Why is DLP so unpopular? (1 Viewer)

I've started browsing TVs and I'm a little surprised that projection TVs are quite unpopular. I've not seen any smaller than 60", and while those are half the price of LCD and Plasma, there's maybe three for sale compared to the walls of LCD and Plasma.

I've done a bit of searching and the comparisons between DLP and LCD / Plasma are all several years old -- and presumably totally outdated.

So what gives? Has the market spoken, and DLP is just inferior? Or should i consider a DLP projection for future TV?

The market has spoken, they want flat screens. That's all you need to take from it.

There's nothing wrong with DLP. As Zack said, thin is in. But rear projection is still a great option if you want a large screen at a great price. And you have the room. 73 inches are going for well under $2000. While I think rptv's will disappear altogether in a year or two, DLP may still survive in front projectors. BTW, I own two DLP's. A 52" Mitsubishi and a 65" Toshiba.

What Zack said. It's strictly a coolness factor. A year ago, when I went looking to replace my 65" CRT, I ran into the same problem.

Not for me. I ended up with a Samsung DLP RPTV, and I've been very happy with it. The model is no longer made, but I'm pretty sure there's a successor; look for something in the 72" range.

Where are good reviews and comparisons?

The obvious difference in the store was the DLP had much smaller viewing angle range. The LCDs & Plasmas looked good from way off the side, but the DLPs dropped off quickly.

We're looking for a new TV maybe early next year: RP DLP pricing is extremely attractive in the 60" range, but I'm wary given their minimal success these days.

I never found any. I had to do my own comparisons, and it wasn't easy finding places with RPTV demo models, at least not in my part of the world.

DLP's do seem to be disappearing. I think Mitsubishi and Samsung are about the only two manufacturers still making them, and there are rumors Samsung will be discontinuing manufacturing next year.

I think part of the reason is that DLP RPTV cut into the sales of the more expensive and profitable flat screen plasma and LCD sets.

I upgraded to a Samsung 67-inch LED DLP TV less than two months ago, and I am extremely happy with the set. Black levels are outstanding, and the TV does much better in daytime viewing in our family room than my old Toshiba 56-inch CRT RPTV. Viewing angle has not been an issue -- we sit about 12 feet away. HDTV and BluRay look incredible on this set, and upconverted SD-DVD (via a Sony BD player) also looks very good.

I can offer some anecdotal advice against Mitsubishi. I know two people who had terrible experience with Mits DLP RPTV's. Different models, but they both went through multiple bulbs in under two years. Both owners ended up chucking their sets for plasmas.

One of those owners was a brother of mine; the other was Parker Clack.

Ditto what everyone else said.

And I couldn't be happier with my Samsung DLP. Price to screen-size it could not be beat. It's 12 inches deeper than a "flat screen" so I have to put it on a table instead of hanging it on the wall. But, for me, that trade off was well worth the nearly 50% savings.

If they are not being made soon I should really stock up on bulbs... Though at the rate I watch about 2 bulbs should get me well over a decade of hi-def viewing.

Thanks for the tips. Boy, for the price of a 50" LCD, I can buy a 60" DLP and have a $1000 left for new Receiver and Blu Ray player.

But, like the masses, my wife and I like the aesthetics of the flat panels.

I'll keep reading & learning and see what happens in the coming months with these sets.

I hope to be getting a Samsung 61" - 72" LED DLP, after the first of the year. I want the bigger screen size. The LED means no bulbs to change and no color wheels to shatter, as some have done. Less energy consumption too.

I have no desire to hang a tv on the wall. Not the best place for them. Ideally, the center of the screen should be about eye level, while sitting down, except for front projectors.

No need to replace bulbs and no color wheel (and, hence, no rainbow effect) were items that attracted me to the Samsung LED DLP's, too. FYI, they do not make a 72-inch set -- only 61" and 67".

Hanging the set on the wall was not a concern here, either. Our TV sits on the open end of our family room, so there is no wall to hang it on. Anyway, the 37" LCD in our bedroom is not mounted on a wall, either. It's sitting on an old microwave stand, which gets it high enough to see laying in bed.

Now, FYI....... Amazon.com: Samsung HL72A650 72-Inch 1080p Slim DLP HDTV: Audio & Video
Enjoy!

Are these three DLP chip systems? Aren't you trading rainbows for alignment problems?

Not sure. Gregg can probably answer that. But I prefer not having to change bulb. Don't want to chance a squeaky color wheel or other noise from a spinning wheel. And as I said before..........less power consumption with LED.

These are single chip DLP sets. They use three high-powered LED's to energize the DLP chip. The red-blue-green LED's fire in sequence thus eliminating both the color wheel and the lamp of a traditional DLP RPTV.

By the way, I've heard that the LED array provides the equivalent of about a 15x color wheel ... so RBE is also virtually nonexistent as well on these sets.

It beats me as to why these sets aren't more popular ...

Personally, I'm more into front projection ... but I still prefer DLP due to the fact that there are never any convergence issues and dust blobs are rarely a problem. And in spite of the advances in contrast ratios in LCD projectors, DLP can still be "good enough" in that area without having to resort to an iris.

I think the Amazon description of this set is in error. The Samsung 650 Series are traditional bulb DLP sets, while the 750 Series are the LED DLP. The 750 Series comes in 61" and 67".

How does this eliminate rainbows? You've still got time-sequential coloring, which is the cause of rainbows; not the color disk per se. Is LED timing faster, as with the newer, faster color wheels?

Dave,

About 99% of the population is unable to detect "rainbows" once the color wheel gets to a 5x speed. (That's five times the frame rate.)

The LED's in these new sets fire so fast they provide the equivalent speed of about a 15x color wheel. It would be virtually impossible for the naked eye to perceive the individual colors at a speed that high.

It says on Samsung's site that it uses Cinema Smooth light engine, but can't find anywhere on the site that tells if that is LED bulb or traditional bulb. I'll take your word for it. You probably know more about these than I do.
Why doesn't someone tell Amazon their info is wrong.................? :frowning: