DLP vs. LCD help

[maddi]

Thanks to Woodman I'm no longer looking toward a Sony or Panasonic HDTV. I'm now torn between the Toshiba 52hm84 or samsung HLp4663w both of these are DLP. The guy at Best Buy told me that DLP is better than LCD becuase LCD crystals can burn onto the screen and cause a pinkish look. However I've now read that DLP can have a rainbow effect. Can anyone help as to what is the best tecnolgy and if any of the above sets are any good..Thank you

[drseid]

I don't know what this pinkish look the Best Buy sales rep is referring to, but my Sony LCD projection TV has not displayed it yet (although I have only owned it a couple of weeks). For the most part, LCD screens should not burn-in (that was one of the reasons I went with them over CRT).

As for the DLP (Samsung or otherwise), yes, the rainbow effect exists *if* you are prone to seeing it...

I learned the hard way. I bought the excellent Sammy 5085 AKA "The Kirk," and it looked great in the store... Just one problem, when I got it home and played some movies on it, I saw these rainbows pop up all over the screen briefly before disappearing and reappearing. This seemed to happen mainly when there was a white pattern or lettering on a black (or dark) screen background. All of this made watching the set unbearable for me, and I had to swap it for the (less expensive) Sony KF-50WE610 LCD. Since the LCD rear projectors don't use a color wheel, the raibow effect is not really a factor. Now on the DLP sets, all of the rear-projection sets on the market use only one chip and a color wheel, so I saw the same effect on *all* DLP sets, not just the Sammy (to my chagrin).

All of this said, if you and your family and friends don't see the rainbows, then DLP may be just what you are looking for... In my case, LCD was a much better solution.

---Dave

[IsmaVA]

The pinkish look the BB guy referred to is due to a LCD decay, possible, but unlikely, just like burn-in a well tuned CRT.

The rainbow effect is only an issue IF you are one of the few "lucky" ones that are able to perceive it. If the tv looks ok to you in the store, you are probably with the majority.

Anyway, Have you considered LCD rear projection? While contrast is definitively better with DLP, LCD rear projection cheaper and pretty darn good. I mean, if you definitively decided not to go the rptv route.

[kpzbee]

Thanks to Woodman I'm no longer looking toward a Sony or Panasonic HDTV. I'm now torn between the Toshiba 52hm84 or samsung HLp4663w both of these are DLP. The guy at Best Buy told me that DLP is better than LCD becuase LCD crystals can burn onto the screen and cause a pinkish look. However I've now read that DLP can have a rainbow effect. Can anyone help as to what is the best tecnolgy and if any of the above sets are any good..Thank you

I curious as to why Woodman would recomend a DLP or LCD, over a CRT RPTV. I've not seen him do that. His recomendation has always been CRT. That's the main reason I went to CRT over an LCD. To me,(from what I've read) burn in is not a big concern as the $200-$300 projector bulbs every few years & CRT has a much sharper picture IMO.

[drseid]

I curious as to why Woodman would recomend a DLP or LCD, over a CRT RPTV. I've not seen him do that. His recomendation has always been CRT. That's the main reason I went to CRT over an LCD. To me,(from what I've read) burn in is not a big concern as the $200-$300 projector bulbs every few years & CRT has a much sharper picture IMO.

Burn-in is *definitely* a concern with CRT Rear projectors from my experience. I have burned in one, and my parents another. I personally would never buy another rear-projection CRT, but that is just me... I should point out that my reasoning has *nothing* to do with picture quality, as CRT rear projector sets have excellent picture quality as a general rule... It just is too costly to keep replacing sets or screens due to burn-in. My CRT rear projector did not even last 6 months... That is why for round 2 I went with LCD.

---Dave

[kfalls]

If your CRTs are experiencing burn-in after only a few months, it's probably because you've never adjusted it out of "torch mode". Manufacturers are known to crank up the brightness, contrast, and color levels because they don't want their TV to appear less bright or colorful than the TV next to them. This results in overdriving the CRT and burning off the phosphors. Cranking up the brightness and contract also cause the video to "bloom" causing loss of detail and cranking up the color causes reds to oversaturate and yellows to look orange.

You can prolong the life of your CRT considerably by performing a simple setup using one of the many setup DVDs available (Avia, Video Essentials...). The DVDs are very good at explaining what the controls do and how to adjust them properly. I just purchased a new Hitachi 57S715 and it arrived in Torch mode. Contrast and brightness were max and color was 50%. After a quick calibration the correct settings came down substantially (contrast 24%, Brightness 36%, and color 18%. CRTs are still not only the best "bang for the buck" but are brighter and less prone to artifacts. Plasmas and LCDs can experience burn-in after only several hours of use (especially on programs with banners or fixed backgrounds) and fixed-pixel displays can have dead pixels (there's nothing more annoying than to see a FPD with a dead pixel, your eyes are drawn to it). Buy LCD in you want, they're cool, current and space saving, but if you want good detail, reliability and value a CRT is still the best choice.

[drseid]

If your CRTs are experiencing burn-in after only a few months, it's probably because you've never adjusted it out of "torch mode". Manufacturers are known to crank up the brightness, contrast, and color levels because they don't want their TV to appear less bright or colorful than the TV next to them. This results in overdriving the CRT and burning off the phosphors. Cranking up the brightness and contract also cause the video to "bloom" causing loss of detail and cranking up the color causes reds to oversaturate and yellows to look orange.

You can prolong the life of your CRT considerably by performing a simple setup using one of the many setup DVDs available (Avia, Video Essentials...). The DVDs are very good at explaining what the controls do and how to adjust them properly. I just purchased a new Hitachi 57S715 and it arrived in Torch mode. Contrast and brightness were max and color was 50%. After a quick calibration the correct settings came down substantially (contrast 24%, Brightness 36%, and color 18%. CRTs are still not only the best "bang for the buck" but are brighter and less prone to artifacts. Plasmas and LCDs can experience burn-in after only several hours of use (especially on programs with banners or fixed backgrounds) and fixed-pixel displays can have dead pixels (there's nothing more annoying than to see a FPD with a dead pixel, your eyes are drawn to it). Buy LCD in you want, they're cool, current and space saving, but if you want good detail, reliability and value a CRT is still the best choice.

Actually the video calibration was the first thing I did out of the box on both mine and my parents... Unfortunately, it did not help with respect to burn-in (it did make a big difference in many other areas however).

Also, while plasmas are definitely burn-in prone (the main reason I avoided them), I think LCDs are *very* hard to burn-in... The fixed pixel issue is another matter though... Each type of TV has its drawbacks, but the burn-in for rear projection CRTs was the worst one to me. The best picture to me is from CRT direct views, but I just could not get a screen big enough unfortunately...

---Dave

[AV Guy]

Thanks to Woodman I'm no longer looking toward a Sony or Panasonic HDTV. I'm now torn between the Toshiba 52hm84 or samsung HLp4663w both of these are DLP. The guy at Best Buy told me that DLP is better than LCD becuase LCD crystals can burn onto the screen and cause a pinkish look. However I've now read that DLP can have a rainbow effect. Can anyone help as to what is the best tecnolgy and if any of the above sets are any good..Thank you

I urge you do the homework. I totally agree with your decission on Sony, to much money for too little accuracy. Panasonic on the other hand has some very nice sets out there. Careful how much faith you put into the "best buy" guy. My experience is when is comes down to it they really don't know a darn thing. Also watch out for best buy selling you last years model. There are HUGE differences in the technology over the last year. As a final note consider looking at Pioneer.

[kpzbee]

I urge you do the homework. Careful how much faith you put into the "best buy" guy. My experience is when is comes down to it they really don't know a darn thing. Also watch out for best buy selling you last years model. .

Man, he sure hit the nail on the head with that one! Most of those guys don't know squat. If you don't want to get ripped, you MUST do your homework. I think you'll find Hitachi to be in the top 3 also.
When I was looking for my RPTV, a guy at short Circut City tried pushing a Sony set on me, till I said their picture may be nice but their quality suchs. Did I get a look from him! He then admitted I knew what I was talking about & proceeded to tell me how 3 Sony's died right out on the sales floor. So much for Sony's.

[maddi]

I curious as to why Woodman would recomend a DLP or LCD, over a CRT RPTV. I've not seen him do that. His recomendation has always been CRT. That's the main reason I went to CRT over an LCD. To me,(from what I've read) burn in is not a big concern as the $200-$300 projector bulbs every few years & CRT has a much sharper picture IMO.

I'm sorry let me clarify Woodman recomended me staying away from sony or panasonic brand..nothing about the technolgy

[maddi]

I want to thank everyone for taking the time to help