HD TV's. Which one?

[JESSE 1]

I have a Mitsubishi Diamond series 1080p 65" DLP. We're on Direct TV and get all the HD channels. Picture is outstanding, almost like 3D. The problem we have had is the 180 watt lamp has burned out twice now. This TV runs pretty hot with that 180 watt lamp. I'm thinking I need to run a a small fan outside the back of the set to increase air circulation.
I'm not sure I would buy another DLP since we've had the lamp problem. I'm hoping by the time this set quits and my extended warranty runs out that there will be better technology available.

[Gumbeaux]

I have a 56" Samsung DLP and the picture is awesome. The quality of the TV itself, however, is not. I've replaced the light engine twice. Fortunately I have the extended warranty as this part is $880. It's essentially the entire guts of the TV. The warranty company has not been pleasurable to deal with.

The technology you pick is up to you. My words of advice would be:

1. Do not buy a Samsung. (I told Samsung I would tell everyone I ever met who was looking for a TV this, so I'm honoring my committment to them.)

2. Do not buy over the internet. You may save a few bucks, but it's not worth the headache. The first TWO sets they delivered were damaged in shipping and it took me well over a month to actually get a TV. Also, the warranty will suck if you buy over the internet. Pay a little more, get it at Best Buy or Sam's is even better. They usually have replacement warranties. If it breaks, load it up and take it back for a new one. Otherwise, you'll spend weeks without a TV while they come to look at, then order the parts, then finally find the time to come out and fix it. They'll also argue that "it's supposed to do that" or "you must have damaged it" or my personal favorite "yes, you purchased a 5 year warranty, but once we fix it once, the warranty is now over" even though is says that no where in the contract.

Did I mention don't buy a Samsung?

[SteveRacer]

I've been a geek for so long if I had referred to myself as a geek when I started people would think I ate glass.

There's a lot out there. Rather than bore you with 10,000 words of my opinion, I'll just ask a few simple questions:

1. (THIS IS MOST IMPORTANT) What are you watching??

The truth is that for all the 10-bit hype, the xvYCC hype, the 1080p hype, the HDMI v1.3 hype ... it goes on and on ... the TRUTH is there is next to ZERO source material out there that really can take advantage of the viewing technology that the salepeople want you to shell out big bucks for.

Cable? Satellite? HD? Forget it. There's really very little 1080i, let alone 1080p material, that's out there that you can view directly. Most of it is 780 at best. Yes, it might be upconverted, but who cares? Anything you can get out of a set-top box is going to be quite limited in bandwidth. Yes, it's changing ... but very slowly. No sense in paying an extra $2000 for features that *MIGHT* be useful 3 to 5 years from now.

HDDVD? Blu-ray? Another scam. Yes, there are certain recent blu-ray releases that look mighty nice. But if you want to watch Blazing Saddles (and who doesn't?) all the technology in the world is not going to create resolution that wasn't there in the first place. Again, this stuff has been upconverted. Pixels that were not recorded there in the first place are filled in by a graphics "engine", that thinks about the color of the pixels next to it and makes a best guess of what it should be. The picture looks quite nice, but I dare you to tell me an upconverted 1080 signal is discernable from an upconverted 780 signal. It just isn't gonna happen. Want a bigger picture? Sit closer. This is really what they are selling you. The current technology is amazing, but the truth is it's no more useful than the big freznel lenses they used to sell in the 70's to make a 13" picture look like it was 21". Or the colored lens (blue sky, green middle, red bottom) that could turn a black-and-white TV into color.

It's hype. It may be incredible in a few years, but there isn't any source material of worth right now.

I can buy a recent action flick in widescreen SD DVD for maybe $12.99 at Target. Looks good to me, on a Benq home theatre projector that cost me nearly $5000 several years ago. I could also pay $25.99 for the Blu-ray version, if it's available. Problem is, the movie may suck. I thought Transformers was a funny, okay movie in a popcorn sort of way -- but some added fake engine-created resolution would not have justified paying more than double for a Blu-ray realease.

Movies that I *know* are great, are, because of my age, just plain old. Touch of Evil, Two Mules for Sister Sarah, Apocolypse Now, or The Big Lebowski are not going to look any better on Blu-ray or on a 10-bit LCD panel.

2. WHERE are you watching and WHEN ??

Do you just want to see movies, and can you dedicate a room for viewing, such that all lights are off and sun isnt' pouring through windows? Do you need to wathc the nightly news?

It's important to think about, because phenomenal results can be had for fairly cheap with DLP projectors. But they aren't very bright, and they don't get along very well with SD broadcast 4:3 television. Viewable, but not incredible. It's where I'm at currently, although a flat-panel LCD (probably Bravia) is in the near future.


Keep doing your research and keep an open mind. Establish your goal and work from there.

The main thing I'm trying to relate in my winded way, is that you can spend huge amounts of money right now for technology that only looks good in the store. When you get it home and attempt to watch the things you want to watch, you find out that it doesn't even look as good as a $350 32" CRT.

best-

-steve

[muntu]

my samsung dlp has been playing steady and strong for 3 yrs...i've been told that samsung comes up with later and later versions....i bought mine from sears when they first came out so i guess i have version 1.....maybe i've been lucky..when i compare my tv to tv's playing at costco or sears my picture looks just as good as those fancy plasmas and lcd's...but i did pay a fortune for mine as can be expected when new technology hits the market.

[Stroked & Stoked]

My Samsung is about 4 years old. Bought it with a total of 5 years warranty and last year (Year 3) the light wheel went out. No cost for a prompt in home repair. Tech said it would have been >$500 if it had been out of pocket.

[swh22]

I did some research on this and we took our first step into the big screen / HD market. I decided to go with Plasma for various reasons - here are a couple of the tips I learned:

Picture quality - 1. Pioneer, 2. Panasonic, 3. Samsung
- all 3 are good
- Pioneer is much more expensive
- Panny and Samsung are very similar except for the next point below

Customer service - Samsung is NOT good (which agrees with others in this thread)

720 vs 1080 - go to a couple different stores and look at the two next to each other. I could tell a small difference, mostly when there was text on the screen, you could see the 720 looked a little "blocky". Yeah they aren't perfectly setup at a store but you'll still get the idea.

Price - you are still paying a premium for 1080 right now even though there really isn't anything to watch in 1080.

How are you going to use it - I wanted something with a great picture and a big screen for about $1,500 or less, most bang for the buck. Was debating between a Panny 42" 1080p and a Panny 50" 720p, basically the same price. Looked at the two next to each other and a 50 is huge compared to a 42 but there was minimal difference between 720 and 1080.

My final decision was a 50" Panasonic 720p. If you keep an eye out for sales at Sears they will drop to 1500 for a couple weeks and then back up to like 1800 or 2k.

Lots of websites out there with discussions on this, I think one of the ones I was reading was avsforum.com

Hope that helps,
Steve

[muntu]

hey,did you have any symptoms prior to loosing the light wheel? once or twice i've had my screen on my samsung dlp come up with a purple look to it at start up [purple picture]...if i turn it off and back on it comes up normal.wonder if my light is starting to go south....dug up my paper work and this tv was bought 4/14/04....remember being told that putting in a new light wheel was as easy as changing a light bulb...guess i'll google cost of a new light wheel and get prepared....did just that...$198.00..not bad...that $800 mentioned earlier scared me !!

[FloridaEd]

I bought one a couple of months ago, a 42" LCD 720i Vizio from Sam's Club for just under $900.

Here's the reasoning behind MY purchase... you may have different ideas.

1. I bought LCD because plasma puts off a LOT of heat. And I not only have to pay for the electricity to heat the plasma, I have to pay for electricity to cool the house, which doubles the actual amount of electricity I have to pay for.

2. I bought 720 because an engineer at a local TV station said no station in our area was broadcasting in 1080 and would not for many years to come.

3. Consumer Reports says paying the extra for 1080 is a waste unless the TV is larger than 50" nominal screen size.

4. I don't like the reflections off the plasma screen. I live in a house where we leave a lot of windows unshaded. My friend down the road bought a plasma and he had to have new shades installed... the old blinds made too many reflections on his screen.

5. I bought a cheap(er) unit because I believe we are in the infancy of the development of these units and I don't want to stick several grand into a top-end Sony (or the like) only to have the hots to buy something new in a few years. The 32" Toshiba tube-TV that this Vizio replaced had lasted us from 1995... and I gave it to a sister-in-law 'cause it was still working fine.

6. What I REALLY want is a projector TV, like used in business presentations, and I'm just lurking around, waiting for them to get a lot better and cheaper, and the Vizio goes into the bedroom.

7. I did not consider the DLP units because Consumer Reports says they have a repair history about 4 times as great as plasma or LCD.

Florida Ed

[Larry S.]

remember being told that putting in a new light wheel was as easy as changing a light bulb...guess i'll google cost of a new light wheel and get prepared....did just that...$198.00..not bad

This may be the projector bulb. My Samsung came with instructions for replacing the bulb. I suspect the color wheel is a bit more complex. I've been told that a failing color wheel typically has a a squealing bearing sound.

When I bought my Samsung DLP there were only three manufacturers of DLP sets. I think it was Philips, RCA and Samsung. The Samsung looked the best so that's what I bought. Don't remember how many year ago that was but the set has been working flawlessly since new.

[KINGTUT]

The main problem with rear projection LCD's and DLP's is failure of the "light engine", not the bulb, which is a relatively easy repair. When the light engine goes, it is a thousand dollar job.......might as well dump it and buy another one.

[Stroked & Stoked]

[QUOTE=Larry S.;1513917]This may be the projector bulb. My Samsung came with instructions for replacing the bulb. I suspect the color wheel is a bit more complex. I've been told that a failing color wheel typically has a a squealing bearing sound.

I watched the tech replace the color wheel in my Samsung and it was real straight forward. Yes - a squealing sound was the failure mode. When I called in and described it they knew right off what was the problem.

[Gumbeaux]

The light engine and the light wheel are two separate pieces. The light engine is essentially the entire guts of the TV. As stated, it's generally not worth replacing.

I paid $500 for the extended waranty and thus far it has saved me two $800 repairs within 4 months of each other. When you get a new light engine from Samsung, they only warranty the part for 3 months. Of course, my second light engine failed about a week after that.

You would expect a lot more from an $800 part, and you would expect a lot more from a company like Samsung. It is an epidemic with the model of TV I have. I did some research and they all fail in between 12 and 14 months, requiring the $800 repair. Even the guy contracted to come do the repairs said these TV's are junk.

The picture is awesome when it works though. However, when it fails again, I won't fix it this time, warranty or not. It's not worth the hassle. I'll junk it and buy a new one locally with a replacement warranty.

[muntu]

well,i've learned alot here but have nothing bad to say about my tv....its the small one ..46" and the picture is as good as the day i bought it....i remember the salesman saying only one thing could go wrong and that was the bulb.4 yrs ago only texas instruments were putting out the dlp bulb but i see on google there is a choice of 4 manufactures now.may my engine last forever!!!! i paid $2900 4 yrs ago and that would be a large hit.

[hapaschold]

on my 2nd sony 60 in lcd rear projection.....srx ? 02 sony was damaged from lightning.
also have a 42in panasonic plasma in master bed. about 3 years old now.

both look much better now with new 4mpeg dishnetwork receivers.......