Need help in buying an 42" LCD and a comments about the LG 42 LB1DR (1 Viewer)

[glenm]

Im new to this hobby about home theater. Need some professional advice, Guys can anyone tell me if the LG 42 LB1DR a good choice for an LCD compare to other LCD. Its sold for 2700.00 and I dont know if there is another LCD that is better for this price. I really appreciate all the suggestions and comments that this forum can help me. Thanks a lot

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Are you married to LCD as at technology and 42" as the size? Does your application absolutely require a flat-panel display? I'm curious because for that kind of money you can probably get a bigger screen, better viewing angle, more contrast and better over-all picture with a microdisplay (DLP or LCoS) than with LCD.

When I was shopping for my first HD sets, I started with what I needed and wanted in terms of form factor, screen-size, PQ, issues, priorities and price, then narrowed the filed down to the technologies that met my requirements:

In my bedroom I wanted a very compact, inexpensive set for limited TV watching, so got a 27" LCD panel.

In my home office I wanted a TV the could also replace my PC monitor and let me watch DVDs while putting in time on the treadmill, and also wanted to hold the price down, so I got the 32" version of the bedroom TV, which had VGA and DVI inputs.

For the living room I wanted to stay with the 56" screen size of my old analog widescreen RPTV. From a price standpoint that pretty much ruled out plasma, which I wasn't inclined towards anyway, since I've seen what burni-in can do to TVs and plasma's vulnerability to that makes me nervous. I wanted something less bulky than my old CRT-based RPTV, but I was buying a new adjustable entertaiment unit and didn't need a set I could hang on the wall, so a microdisplay was ideal. That narrowed things down to rear-projection, DLP, LCD RP or Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS, the technology in the new Sony XBR sets and the JVC HD-ILA line.)

RP LCD has most of the same limitations as LCD flatpanel when it comes to constrast and viewing angle, plus the "screen door effect", which I find noticeable. Exit LCD RP.

DLP is prone to the rainbow effect, which I've never seen (some people just don't) so it moved up the list. But it does have a color wheel, which is one more mechanical device to potentially cause trouble. On the plus side there's no risk of burn-in, the viewing angle is good, contrast great and a bulb-based system means the brightness can be restored to day-you-bought-it condition, unlike plasma, which gradually and permanently loses brightness over time. I went to the store planning to buy a DLP.

I came home with an LCoS (JVC HD-ILA) All the advanatages of DLP, no rainbow effect for anybody, no screen door effect due to better pixel fill, excellent blacks and the price was right.

YMMV, but you might want to think about other technologies.

Regards,

Joe