2-3500 for a Widescreen... (1 Viewer)

[MikeGee]

I am trying to help my brother out. He is in the market for a widescreen TV now for his new house.
He's looking at the Toshiba 51HX84 (RPTV) but with the changes in technology he's thinking about putting more money and buying a Sony Wega 51"LCD.

The thing we don't like about RPTV's is that their viewing angles are much different than a regular tube TV or even the LCD..
For a budget of say 2-3500$Canadian for picking out a new TV would you go with a rear projection LCD or somthing like the HX84?
Just trying to find the best bang for his buck and i told him i'd ask around on here for him, Thanks for your suggestions

 

[Matthew Todd]

Rats. If you were talking US dollars and it were me, I'd take a look at the JVC 52 D-ILA.

Matt

 

[Kevin T]

if you're looking for bang for the buck, front projection is the way to go.

kevin t

 

[Jim Mcc]

Mike, tell him to look into a front projector. A great place to learn the basics is Projectorcentral.com.

 

[Shane Martin]

Well if he can't do front projection(not the most ideal for everyone), then I'd go with the CRT and bank the rest. I'm sitting at a very sharp angle in one of my chairs and the PQ is still good on my CRT.

 

[MikeGee]

Hey shane since you own one.. do you find what you see in the store doesnt represent what you get once you get it home?
I know a 51" seems small in the store compaired to the size of room they have there.. so i'm kinda thinking that the only reason PQ seems a bit bland in the store is just that.. its in the store not in my home.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Warning - No matter what size TV you buy, if it is significantly bigger than your last TV, it will seem HUGE when you get it home. Some may even think they went too big. Resist the temtation to bring it back for a smaller set. In about 3 weeks time you'll be saying "Hmmm, I wonder if I could have fit the 65" in here?"

The above is a proven fact that any TV buyer should burn into their mind before doing something stupid like trading it in for something (blech!) smaller.

 

[Elinor]

MikeGee, what is the room like where the tv will be placed?

If your bro' can't control the light, then I wouldn't recommend Front Proj or RP-CRT. DLP, DILA, LCD, RP-LCD, and plasma will be bright enough for a bright room.

 

[Shane Martin]

2 compltely opposite experiences. Once home its much bigger and much better usually(as long as nothing is wrong..). One thing to note is how far back he is sitting, this is really key to determine what size he should go with. I sit 10 feet back from a 55" set.

That and you will tweak it out via Avia and such so it will 99% of the time look better. I only put the 99% because there is always that 1% that ISF's there sets. I knew of 1 store that did at one point.

Regarding light control: You don't need a dark room to enjoy a CRT RPTV. My father in law has a large room with lots of light and no issues at all. Taking off that nasty screen protector is a huge difference. Myself and 2 people have all taken it off and the difference is HUGE. No reflections at all. No issues with "its not bright enough" either.

For the $1500 I saved, I completely upgraded my audio system.

So here were my choices:

56" DLP(DILA wasn't out yet)

or

55" CRT and 7 new speakers for 7.1. Not a hard choice at all. Plus I got better PQ to boot. None of this "black level stinks on that set" comments from the peanut gallery and no bulbs to replace.