50-65 in. rear projection (hd upgradable) tv (1 Viewer)

[Adam_mmm]

I am looking to spend around 2000.00 dollars or less on a 50-65 in. rear projection tv. I have heard many different opinions about what name brands lead the pack in this category. I would to have you guys expert advice on what model and brand will fit the bill. Quality(picture, hardware, etc.) is of the up most importance to me. I will eventually have a dolby5.1 ht system connected to this display. I have also looked at dlp's and am curious if it is worth waiting for even though it is more expensive than what I have listed above. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[TomHansen]

I recently picked up the Panasonic 53WX53 at best buy for $1599. $100 Mail in rebate too! has all the latest gadgets including DVI input. Get this thing calibrated and I think you will see that it can look at good as a $3000 Sony. It has a screen protector (I have kids) but that can be removed if it bothers you. Reflects light a bit, but I control all my lighting pretty well so it's never been much of a problem.

Good luck!

 

[ChrisWiggles]

dlp front or rear projection?

 

[Ryan in Denver]

I recently picked up the Panasonic 53WX53 at best buy for $1599. $100 Mail in rebate too! has all the latest gadgets including DVI input. Get this thing calibrated and I think you will see that it can look at good as a $3000 Sony.

I saw that at Circuit City and it did look pretty nice; how do you get it calibrated correctly? (sorry, new to all this!)

 

[BradleyS.]

I have a hitachi 57 inch ultravision digital I got from circuit city for $2300. It has a great looking picture even without the hd tuner.

 

[kyle-sm]

I'm running the FP in my sig, but my dad's got a Mitsubishi 50 or 60 inch rear projection (can't remember) HD 1080 hooked up to a direct TV HD dish (only certain channels are HD). The TV is HD ready you only need a HD signal to send to it, and it looks unreal. Sports are kick ass on it. That being said I have only compared it to TV's I've seen in stores so maybe there are better options.

Just my $0.02

The TV goes for $2000 (probably could find it for less though)

 

[TomHansen]

Ryan,

I personally calibrate my own TV's (I'm ISF Certified with the proper equipment) but you could find someone in your area that does them by going to www.imagingscience.com. ISF calibration is one of the best things you can have done to your display to make it reproduce colors and images properly.

A basic calibration will correct color and grayscale, which will help the picture tremendously. Many calibrators can also correct convergence and other problems with the display, allowing your TV to really stretch it's legs and utilize it's full potential.

Hope that helps!

 

[Ryan in Denver]

Great info, Tom! Thanks!!!

One of the complaints I heard about that Panasonic 53WX53 is it's got only 9 convergence points, whereas the other brands have 60 - 80 (salesman at Soundtrack told me this info). Is this true, and how does it affect the performance of the TV?

Thanks again!

 

[Adam_mmm]

Chris, sorry it took so long for me to get back to you but I was talking about rear projection.