Black Friday TV Decision
 

Best Buy has these two televisions on sale:
Toshiba 46" Widescreen Digital-Cable-Ready DLP Rear-Projection HDTV with HDMI Input
Model: 46HM95 - $1499.99

Toshiba 51" Widescreen Rear-Projection HD-Ready Monitor with HDMI Inputs
Model: 51HC85 - $899.99

Big price diff and 5" but since I planned on spending $1200-$1400 on a tv anyway is the 46" the better way to go here? Or is the difference negligible to me, the semi-average consumer?

Thanks for your help.

I was going to go for this deal as well. My Toshiba 51" RP went a few weeks ago, and I'd been waiting to see what was going to go on sale on Black Friday. I saw this deal and figured I could stretch my $1300 budget a little bit. Well, I went to look at the TVs last Friday and absolutely loved the DLP.

But there was just a huge size difference between the 46" and 52", and I was replacing a 51". It might just have been my imagination, but the size difference between the 46" and 52" looked almost more than between the 52" and 62". The PQ was so good on the DLP I went ahead and bought he 52" last Friday with the 10% off coupon and have been enjoying it ever since. Can't go wrong with DLP.

There are some pretty big issues with DLP you should know about though. First, there are these "rainbows" I see when my eyes move quickly across the screen, artifacts of there being a color wheel inside the tv. I never noticed them the first couple of days until I was calibrating the set and had a white circle/lines on a black screen. Now I'm seeing them every time I turn my head while watching TV. From what I read, after you see them once your eyes almost become trained to see them... But likewise, most people said they can stop seeing them after a while.

But having had the set a week now, right now the rainbows are at the "really, really, really, really annoying" stage. From what I've read though, some people never see them, some rarely, and some have to return the TV. Best Buy has a 28 day return policy, so accepting this, I'd still go DLP. If you're one of the few that can't get used to seeing them, well, you just miss out on the crazy deal for the RP and get it for $1300 or so. The quality of DLP is worth risking $400 IMO.

One other issue with DLP is that there is a bulb that needs replacing every year or so. Cost is $200-400, but it's covered in the one-year Toshiba warr. So you might also want to factor this in as an additional cost. Unless you get an extended deal from Best Buy, well, it can add quite a bit of cost to owning a DLP set. And a final issue, if you plan on doing console gaming over 480i, you will get a slight lag. PS2/XBox on 480p/720p/1080i experience no lag, so it's a problem that will be eliminated as the PS3/XBox 360 turn gaming into an HD experience.

Speaking as someone that had an earlier version of the Toshiba RP, and then went with the Toshiba DLP... Even though these god damn rainbows drive me crazy right now, the picture quality is just stunning with DLP. I just figured I'd give you all the negatives with DLP so you know what you might be getting into. But even accepting the negatives, and knowing I am one of the people the rainbows bug the hell out of initially, I'm more than pleased. When upconverted DVDs only looked great on RP, they look absolutely stunning on DLP. Even with everything I said, I'd still go take a look at AVS forum.

Go with the CRT. It's price/performance is by far the best.

CRT's contrast/black level is unmatched by ANY other display technology currently available. In fact, a large majority don't even come close in these two categories.

Unless you like grey blacks and spending more money than you need to then go with the CRT. :)

I'm getting the 51 inch one myself

I'd go with the Toshiba 51" also. I have a 51H84 and love it. In this instance the picture size would have me sold. DLP technology is still new (mainstream at least) and the Tosh. series are proven. My picture is great. Get you an Avia disc and you'll be set.

So the 51HC85 was just delivered. Out of the box it's already pretty good.

I've been searching but haven't found any definitive answer on which calibration DVD I should get. (Why didn't I get one during the DDD sale? I'm an idiot. Spent $200 but didn't think to get one. Ugh.) I have no problem dropping $35 on the Avia disc but is it twice as good as DVE?

Also, does this take the place of getting a professional to calibrate the set? Or conversely if I get a pro do I even need to get Avia/DVE?

Thanks, everyone.

DVE is newer than Avia. They both have things that the other lacks. No way is Avia twice as good as DVE.

It does not take the place of an ISF calibration, that is mostly making sure the greyscale is correct. The discs cannot do this. But it still makes sense to pick up a disc, they can calibrate out issues your DVDp creates. And they are good for audio and the basic video functions, as well.

So it sounds like I'll be okay with the less expensive DVE disc until a pro comes in. Thanks!

Three chip projectors don't have the rainbow effect.

This is a great looking set I'm considering. JVC 52" @ BestBuy

I have DVE on the way, and I borrowed a friend's Avia for the mean time. Can yoiu let me know which settings you end up using? I tried to follow the directions as best as possible, but I don't see what you're supposed to see on extreme settings. For example, I don't see blooming on max brightness.

I tried my best though, and now my settings are like 28 brightness, 42 contrast, and 40 sharpness.

I know all those settings are supposed to be low, but that's really, REALLY low. Just wanted to see if others have similar settings.

Here are my settings I got using my Avia disc.

Contrast - 35
Brightness - 33
Color - 46
Tint - R25
Sharpness - 25

Also go into the service menu and do a service convergence. If you not sure how. It's easy: http://www.hdtvoice.com/voice/showthread.php?t=13090