Better than bestbuy.com deal, 55 inch HDTV

[fatbaby]

Projection tvs have a better price/size ratio than comparably sized direct view tube tvs. Thats why projection is the way to go for 40" and up (starting at $1200 for proj). 40" tube tvs (i think the only one out there is the sony xbr which has a whopping $2500 price tag) are quite expensive.

Projection tvs will be the cheapest hdtvs. But it certainly doesn't defeat the purpose of getting an hdtv. Just go to bestbuys or goodguys and compare a projection hdtv to an analog direct view tubes. Obviously, the hdtv will have better picture quality.

But if you are aiming for BEST picture quality, you will want a lcd projector (the kind movie theaters use), which will cost roughly $5k and up (more for an hdtv one). For that, you'll also need a computer and a screen ($2k and up, screens are $$$.)

So if you want an hdtv right now, your best bet is going for a projection.

 

[ShynnSw33tx]

Where can I get an LCD Projector, I asked best buy and they said they don't sell them..... And aren't projection tvs really hard to see at an angle compared to tube tvs?

 

[cisco]

Being a PTV/TV technician by trade I had to comment here:

I have a 60" PTV and a 55" HDTV and have compared many HDTVs and can definitely say that a direct view (tube set) looks better.
be aware that a projection TV projects the picture through fluid (inside the 3 CRT assemblies) and off a mirror then through fresnel and lentic screens. because the picture is projected through fluid and off a mirror.
keeping the fluid & mirror clean is very important, also making sure all three CRTs (red, blue & green) are focused and converged properly.

I can hook my Computer to either PTV since both have svideo inputs and the HDTV has a VGA connection, I cannot read words on my non HD 60" PTV but can definitely read words on the HDTV due the the better resolution,
but it still has a fuzzy look compared to a direct view TV.

I'm sure some high end HDTVs do look better than mine (no brands mentioned here) , but if they are projected through fluid the chances are
they will look fuzzy close up..
also be aware some of the newer PTVs have 9"
crts while the older ones have 7" tubes , this also helps the picture.
just my personal experience,

 

[Wooster]

VisionsUCI:


<< wooster... am i correct to assume that your deal was one of a kind? >>



Yes, it's one of a kind. But they do often post it online. Summer is coming, it's big season for moving. You might find more deal locally. Good luck.

 

[mcharkowski]

BTW - Has anyone taken a look at the Rear Projection DLP sets? Pretty amazing if you ask me. I saw one at Tweeter the other day and the resolution and clarity was unbelievable (as was the price, $8k). Should be cheap enough eventually, though, given economies of scale, if people buy enough of them. The DLP chips are made pretty much the way silicon chips are so they should be pretty cheap to manufacture, and we all know how the price of processor chips has dropped with quantity of sales.

 

[mpjohnst]

Agree with above... I talked with the TI rep at CES and the price of the rear projection DLP sets have dropped big time in only one stepping of the chip. From what I have been told, they will be coming out with new stepping about every 9 months. They already have a new 16:9 DMD that will be coming to market shortly (the first gen 16:9 just came out about 6 months ago!). Hopefully that means the prices will drop as fast as processors and video cards too

 

[deeznuts]

<< Being a PTV/TV technician by trade I had to comment here:

I can hook my Computer to either PTV since both have svideo inputs and the HDTV has a VGA connection, I cannot read words on my non HD 60" PTV but can definitely read words on the HDTV due the the better resolution,
but it still has a fuzzy look compared to a direct view TV. >>


well what do you expect? are you comparing a CRT to a HDTV? what size is the crt? 36"? 32"? of course it is clearer on the CRT, it is smaller. with PTV's they can be made t look excellent, but they need more tweaking than a tube tv. i suggest anyone who buys one, read up on tweaking it (search for "AVIA" on google, it is a DVD that helps you do this) or having an ISF technician come out and tweak it.



<< I'm sure some high end HDTVs do look better than mine (no brands mentioned here) , but if they are projected through fluid the chances are
they will look fuzzy close up..
also be aware some of the newer PTVs have 9"
crts while the older ones have 7" tubes , this also helps the picture.
just my personal experience, >>



big screens are not made to be watched up close. one thing i must comment on about tube vs. rptv. i do not know of any tube tv's that can fully resolve High Definition signals. even most projection TV's cannot resolve them. only RPTV's with 9" guns can fully resolve all the detail in a HD image. TUbes don't even come close, i think only 800 or so lines, compared to 1080. thats one consideration right there.

also, if you are going to buy any type of HDTV, be it RPTV or CRT (tube), get a progressive scan DVD player, and use the component output. best buy would be a panasonic RP56 which would run only around $250 or so, and has excellent picture quality.

fatbaby, LCD's are not the best projectors!!!! i repeat, LCD's are not the best projectors!!!!!! the best projectors would be crt projectors, but those are expensive, dim, and need to be converged all the time. LCD's are nice and bright, but usually have the problem called Screen Door, where you can actually see the pixel structure of the LCD. each projector has varying degrees of this, and affects each person different. next is DLP's, which have almost no screen door, but suffer from the "rainbow effect" because of using a color wheel with only one DLP. when the 3 DLP's come out, they will be better but are expensive. next is DILA, which is the best digital projector. but is expesnive, and gets really hot.

if you are serious about buying any HDTV, or projector, i suggest visiting this forum http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/ ugly setup but great information. their projector forum is great.