Tell me about your fabulous HD-TVs

[Linderbee]

You will get to the point where A) you only watch your HD channels and B) not go to people's house for viewing things if they dont have HD.

Yes, I can attest that Nick does not care to come over to my place if there is ANYTHING on tv that he might want to watch.

He's been really good about it, though. I just know it is hard for him.

 

[Pariah]

I just know it is hard for him.

And that's why he comes over.

:badum:

Don't forget to tip your servers.

 

[Linderbee]

And that's why he comes over.

:badum:

Don't forget to tip your servers.

Damn skippy!

 

[LVCARDFREAK]

My oldest boy worked in tv sales for best buy for a while. He says Panasonic Plasma or Samsung LCD are best bets.

Of course I tend to favor Samsung products because they have a large plant here in Austin. Gotta support the local economy.

Thats what I have a Panasonic 42' Plasma and I love it. No burn in or glare, great viewing from any angle.

I also have a 52' Samsung Plasma I recieved when I bought my new house. Very nice picture and great viewing from any angle. Gets burn in pretty quick however but seems to disappear after 5-10 minutes.

 

[Shane]

So Jersey has this been resolved yet? Did you buy it or were you blowing smoke?

 

[dreamcastrocks]

So Jersey has this been resolved yet? Did you buy it or were you blowing smoke?

She bought a Samsung.

Thank you all for your input. Just ordered a Samsung 1080p 46" LCD. It will be installed in time for the Super Bowl. I am rather psyched!

 

[SuperSpck]

I've got a 42" Hitachi (plasma) from my days as a Best Buy employee. Discount + Accommodation (think extra discount) = Willing to risk Hitachi.

So far, it's been pretty dynamite. I've not bothered to compare reviews on it and other models. At the end of the day, I'm thrilled with the purchase and love soaking in HD. That's the most easily forgotten aspect for tech heads like myself.

 

[KloD]

Some day I'll get one, but I still love my HD 3000 lumen projector. 80" widescreen, haven't been to a movie theater since I got it. Anyone make that switch? Are you glad you did?

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Some day I'll get one, but I still love my HD 3000 lumen projector. 80" widescreen, haven't been to a movie theater since I got it. Anyone make that switch? Are you glad you did?

My next TV will most likely be a projector. The ones that I have been eyeballing have been around 4k though.

 

[KloD]

My next TV will most likely be a projector. The ones that I have been eyeballing have been around 4k though.

This is my 3rd. The first I sold to upgrade, the 2nd an old roommate watched like 16 hours of TV a day burning out the color wheel, cost was stupid to fix, so I got the 3rd about 18 months ago. Obviously the drawback is the replacement bulb prices, but we average about 10 hours a week on it between a movie or two and our few shows. So $300 every 2-3 years for the pleasure of having our own HD movie theater is worth it, especially since that's about what it cost to see one movie for 2 and some popcorn these days.

I'd like to get a 50" set down the road as the family gets older, don't want the kids hanging from a ceiling mounted projector or wasting bulb life by forgetting to turn it off. I'm hoping when it's time that what I'm looking for is $50 by then!

 

[Duckjake]

I was looking at a Sony Bravia 32" LCD and the picture blurred any time there was movement on the screen. It was so bad that you couldn't read the credits at the end of a movie. Needless to say I didn't buy it.

So far I'm not that impressed with HD on the 32" LCD sets. Not much better than my sd, but digital, Toshiba 36" I've had for years.

 

[Goldfield]

I have the 73" Mitsubishi DLP. I didnt think HD was that big of a deal until now.

Now I wont watch anything that is NOT in HD.

 

[Goldfield]

I have the 73" Mitsubishi DLP. I didnt think HD was that big of a deal until now.

Now I wont watch anything that is NOT in HD.

Wow, I dont remember typing this. But it is still true!

 

[Duckjake]

I have the 73" Mitsubishi DLP. I didnt think HD was that big of a deal until now.

Now I wont watch anything that is NOT in HD.

Gave up on the LCD's and went with plasma. Now that's more like it.

Going to get a big DLP for the living room someday.

 

[Darth Llama]

Gave up on the LCD's and went with plasma. Now that's more like it.

Going to get a big DLP for the living room someday.

Interesting. I still prefer LCD myself.

I like Plasma, great picture, and slightly better color depth then LCD, but just too many problems. I don't want a TV that will burn out down the road. LCD's are just tricky because there seems to be no "middle ground." The TV either looks fantastic or it totally sucks. There are some good LCD's out there, it just takes some shopping. I guess I just don't get DLP, it looks like LCD only bigger and heavier. I have seen a few DLP TV's and they are nice, but I prefer LCD myself. I guess it's all a matter of taste.

 

[Duckjake]

Interesting. I still prefer LCD myself.

I like Plasma, great picture, and slightly better color depth then LCD, but just too many problems. I don't want a TV that will burn out down the road. LCD's are just tricky because there seems to be no "middle ground." The TV either looks fantastic or it totally sucks. There are some good LCD's out there, it just takes some shopping. I guess I just don't get DLP, it looks like LCD only bigger and heavier. I have seen a few DLP TV's and they are nice, but I prefer LCD myself. I guess it's all a matter of taste.

For me its simply a matter of price with the DLP vs LCD. The really large LCD's are just too expensive for a guy who just spent his life savings on Cardinals tickets.

 

[KloD]

For me its simply a matter of price with the DLP vs LCD. The really large LCD's are just too expensive for a guy who just spent his life savings on Cardinals tickets.

You do know that DLP's have a bulb that's about $300-$500 every 1000-1500 hours? Which means, while the quality may be nice, crisp, and bright when you get the thing home, it's picture quality and brightness will increasingly worsen with use.

 

[Darth Llama]

For me its simply a matter of price with the DLP vs LCD. The really large LCD's are just too expensive for a guy who just spent his life savings on Cardinals tickets.

Yeah, I don't have much argument there. They are over priced.

 

[Duckjake]

You do know that DLP's have a bulb that's about $300-$500 every 1000-1500 hours? Which means, while the quality may be nice, crisp, and bright when you get the thing home, it's picture quality and brightness will increasingly worsen with use.

What I've read is about 8000 hours. Where'd you hear the 1000-1500? That would be a big difference.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

What I've read is about 8000 hours. Where'd you hear the 1000-1500? That would be a big difference.

My Mitsubishi lamp lasted about 2700 hours. It was horrible. The Sony that I have is supposed to last 7500 hours.

 

[KloD]

I've got 6 of those horrible DLP's at my office. They claim 2000-4000 hours, but half life is when you change them due to loss of brightness and clarity. I'd say take what they claim is the lamp life and expect to change it at about 25-50% of that. My old projector was a DLP, it claimed 4000 hours per lamp, but the reality was it needed to be changed at 1500 hours. Sure it continued to display a picture, but the clarity and brightness had degraded enough that I had to replace it. Now I just use the new projector for movies or to watch an occasional game.

I'm just suggesting based on my expirence with them that it's better to spend the extra $1k now then to deal with replacing lamps. The other problem I've run into, after a few years the bulb is no longer produced, at least not in the quantity they were when the set first came out. So they become harder to find and the cost goes up. I had to scrap one projector after 5 years because I couldn't find a bulb for under $650 and we deemed it better to buy a new projector than a nw bulb.

One more thing, I had the color wheel go out in my old DLP projector after 2 years, I had paid $1k for the projector new. But they wanted $800 to fix it. Yes, I sold it for parts on eBay.

 

[Duckjake]

I've got 6 of those horrible DLP's at my office. They claim 2000-4000 hours, but half life is when you change them due to loss of brightness and clarity. I'd say take what they claim is the lamp life and expect to change it at about 25-50% of that. My old projector was a DLP, it claimed 4000 hours per lamp, but the reality was it needed to be changed at 1500 hours. Sure it continued to display a picture, but the clarity and brightness had degraded enough that I had to replace it. Now I just use the new projector for movies or to watch an occasional game.

I'm just suggesting based on my expirence with them that it's better to spend the extra $1k now then to deal with replacing lamps. The other problem I've run into, after a few years the bulb is no longer produced, at least not in the quantity they were when the set first came out. So they become harder to find and the cost goes up. I had to scrap one projector after 5 years because I couldn't find a bulb for under $650 and we deemed it better to buy a new projector than a nw bulb.

One more thing, I had the color wheel go out in my old DLP projector after 2 years, I had paid $1k for the projector new. But they wanted $800 to fix it. Yes, I sold it for parts on eBay.

Thanks for the info. Having experienced the Plasma for a few days and an LCD for a few months and given the problems we're having with Directv's multi-switch devices I'm going to wait until my SD TV in the living room no longer works to change that one.

 

[Covert Rain]

Thanks for the info. Having experienced the Plasma for a few days and an LCD for a few months and given the problems we're having with Directv's multi-switch devices I'm going to wait until my SD TV in the living room no longer works to change that one.

I also have a Mits. DLP. I love the TV. However, like many others the factory bulb doesn't last as long as advertised. I spoke to a few TV techs I know and they confirmed what the "hired" Mits tech told me.

The Factor bulbs in those things go through hell before they even reach the TV. Then by the time those hit the floor etc. it impacts their life. I was told by multiple techs that the factory bulbs don't last long and that the replacements on average have been lasting just under double the life of the factory bulbs which is much closer to advertised bulb life.

I bought a free bulb replacement warranty that gives me 3 free bulbs. So to me DLP was more then worth it. By the time I am out of my free bulb replacement, the price of the bulbs will have come down. I also will probably be in the market for something new. IMO you cannot beat DLP in a price for performance comparison.

By the way what problems were you having with your DTV multi-switches? They had to come and replace mine and ever since then, I have been getting the dreaded pixelized picture drop out. Never happened on my old powered multi-switch. However, they installed a passive (non powered) multi-switch and ever since then I have been having the issue on occasion.

 

[KloD]

The lamps don't come down in price, they only get more expensive as they become more rare. They stop producing them eventually, but as you said, it will probably be time to get a new unit by then.

 

[Fiasco]

My 60" Panasonic LCD's original bulb is still going strong almost five years now.