Sony 40XBR700????

[magpie]

I am thinking of getting this TV for my Mom & Sister.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3086454751&category=15086

I live in the area.

Any Nay or yea's out there???

The TV will be hooked-up to a Sony dish with DirecTV. Will that give it a better picture???

[bhd812]

i have the the same one but the newer 800. if its anything like mine its one heavy mofo i believe its 300pounds without the stand.
dvds look good but cable seems to have a cheaky look to it, I paid $2500 for mine and got the free stand. but if you go to circuit city or something like that you get 15 months interest free so thats a good thing.

[woodman]

I am thinking of getting this TV for my Mom & Sister.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3086454751&category=15086

I live in the area.

Any Nay or yea's out there???

The TV will be hooked-up to a Sony dish with DirecTV. Will that give it a better picture???

Yeah, here's a BIG, FAT NAAAAAAAAAAAY for you! Take my advice this time if no other (you evidently chose to ignore my advice about a DVD/VHS "combo" unit at another board here).

For what it's worth, I have 50+ years of experience actually working on TV sets, and I wouldn't buy that beast for myself at any price! Not $1500 - not $1K - not $500 - like I said, not at any price. In my considerewd opinion, it's a potential financial disaster waiting to happen.

Run, don't walk away from this thing ... there are MUCH better alternatives for you to buy for your Mom and Sis - this is NOT it.

Have I made myself clear?

[cam]

Yeah, here's a BIG, FAT NAAAAAAAAAAAY for you! Take my advice this time if no other (you evidently chose to ignore my advice about a DVD/VHS "combo" unit at another board here).

For what it's worth, I have 50+ years of experience actually working on TV sets, and I wouldn't buy that beast for myself at any price! Not $1500 - not $1K - not $500 - like I said, not at any price. In my considerewd opinion, it's a potential financial disaster waiting to happen.

Run, don't walk away from this thing ... there are MUCH better alternatives for you to buy for your Mom and Sis - this is NOT it.

Have I made myself clear?
I have read on many threads that you have stated there are much better alternatives out there. If buying a direct view crt might be a financial disaster what would be better. Do you think plasma, Lcd, or dlp will be cheap to repair. I don't think anybody quite knows yet. I am pretty sure a good portion of those sets are going to be failing soon, just like anything new there will always be some growing pains with new technology. Direct view crt tubes have already gone through those growing pains, decades ago.

[mudo]

I think the XBR has one of the best picture of any TV.
It's at a good price right now. 1K.

Negatives:
it's 4:3 screen
weighs over 375 pounds
If you buy it you will need more than one friend to help you get it where it needs to be.

[woodman]

I have read on many threads that you have stated there are much better alternatives out there. If buying a direct view crt might be a financial disaster what would be better. Do you think plasma, Lcd, or dlp will be cheap to repair. I don't think anybody quite knows yet. I am pretty sure a good portion of those sets are going to be failing soon, just like anything new there will always be some growing pains with new technology. Direct view crt tubes have already gone through those growing pains, decades ago.

You're improperly manipulating my words here, Cam. I never said that buying any direct-view CRT set might be a financial disaster ... I only said that buying a "widescreen" CRT set is a risky proposition - one that I wouldn't personally take myself. The financial disaster reference was regarding this particular 40" beast from Sony ... one of the few actual "mistakes" that I've ever seen Sony make. Mitsubishi tried making a 40" set, but soon realized the error of that decision, and discontinued it (after less than a year on the market). The plain, simple truth of the matter is that a 40" CRT is just bigger (and heavier) than the technology can comfortably accomodate. The heavy part is the major hurdle. There's no way that it can be made any lighter, which makes the final set so freakin' heavy that it's nearly impossible for any two average men to handle. It just about takes two weight-lifters - or, "two men and a small boy" as the old expression goes. It's also terribly front-heavy - thus very precarious on a service bench, especially when the rest of the chassis is removed for service. I know a lot of service shops that simply won't touch one under any circumstances ... period! If I were running a shop myself, I wouldn't accept a service call on one, much less a shop repair. It would just be a losing proposition - either that, or the bill would be so high that the customer would launch right into orbit over the cost!

So what do I think is a much better alternative? Just about anything except plasma. The biggest bang for the buck today is in front projectors, but I realize that one of them is not for everybody. Next in line for VALUE are the RPTVs ... mostly those that are CRT-based. The RPTVs that use DLP or LCD technologies are still priced rather high for what they have to offer.

Does that answer your question?