Big Worms,

I haven't had a chance to look at either. I just learned about the Samsung this week. I need to the audio/video place here to see if they have one or both of these to take a look.

Am I correct in my assumption that the Samsung does not have the 'half-rez' problem?

From what I just read, Dark Detailer is a technology built into the system to enhance the picture directly, and Ambilight is simply built-in backlighting on the rear of the set. Being two different things, I don't know if that would be "comparable" or not, but there ya go.

You're right, it wasn't being well explained on what I was reading. But then I saw some pictures and it was clearly a backlight. Still, tons of people have said good backlighting has helped their eyes relax while watching tv, so I don't see it as a bad thing.

But you're right, it's not at all a similar technology to Dark Detailer.

I think I have found the next HD tv I get. The Sony 50" WEGA SXRD. I saw this on display at Circuit City today and wow, what a great picture. I was thinking of getting one of the LCD Projection Wega tvs as they also displayed a great picture, but the SXRD series was just awesome looking. I'm not pulling the trigger until probably after the holiday season to see if it drops some more in price.

I only saw the SXRD once, but it had this awful green blob all over the top right corner. Definitely check a few out before you buy one, as the green blob effect is a known problem.

I'm also hearing good things about the new Hitachi plasmas, and they have a higher resolution than the Philips I mentioned before. I'm definitely going to have to take a close look at both at Magnolia. I'll probably go tomorrow after work.

Oh, I hadn't heard about any green blob effect. Heard anything bad about Sony's LCD rear projection tvs? The ones I've seen look great and I've seen a few posted in the dvd talk section that people are happy with.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1142298918228

I'm also in the market for a new HDTV... I love my Mitsubishi 65" 869 (purchased in late 2002), but no HDMI interface means no up-scaling with the A1, and that is really pissing me off! I'm just not sure which way to go... I know I won't be happy with anything under 65". I'm a Mitsu fan, and I've been looking at the 2005 73" 1080p DLP that's on sale now, but I'm not sure that I'll be happy with the DLP picture compared to what I've got now. Front projector sounds great, but I have light issues to deal with first, and that's a radical set-up change for me. Decisions, decisions... Need to do more research.

I believe that most plasmas top out at 720p or 768p (or 1080 horizontal lines but fewer than 1920 vertical lines, e.g. 1280 x 1080), except for very large and high end ones that are coming. If you wait awhile, the manufacturers might figure out how to cram 1920 x 1080 plasma cells into a standard size display (50 to 60 inches or so).

I've also read that plasmas are power hogs. Does anyone here with one know how many watts it draws?

To be honest, I'm the last person you should ask about LCDs. I think they're great for video gaming, but I would never use them for watching HD movies or TV.

I went to Magnolia and Best Buy today with WhoGirl, and we looked at several different TV's. Who liked the size of the 57" 1080p Mits DLP, and we both loved the picture on the Philips. Who also liked the look of one of the HP plasmas, but I thought it looked too washed out. We agreed both the Panasonic and the Hitachi plasmas had subpar picture.

We then went to Magnolia and looked at the higher end Hitachi and some Pioneer Elites. The Director's Series Hitachi looked quite a bit better than the one Best Buy had, but still didn't wow me as much as the Philips when it came to solid blacks and color reproduction. The Pioneers looked pretty uniformly great, but even the cheapest was $2,000 more than the Philips.

So, at this point, it's a choice between the Philips 42PF9630A plasma or the Mitsubishi 57732 DLP. The pros and cons of both are...

Philips Pros:
1. Better color reproduction
2. No bulbs to be replaced
3. No RBE
4. Better overall price (if I buy a refurb one direct from Philips, I can get it for $1,199 after an online coupon)
5. Ambilight feature (which did look very cool in the store)

Philips Cons:
1. Potential burn-in
2. Native resolution is 720p
3. Price not as good looked at as dollars per inch.
4. Smaller overall size (42")

Mitsubishi Pros:
1. Bigger overall size (57")
2. True 1080p (can accept 1080p from a 1080p source without any interlacting and then deinterlacing)
3. No chance of burn-in
4. Potential longer total life (with periodic bulb replacements)
5. Mitsubishi is a brand with a good reputation for long-lasting, high quality displays
6. Less dollars per inch
7. Dark Detailer

Mitsubishi Cons:
1. Slightly worse (although not terrible) color reproduction imo
2. Bulb replacements (some say they can last up to 3 years but they can be far shorter) that means it's almost a necessity to buy the extended warranty
3. Bigger in the back
4. Overall price is higher
5. Possible RBE (didn't see any in the stores, but from what I've heard, this can change easily once you get it into home theater lighting)


As far as the inputs go, they're about evenly matched, so that's not a factor. I was basically sold on the Mits until I saw the Philips. Now I'm kind of leaning towards the Philips (especially for that price on the refurb), but over time I may find it odd to go from 1080i down to 720p. Of course, I'm still keeping my 1080i Mits RP CRT for the living room (this second TV will be for the bedroom), and I'll be keeping my HD DVD player hooked up to that for optimal image quality. And since this will be for the bedroom, I'm thinking maybe I should go for the Philips, since it's over $1,000 cheaper but still has good PQ.

Of course, that great price will only be so great if the refurbs are reliable and Philips customer service is reliable.

So, right now, I'm torn. I'd love to have the best new thing but the bulb replacements on DLP in particular make me waver on it (plus the overall starting price).

Well, at this point, I'm completely stuck in a case of paralysis by analysis. I can't decide whether it's better to get good-looking picture that I know is only 720p for less money or a picture that still doesn't look bad but I know is 1080p for significantly more. Christ.

This is clearly a situation that calls for the Decision Dartboard.

I prefer the Jump To Conclusions mat.

I have a Sony 57 inch XBR(crt widescreen hdtv)) that I bought 6 years ago which I’m still happy with but I’m thinking about upgrading to a new set that accepts HDMI. I’m leaning toward the Sony KDS-R60XBR1 LCOS HDTV(SXRD), with a contrast ratio of 13,330:1,this is the best contrast ratio of any non-crt display out there, that’s nearly 3 times better then the best DLP front projector. I viewed some DVD and HD clips and man was I impressed with the black level and the amount of detail this tv brings out. Home Theater Magazine gave it a performance score of 96 out of 100 calling it the best RPTV they’ve ever reviewed.

I'd go with the LCOS but for that green blob effect. It was shockingly noticeable when I looked at the set. It's a shame, because, as you said, on all other counts the TV gets great ratings.

Not to be mean, but I think it's time for a little reiteration of a popular HT enthusaist mantra.

DON'T BELIEVE DISPLAY MODELS! You can't possibly be seeing any of these TVs at their best. I would doubt Philips quality very much (both image and longevity), and Panasonic is almost always the highest regarded plasma maker. Almost no retail store sets TVs up properly, certainly not Best Buy. I doubt very much that you can go wrong with Mits or Panasonic. Once calibrated in your house, they are always at the top of the heap for picture quality. Sony is usually very good, too, although often costing more for no apparent reason. So many Sony sets are purchased, if there is a problem with one, it is blasted all over the net and a quick search would turn up the problem. So, if you don't see one, should be a great TV.

I've changed the settings on every TV I looked at. The bigger problem was the feed in Best Buy. Now, the Mits I saw was playing the HD DVD demo hooked up to the HD DVD player, so that one I know looks good but can only look better. It's just the price that's bugging me, plus having to replace bulbs.

Display model problems aside, I've actually become pretty content over the last week with my choice of the RCA set. One final determining factor I didn't mention before is that the set I chose has a "theater-wide" screen. There was another model with the same 50" size screen right next to mine, and I asked him why the RCA appeared smaller, and he mentioned the theater-wide. Honestly, one thing I didn't like about my old set was the scrunched-up sides of every movie I played. Plus, I've gotten the picture settings about as good as I can get them with my eye, and everything looks pretty good.

I got the backlighting hooked up, and although I haven't noticed too much of a difference, it makes for a nice ambience on the wall behind the set. I didn't want to drive screws into a brand-new set which might have things underneath I don't want to damage, so I attached the rope light on with velcro:

The Panasonic plasmas blow the Philips away in every way. Many reviews put them at or near Pioneer levels but at a fraction of the price.

Well...I did a little digging and apparently the Philips plasmas have the highest return rates at most retail stores due to image problems. So that one is out. I didn't like the picture on the Panasonic, even when I fiddled with the image settings.

So it looks like it's got to be on of the Mits 1080p DLPs. There's a 52" which is the exact same, as far as I can tell, as the 55731. I'm on a call list at Magnolia for the 55732, so I'm going to wait until that comes out (should be the end of the month) before I make my decision one way or the other. It all depends on what kind of sale prices they have and/or what deal I can make.

Does anyone know if Mitsubishi's warranties offer bulb replacements on DLPs?

The lamp will likely have its own warranty. Most offer 3 months/500 hours on the lamp. But I don't know about Mits RPTV specifically. Should be on their website.

Suprmallet,

I just settled on a Mits too. The Mitsubishi WD-65731 to be exact. I currently have a six year-old Mitsubishi WS-55905, and I've really loved it. What's the difference between the 731 and 732 series?

Anybody want to buy a WS-55905? Half-joking... PM me if interested.

My RP warranty through best buy covered the bulb.

I tested them on it and complained about the bulb 'flickering a bit' after about 8 months. They sent a guy to replace it the NEXT DAY no questions asked. Brand new $200 bulb.

AFAIK, the only difference is that the 732 has the Dark Detailer.

Suprmallet,

Thanks. Though I did find the 732 specs on Mitsubishi's Web site, and it looks like, apart from the Dark Detailer, it also has Perect Tint, Deep Field Imager, and SharpEdge technology. It also has a Multi-Format Memory Card Reader and NetCommand IR.

I could care less about the last two, but the additional picture controls make me wish I had known about the 732 series before I bought the 731. Still, I plan on having my set ISF calibrated, so I'm hoping that it can get close to the picture-level of the 732 that way.

This is merely a guess, but I would imagine that it will be more difficult to find the 732 series at a discount, so I'm trying to look at the money I save between buying the 731 vs. the 732 as paying for a future Lion A/V calibration.