Is it just me? I am trying give non-CRT RPTVs a chance but... YUCK!!!

Rolando · 02-11-2005, 05:36 PM

First of all I will not even try to pretend I know what I am talking about when it comes to DLP, LCD or LCOS (I think)RPTVs.

As a few here know I have been wanting to get a new TV for over 6 months now. the first debate was 51" CRT RPTV or 34" direct view CRT.

non CRT was never even a thought. I had seen a few years ago (as well as plasma) and to this day have heard about how they just don't compare to even RPTV CRT.

If you can get right lighting condition CRT will always look better. SO I heard and so I have believed.

Well decided on Tosh 34HFX84 but as covered in another thread, it is discontinued. Only other 34" whose picture I trusted was the Sony 34XS955 but I can't justify the $800 price difference (here in Canada). I already had a long debate about going 34" when for the same price I could get a 51" RPTV. Of course PQ would be different but still not HUGE difference in right lighting conditions.

So here I am back to square one looking for a TV all over again and decided maybe I am missing something. A lot of people here at the forum seem to have accepted these units do I figured maybe over the years they have improved and I might be sticking to my guns for nothing.

After all the thought of a 44" unit that will look just as good in daylight was tempting. If I were alone I would definitely go for CRT RPTV but the wife will still watch some regular OTA TV during the day and I know she won't be very impressed with the picture. If we will drop $2K I don't want her to feel it's a downgrade in PQ just for size.

So to make a long story short (ok, I know, too late) I decided to give other RPTVs a shot. Well I went to Audio centre, a place that pride's itself at not being Future Shop or Centre Hi-Fi (Canadian equivalent of Circuit City, Best Buy and the like) and they know stuff and their TV look nice in properly lit rooms.

Well I sat in front of a 52" Toshiba DLP which he told me fit my description of what I was looking for (not bright, just well calibrated film like picture) and I would fall in love. I was disappointed instantaneously. My first clue should have been when I asked if it was an HD feed on it and he said "Yes, see how gorgeous and life like it looks?". It did not. it was a football game and it looked horrible. Was his statement supposed to make me go wow yes!

I decided to give it one more shot. asked him to put on a DVD (which is what I will mostly do) and put TV on "movie mode" rather than sport or anything else.

Well not even 5 minutes into X-Men 2 I could not take it anymore. It looked like I was watching an avi or mpeg on my PC zoomed in. Yes I am exagerating but how can you not notice the artifacts? the "clouds", the pixelation etc. Do people just not notice? I found it so distracting.

The best part is that when I told him he says "well with a good DVD player it does the processing and it will look better". So I say ok do you guys sell Denon. he said no, we have Marantz which is better. So I ask what DVD player was he using now? "Marantz."

Is it me? Or are there units with impeccable processing without this "ghosting" effect? Is it calibration? Is it lighting? Is it DVD player?

Or do I just need CRT?

Guy Usher · 02-11-2005, 05:54 PM

I too was a died in the wool CRT only fan. . .Be it RPTV or direct view untill I found my Sony 55WF655. . . Yes I know about LCD RPTVs and how crummy they are supposed to be but dont tell that to this Sony. . . When I ran VE to set it up. . . everything was spot on the money at default settings (Standard/warm/ nothing added)right out of the box.

Now about one week later I have trouble letting go. . . It is hard to watch crawls and black bars knowing they wont hurt her. . . I LOVE THIS TV!!!

I wanted an integrated HD tuner and a spectacular picture and I got both. There might be some black issues but not so you notice watching what I watch which is just about everything in HD. . . Shoot I watched the original "Charlie's Angels" the other morning at 6AM. . . Hows that for you?? Strange for me but the picture was so damn good I kept watching untill it ended. . .

I am happy as a clam. . . Does just fine in my book and as I said a month ago I would have bet money that I would never ever buy one of these and 3 grand!! NEVER!!

Scott_N · 02-11-2005, 06:22 PM

Well I have a JVC 52" D-ILA and except for black levels I prefer the picture I get with it over CRT on DVD's and HD. On standard def I think CRT looks much better but I can live with that. I'm not a big fan of DLP so I would check out some LCD tv's and the JVC D-ILA before making a final judgement about digital display's. One of my friends has a Mitsubishi 55" CRT RPTV and prefers my tv over his so I guess i'm not alone in this opinion!

Travis_R · 02-11-2005, 06:41 PM

I used to think the same way, as 15 years ago a big screen projection TV looked like crap compared to a CRT, but since I have upgraded from my Zenith 32" from 1987, which was the biggest you could get in 87', well anyway I now have a 42" Mitsubishi LCD RP HDTV and I love it, the picture on DVD and on DISH Network HD looks fantastic, I even have Basic Cable as a backup in case of storms and I also have to have it for Internet, but even basic cable doesnt look half bad on it, but the HD IMHO looks out of this world

Rolando · 02-11-2005, 06:41 PM

Well I guess this is what I am asking. Is it possible then to get a PQ as good as CRT??? Was it just missing something. Will calibration and a good DVD player do the trick?

Or is it that no one notices these things? I see them clearly. Everytime night crawler moved it was somewhere. I am not even talking about diring his fight scene. I mean just before as he is walking in. The sleave of his trench coat, his face in the close up, the secratary's face.

Everywhere I looked I saw little pixelation effects.

Is the a unit that does not do this or is it that these things don't bother other people?

**HTF Ads**

Mike Gov · 02-11-2005, 06:42 PM

I was in the same dilema and guess what, I bought another CRT RPTV. The picture cannot be beat IMHO!!

Ryan Peddle · 02-11-2005, 07:09 PM

Just to confirm:

What do you currently have or have had in the past?

I know that I just upgraded from a toshiba 32' Direct view CRT to a Toshiba 51" 16:9 HDTV CRT.

It take a little getting used to. The television is able to pick up so much detail over my old one that I am able to see so many more flaws in a picture.

I have not had a chance to view any HD programming yet. Just dvd through a rather cruddy JVC progressive scan dvd player.

But if the dvd is authored and produced well, then the picture is amazing, but if it is not, you can certainly tell on a hi def tv.

ChuckSolo · 02-11-2005, 07:34 PM

Well I can chime in that my RCA HD CRT RPTV looks fantastic in HD and equally fantastic when I play a DVD upconverted to 1080i. I love this thing. The clarity is excellent. I will eventually get a plasma screen, but I will hold onto my RCA. It will make a fantastic bedroom set.

Mike Boniferro · 02-11-2005, 08:02 PM

Rolando,
I think you are a lot like me in your dislike for most material on DLP. I am VERY aware of the artifacting, and I think the Toshiba is one of the best pictures I've seen.

However, I would suggest that you seriously consider taking a good look at the Sony WF and XS series LCD RPTV's. They do have a very nice picture on just about any source material. The JVC DILA also looks pretty good, except on DVD players that suffer from the chroma bug (I find it is really exagerated on this set).

But for me, I am happy with my Toshiba 51" CRT RPTV, as I'm sure I will love my soon to be purchased Panasonic AE700 projector.