Just came back from seeing/buying new Sony rear-projection LCD (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Larkin]

I'm wondering if this will force prices downward. Seems Sony is taking some of the steam from Samsung.

 

[Tommy Haupfear]

If you want the best OneCall deal get the $2519 42" Sony and then use the Holiday03 coupon for $75 off which brings it to $2444 DELIVERED NO TAX. If you sign up for their free PASS program you also get an additional 1% off and 10% off the warranty.

Total is $2518 with a 2 year warranty! Here is a screenshot showing the price.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2002-...15/OneCall.jpg

OneCall will even refund half the warranty should you never have to use it (hopefully we won't).

 

[WayneG]

Thanks for the report Phil.

Oops. I have to remember to write "Canadian funds" after my prices!

 

[MichaelC]

Regarding the RCA Scenium 61" (rcahdlp61w151)the best price that I have turned up was at COL (Comkputer on Line) It sells for $3299 with a $30 expedited shipping process. (Guaranteed next day shipping) I think it is an unnecessary $30 charge. I have heard very good things about this DLP, and I like the fact that the HD tuner is integrated. I would love to hear some feedback from anyone who has used the Scenium DLP.

 

[Tommy Haupfear]

Is this first or second generation DLP on the RCA Scenium?

I had a Samsung 2nd Gen. 46" DLP from Tweeter. I took the wife to go see it before it was delivered and she about tossed cookies from what she saw. Seemed fine to me and the salesman.

I've heard that the HD-2+ DLP engine will resolve a lot of issues but as usual I'm not one to wait.

Just got a call and my 50" Sony LCD is about 20 minutes out.

Will update later.

 

[Tommy Haupfear]

Woo Hoo! What a set!

I just finished my first movie on the 50 GWIII and other than the movie sucking (DareDevil) it was a real pleasure to watch.

I have one stuck on pixel (blue) but you can't see it unless you're 5ft or closer to the screen. Can you disable the pixel or is it a lost cause?

I was not a fan of the casing on the new LCD sets but it looks a lot better now that its home.

I hope to have some pics up soon but I'm inbetween digital cameras right now as I upgrade to the Canon 10D.

I highly recommend this purchase!

 

[Parker Clack]

Tommy:

Where did you get the GWIII and how does it look with SDTV
and not just DVD and HDTV?

Parker

 

[Tommy Haupfear]

I ordered my 50" GWIII from OneCall which is where I order just about all of my gear. Their discounts, coupons, free shipping, and 2 year warranty for $89 were hard to pass up. Add in the lack of sales tax and that OneCall is one of VERY FEW factory authorized Internet sellers and it was a done deal!

SD was a mixed bag as Charter cable butchers some channels below 100 which is where the digital kicks in. While watchable I didn't get a chance last night to run in 4:3 mode to get a better feel of how I'm going to like SD.

I'm also hoping that the Sony saves a custom picture and DRC setting for each input as I defintely found that my DVD settings didn't agree with cable (imagine that). I'll delve more into this tonight with DVE and I'll also experiment with Sony's proprietary DRC and advanced video options.

Were coming from a much older 65" RPTV Toshiba and a Sony 34" CRT (both HD) and I would say that other than black levels that the GWIII displays a very respectable SD signal considering the size of the set. I will give the Sony KV-34XBR800 the obvious edge in handling SD material. Its hard to compete for SD on such a refined technology as CRT tubes.

Interesting though in that my camcorder footage from Sony 3CCD prosumer cams seemed to be of higher resolution and less jaggies (s-video feed) than compared to the past 34" Sony.

 

[Phil Levy]

Tommy, the set doesn't save settings per input, but it does save setting per Vivid/Standard/Pro setting. So, you can have three saved sets (and assign these to the inputs you want).

 

[DaveDickey]

I'm awaiting delivery of the 42" GWIII. I finally broke down and made the purchase from One Call.

Does anyone have first hand knowledge of how well this set handles DirecTV SD signals. I plan to upgrade to HDTV eventually, but I'd like to wait a while if I can get a good SD picture. Thanks.

Dave

 

[Tommy Haupfear]

SD is very watchable as long as you have a good feed. As with any TV garbage in equals garbage out. TVs this size (42" and up) display a lot more flaws in SD signals than a wee 13" CRT tube but luckily we've got HD and DVDs to really make us appreciate these super sized LCD RPTVs.

My wife doesn't mind the look of SD at all but these days I'm more pissed with the quality of feed from my cable company than I am with the way my TV handles it.

 

[Jason.Soko]

I just picked up one of the new 42" Sony Grand Wega LCD RPTV's. I'm actually kind of glad the thing doesn't fit well into my room, because I am weary of the current LCD technology. While the picture looks stunning, I've been reading many stories of dead pixels showing up in them :frowning:. I'll be returning it for the Sony 34" XBR910 as INITIALLY planned.

 

[Tommy Haupfear]

Enjoy the Sony 34" XBR910. Smaller screen, dark corners, semi-flat, low resolution dot pitch (compared to LCD), and weighs 200lbs.

I just spoke with the person I sold my XBR800 to and he wants to know if I can find him a buyer because he says its not all he thought it was cracked up to be.

A lot of years of advancement in CRT tube technology but Sony didn't capitalize as they have in the past with their XBR line.

Yeah, my one pixel (out of one million) is a downer but its not visible from 5ft out and I definitely don't recommend sitting that close to a 50".

 

[Jason.Soko]

For that price, NO pixels should be dead. I'll wait on technology to mature.

 

[DaveDickey]

I have had the 42" GWIII for a week now...Zero dead pixels, decent black levels. I could not be more pleased. The menu and remote are well designed, too. If you're thinking of taking the plunge to widescreen, this may well be the set you should get. SD images look as good as they did on the 27" Proscan set I had prior to this purchase (I was surprised by this).

If you plan to wait until TV's are perfect, like some people seem to be doing, then you'll never buy a new TV.

 

[David Galindo]

If you plan to wait until TV's are perfect, like some people seem to be doing, then you'll never buy a new TV.

Amen, brother

 

[Tommy Haupfear]

For that price, NO pixels should be dead. I'll wait on technology to mature.

I can't even find the pixel from the couch even though I know where it is. You keep waiting and I'll keep watching in widescreen bliss.

 

[Ray Chuang]

I had a chance to recently see the 50" GWIII LCD RPTV from Sony at Best Buy lately.

WOW.

Finally, a decent non-CRT projection TV that has picture probably beating in many ways the Samsung HLN507W DLP RPTV! They were playing a signal from a D-VHS deck and the color and sharpness was breathtaking, to say the least. And best of all, you don't need to really break the bank to get one.

The only downside is that the unit doesn't have DCDi de-interlacing built-in, which means I better get a decent progressive-scan DVD player.

 

[Matthew Anderson]

I had my choices narrowed down to the 42" GWIII and the XBR910 but I think I will go with the XBR910. This was a really hard decision because I like both of them so much but I liked the black levels better on the XBR910. To me, details were getting lost(crushed) in different scenes that were being shown at the Best Buy store. Other than that, the picture was really breathtaking.

 

[Brent Avery]

I can understand the enthusiasm that is being generated by those that have viewed the latest entries in RPTV from Sony. I too thought the quality of the picture was hard to beat and really wanted to buy the 50" model - until I did some research on the latest generation of front projectors - specifically those units between $3,500 - $ 5000 cdn. Intially it was the Sanyo Z2, Panasonic PT L300U, and Sony's VPL HS20 ( which is just coming out ). What changed my mind was viewing a DLP front projector from a company called Optoma. The model in question was the H 56 and retails for $5,400 cdn. All I can say is that the price is close enough to the Sony KF50WE610 and the picture on a 100" screen was quite incredible. There are pros and cons relating to LCD vs DLP technology but I am definitley going for the BIG SCREEN. The Sony LCD Grand Wega series - as nice as they are - just cannot compare. And remember, I REALLY wanted one! If any of you are contemplating spending $5,000 and have the room size - you need at least 16' for a 100" diagonal screen size with the Optoma - try to get a viewing of this projector, I think you will be impressed. There is a review at projectorcentral.com.