what you mean by "silk screen"...? Perhaps glare or reflections?

[Ovation]

It looks like sparkles on the screen, or dust, and is particularly noticeable in very bright scenes. I've done some reading on it and it appears to be a function of the screen material. To overcome the inherent brightness disadvantage of RPTV relative to plasma, especially, and LCD flat panels, many RPTV screens use a high gain material that allows a brighter picture, but also leads to something I've seen referred to on many fora as "silk screen effect" or SSE (imagine looking through a thin layer of silk). It was the first time I noticed it (though I'd heard of it), but it was also the first time I spent more than 5 minutes looking at any particular display. I suspect that in the "non-torch" mode, the effect is diminished, but the store clerks seemed reluctant to let me play with the settings (I changed the settings on an LCD flat panel from "Dynamic" to "Movie" and got a much more realistic, but less bright, image--ten seconds later a clerk came along and changed the settings back). Now, what I'd like to know is if the effect is entirely owing to the TV (and if so, can I mitigate enough in my home environment) or if the store lighting exacerbates the effect (though the TV area did not have any overhead lights, unlike the rest of the store--Best Buy in suburban Montreal--no Magnolias in Canadian Best Buys yet, at least not in Quebec). If it is like the rainbow effect (which I'm apparently not susceptible to, as I tried very hard to notice it on the DLPs I examined) in that once you see it, you can't ignore it (and it started to seem that way--with all the RPTVs), then RPTVs are out. If, however, it is something I can control, then I can still consider them. But that 50 inch Samsung plasma looked very nice, as did the Pioneer and the 55 inch Hitachi. I'd like to see them hooked up with HD DVD or Blu Ray. May have to look elsewhere, though.

[WillyD]

The silk screen effect is caused, AFAIK, by the TV themselves. Our Samsung DLP has it, but to be honest, when I am actually watching/concentrating on a show I don't notice it or think about it.

It is there though, even at night with all the lights off.

[Ovation]

I took a look at the JVC HD-ILA set (heard and read a lot of good things about it) and it still had a noticeable level of "silk-screen effect"). In this store, I had a change to play with picture settings without interference from the sales staff on LCDs, plasmas and RPTVs. While I'm still quite a ways from choosing one technology (and even further from buying), I can say that even with the settings turned down to the recommended ones (lower contrast, lower light output, "movie" mode instead of "vivid" etc.) that I've come across in various fora and articles (and the same types of settings I use on my SDTV--the principle appears the same), SSE was still quite distracting on all the RPTVs (the store area was not overly bright--ambient light was similar to what one would fine in a typical room at home). So far, plasmas are looking better than LCDs which are better than RPTVs (to my eyes). Some of the better LCDs looked better than the lesser plasmas, so I'm still undecided on that front, but it appears RPTVs are off my list (unless there is some significant improvement in the SSE department--it's too bad, too, as I like the prices of RPTVs and I can accommodate their cabinet depth).

[Audiophiliac]

The screen coating on my Mits Diamond DLP has some texture to it which shows in bright white images a little....but you learn to look through it.