HDTV shopping
I've basically decided to get the Samsung HL-S6188W, probably from
Magnolia in Palo Alto or Santa Clara.
Samsung info follows; below that is archival info while I was still
undecided.
Child pages of this page:
DishNetwork deinterlace problem Home Theater Notes Samsung HDTV
Two threads at
www.avsforum.com: owners and discussion.
Discussion:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=626669
Owners:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=665890 Magnolia as a 30-day satisfaction/return policy with
no restock fee (but I have to get it to them somehow, no free pick-up!).
I think we have a winner. Prices
One buyer online says he got BB and CC competing with each other. The online
price for the TV he bought (61" or smaller?) was $2399. He got BB down to $2199
and took that price to CC which gave him $2080. That's 15% off the online sale
price. Warranties
Somebody who said he researched lots of warranties says RepairMaster
RMT55000/RMLMP3 has a 4-year warranty (that's 5 total) that includes up to
two lamps is $290.
You can get the RMT55000 plan for $190 from New World Video Direct and for
another $100 throw in the RMLMP3 3-yr lamp warranty. Go to their web site and
search under warrantys for "Plan G" - RMT55000/RMLMP3 for $290.
Mack warranty is $200 for items in this
price range, cheaper than CC or Magnolia.
XBOX 360
XBOX 360 outputs 1080p via component; Mitsubishi doesn't accept 1080p that
way.
DishNetwork
Dish HD is via HDMI not Component (yay!)
Stands:
Ikea OPPLI with Casters. $99.99. Somebody asked about thermal management; I'm
sure I could cut the back off or something. Might be too high too.
Link to item
BestBuy has something called "Bush" that works. $200 on sale.
Link to item
Archival information
I want to get HDTV this winter. Since I already have a 60" big-screen
rear-projection TV now, I have to get 60" or more in hi-def or I'll be
giving up more screen size than I want to.
A screen size of 60" or more means rear projection, because LCDs and plasmas
at that size are prohibitively expensive.
Sony's LCoS three-chip rear projector looked muddy to me next to a
white-lamp-based DLP when both were adjusted for their brightest showroom
pictures, and in general I'm sensitive to the way dark areas of LCD images tend
to go right to black. So I think DLP is the answer.
I wish I could use Samsung's LED-based DLP but they don't come in sizes above
57" or so. These use less power, have a light source with a longer life (no bulb
to replace), and should run cooler and possibly quieter. CNet is disappointed in
the image quality compared to other TVs in the price range.
At 60" or more I definitely want 1080p. I'm sure people can't tell the
difference between 720p and 1080p in smaller screen sizes, but I'm sure I will
be able to at 65". Also I want 1080p not 1080i even though it makes no
difference for film transfers: it does make a difference for games, and for TV
shot on video (e.g. live sports) when they start producing content at that
resolution.
In the table below I'm accumulating my notes about TVs I've seen or read
about. Some things are taken for granted unless noted: DLP, 1080p, rear
projection, enough inputs.
Things I don't care about: Memory card slots for showing still pictures,
cable card slots... More as I find them.
Model, size, vendor, price, date |
Notes |
Mitsubishi WD-65731, WD-65732, WD-65831, WD-Y65 - all 65" and
all share a user manual. 65732 at
Costco $3,000 with stand 11/22/2006
One person says 65831 was $2771 from factory with wait
One person says 65732 would be $700 less than $65831 (for what
difference?)
Another person sees $500 diff at Costco.
Another: a 732 in October for 2756+tax |
Oddly not reviewed very often. People comment on good
image quality but poor contrast and no deep blacks.
No 1080p on component, only on HDMI. This means best possible
XBOX 360 needs to wait for MS to produce HDMI out. (This might be quite
common.)
Jenny and I saw a Y65 at Circuit City and liked the way it handled
the score area of a basketball game without acne.
Has VGA in with a DVI-A adapter. Many split-screen options.
Y65 cons compared to the higher-end 732 and 831:
- has no iris adjustment, makes it do dark scenes worse
- has fewer inputs (but I think it has all I need)
- has non-disableable SharpEdge, which some say contributes to bad
artifacts on moving interlaced sources
- lacks PerfectTint which calibrators need (also 731 lacks this)
Video processing said to be better on 732; 732 and 831 are both
better but not identical.
Press "2 4 7 0 MENU" on the remote to see lamp operating hours. 10-30
is normal for new, more is questionable.
XBOX 360 outputs 1080p via component; Mitsubishi doesn't accept 1080p
that way.
On AVSForum I am working backwards; I am a few pages below page 212
of
this thread.
Page 192 has posts from UMR with his professional calibrator's view
of 831.
There is a page that lists all the Service Menu settings from one
owner's calibrated set.
Photos comparing SD on 732 and 831 are
here.
831 has a brighter bulb but the other one is bright enough. Has firewire on the front
but nobody cares. But UMR the calibrator says the 831
does better video processing after page 192.
Ultimate AV review of the 731:
http://ultimateavmag.com/rearprojec...731/index6.html
|
Samsung HL-S6187W and the HL-Sxx87W series generally
CNet shows the street price for 61" at $2,000 to $2,500.Circuit
City HL-S6187W thanksgiving sale $2,469 |
CNet likes this series better than JVC HD-xxFN97. No
picture-in-picture in the 87 line, only 88. Multiple
reviewers say it can't resolve all horizontal lines of 1080p or even
720p (even after turning off overscan? WTF?!). The HL-Sxx88W adds
picture-in-picture, firewire and
cable card but has identical performance. CNet calls it the best value
they've reviewed. CNet says it handles standard-def sources well. The
Samsung -86W series (and probably this one) uses five colors on the
color wheel, not 3: they added yellow and cyan. Some HP's use four
colors, including a dark green. The extra colors can limit the rainbow
effect. Six colors (two each of R, G, B) can improve things too. The
88W has PIP. I got Magnolia to give me a price on the 88W to match
Circuit City's 87W.
Use DishTV remote control code 738 for Samsung DLPs,
so volume works. Two threads at
www.avsforum.com: owners and discussion.
Discussion:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=626669
Owners:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=665890 Magnolia as a 30-day satisfaction/return policy with
no restock fee (but I have to get it to them somehow, no free pick-up!).
I think we have a winner. Mack warranty is $200 for items in this
price range, cheaper than CC. |
JVC HD-xxFN97
Costco $2,500 for 56"
Costco $4000 for 70" |
3-chip IDLA (JVC's version of LCoS) ... CNet says the
picture quality isn't quite up to the other rear-projections in its
class, like the Samsung HL-SxxyyW series. But they found it definitely
acceptable, including good shadow detail in the "crime scene" of
Unforgiven. |
Mitsubishi Diamond Series
Costco $3,000 for 57"
Costco $3,500 for 65"
Costco $5,000 for 73" |
|
Mitsubishi Medallion Series
Costco $2,500 for 57"
Costco $3,000 for 65"
Costco $4,700 for 73" |
|
Panasonic PT-61DLX76 |
CNet thinks this set is just average. Lots of
connectivity but not great picture quality. Light blacks. Poor 3:2
pulldown. Other picky image-quality problems. Not recommended. |
JVC HD-xxFH95 series |
LCoS 3-chip display. CNet says it's good but has some
flaws. Bad with 480i sources (but I don't think I'll be using any);
doesn't take 1080p inputs; slow to change inputs (but I won't be doing
that a lot). Not recommended. |
HP MD6580n |
CNet is pretty impressed, but it's an old machine. Not
at many retailers. |
Mitsubishi WD-62628 |
CNet likes the features but is disappointed in the
picture quality. |
Samsung HL-R6768W |
Older model than the 87W series; non-defeatable edge
enhancement. |
Sony KDS-R60XBR1 |
LCoS. Blacks not as good as DLPs. No 1080p input. Good
connectivity and features, good blacks. |
Toshiba 62HM196
BestBuy $2500
November 22 2006Price club has 62HM116 that includes stand |
Consumer Reports loves this model. Ultimate A/V thinks
it's pretty OK but not orgasmic. Has no 1080p input at all -
component or HDMI. Only 1080i. (Makes
no difference for film sources, only possible difference is for games
and 1080p
shot on video.) Don't know about color wheel details. It has
split-screen picture-in-picture. (Have to run coax from satellite B
channel to an antenna input...) |
SONY series:
A2000
XBR1
XBR2 |
SXRD means LCoS. CNet reviews:
- A2000 has speakers on the bottom, not the sides
- A2000 has no PIP
- A2000 has no 1080p input
- Save separate settings for each input
- Lets you "save power" (and possibly extend bulb life) by
reducing light output 25% from the setup menu - other displays offer
more
- 2x HDMI with 1080p/60 (but not 1080p/24)
- 2x component in back and 1x component in front
- Poor 3:2 pulldown
- Computer display via DVI/HDMI is great and fills the screen at
1080p (with overscan) vs. others that can't take it(?). VGA input
doesn't fill the screen.
- Circuit City: $2,700
Older XBR1 has better standard-def performance, no 1080p input,
otherwise virtually identical.
- XBR2 has PIP
- 3x HDMI
- 2x component
- Newer 480i processing
- A more powerful bulb. (A2000 is already bright enough though.)
- Spare bulb which lists (today) at $300
- Light output reducer that improved shadow detail
- Runs an extra grand or more
|
Ratings sites: CNet, Sound & Vision, Home Theater Magazine.
Home Theater is worried about single-chip DLP with rainbows because they say
3-chip DLP is coming at the same price. But I only see that in their capsule
reviews, with no hint when real 3-chip DLP might arrive.
Besides Home Theater Magazine, check
Ultimate A/V Magazine with good buyer's guides.
ultimate AV
hometheatermag
guidetohometheater.com
avsforum
hdblog.net
Warranties
Somebody who said he researched lots of warranties says RepairMaster
RMT55000/RMLMP3 has a 4-year warranty (that's 5 total) that includes up to
two lamps is $290.
You can get the RMT55000 plan for $190 from New World Video Direct and for
another $100 throw in the RMLMP3 3-yr lamp warranty. Go to their web site and
search under warrantys for "Plan G" - RMT55000/RMLMP3 for $290.
XBOX 360
XBOX 360 outputs 1080p via component; Mitsubishi doesn't accept 1080p that
way.
DishNetwork
Dish HD is via HDMI not Component (yay!)
Stands:
Ikea OPPLI with Casters. $99.99. Somebody asked about thermal management; I'm
sure I could cut the back off or something. Might be too high too.
Link to item
BestBuy has something called "Bush" that works. $200 on sale.
Link to item
This page was last edited
April 26, 2008. |