LCoS, DLP or good ol' CRT RPTV?

triodelover · 02-12-2007, 06:06 PM

Contemplating the move to a large RPTV (60" or greater) to be placed in a large (18' x 29') room with the main audio system (2-channel). Seating is ~15' from where the screen would be located. Primary use will be movie watching, and not the blockbusters loaded with CGI effects, either.

Our DVD collection is moving toward the 1000 mark and consists of silent films, Hollywood classics from the 30 and 40s, noir classics, and foreign cinema (Neorealismo, Nouvelle Vague, Japan's post war golden age, etc.) Given our tastes in film, I doubt much of what we care about will ever be issued in any HD format, although certainly a few will (witness Casablanca, The Adventures of Robin Hood and the forthcoming Wizard of Oz). Therefore, I would estimate that 80% to 90% of the time the set will be seeing a SD signal upscaled to 1080i from a Momitsu V880 DVD player (although I plan to upgrade to the Oppo DV-981HD after the dust settles from the TV purchase).

The remaining time will be spent watching sports (baseball and cycling using the TV speakers instead of the big audio system) and offerings from PBS in HD. The current 32" Sony CRT will remain upstairs to handle the remaining drivel provide by Comcast. No gaming at all, and no likelihood of that changing since I turn 60 next year.

My "short" list includes LCoS offerings from JVC and Sony and DLPs from Samsung. But after reading here and elsewhere, I'm beginning to think that a CRT unit like the 65" Hitachi might better serve my intended uses. I know burn-in is a consideration on CRT RPTVs. Around 60% - maybe more - of the collection is 4:3. Stretching isn't an option. But lowered contrast and 4:3 output on the DVD player to give gray, instead of black, vertical bars is. So is proper ISF calibration. Opinions?

TIA,

Phil

Arthur S · 02-12-2007, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by triodelover

Contemplating the move to a large RPTV (60" or greater) to be placed in a large (18' x 29') room with the main audio system (2-channel). Seating is ~15' from where the screen would be located. Primary use will be movie watching, and not the blockbusters loaded with CGI effects, either.

Our DVD collection is moving toward the 1000 mark and consists of silent films, Hollywood classics from the 30 and 40s, noir classics, and foreign cinema (Neorealismo, Nouvelle Vague, Japan's post war golden age, etc.) Given our tastes in film, I doubt much of what we care about will ever be issued in any HD format, although certainly a few will (witness Casablanca, The Adventures of Robin Hood and the forthcoming Wizard of Oz). Therefore, I would estimate that 80% to 90% of the time the set will be seeing a SD signal upscaled to 1080i from a Momitsu V880 DVD player (although I plan to upgrade to the Oppo DV-981HD after the dust settles from the TV purchase).

The remaining time will be spent watching sports (baseball and cycling using the TV speakers instead of the big audio system) and offerings from PBS in HD. The current 32" Sony CRT will remain upstairs to handle the remaining drivel provide by Comcast. No gaming at all, and no likelihood of that changing since I turn 60 next year.

My "short" list includes LCoS offerings from JVC and Sony and DLPs from Samsung. But after reading here and elsewhere, I'm beginning to think that a CRT unit like the 65" Hitachi might better serve my intended uses. I know burn-in is a consideration on CRT RPTVs. Around 60% - maybe more - of the collection is 4:3. Stretching isn't an option. But lowered contrast and 4:3 output on the DVD player to give gray, instead of black, vertical bars is. So is proper ISF calibration. Opinions?

TIA,

Phil

Hi Phil

The current crop of CRT HDTVs are not nearly as good as the 1080P DLPs...get the biggest rear projection DLP that you can afford and that fits into your viewing room...I particularly like the 73 inch Mitsubishi...please keep in touch with me.

triodelover · 02-12-2007, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arthur S

Hi Phil

The current crop of CRT HDTVs are not nearly as good as the 1080P DLPs...get the biggest rear projection DLP that you can afford and that fits into your viewing room...I particularly like the 73 inch Mitsubishi...please keep in touch with me.

Arthur,

I'm curious...why DLP over LCoS (SXRD or HD-ILA)? We watch a lot of B&W - far more than color - and I'm concerned over rainbow effects.

Arthur S · 02-12-2007, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by triodelover

Arthur,

I'm curious...why DLP over LCoS (SXRD or HD-ILA)? We watch a lot of B&W - far more than color - and I'm concerned over rainbow effects.

Hi Phil

Most people don't see the rainbow effect...in the most recent test of HD TVs DLP had the highest ratings across the board...Please keep in touch with me.

Bryan X · 02-12-2007, 08:26 PM

I'm in a similar situation and will be replacing my 53" CRT RP with either a DLP or LCoS (60-62" probably). I think the DLPs look beautiful, but all those moving mirrors scares the hell out of me. Has there been any issue with them failing? The LCoS just seems like a 'safer' bet since there are no moving parts. Am I just nuts?

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SeanA · 02-12-2007, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan X

I'm in a similar situation and will be replacing my 53" CRT RP with either a DLP or LCoS (60-62" probably). I think the DLPs look beautiful, but all those moving mirrors scares the hell out of me. Has there been any issue with them failing? The LCoS just seems like a 'safer' bet since there are no moving parts. Am I just nuts?

No... I have a DLP but prefer the Sony SXRD sets I have watched recently. The SXRDs, and probably LCOS in general, are much better with standard def programming (including DVDs) and dark scenes. I did a side-by-side comparison recently with some Samsung and Mitsubishi DLPs versus a Sony SXRD, and the DLPs could not show the same level of detail as the Sony during dark scenes from my "Goblet of Fire" DVD. Even though my professionally calibrated Samsung DLP can look great with some HD content, it's poor DVD performance has me wishing for LCOS.

Read the reviews, but go out there and see for yourself.

Arthur S · 02-13-2007, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan X

I'm in a similar situation and will be replacing my 53" CRT RP with either a DLP or LCoS (60-62" probably). I think the DLPs look beautiful, but all those moving mirrors scares the hell out of me. Has there been any issue with them failing? The LCoS just seems like a 'safer' bet since there are no moving parts. Am I just nuts?

Hi Brian

Consumer Reports has a 16 page section of the March 2007 issue devoted to HD TV...they have audio and video engineers and test under controlled conditions with trained viewers (I could go into more detail on their degree of expertise)...they say that they just don't have sufficient data to say whether any of the technologies is any more or less reliable than the other. I am not aware of any issues with failure of "moving mirrors"...the mirrors are microscopic in nature and it is not really an issue...you are not nuts.

If you really want to get the full story please either purchase the March issue of Consumer Reports, or you can sign up for their on-line service for $6 for 30 days and cancel at any time. Please keep in touch with me.

Dave H · 02-13-2007, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeanA

No... I have a DLP but prefer the Sony SXRD sets I have watched recently. The SXRDs, and probably LCOS in general, are much better with standard def programming (including DVDs) and dark scenes. I did a side-by-side comparison recently with some Samsung and Mitsubishi DLPs versus a Sony SXRD, and the DLPs could not show the same level of detail as the Sony during dark scenes from my "Goblet of Fire" DVD. Even though my professionally calibrated Samsung DLP can look great with some HD content, it's poor DVD performance has me wishing for LCOS.

Read the reviews, but go out there and see for yourself.

I think this might be a gamma issue on the DLP - something that can be fixed in the service menu by a good calibrator.

Arthur S · 02-13-2007, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeanA

No... I have a DLP but prefer the Sony SXRD sets I have watched recently. The SXRDs, and probably LCOS in general, are much better with standard def programming (including DVDs) and dark scenes. I did a side-by-side comparison recently with some Samsung and Mitsubishi DLPs versus a Sony SXRD, and the DLPs could not show the same level of detail as the Sony during dark scenes from my "Goblet of Fire" DVD. Even though my professionally calibrated Samsung DLP can look great with some HD content, it's poor DVD performance has me wishing for LCOS.

Read the reviews, but go out there and see for yourself.

Hi Sean

In the above mentioned article in Consumers Reports the top 3 Rear Projection sets were all DLP...they scored excellent in Picture Quality, DVD, and Standard Def (TV viewing)...however, they did a preliminary test on the $3,800 Sony KDS-R60XBR2 and they said..."our first look showed excellent picture quality"...on the other had...I saw a $1,600 Phillips 60 inch DLP next to a Sony SXRD in a warehouse type store and the picture on the Phillips DLP was every bit as good as the Sony DLP...neither was calibrated or ISFd but to me they looked exactly comparable...in addition, John Kotches has done extensive testing and he said that DLP is sharper and has more contrast than LCoS or SXRD technology...and he has an excellent reputation and has conducted tests of subwoofers, TVs, DVD players and many other things and he has some of the best equipment you can get for a reasonable price...last I heard he was using a pair of Velodyne DD-15s for his subwoofers...of course your mileage may vary. PS He has tested SVS subwoofers and given them a big thumbs up. Thank you for contributing to this thread.

Joseph Bolus · 02-13-2007, 09:16 AM

Have you considered a DLP based front projector system? With that size room and your seating distance, combined with the fact you're not going to be using the system for "regular" cable broadcasts, I would think that this could be a viable option.

You could end up with a 96" 16:9 screen, and