Sony 42" Grand Wega LCD vs. Samsung 46" Tantus DLP (1 Viewer)

[EthanB]

I have done my research, and I have seen the TVs... it has come down to this (unless someone out there knows why it should come down to something else) decision between the Sony 42" Grand Wega LCD and the Samsung 46" Tantus DLP.

Having seen the picture on both, I am leaning slightly towards the Sony, but would like any input that other people who appreciate good picture and sound might have. Please fire away, and let me know what you think!

 

[Wayde_R]

I have made almost the same comparisons. I like DLP better. LCD RP shows that screen door effect and I can see it frequently and find it annoying. DLPs rainbow or motion blurr is far less noticable IMHO.

 

[Dan]

To further confuse you, I actually fell on the LCD side with the 60" Sony XBR LCD. The rainbow drove me crazy, and if you sit farther away, the LCD "screen door" is a non-issue. I also found the gradation in color was better on the Sony vs. the Samsung. Ultimately, it's what bothers you least.

 

[Andy F]

I used to sell these and spent a long time looking at both. I have a preference, the sony, but several other guys liked the DLP better... It really does come down to personal preference. All you can really do is try to watch HD, SD and DVD material from your normal viewing distance at home and see what you like best.

Personally, I found the DLP to be a bit sharper, but the "softer" picture on the sony was much more forgiving on non-HD sources...

Let us know what you decide

 

[EthanB]

All-

Thanks for the advice and the thoughtful commentary. I've checked out both of them a few more times, and after seeing the Sony on sale at Best Buy this past weekend I decided to pick it up. I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[Doug Miller]

Ethan --

Now's where you're supposed to let us know how it went.

I checked out the Tantus also, and having seen rainbows on the 43in, I was worried I'd see them again. Sure enough, I saw them again, so now I am also leaning towards the 42in Sony LCD. What are the pro's and cons you've seen on your set? (Feel free to respond even if you're not Ethan, but have that set.)

Doug

 

[RickMo]

Andy F's response, " ... the "softer" picture on the sony was much more forgiving on non-HD sources" was something I noticed also. Because of the area I live, satellite is out and I'm stuck with this very bad digital cable. While at CC, the Sony LCD was next to the Samsung DPL and there a glitch in the picture feed. The Sony seemed to "gloss" over it while the Samsung was more noticeably affected.

 

[Steven_Jobe]

I personally think the Sony LCD's look horrible, but maybe that's because they weren't in good viewing conditions at my local Ultimate Electronics. Love the look of the DLP's though, just my 2cents.

 

[Doug Miller]

I stopped in at a local high-end shop to check out the 42in Sony LCD -- I'd looked at the DLPs but had problems with the rainbows and headaches, so was told this would probably be my next best bet.

I thought it looked really good. I'm just going through reviews on AVSforum to see pros/cons and will go from there. General complaint is the lack of a true black, and less textures in black environments. They demo'd T3 for me, and I would agree the blacks aren't as well defined as the DLP. But, I will say that the picture looked awesome in HD and even SD looked good. I was worried about the "image ghosting" some had posted about in regards to DLP, so I watched the crane scene in T3, as well as some tennis on ESPN and did not see any noticable blurs or ghosting of images.

All in all I will say that it looked great, virtually on par with DLP (although softer). In terms of the DLP, I felt it was almost too sharp at times, and feel like the softer picture works. When it's in my house hooked up to an HD signal, I'm not going to remember how the DLP looked, I know it will look great.

Main complaint? Lack of inputs. 1 DVI and 2 Component. Ugh! Luckily the cable box should be DVI, so X-Box and Prog. scan DVD will go in the component. A ton of S-Video and Composite.

Doug