Need advice on getting a projection t.v.
 

Well, my tax return finally came and now I've decided I want to buy a widescreen projection t.v. I really haven't done any research on this yet. I went to Best Buy today and almost bought the Sony 51" Widescreen Rear-Projection HDTV Monitor with 2-Tuner PIP and DVI Interface — KP-51WS500
for $1848. I was also debating on the Samsung 47" 16:9 Widescreen Rear-Projection HDTV Monitor with 2-Tuner Picture-In-Picture — HCL4715W, the only problem was that it looked on the red side. It's a lot cheaper though at $1449. Any one have any suggestions??? I'm a gamer so I want my Xbox and Ps2 games to look good. I watch a ton of dvd movies so progressive scan is very important to me since this is the main reason I'm upgrading my t.v. My wife is just going to have to get use to watching her WB shows on a widescreen t.v. Maybe if that guy on Smallville looked like he was 50 lbs bigger she stopped watching that show. Again, any advice on a good television for around the $1500 range would be appreciated. Thanks!

Cyberock,

I usually recommend mits for projection t.v.'s but what i chimed in to say are two other general points.

1) This is usually the time most manufacturers announce/release their new product line for 04. I would definitely check out to see their future offering before plunking down for a new tv. Buyers remorse may occur !

2) Buy as large as possible that you can afford. The only reason i say this is because these tv's have a tendency to "shrink" after a while. I understand that sometimes room's may not allow what you really want... but at least try =). Otherwise.... buyers remorse may occur !

as far as games are concerned, i have had a dreamcast, gamecube and ps2 connected to my set. most of them look ok, almost like directv quality. The image seemed the best for the gamecube but haven't had a chance to run it in 1080i. The ps2 looked pretty good too (especially gran turismo with the 16:9 mode). Remember always beware of burn in.

otherwise good luck in your hunt for the perfect tv.

Darth & Cyber, I too am beginning the quest for the best and largest TV I can get for under 2K. I have read on many sites that Mitsu is the cats meow, your comments are appreciated. Now to spend countless hours on reasearch, your points on buyers remorse is well taken.

What sites have you been reading? I'm trying to do research too but I haven't found any good sources yet.

If it's Mits you want to learn about then head on over to the HomeTheaterSpot.com. They have a forum with a heavy emphasis on Mits but do also cover the other brands. I have a Mits 55819 from last year and love it even more after doing the recommended tweaks from the Spot.

If you're into XBox then keep in mind that many sets will not display 720p natively. Some won't display it at all unless it's a broadcast feed and others will upconvert it to 1080i.

If you head over to the Spot read up on the Sony flicker problem many people are reporting before you purchase. About your comment regarding the Samsung looking too red; many of these set's have what is known as Red Push that on many brands can be resolved with some tweaking or a professional calibration. I had it on my Mits but there are different ways to remove it depending on the model.

If I had to put them in an order of the top brands I'd say Pioneer Elite, Mits after tweaking will look as good as the Pioneer, Toshibe and Panasonic tied for third and Hitachi. Keep in mind this is based on my opinion for performance as well as features. Some brands have better line doublers and others have better stretch modes. Some let you save different settings for each input. Some have 480p native displays for unconverted DVD progressive playback. So do your research and write down what's important to you as far as features since you might need to make compromises in some areas. Good luck.

I have to ge honest. I don't get all the stuff with like 480p. What does this all mean??? Not sure what to look for. I just know I want a good picture for my xbox and dvds.

Sorry I didn't realize you weren't up on the terminology. Unfortunately buying into HDTV is a lot more complicated than just picking out the picture that looks good in the showroom. There are many things you should learn so you're able to make an informed decision. Start with the FAQ at the top of this forum. Many questions can be answered there about the basics like 480p which means 480 horizontal lines in a progressive signal. There are also links to other explainations like Progressive Scan DVD Players and a technical terms glossary.

The Sony flicker problem I mentioned before is a defect in the CRTs on some of their sets. They're aware of the problem and will fix or replace your set if it's found to have this defect but some people are not happy about the way Sony is handling it. So buyer beware.

I really recommend you spend some time reading the forums over at Home Theater Spot and feel free to sign up and ask all the questions you want there. The people that post there are very friendly and go easy on the folks who are just learning without making you feel like an outsider and that you're unwelcome.

All of this research and learning new stuff might feel like overkill but in the end I think you'll find it's worth it when you're watching you're brand new big screen TV with the confidence that you made a smart purchase.

do the new mits models support DVI with HDCP? last i heard they still didn't. just a heads up for those who want the best shot at a set that will give them some future-proofing.

from what i've read the Hitachi and Toshiba models are excellent.

I might take my chances with the Sony. I found a great open box deal at Best Buy and I'll get the warranty so that will spare me the fear of the flicker problem. I'm stuck with Best Buy because I have $500 in gift certificates as a wedding gift.

Wow, great info, Chipmac, your detailed responses are appreciated. The 2 most helpful forums I've found are hometheaterspot and avsforums ( although I wish we could talk price in avsforum).

I too am limited to Best Buy, but for what I am looking for, that should be okay. Right now it looks to be between Mits & Toshiba, but that could change after the next forum review. The one question I have that I am having difficulty finding an answer to is; I have a large living room that gets a whole lot of light during the day, is there a brand that specializes in high light rooms?

get this one

hitachi swx5120b this tv rocks

do a search for it on stereophile :)

do a search on www.avsforum.com :D

this is the best tv around.

Honestly I saw a good introduction on DIY tv the other day about HT equipment.

Very informative gave you the basics. :)

1080i vs 1080p.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=207243

Check out this thread too.

High light rooms are never ideal for RPTVs and FPTV are even more critical. You'll need to be able to control the sunlightin someway thru blinds or shades. It doesn't need to be completely dark for RPTV like FPTV but too much light will wash out the image on screen. If you have small kids or animals you might need to keep the protective screen on the front but that increases glare. If taking it off is an option go for it since IMO you'll remove any glare and get an even better picture in subdued lighting.

Cyberock be careful with any openbox purchase. Make sure it's not a floor model that's been running in high contrast mode for months at a time or a customer returned model that has been doing the same thing for a few months in somebody's home. This could lead to burn in and if your set has it the burn in is not covered under warranty.

do the new mits models support DVI with HDCP? last i heard they still didn't. just a heads up for those who want the best shot at a set that will give them some future-proofing.


Well, we are still waiting out the final call, but the new mits appear to have a DVI port which they call Monitorlink. Its not sure whether it support HDCP or whether its a proprietary port which looks like DVI....

All the other points are well taken, including the reference to the spot. which is usually spot on!.

I wouldn't worry about 1080p quite yet, as there are only 1 RPTV and a few projectors which can do 1080p (all which are above 20+K).

i would like to caution on buying open box products, especially rear projection tv's.

As sweet as the warranty sounds, remember, they have to come out to your house, agree its a problem, and then wait for it to be authorized/parts delivered/ etc.

Warranties have their place an all, but i don't know about an open box tv. I wouldn't mind a dvd player or a vcr, but a TV? It being out would be a major bummer.

Well, I just returned from an exploratory outing to Best Buy, Good Guys, & Circuit City and my heads spinning. The snake at G Guys was well informed on Mits. I am feeling a little naive and disappointed to learn that Best Buy only carries the equivelent of the 55311( the base level)under a different model #, where as GG carries the top line models. He went on to tell me that Mits makes these "stripped down" versions for costco, sam's, best buy, etc. Did I mention he is paid commission? Anyway, I asked him the difference between their sets & Best Buy and it was 10 minutes before he stopped. According to him, the key features between the 311 and the 511 seem to be the back panel inputs.

I plan on hitting all forums to find out how great the difference is between the two. And of course while I was out my eye started to drift towards the Sony...

Chipmac, thanks for the info, unfortunately light control is a problem. My house has 20' cathedral ceilings with very large decorative windows from 10' up. Okay, back to work.

Ozzy the Mits at Best Buy are slightly modified but the differences are not that great from the posts over at the Spot. The things i remember hearing was that the protective shield was not anti-glare, the SVM was not defeatable in the user menu and the color decoder was not available to fix red push in 480i like the regular models. Keep in mind that if you plan on tweaking the Mits yourself or having it calibrated there is very little difference in PQ from t he low end to the high end. The major differences have to do with number of inputs and connectors and either built in tuners or not. The higher end models also have a much better antiglare shield but most people remove it if they can so that might not matter. The 311 has no HDTV tuner and firewire where the 511 does. I think BB calls them A55 and B55 respectively. It's a tough call on whether to buy the set with the tuner or without. If you get it the set costs more but you also get Firewire and HAVI control but you can't use the promise module if they decide to add DVI. If you get one without you might need to shell out $1000 for the promise module but you lose the OTA HD tuner right now and if you need only Firewire you can only get it that way.

As for the high windows will vertical blinds work for you or can you place it with the light sining in behind the set?

Darthkim I just read a post that Mits is changing their stance on DVI and the models released next year will have it. Now we need to find out if they'll add it to the promise module for sets that can upgrade that way. I've held off on the promise module in the hope they would add it or drop the price of it.

Well, from what i've read on the other forums, it appears that mits will not offer an upgrade for DVI on their current promise module.

Chipmac, since you are still holding out on your promise module, i am guessing that you should be able to grab the new one (HD5000), which should offer dvi and firewire, plus netcommand 3.0 and a whole list of other features. Though its a tad expensive (msrp 1700), its not too far off the 1000 they charged for the 1st gen promise module and in a couple of months, it should come down in price.

The next couple of weeks sure will be interesting.

$1700??? you can buy a 57" Sony WITH a DVI/HDCP input for that price. i hope for mits owners the street price is no more than half that.

Well, I feel like ABC's The Bachelor, I'm in love with a lot of HDTV's. Actually, I'm pretty set on Mits 48311, unfortunately it's at Good Guys. I posted in the stores forum the best tactic to use with their commision sales team, any advice here would be appreciated. What's a satisfactory price for this set? Good Guys and Best Buy have it for $1999, I'd like to get it for 10% less.

Broadwayblue, can I ask where I would find that Sony? Oh, and you can bet I'll be smoking my best cigar on purchase day!

Ozzy you've got to be able to get a better price than that. In October 2001 I bought my Mits 55819 which is about equal to the 55411 which is selling now. I bought mine for $2000 + a 5 year extended warranty for another $500. The way I look at it after a year and a half we should find that the prices should have come down and you're looking at paying the same amount as me on a smaller TV which just doesn't make sense. I say you shouldn't be spending any more than $1799 for the 48" nonintegrated model and $1599 to $1699 would be the range I'd be pushing for. Look at it this way the economy is slow right now and these sets are most likely not moving out the door for these guy's so if you can negotiate a deal they should be willing to come down in order to move inventory. If you mean that the $1999 price includes an extended warranty then I'd say that's a fair price.

Broadway I'm not even spending $1000 on the promise module unless the thing supports both DVI and Firewire so $1700 for the external module is never gonna happen. I'll just keep enjoying my set for DVD and component HD for as long as I can and then upgrade in a few years to a better set with the needed connectors built in.

Well, I bought the 51 inch Sony I was talking about earlier. I bought the open box for 1500 at Best Buy which comes with everything. They were willing to bargain on it a little. The T.V. looks great. I found out the history on the t.v. Supposively it was a defective t.v. When it was delivered,they found out it had a cracked mirror so they had to take it back to the store. Sony came out and replaced the mirror and that was it. Otherwise the t.v. is like a brand new t.v. with no use except for plugging it in at the store so I could see the picture on it.

Good thread guys!

I'm buying a new one in a few weeks - I have focused on the Sony 46"KP - not as big as I would like but big enough. It also has 90% approval rate on CNET, has DVI/HDCP (very important) and also flicker free unlike the bigger Sonys. $1,800 including stand

I know you guys like other models - anyone want to try to talk me into another model - needs to have all of the above - or will I be happy with this one?

I bought a Toshiba 50HDX82 Cinema Series set about a month ago and absolutely love it. I paid $1727 for mine. It has the DVI connector that the 50HX82 doesn't have. DVDs are stunning with a Progressive Scan input. Regular TV looks just fine in one of the 5 stretch modes. I am so in love with this thing that I am going to bunnyhop Comcast and their HDTV coming out in a couple of months and going straight to OTA HD.

I also recommend hometheaterspot.com for great information. Become a member and keep it alive.

I spent a lot of time looking at different models and reading tons and tons of reviews. After checking the stretch modes on the Mitsu, I tossed it out of the options. Unlike some people, I still watch plenty of broadcast television.