nightmaster

Hi all, the thread header pretty much says it all. I'd kind of like to buy something, say, 48 inches or bigger- the bigger the better actually- and stay in a price range of about $1500 or so. Thats going to certainly put me in the rear projection category which is fine, and I'm only going to get so big a screen for my money. Thats about all my budget will allow me, and for me thats spending ALOT on a television anyway. I have no doubt there are plenty of owners here on the forum who can give me the benefit of knowing about their particular sets. I plan on doing alot of looking in the weeks to come and don't intend to just run out tomorrow and have it overnight. There seem to be SOOOO many choices on the market in the $1000-$1600 range and any help from experienced owners is greatly appreciated!

drmoze

Any Mitsubishi. Best pq and reliability IMO and in my experience. Very tweakable to look super sharp, better pic than plasmas/lcd's. I think you might be able to find a 55" in that range.

X

Check out this Pioneer set. I've heard it runs around $1500 if you look around. Costco may still have it around that price.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pn..._34769,00.html

http://www.epinions.com/content_53471121028

This will probably give you the best out-of-the-box picture of any set and and the best picture for standard TV.

nightmaster

X, I hadn't given alot of thought to the Pioneer set but the reviews seems to speak very well for it........I definitely need to have a look at one. Given your reputation for finding a good deal, have you looked into this set compared to others? No Costcos in my area I'm afraid, I live in Indiana and have yet to walk into a Costco store. There are plenty of Walmarts here (as there is everywhere) so I'm gonna have to drive an hour or so to the nearest Sueprcenter store and see if they have this model.....I THINK HH Gregg sells this model as well, but those are the only two dealers I know of to check out. walmart has this set for right at $1600.

Drmosze, a good friend of mine just bought a Mits and I have to say the picture is incredible- however he bought a 65 inch and it was well over $2000, more than I'm going to spend. Looking at his makes me want to see what the 51-55 inch sets look like.

bryce0lynch

Are you in Indianapolis? I was in the eastside HH Gregg yesterday and they have several DLP-RP and LCD-RP in the scratch & dent section marked waaaaay down. (They had some CRT-RP also, but I'd feel less comfortable buying a floor model/S&D of a CRT-RP.)

You know what you're getting in to in terms of size, weight, and burn-in, right?

nightmaster

Thanks for the heads up gcbrowni......I'm about 100 miles away. I know all about moving one of these beasts around!

X

I have the Elite 510HD model which has essentially the same electronics as the 533HD but a finer screen and more "furniture-like" cabinet and I can't say enough good about it. The picture still amazes me after 4 years and I haven't even had it professionally calibrated. I'm thinking I'll learn how to make some of the minor geometry adjustments myself one of these days which is pretty much all I can tell it needs.

I don't think you can do much better than the Wal-Mart price unless you find it on closeout somewhere. I've heard there are also occasional deals on the newest Elite model, the 530HD, for somewhere under $2000 (my 510HD cost $4700!) and I would be tempted to look around for those, however the x30 line has a tendency to have a green streaking problem and I'm not sure Pioneer has found a reliable fix for that yet.

This is a good resource for the Pioneers: http://www.hometheaterspot.com/htsth...t=&Board=UBB20

Save Ferris

Just got a Sony WEGA RP-LCD at about 35% off MSRP

Went with LCD because the rainbow factor in DLPs could show up at any time even if I dont see them when buying the TV. "screen door" problem with an LCD is a lot more tolerable, especially with the sony-- great picture and really good black levels.

Plus theres lots of tweaks for the sony out there.

nightmaster

I've yet to hit the stores and begin looking this week. While I know that some TVs just don't look good out of the box, and that manufacturers have a penchant for cranking up the contrast , the Sonys I've seen in the showrooms simply don't stand out. I'm not sure I've ever seen a better tube TV than Sony, but the RPs aren't high on my choice list.

nightmaster

I wound up buying the Hitachi 57F510. Great set, I paid $1599 before tax. 57 inches is a huge TV for me and for a rear projection I am most happy with the picture. I have heard they've had some reliability problems so I bought the set 90 days same as cash- with a full warranty should anything go wrong, they come pick it up, give me a loaner set and have it fixed. Sooooo many sets on the market and I wanted one in house for basketball season as well as the coming winter weather (and its holidays)!

drmoze

How long is the warranty? I would not have recommended it, but gl. A friend bought one 2 yrs ago (against my suggestion!) and after 3 months, the green gunburnt out. It was over **2 months** before theyh could get a replacement. I personally will never go with a Hitachi product.

Any reason why you decided against a Mitsu 55"?

nightmaster

My warranty period is 120 days from the day I bought it thru the store, plus the warranty Hitachi gives. I figure 4 months is enough time to find out whether or not I bought a defective set. There is always a chance of buying a 'bad' one regardless of the product, unfortunately. For example, I hooked this set up with Monster Standard 8 ft component cables- the first set I bought was defective and I wound up having to use plain old plug jacks until the next day when I returned the Monsters for a new set, which are just fine.The set I bought has a build date on the rear of August 2004, so mine is the current 57 inch model Hitachi makes and not the model your friend likely had problems with.
I didn't go with the Mitsubishi because I don't intend on buying another set for a long time, so the two inches increase in size was a factor as well as the fact that I simply liked the picture on the Hitachi over the 55 Mits I looked at locally. One of my best friends has the 65 inch Mitsu and it looks incredible, but it would have cost me about $400 more.

drmoze

Just an FYI for anybody reading... although it's been mentioned before, you CANNOT judge an RPTV by how it looks in a store. They are NEVER set up well. A little basic tweaking, and the 55" model you saw would look as good as your friend's 65".

Personally I don't think a 2" difference is noticeable at that size.

As for longevity, that alone should steer you to the Mitsu. My first Mitsu rp lasted 11 years of almost constant use. My mom still has one from 1984 (46", real wood cabinet) that still works! And never a glitch with my 2-year-old current set. Good luck with the Hitachi, it might hold up well. But the odds for better reliability would be the Mitsu fer shure.

X

Whoa. And I was concerned about only having a 2 year warranty when I bought my Pioneer. So I used a "gold" card and got an extra year for free through them.

Pistol Pete

Any love for Samsung RPs here? How do they stack up?

bryce0lynch

A real CRT-RP or a DLP-RP?

The DLPs are pretty highly regarded, but there is a lot of differences within the line.

ShagMan

I'm late on this, but I also recommend a mitsu if you can afford it.

nightmaster

Didn't mean to offend anyone who's brand I didn't choose. Having talked with X I was leaning towards the Pioneer he pointed me to- after that I was pretty much up in the air. I was fairly narrowed down to liking the Hitachi, Panasonic and Toshiba sets I had seen. Loved the Samsungs I saw but they seemed very small size wise for the price range. My main problem with the Pioneer was logistics; my local Wallyworld doesn't carry it and the closest location to me that did so is 90 miles away, a drive I didn't want to make with a $1700 set in the back of my truck, plus if there were any problems once I got it home, well, it would have been a nightmare.
There are so many GOOD choices on the market now in the size and range I was choosing from..... I watched a pal of mine simply beside himself for months trying to choose, reading this article and that. What made me decide to just pick one was a HT guru at my workplace who said, no matter WHAT set you buy for over $1500, you're going to be happy as hell compared to what you've had in the past....and he's absolutely right. The Hitachi has an incredible picture. Hitachi is still focusing their efforts toward improving the RP sets rather than leaving that market like some of the other companies are doing.
X, warranty wise I have 120 days in house warranty, plus a year from Hitachi for labor and parts, with a lifetime warranty on the lens and 2 years on the CRT.