Looking for a new DLP TV...

[coolcobramatt]

I still love my plasma baby

 

[Pcar928fan]

I still love my plasma baby

I still love mine too. It is probably not on more than 1 hour a day at MOST and it is about 3 years old. It is a Sony "monitor" 42" and I got a smokin' deal on it and it is still quite nice! I do look forward to putting 55" or more of 1080p rez in its place by the end of the year if all goes well though. Then the 42" will go out to the garage for the HT system out there. The 928's need to watch SOMETHING while I am away at work! LOL! :rocker:

 

[David Prall]

:banghead: AARGH!!! TV's today are frustrating!

Are you getting lonesome for the day when all you had to decide on was screen size, and then choosing between black and white or color?

 

[coolcobramatt]

:banghead: AARGH!!! TV's today are frustrating!

Are you getting lonesome for the day when all you had to decide on was screen size, and then choosing between black and white or color?

TV's came in black and white?

 

[Sambob2]

I wouldnt buy a Samsung simply because I would not buy any a/v product from someone who also makes a microwave and dishwasher.

Keep in mind, Samsung is a huge company. I worked at a service center for a little while (less than a year as a temp position between career jobs) and I have to say I was impressed by the company and its staff while there.

Samsung does indeed make microwaves, TV's, refrigerators (and refrigerators with whole house control wireless computer/home interface) and much more. The engineers and administrative staff are specialized in each area as a separate unit within the same building. There is some cross-fucntional knowledge (for the most part, electronics are electronics when you have the schematic in front of you for troubleshooting over the phone with a service technician) however they are seperate departments. I do recall performinging set function tests and interface compatibility on some of the new unreleased LCD and plasma sets while smelling something real good cooking in the microwave kitchen down the hall. In addition, after my experience there, I would consider Samsung to have a very aggressive interest in being the leader.

Personally I own an XBR-36 CRT Sony which I love, but I would and still entertain the idea of giving Samsung a serious look when the time comes for the next set.

Also do not go by the "look" of a picture right off the showroom floor. I think most of us here know that TV's are tuned to the blue side to make the image pop out at us and grab our attention. If you've read through some reviews you know how off calibration the "as received" color levels can be. We're not talking about the focus or sharpness or the sets ability to distinguish shades of grey and dark level detail from each other...only the color levels of each primary color.

We as consumers can use a DVD to do basic calibrations however this will not allow us to get into the service menu of the set. The service menu contains a lot of extra settings which require some specialized measurement equipment. To access this menu requires a special sequence of button pressing on your remote and then a code to enter this service menu. I am not a expert at this, I just picked up on all this while working at Samsung for my short 9 months.

Try a consumer level calibration DVD first then if not satisfied yet have a certified ISF (Imaging Science Foundation) calibration (color levels, focus, grey level, drive, geometry, more)...nowadays probably about $300 or so. By the way the availability to change these settings vary depending on what type of set it is, LCD, CRT, Plasma...

Now not all of us are going to go through with the ISF calibration but it can give you a better reference to judge your set to another by.

Just a thought...or my .02

 

[DrJRapp]

Let me try to address the original subject.

I've owned a Samsung 6187 rpdlp set since December. We abslutely love the punchy colors and contast. It was a bit overly bright at first but that only lasted about 20 hours. No rainbow effects noted by my family. If I needed a new set today, I would purchase the same or it's latest version.

 

[bober]

While Samsung TVs have a good overall framework, they by far have the least accurate image out of the box out of any manufacturer. In order to be ISF Calibrated, the TV's color temperature must read 6,500k. Samsung TVs, as told by the ISF certified calibrator in my store read 16,000k color temperature out of the box. Thats quite a ways off, and damaging to the internal components of the TV.

According to the same ISF calibrator that we have in my store, the new Panasonic higher end plasmas and the Pioneer Elites are the ones you will see the least improvement on if calibrated, which is because their out of the box settings are already quite close to 6500k.

I honestly wouldn't consider Samsung TVs if I was shopping for a new one. The color isn't as much of a problem as their internal scaler and processor is. It is pretty low-end even on their higher priced TVs. If I could afford a flat panel plasma I'd either go with a Pioneer (doesn't even have to be the elites), a Panasonic th50/58z700/750u, or the Hitachi Director's series. If i was going with an LCD, I'd go for the Sony XBR line, or the new Sharp 92 series. If i was to go with a rear projection I really don't think I'd consider anything but Sony, assuming I had the cash for one.

Of course, this is from seeing these TV's in my store just about every single day. I've only seen a few in people's homes when doing installations.

 

[Pcar928fan]

If I could afford a flat panel plasma I'd either go with a Pioneer (doesn't even have to be the elites), a Panasonic th50/58z700/750u, or the Hitachi Director's series. If i was going with an LCD, I'd go for the Sony XBR line, or the new Sharp 92 series.

If you are looking to hang it on the wall the above suggestions are THE BEST! Well, ok, there maybe some Runco stuff or something else that is about 3X the cost of those that is moderately better, but these are the best of what I would call the consumer grade TV's. I will be doing a 55"+ version of one of these by the end of the year if things go well.

 

[mbergs9]

Thanks for the input guys...

The goal here is bang for the buck. Trying to squeeze as many inches as I can get without breaking the bank. I would love a high-end plasma or LCD, but I'd rather save that money and put into the sound

I did go to Best Buy the other day just to check out some of the sets they have there. I was not surprised to see that they have much fewer rear-projection displays on display than they used to.

Of the ones I saw, I must say that I thought the Samsung slim 1080 and Toshiba had superior picture quality from the others. Of course, the feed in the big box stores is not the greatest.

That being said...the plasma and LCD screens were truly superior in quality and picture.

I'm now thinking that I will wait to upgrade my tv when I can afford a plasma bigger than 60". I have a DLP and I love the picture on it, but after seeing all those beautiful flat screen tvs...I just felt like the wait will be worth it.

 

[Pcar928fan]

The goal here is bang for the buck. Trying to squeeze as many inches as I can get without breaking the bank.

For max inches and best quality PQ with ALL signals (ie. the hardest to make look good is the SD pic, NOT the HD pic on these big bad 1080 TV's) pick the Toshiba top dog in 72" and don't look back. BE SURE to buy a GOOD extended warranty w/ that bad boy though! Always remember to NEGOTIATE w/ these guys, that means on the RPTV as well as the warranty and the other goodies like cables, etc!!!

 

[MotorToad]

The goal here is bang for the buck. Trying to squeeze as many inches as I can get without breaking the bank. I would love a high-end plasma or LCD, but I'd rather save that money and put into the sound

I kind of suspected that. A fortnight ago I spent the weekend watching a brand-new Mitsubishi DLP that was middle 50- or low 60-inch size, and it was a HUGE relief to get home to our little 42" LCD. I'd easily sacrifice some size for clarity and color.

 

[Pcar928fan]

I kind of suspected that. A fortnight ago I spent the weekend watching a brand-new Mitsubishi DLP that was middle 50- or low 60-inch size, and it was a HUGE relief to get home to our little 42" LCD. I'd easily sacrifice some size for clarity and color.

No offense to any Mitsu owners, but I looked at those and they SUCKED! The 73" model was just unwatchable! It was ok on HD but that was it. You literally could not get far enough away from the thing to make SD programming look even acceptable.