LCD vs DLP rear projection TV's

[macsound]

This threat probably existed alot around here but I think I made up my mind once I change my TV in the next few years. I still have a Sony 43" which I find satisfied but once the prices countinue to drop I would like to get a 50" Samsung DLP instead of LCD. I've read some review's between DLP's and LCD's and they have the same problem with there lamps and the only way around it is to extend the warranty for a few more years. fell free to pass on your 2 cents. I would check out Hitachi to or sony

[jamison162]

My new Sony 60" 60WF655 LCD ROCKS! My viewing distance is between 10' -12' and I am diggin it. I've looked long and hard and I am VERY picky. Haven't tried the Cable Card yet, but the built in tuner does work with a regular antenna for OTA Digital/HD Broadcasts.

[LEAFS264]

Toshiba 52HM84 DLP........imo the best bang for your $$$$$$$


Jay

[macsound]

I was tolled at the store that the DLP's wheel seems to break sooner, which I would believe it I meen think about it a spining wheel obviously. But I find at the store like Best Buy and Future shop don't give the LCD Tv's justice with there set ups.

People who have bought a Sony 50" or Hitachi 50" did you find the quality was better at home then the display at the store?

[evil__betty]

I have never heard of a DLP colour wheel breaking - thats just fear propaganda spread by the LCD crowd or by the salesperson who recieves extra bonus' if they sell brand "x" that is not a DLP. But if you buy DLP don't buy toshiba. At least not their 85 or 95 series. I have seen so many come back broken, noisy, dead out of the box, bad picture and bulbs blowing early, that I wouldn't spend my hard earned money on them. But maybe this year they can fix some of those problems. If you buy Sony, stay away from the "A20" series as they cannot properly deinterlace a 1080i signal (their A10 series is MUCH better). Which leaves you with Hitachi if you want a larger than 50" LCD TV (my first choice anyways - as long as it is the VG series - or VS depending on what store you buy it from).

[edtyct]

Hey, Evil,

What's with the Sony A20s? What happens to 1080i, bobbing?

Ed

[evil__betty]

When you have the A10 and th A20 side by side in the store, and switch the HD signal from 720p to 1080i, you will see a major difference in picture quality. I first found out about the bobbing on the sony tvs when Home Theatre Magazine did an article on all the new 1080p sets. The next issue they explained a little more about scaling and deinterlacing and did a test on about 20 different TVs to see if they can delinterlace a 1080i signal properly without bobbing. All Hitachi's passed, as did Sony's A10 series. The A20 series did not pass, niether did any sharp LCD, Panasonic's RPTVs, Sony's 32" Bravia (KLVS32A10), Phillips brand had only one set that did pass, Samsung had quite a few DLP's not make the grade either, all of the Toshiba's passed. The list is pretty neat to look at, and when you take the list to the store to compare, the sets that do bob do not look nearly as good as sets that can properly deinterlace and scale. To all the folks out there, just because it says "Sony" does not automatically make it a superior product.

[edtyct]

Did you see my exchange with Scott Wilkerson in the letters section of The Perfect Vision about bobbing? I mention it not to blow my own horn, but to reference Wilkerson's response, which was certainly interesting. Another letter opposed my ostensible position on the matter. Surprisingly, observations that note a distinct loss of sharpness in a picture from bobbing are rare. I've mollified my position about bobbing as being just this side of outright fraud, but I do think that it makes a difference. The question is whether what you've seen is completely attributable to it. It seems likely, but it might be nice to know a little more about how the sets differ. Thanks.

[topspeed]

Go to avsforums.com and search "Samsung DLP" for all you need to know about their reliability. Consider yourself warned.

Just to throw a wrench in the works, have you considered LCoS? TPV ranks the 1080p JVC DiLA's and Sony SXRD's as the two contenders for best on the planet (their words, not mine...although I tend to agree). You can read the review here ( http://www.avguide.com/servlet/download/2485.pdf?download=yes), or if the link doesn't work, become a member of avguide, which is free, and download it yourself.

[edtyct]

Speedy,

Not only that, but Richard Soneira of Display Mate Technologies has been doing a shootout of the different technologies for a long time--CRT, LCD, DLP, and LCoS. Much, if not all, of it has been published in Widescreen Review. The last installment, which was a rundown of various LCoS displays--including a JVC consumer model, a JVC professional model, two Brillian models, and one or two others (Sony did not participate)--came to the remarkable, and well-documented, conclusion that LCoS had earned the right to supplant CRT as the de facto professional video standard. In the august company of the shootout, the shortcomings of the JVC consumer unit were difficult to disguise, but the professional set was a monster, as were the other relatively unknown examples of the technology.

Interestingly, Soneira attributes the superiority of LCoS to the degree of hardship involved in manufacturing it at all, which required that the drive engine and processing be top notch to minimize the inherent difficulties. The upshot seems to be that LCD and DLP, with a little work, might be able to close the gap between them and LCoS, but that relative ease of production and consumer acceptance have kept them from the kind of intensive designing that LCoS had to undergo.

A word of warning, however. Soneira's findings do not mean that everyone should run out and buy an LCoS display. First of all, his selection was small, and the degree of care taken by the manufacturers undoubtedly great. LCoS in general has the potential for greatness across the board, but, unfortunately, the consumer market does not always support such excellence. To give you an idea of how much it might cost right now to bring the highest-quality LCoS to your home, the exquisite JVC professional monitor costs around $40,000.

Ed