HT Television Choice Confusion!

dkg999

I want to upgrade the television in my HT sometime in the next 6 mos. Currently I have a Sony 27" Wega, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with the picture, I just desire a big screen TV. When looking at large screen TV's, it just seems like there are too many choices! The old-technology RPTV's with CRT's are starting to go at bargain prices, but are big and heavy. I hear that the new DLP and LCD RPTV's have some picture quality issues that haven't been worked thru yet, but I love the fact that they are thin & light. I just don't currently like the $1000 to $1500 premium for the DLP and LCD over the CRT versions. It also looks like plasma TV's are getting set to take a major price drive now that the technology initiatives are recouped and they want to gain market share.

Can someone give me some advice or websites that cover these issues? Maybe it's just time to hold on the purchase for a while?
Help!

movieguy

i feel your pain. we were in love with the sony grand wega 42 inch widescreen dlp , unbelievable picture. at 4000.00 canadian it was a little extreme price wise. we finally decided on a 46 inch hitatchi widescreen which was on sale for 2000.00 canadian (months before we saw it for 3995.00 plus the stand) the sale price included the stand , we have been extremely happy with this t.v , and it's lighter and thinner then you'd guess. i agree with you that plasma and dlp technology will become less expensive in the very near future, but this is causing the rear projections to come down dramatically also. just depends how long you want to wait . personally i'm glad we grabbed this t.v . it's a top of the line rear projection , i think i'd rather have that than a bottom of the pile plasma , just mho.

madmax

It is my guess that as the LCD flatscreens get larger (now at 37" I think) the plasmas will go way down in price. The LCD's are so much better. I'm watching for the plasma prices to take the plunge, hopefully in the next year or two.
madmax

scottvamp

Just bought and did all the research.
Toshiba 65HX83/93 - $2600
WILL beat the picture quality and reliability of any monitor on the market including plasma. My jaw is still on the ground.
Discovery HD is better than REAL life.
This is the TV that won the Home Theater Mag's HDTV shootout in the Febuary issue - and these units are getting very hard to find.
Converts all 480's to 520 and all 720's to 1080i. And virtual 1080 on DVD.
Toshiba 65" Widescreen HDTV

dkg999

I don't have room for a 60", I was looking for something in the 46" to 52" range. Are all the Toshiba's as good as the 60"?

scottvamp

Sorry though you wanted a BIG screen. I downsized from an 11 footer. It was between the Tosh and Hitachi.
What I have not heard anyone one mention is all the new technologys have parts that may have problems mechanically not to mention the rampup times, $400 bulb replacments and the loud distracting fans in all of this units DLP, LCD and the other "CHIPS." Just saw the brand new RCA top of the line DLP unit and it was not very impressive compared to my Tosh. And it was double the price.

jefft1314

Check out the hitachi s500 series. Pretty killer big screen for a rptv, it's certainly more expensive than any others, but that's cause it's the best. I think you can get it in 51 inches, otherwise there's a hitachi that's 46 inches with or without a built in dvd player which would be a good choice. The s500 is regarded as one of the best rear projection tv's on the market.

movieguy

hitatchi 46f500. you will not be dissapointed (hitatchi makes the guns that are in most of the other manufacturers t.v.s by the way.)
it's a 46 incher but chrystal clear, in the right room it looks huge as well.

scottvamp

Actually Hitachi's DIRECTORS Series are thier best and very pricey. But for the best units in the industry Pioneer Elites kill everything but you pay. For the $$$ my Tosh wins hand down and like I said it won the HT's Mag's HDTV shootout in Febuary and it was very extensive review.

kberg

Originally posted by scottvamp
I downsized from an 11 footer. It was between the Tosh and Hitachi.

Hey Scott, what's up? Or am I missing something?

Front TV projectors

"Once you go FP there is no going back." ???

scottvamp

Well - personal reasons have forced me sell and downsize alot of my equipment. I may be having to rent a home that will not allow me to have a DEDICATED theater which is my reference to Front Projection in the HT world.

kberg

gotcha - so, given a choice, you're still in greater support of a decent projector (like you had before) as opposed to what you have now? I only ask because I am researching the projector option for a dedicated HT room I'll have in my basement.....one day. There's something about having an 8 foot display from a projector suspended from the ceiling that REALLY interests me.

scottvamp

Ya - when that oneday comes, you will be glad you did the research and believe me you will love Front Projection. The FP's get cheaper and have better picture quality as the days go by. So fast that I had to sell mine asap to get some money out of it.

LuSh

movieguy -- Hitachi DOESN'T make the CRT's in most of todays market TV's, a person at BEST BUY or FUTURE SHOP told you that. They haven't made crt tube TV's for the North American market for years. Toshiba along with Sony and other players outsource to a compay called Crowning Lenses for all the lenses on the market. The actual CRT "gun" is usually a design made "in-house" for higher scale TV.

The F series from Hitachi is a nice entry level TV. Pioneer Elite was king, but have totally pulled out of the RPTV market in favor of a full blown Plasma push. You can no longer buy a brand new Elite series TV in the North American market period. Toshiba along with Hitachi have stuck with the RPTV market. And could be considered the big players, the majority of their's focus is on higher source feeds. A Sony TV will usually work better with weaker sources. Like anything in life there is no perfect product.

I'd suggest finding out the individual strength's of each company and then determine if they follow suite with your needs. Toshiba on a cable feed will probably perform the worse in any catagory of RPTV they openly admit they spend very little time in trying to do good upconversions with weak sources.

Consider putting aside $200-$400 for a proper ISF calibration. The settings on the stock TV's are usually to bright, with terrible grey scales. This cannot be changed with the remote or menu settings.

dkg999

Thanks everyone for the advice. Sorry about my definition of "big screen", to me a 46" is a big screen compared to my current 27"!

I think it is down to the Toshiba and the Sony RPTV's. I'm not sure that paying a $1000 to $1500 premium for the DLP or the LCD RPTV's is worth it a this time. I also agree that the Plasma's are going to take a big price drop over the next 18 mos. From a marketing perspective, they have to drop their prices to keep gaining market share. They will need to price the DLP and LCD RPTV technology out of the market. Now that they have recouped some of the R&D investment, they are in a position to expand their market niche. With 51" CRT RPTV's now getting down around $1200 with 0% financing, picking one of these up is probably the best deal. I'll let the rest of the technologies sort it out and then move up!

acdds

Bought a Hitachi 57F500 at Christmas time. Final price with all rebates/incentives was $1458 w/ delivery at Sears. The pictures still amazes me. I just didn't think that difference in picture quality justified the price difference b/w DLP, LCD and Plasma. I actually think the Rear projection TV's have a better picture in a proper light controlled room. I would at least look at the 46 and 51 inch F and S series from Hitachi.

NCrewson

Lush,

Actually Hitachi DOES make the CRT guns in most rpj TVs. The only notable exception is Sony. They do not, however, make the lenses for other manufactures. They make the lenses for their own TVs but will not sell them to other manufactures. You are correct that Hitachi hasn't made a CRT tube TV in North America for years but they do still make CRTs for rpj.

Nathan