Plasma vs. LCD

jonwb · « **Reply #20 on:** 6 Jan 2006, 04:54 am »

Yeah, those two are the best deal going right now for "affordable" HD projectors.

I actually tried to convince my wife to let me install an electric drop-down screen that would come down just in front of our RCA w/ a projector hidden on the opposite side of the room. I thought that would be cool for movies in the family room. Heck, I already have all the audio surround equip. in that room.

Anyway that idea flew like a lead balloon so we ended up getting the Panny plasma. Like I said that Panny is great, but 96" 16:9 from a projector would have been even cooler.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #21 on:** 6 Jan 2006, 04:56 am »

All said, I'm thinking of buying one of the new Viewsonic 32" LCD sets for my bedroom. It would be perfect for gaming and the occasional movie, and since my room is smallish and upstairs it'd be a lot nicer getting a thin flat set up the stairs. No more 100+ lb CRTs up there.

ctviggen · « **Reply #22 on:** 6 Jan 2006, 02:26 pm »

I read the review of the Sanyo v. Panasonic and I'm perplexed. If they are this close, why pay $4,000 (6,000 versus 2,000) more for the Panasonic? For better black levels (which I do place a priority on, but $4k worth?)? What other reasons are there to buy the Panasonic over the Sanyo?

zybar · « **Reply #23 on:** 6 Jan 2006, 02:28 pm »

Quote from: ctviggen

I read the review of the Sanyo v. Panasonic and I'm perplexed. If they are this close, why pay $4,000 (6,000 versus 2,000) more for the Panasonic? For better black levels (which I do place a priority on, but $4k worth?)? What other reasons are there to buy the Panasonic over the Sanyo?

Bob,

The Panny has a street price of $2k, so both sell for the same.

Don't go by MSPP when pricing pj's (especially on the cheaper end of the scale).

George

jonwb · « **Reply #24 on:** 6 Jan 2006, 02:28 pm »

Quote from: ctviggen

I read the review of the Sanyo v. Panasonic and I'm perplexed. If they are this close, why pay $4,000 (6,000 versus 2,000) more for the Panasonic? For better black levels (which I do place a priority on, but $4k worth?)? What other reasons are there to buy the Panasonic over the Sanyo?

That sounds strange to me... what size?

ctviggen · « **Reply #25 on:** 6 Jan 2006, 02:32 pm »

We're talking projectors:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/plv-z4_h79.htm

And dang it! I'm mistaken. Ignore my previous post. It's the Sanyo that has a price of 2k and the Optoma that has a price of 6k. It's here where I don't understand the difference -- 4k to get better black levels? This is LCD v. DLP overhead projectors. Sorry. I haven't had my coffee as of yet.

zybar · « **Reply #26 on:** 6 Jan 2006, 02:43 pm »

Quote from: ctviggen

We're talking projectors:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/plv-z4_h79.htm

And dang it! I'm mistaken. Ignore my previous post. It's the Sanyo that has a price of 2k and the Optoma that has a price of 6k. It's here where I don't understand the difference -- 4k to get better black levels? This is LCD v. DLP overhead projectors. Sorry. I haven't had my coffee as of yet.

First off, the H79 was released earlier in 2005 before these lower priced LCD pj's came out.

Compared to its more expensive competition from Marantz, Sharp, SIM, etc...it was a true bargain!

Now it isn't so much a bargain as the bottom made a huge leap and maybe went over the middle in terms of absolute performance.

Is the $4k price worth it? That question is no different from the one we face in audio.

Are your RM 40's worth $4k more than the RAW HT3's? For some yes, for some no.

Since pj technology is moving very quickly, it is probably a safer bet to buy on the low end and upgrade every few years vs. buying at the middle or top.

George

ctviggen · « **Reply #27 on:** 6 Jan 2006, 02:52 pm »

I don't think my RM40s cost $4k more than the HT3s (are the HT3s $1000?). Regardless, based on that review, I can't see paying that much more for basically not much more performance. I purchased my RM40s because they blew away everything I'd heard remotely close to the price I paid. That doesn't seem to be the same for the Optoma. See here:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/lcd_dlp_update7.htm

Where he basically reaches the same conclusion I did.

jonwb · « **Reply #28 on:** 6 Jan 2006, 03:50 pm »

Quote from: ctviggen

We're talking projectors:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/plv-z4_h79.htm

And dang it! I'm mistaken. Ignore my previous post. It's the Sanyo that has a price of 2k and the Optoma that has a price of 6k. It's here where I don't understand the difference -- 4k to get better black levels? This is LCD v. DLP overhead projectors. Sorry. I haven't had my coffee as of yet.

Sorry I'm a little slow... it seems the thread has shifted to projectors. Or maybe we're talking about both at the same time

RE: projectors... I really think that unless you have loads of money to throw around you are better off limiting your choices between the Panasonic PT-AE900U and the Sanyo PLV-Z4. IMHO, to do noticeably better you will need to spend at lease twice as much as either of these to (and likely that will yeild a difference that is subtle). Now choosing between those two isn't easy either...

The good news is that, like TV's, the longer you wait the more performance you will get for your money. What you can get right now for ~$2k is significantly better that what that number got you even a year ago. I'm probably about a year away from buying one, so I'm excited about what I'll be mulling over. At the very least I'll should be able to get very good deals on one of these two... which would be OK

zybar · « **Reply #29 on:** 6 Jan 2006, 04:06 pm »

You are right Jon.

I will stop posting about pj's in this thread.

George

BobM · « **Reply #30 on:** 6 Jan 2006, 04:18 pm »

This has been very educational to me. Thanks everyone for sharing your impressions. My home is under major renovation, but one of the things I have high on my list is to get a large TV for the new den.

I've been a little leery about plasma's, even though they look cool, and LCD's seem awesome but not a fully realized concept yet (and overly expensive). It's nice to know that rear projection sets are still the ones to beat, without going to a front projection system.

So, that said, what rear projection sets do you recommend I look into? I'm expecting to keep the budget at about $2000 - 2500. Oh yeah, I'm also a Price Club member, so if there's a good deal to be had there (and there usually is) then I'm all ears.

Thanks,
Bob

rosconey · « **Reply #31 on:** 6 Jan 2006, 05:00 pm »

personaly i think you should hold off for 6-7 months-
i was watching hdnet the other day-they were talking about the 5th or 6th gereration lcd's that will be out latter this year-2 million pixels- not 1 mill like the best have now-
might be worth the wait

zybar · « **Reply #32 on:** 6 Jan 2006, 07:46 pm »

Quote from: rosconey

personaly i think you should hold off for 6-7 months-
i was watching hdnet the other day-they were talking about the 5th or 6th gereration lcd's that will be out latter this year-2 million pixels- not 1 mill like the best have now-
might be worth the wait

There is always something better if you wait another 6-7 months.

Those newer ones won't be in his price range anyway...

The sweet spot now is RPTV's with 1280x720 resolution. This year they will push 1920x1080 and prices will come down over the course of the year.

George

JeffB · « **Reply #33 on:** 6 Jan 2006, 10:45 pm »

I can second the recommendation for the Sony KDS-R50XBR1 LCD.
I bought Sony 50" XBR rear projection TV last year. Not sure of the model number but similar to the one above.

Since I last shopped a year ago things may have changed a bit.

I think the Sony's LCDs have the best color. The blacks on my set are not that black, but it is really only noticeable in a very dark scene. I know Sony improved black levels on some models this year.

The DLP displays seem to oversaturate their colors if you ask me. The color looks bright and impressive, but just not realistic. DLPs are also more money.

LCOS. There is potential here. All the sets I looked at had a purple hue to them. This was and maybe still is a problem with these sets. If they are not purple now they turn purple later.

DILA. These were not quite available when I was looking. The technology sounds impressive on paper. I would definitely go look at a DILA set.

As far as I know Plasma is still expensive if you want 1024i. I am not sure how long they maintain their brightness. It used to be about 4 years, but I have heard some sets are up to 8 to 10 years now. Of course, it depends upon your viewing habits also.

Kishore · « **Reply #34 on:** 6 Jan 2006, 11:04 pm »

...50/60xbr1 is Sony's LCOS...

Cheers,
Kishore

zybar · « **Reply #35 on:** 6 Jan 2006, 11:16 pm »

Quote from: Kishore

...50/60xbr1 is Sony's LCOS...

Cheers,
Kishore

And isn't available in the $2000-2500 budget.

If I don't do the Panny pj in my living room, I am hoping the Sony will be.

George

Kishore · « **Reply #36 on:** 6 Jan 2006, 11:37 pm »

Bob what is your viewing distance?

To the original poster, you have many good choices under 45" now you pick a price and you can narrow your display choice.

Cheers,
Kishore
P.S.- By end of Jan (close to Supabowl) I am sure you can negotiate and get a 50xbr1 for not more than $2700 all incl. You can get them online now for ~$3K incl delivery.

Bob15 · « **Reply #37 on:** 7 Jan 2006, 12:20 am »

Actually its not for me. Somebody asked me as they know I like this hobby. Anyway, they are going with the Sharp 45" LCD Acquos. I was told the picture was "stunning" compared to the DLPs and Plasmas next to it -- "like you can put your hand right through the screen".

Has anyone seen one and share that view?

Thanks, though this was educational!

zybar · « **Reply #38 on:** 7 Jan 2006, 12:24 am »

Quote from: Bob15

Actually its not for me. Somebody asked me as they know I like this hobby. Anyway, they are going with the Sharp 45" LCD Acquos. I was told the picture was "stunning" compared to the DLPs and Plasmas next to it -- "like you can put your hand right through the screen".

Has anyone seen one and share that view?

Thanks, though this was educational!

I certainly wouldn't agree with that statement on the Sharp.

Professional reviews have been mixed as well.

George

Tweaker · « **Reply #39 on:** 7 Jan 2006, 12:27 am »

The Professional Series Panasonic plasmas are highly regarded. I just purchased the EDTV version and the picture is great. Keep in mind that with a 42" display and from a viewing distance of 7 - 8' or more you cannot tell the difference between a HDTV or a EDTV. (The recommended viewing distance for a 42" HDTV is about 5.7'). You can save a bit of cash by buying an EDTV if you are going to be sitting further away. EDTV will look better with regular broadcast and DVD as well because they are closer to the tv's native resolution so less upconverting has to be done.
Here's a link to a review of the Professional Series 42" HDTV:
http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatvreviews/panasonic-th42phd8uk-review.html

And here's a link to a viewing distance calculator:
http://www.myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html

And, what the hell, an HDTV vs EDTV article:
http://www.the-hdtv-review.com/edtv-vs-hdtv.html

A couple of things I like about Panasonics PS tv's is that they don't have built in speakers, they don't have a built in tuner, and they are black! I don't care for the silver frame virtually all consumer model plasmas are using. I got my Panasonic for $1450.00. The model # is TH-42PWD8UK.