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KaiWinters
11-03-2006, 07:42 AM
Hi all,
I am in the market for a 50" rptv. Wifey agrees to approx. $2500.00 retail because we will also buy a credenza for it and ups the total cost to around $3000.00 or perhaps a bit more.
I currently own a Mitsubishi WD-42413 ( approx. 3 years old ). It has never had a problem but does not compare to today's models and will be relegated to a spare room.

based on several months of study ( reviews, store comparisons, forums, print outs on the 2000, 631, 731 and 831 modles, etc, ) I have whittled my choices down to the Sony KDS-50A2000 and the Mitsubishi WD-52631.

Please add your comments, pro/con, regarding these units. Also, despite my searching, I am unable to find any threads on the 631 Mitsu models but plenty on the 731 and 831 models. Any commentary about the 631, 731 and 831 is welcome as well.

Thanks for the input,
Kai

edtyct
11-03-2006, 09:00 AM
I normally steer clear of recommending specific products, preferring to make technical comments and to suggest points of reference that might be helpful in making decisions, but I'll make an exception in this case, knowing full well that my opinion carries no more weight to a stranger than anyone else's. I don't know the Mitsubishi TVs at all, but I recently spent a little casual time with the Sony KDSA2000 line. Pictures on TVs usually don't knock me out. They did this time. I saw none of the color garishness that often afflicts digital TVs, at least on showroom floors. The depth of the images was remarkable. I was so struck by these LCoS displays that I'm going back for another look today. For all I know, the Mitsubishis, which I assume to be DLPs, may well be competitive in important respects. Here's hoping that attempts at comparions between them and the Sony at a store aren't a waste of time.

AVMASTER
11-03-2006, 12:02 PM
Edtyct;
althought i can't comment as in-depth as you about display devices, i will say that the Sony you mentioned is some what of disappointment (at least in my eyes). with a red push and soft image, i'd say the JVC LCoS is a far better performer. Of course this is just my humble opinion and would never let it influnece a recommendation for a customer, but i would like to get your take on the JVC 56FH97
thanks in advance

edtyct
11-03-2006, 01:00 PM
AVMASTER,

I just came back from taking that second look at the KDS-60A2000, and I was still impressed with it. Mind you, I had no access to controls, content, etc., but, thankfully, the programming du jour was DiscoveryHD, probably the best broadcast HD available. Even though the TV was obviously set up for the showroom and seemed to be biased more toward blue than I like (if push comes to shove, I prefer color decoding more toward red than blue), I liked what I saw. [Edit: Let me clarify. What AVM calls a "red push" is a term usually reserved for a color decoder that favors red. Sometimes a set can push blue instead, or at the same time, to compensate for the damage to flesh tones that overdoing red can cause. The blue tinge that I'm referring to, however, is a product of the greyscale tracking, not the color decoding. Too much blue in the color of grey that underlines each image makes the general color temperature too high.] Red objects weren't tinted orange, as on the other sets (all of them Sony LCDs) that surrounded it. The RGB color points were probably inaccurate; Sony's always are (like almost everyone else's). But, from my perspective, flesh tones and other color reference points were realistic. Although difficult to tell under these conditions, especially since brightness and contrast weren't at optimal levels, black looked suitably dark, and shadow detail was good. And this TV did not look soft to me (deinterlacing DHD's 1080i to 1080p). I happen to know that the early A2000 line suffered from truncated bandwidth (maybe that's what you witnessed), and injudicious use of the DRC settings (if not any use of them) can also soften the picture significantly. Sony claims to have rectified the problem in sets manufactured after August, but even if they still haven't squeezed the last drop of detail from 1080, I could easily live with what I saw today. Granted, a proper look would require a better environment, more source material, and greater control, but if the JVC surpasses the Sony in sharpness and color fidelity and holds its own in other respects, I would say run, don't walk, to buy it.

Edit #2: My curiosity piqued about the JVC model that you mentioned, I checked CNET's review, which turned out to be lukewarm, winning the ire of four users who vehemently disputed it (CNET's view of the Sony, however, confirmed many of my own impressions, though why they seemed to penalize the JVC more than the Sony for straying from HD color specs is beyond me, especially since the Sony is less accurate). TPV, however, was effusive in its praise of the JVC. I'll try to scare one up for myself sometime. I must say, however, that the sharpest direct-view TV that I've ever seen--weighted by viewing distance--was a 26" JVC LCD panel of two years ago, which was almost eerie in its three-dimensionality with HD sources. Size alone couldn't explain the tightness and depth of field on this set. I can't say that anything else about it was particularly distinguished, but it made enough of an impression on me that I recommended it to everyone who was looking for a small HDTV at the time. And JVC's DiLA front projectors have been justifiably revered for a good long while. If the latest entries of Sony and JVC are anything to go by (for all their promise and ambition, the Brillians still appear to have a way to go), it appears that LCoS technology is inching closer to fulfilling its potential as the enthusiast's digital RPTV of choice. The wobulating DLP single-chip TV w/color wheel and the typical LCD with its hyperbolic primaries and murky blacks may have to scramble mightily to keep up in terms of basic performance and freedom from artifacts/side effects if LCoS continues to evolve at this rate.