Bagheera

Ok I went to a "High End" AV store and they showed me a rptv for around 2k (my budget) and the whole time they were trying to sell me on the VVega or the samsung dlp (50 somthing inch models for around 3k).

I want a WS tv around 50 inches or above for around 2k that will give a film like picture. We watched a bugs life and i really liked the picture on the RPTV. We were watching it off of a sony dvd player with DCDI i think its called. What i hate is when you see somones face and the outline of there face against a different background is straight jagged lines. The RPTV did reduce this and provided a softer image that looked more natural to me.

Now they showed me how on the DLP and the LCD we could make out tiny details in the image background (in bugslife it was rocks and in moulon rouge is was dancers) that on the RPTV became blury. The lcd would have these long veritcal pixalations when somthing moved quickly and the sharpness showed alot of the jagged edges i hate. The DLP was even sharper and showed more of what I disliked.


The salesmen was exasperated that I liked the RPTV more and could not understand why I would want "old technology" that is being discontinued.

They showed me an high def football game and there was a lady with a black suit on doing the comentating. You could see her lapel on the DLP and the RPTV but not the LCD VVega. I did like the picutre on the VVega but the RPTV seems more vibrant and colorfull and less pixalated (probably becuase it is not as sharp?).

Anyway except for the background being not as good and the large size I like the RPTV best.

I was wondering if you guys can give your opinion of the above and also if you can recomend some models of RPTV WS that are around the 2k range.

I was also wondering if you can replace the cannons in a RPTV like you can replace the bulbs in a dlp or lcd and if they last for a comprable time.

last I wanted to know what models of DVD players are out that have a DVI out.

thnx in advance.

shelland

My favorite site for HT research is Home Theater Spot.

The best of the best in RPTV is Pioneer Elite. I know there have been some rebates available, so you might be able to get a 53" for close to your budget.

Personally, I don't think you can find a better buy than the Pioneer 643 (64" non-Elite) at Costco for $1999. Lots of feedback on that set at the SPOT in both the Pioneer and RPTV forums.

When I was researching a year ago, this was being called by many the best RPTV deal available, and Costco was selling it for $2799 at that time...

gotapex

That sharpness thing you dislike is edge enhancement, which should be able to be turned off (or simply adjusted down).

The costco Pioneer model that shelland suggested is a great one for the money.

You can replace/rebuild the guns on CRT RPTV's, but it's kind of expensive. If you take care of them, they last quite awhile though.

What's your budget for the DVD player? You can get a OTA HDTV receiver + DVD player (including 720p & 1080i scaling, and DVI) that's higher quality than the list of $200 DVI DVD players for $499.

Bagheera

i have scene the very pioneer that you speak of but im afraid of the quality of that model compared to a mitsu silver series plus or a hitachi or a toshiba cinema series.

Another thing that worries me is that I don't think that you can buy a extended warrantee for an electronic item as costco.

thnx guys

Frank S

You saw the Pioneer at Costco which just takes the HDTV out of the box and puts it up off the ground with bright flourent light glaring on the screen. Gee, I wonder why you feel the Pioneer is not the best?

Believe me evaluating a HDTV at Costco is the WORST place to do so! They have not a single clue how to display a HDTV. You need to go see the Pioneer at a place that knows how to present HDTV's. Then you will see why the are raved about on forums like Home Theater Spot.com.

As to yuor concern about warranties... you can buy after market warranties from many places online or locally. And the best part is it will be signifigantly less then when bought at the places you actually buy the electronics.

Bagheera

I just looked at the other forum and I will have to pass on the pioneer anyway since there is no DVI input. Thnks for mentioning it tho.

Do you guys think I am wasting my money going RPTV? Is it a dead technology? I don't wanna be kicking my self down the road for not investing in the lcd.

The Void

I chose a Hitachi 51S700 model. I'm still waiting for it to be delivered and I can't wait. To me it seemed to be the best for the money. If money were no object I'd go with a Pioneer Elite but I couldn't swing the price of the Elite. The only other brand I would have considered is Mitsubishi. I couldn't find as good a deal on the Mits though.

I bought it over the weekend at Sears, pricematched to Circuit City, plus Sears has a $200 rebate. It was actually cheaper to get S700 with the HDTV tuner built in.

X

I believe the the Elite 530HD has DVI. Two in fact. Check into prices on this model. I've heard of some amazingly low prices on it and they have a rebate.

I have a 510HD and can't recommend the Elites enough for a film-like picture. I'm still amazed by it even after having it for 3 years.

Bagheera

O yes i agree totally. Actually I think it looks pretty decent considering where its displayed. I just wanted to know how it stands against the other brands that are smaller screens but the same price. I have had the others recomended to me you see. I was not even considering how it looked, sorry my post was misleading.

Frank S

I hope the only reason you are thinking you MUST have DVI is for downres'ing becuase on CRT based HDTV's you get NO quality improvement from DVI then you would with Component. And if the HDTV has RGB (VGA) input it will be superior to DVI. I think it's going to end up that downres'ing will NOT happen as there is WAY to large an amount of people without digital connection on their HDTV in which case CRT based HDTV's have no use for DVI.

Also be aware that LCD and DLP are newer technologies BUT they still have inferior picture quality compared to CRT based HDTV's. And before someone comes in with the requisite "yeah but CRT's burn-in" comment if you have your HDTV calibrated properly (AVIA DVD will do just fine) you need not ever worry about burn-in (unless you like to play video games non-stop).

Bagheera

Im glad you brought that up about DVI. I was looking into a new dvd player to go with the purchase and I have seen the DCDI (scaler?) models. Now as I understand it the DCDI players will doctor up the image before it is sent out instead of the tv changing the image from 480 to 1080 (I may be totally off on that). Now as far as DVI goes I have looked at the samsung and it seems to me that with component you have a digital source going into an analog line into a analog machine. With the DVI out you have a digital source remaining digital all the way up to the tv where it is then changed to analog. So is there really no benifit at all to a DVI output on a CRT? If so I may be better off getting a really good Denon with DCDI for the same 300 as the Samsung right?

drmoze

I think you get the most bang for your buck right now with a crt-based hd(capable) rptv. Reliable, established technology, on the downside of the price curve, great contrast, and it'll last for *many* years. No downside at all except the sets are bigger and bulkier than plasmas, etc. But do a calibration and it will look superb. I'd also recommend a Mitsubishi, both for quality and tweakability--the service manus are esily accessed from the remote to adjust linearity, overscan, etc., in addition to the usual color/contrast/convergence stuff.

I have a year-old 65" Mitsu rptv and am still thrilled with it. DVDs and HDTV look phenomenal on it. Second to none imo wrt pq.

shelland

Not only that, I've seen many posts on multiple sites about Costco's no questions asked return policy. Someone specifically asked when they bought their Pioneer at Costco, and they said they would take it back 5 years later if you were unhappy for any reason. (that includes unhappy because newer technology exists)

I haven't tried this myself, but have read several reports.

bill_n_opus

Costco has an unreal customer service policy. I've talked to some Costco employees and they say that they - by Costco policy - will pretty much take back anything within it's stated warranty time period and even beyond that if you are "unhappy" with it. You don't need a receipt because they have it all on computer (from what i've seen).

However, to prevent serious abuse i've been told that patterns of abuse will result in them politely suggesting that maybe you should return the product back to to the manufacturer instead.

In any case, their policy has made Costco a very viable place to buy goods because if anything goes wrong they have your back.

I bought a Logitech m700 mouse and it's going wonky on me after 8 months or so. I'll probably go back there and return it for a new one and Costco can deal with the return to Logitech for me. If they are happy to and that's their policy then what the heck.

Corky Roxbury

the new pioneers have dvi

Frank S

The new "Elite" series does but NOT the SD (Non-Elite series).