SXRD should I wait? (1 Viewer)

For years I've been watching and reading over tv's. LCD, Plasma, DLP etc...

The SXRD seem to get consistently high ratings and they have caught my eye.

The tv will be used for a lot of standard tv watching and dvd's, with HD-DVD in the semi near future. We have direct tv and HDTV programming will something that may eventually look into.

We would probably do most HDTV watching over the air (if the signal is good, which it should be in our area).

The prices of the SXRD have been going down over the last year or so and now they can be had around here for round about 2.2k.

Is there any reason not to bite and finally grab this set?

I've wanted 1080p since I want something that will last me several years. Bulb life concerns me, but I hear that you can get the bulbs for 200 bucks and they are rated for 5k or so hours. Which should be several years.

Is there anything that's just around the corner that's going to blow this tv away soon and make me regret dropping cash on it now? I know that the future is always going to have better sets, but how much better how soon.

Thans in advance for the input!

Oh I'm also looking in the 50 to 55 inch range. Spending less than 2500 is my goal, but a little more for a lot better set would definately be considered.

Greetings

And you are saying that 720p sets won't last you for several years?

If you go the sxrd route ... an extended warranty is a good idea. Something called a Green Blob ... it's real and it might affect your set.

The XBR ones are much better at handling 1080p material than the A2000 units.

Extra pixels only come into play if you can see them. Depends entirely on how far you sit from the screen. At 8-10 feet from a 50" set ... the extra pixels are wasted. Can't see them.

Regards

Well not so much that a 720p wouldn't last, but I want to attempt to futureresistance myself for the next chunk of years.

I've read up on the green blob, and I'll definately keep an eye out for it.

We will average about 9 to 10 feet from the screen, but could be closer for gaming and such from time to time.

XBR vs A2000 is another factor. I've been trying to read everything I can to make that choice.

As far as what is right around the corner the two technologies to consider that will (hopefully) become more mainstream during 2007 are LED DLP and Laser. Lots of hype around laser -- and supposedly it should be pretty inexpensive, but I am somewhat skeptical of the possibility of it hitting market this year.

LED DLP, on the other hand, has already been on the market in limited quantity for several months. Samsung is coming out with 3 new LED DLP models in the next month or so. These remove the DLP color wheel (essentially eliminating the rainbow effect) and the bulbs last more than 4x a typical rear project bulb.

I'm holding off on buying a new tv until I can check out these new Samsungs.

How much more expensive will the led sets be?

The last I heard was upwards of 4k.

That price kinda kills any savings from buying extra bulbs.

The prices will continue to drop every 3 months is the latest statement by a few BIG Retailers in the business section. LCD is kicking ass 300% market share gain,(SONY and SAMSUNG want LCD to succeed)

DLP needs the LED and Thin screen, but has lower priced Bulb TV.'s DLP's a cheap price per size, looks like Plasma will continue the battle with LCD....the others nodes will try and survive.

None of this subjective "best technology"....but...

From my reading, seems a lot of people are somewhat let down as the standard definition is nothing to be excited about.Expectations NOT met with HDTV's. THE HD doesn't alter their life's viewing happiness like the commercial showed.

whats the point?? Whats the application? I'd save your money and get a 720p killer pricing, and a nice new HT setup with an entirely new DVD, AMP, SPEAKERS.....everything on ONE REMOTE CONTROL!!!
damn I see the Pearly gates openning up!! ONE REMOTE FOR EVERYTHING!
ONE REMOTE CONTROL !!


DLP sounds like the best price and biggest screen per a friend...and you said you don't mind the the bulb cost $$$$$ or the big bulky box?....

yeah, I know a guy just bought a 55inch DLP 720P at FRY's Electronics for $1200....he's thru the roof happy...he studied for years and went with this one. He was in shock how beautiful a picture and for this price.,....geeez...I almost gave in to the BULB GAME

Well I don't jump for joy over the thought of messing with bulbs, but I'm not willing to pay 1500 bucks to save 400.

Is this really true ? I've been reading up on the SXRD sets quite a bit lately and I have never heard this as an advantage for the XBRs. In fact, I have heard just the opposite. I've heard that the HD picture (when fed an HD signal) is identical between the A2000 and XBR lines. The big advantage for the XBR is in its standard def processing. Could you clarify your statement ?

I plan to wait until this Fall to purchase one of the new Sony A3000 SXRDs.

Greetings

Feeding a 1080p signal into both sets ... certain tough test sequences fail on the A2000 and pass on the XBR.

MI3 Vatican sequences ... some walls exhibit a pulsing/pumping effect at 1080p on the A2000 ... same sequences play back cleanly on the XBR ...

Will you notice it ...? Hard to say ...

Regards

The 2007 Samsung LED DLPs start at about $2300 MSRP for the 50" set. I would guess that street price will come in about 10%-15% under that.

Thanks for clarifying Michael. I will have to keep this in mind when I started shopping this fall. Unfortunately, I don't think Sony will bring out a 55" XBR and I am not sure I could afford the XBR anyway. Perhaps the new A3000 line will not have this issue. I think the 120 Hz response and 3 x HDMI (1.3) inputs will be worth the wait regardless.

Wow 2300...that's far below what I was expecting.

If the quality is good, then that could be worth waiting for.

Damnit. There is always something around the corner.

CC had the 50"sxrd on sale this weekend for 1899 with 0% till Sept08. If I had bought on Saturday I could have gotten 0% till 2010.

Oh well. Next I have to decide which extended warranty to get. CC says they cover the bulbs. Sony apparently is cheaper, but doesn't cover it.

It's looks pretty damn good downstairs right now. I ran a THX optimizer just to get a quickie update to the settings. That helped boost the look a little bit.

I'm pretty impressed far what it's been able to do off a cheap dvd player on S Video.

I figured I'm always waiting and waiting. No more!

I have the KDS-50A2000. You can find an excellent list of settings that will get the TV to darned near perfect (save for an ISF calibration) here: http://reviews.cnet.com/9601-4_7-0-4...sageID=2506536

I bumped the color up a few notches, but other than that, the above settings are quite good.

I guess you could say I got screwed paying 3700 bucks for a Sony 55WF655 LCD Rear projector I assume a native resolution of 720P (788). It displays 1080I, 720P,480P,480I, has Cable Card, HDMI, all kinds of componet inputs, digital output all features that I use. I bought this TV over 2 years ago and it plays all day every day from 6AM until almost midnight.

Brightness, color etc all are the same today as it was fresh out of the box. . .I've been blown away more times than I can count. . .Sure I could have waited for 1080P or until the prices drop. . .I've seen basically the same TV only in 1080P for half of what I paid but had I waited I wouldn't have had the pleasure I have had with this Sony.

I see it as a keeper still and have no plans to change for years to come. . .I think. . .

My point. . .Buy one if you want one. . .don't wait unless you already have one and are waiting only for upgrades. You won't be dissapointed.

That is awesome thanks!

I agree I may have to bump up the color some as well. I'll have to play with it a little more and see how I like it. At first I thought it gave it a little too washed out of a look.

Especially with power save on.

As do I.

Congrats on your purchase Clay. I was in the same position for awhile too. I finally decided not to wait for the new 2007 SXRD models and chose the 60XBR2 over the 60A2000. I was able to get what I thought was a very good price on it from an authorized internet dealer. I got it delivered a little over a week ago (3/30) and I'm loving it so far! No doubt you will love your TV.

You are 100% correct, there is always something "better" around the corner. It's just a matter of how important the new features and design changes are to each person. While I'm sure the new models will be great, these models are darn good and we have them now!

I agree at some point you just have to get something.

Part of the reason I decided to go for it was that I know 2 people who recently found out that they have cancer.

One only has a very small time left to live.

Life is short, and you never know how many corners you have left to wait for. I decided that if I can reasonably afford it, and it looks pretty damn great, there's not a lot of reason to not wait.

Now sure this is just a tv, but it's something that I've wanted and saved for, for years. I just went from a 10 year old 25" tv (it was the first tv that I bought on my own, and it still runs fine. It will be great in the computer room), to a 50" widescreen HDTV and I honestly don't think I could expect more.

DVD's are clear and great, SD is actually pretty nice to boot at 8 feet or so, and HD over the air is awesome.

Hell I could die on the way to work tomorrow, but at least I made one mini dream of mine come true before I departed.

Sorry to butt in here, but it looks like I may be leaning towards this set.

I also am making the jump from a 27" CRT and I had been looking at the JVC LCoS sets. The problem is that I only really have room for a 50" or 52" set and the JVC set doesn't have iris control until you get to the 56" size. My viewing habits are similar to Clay-F (SD TV and DVD with HD-DVD in the future), and it will also be in a living room without perfect light control.

Sooo... the Sony that you just got may work. I had been reluctant to look at the Sony's for two reasons:
1) Price - The JVCs are less expensive
2) I had heard that the Sony's don't handle 3:2 pull down very well. According to CNET it had problems on Star Trek Insurrection's fast panning and SD images aren't as good either.

Questions:
Since I know that you are happy with this set (and the others here are as well), please tell me what you think of the issues I raised above and also please tell me why you picked the Sony over the JVC. What features led you to paying the higher price on the Sony?
I'd especially like to hear from people who bought a 56" screen (or larger), since in that size the sets have similar features, but the JVC is cheaper.