50" GWIII or Sammy DLP? (1 Viewer)

[Tim Hess]

I've narrowed it down to these two sets as they fit my needs (and the Wife's .

40%DVD, 30%SD (Sat), 20% Gaming, 10%HD material; in a bright room that has a less than ideal layout (room comes with a built in Ent. Center...for a 27" TV, oh the pain...I dread configuring a 6.1 setup in this room as well).

I am aware of the lower black levels (bright room remember), dead pixels, rainbows, etc. Does anyone have experience with both sets?

 

[Leo_P]

With the Sony GW3's being as new as they are, I don't think you'll find TOO many people that have hands-on experience with both sets. FWIW, I have a Samsung 43" DLP, so here's my $.02...
I NEVER saw rainbows in a showroom setting. Now I see them all the time. If you buy EITHER set, make sure it's from a place with a good return policy.
The word on the street is that LCD RPTV's do better with SD material than DLP. Since you'll only be doing 30% of that, it might not be a big deal. I've got old-fashioned cable and PQ goes from awful to really good. It depends on the signal. Premium channels look the best, go figure.
DVD's look great through DVI. I have a Samsung HD-931 DVI DVD player. Set to output @ 720p, at times it really does rival HD material.
OTA HD, via a Samsung SIR T-165 STB, is unbelievable. Being in NYC, the only HD I get is CBS @ 1080i, which the T-165 converts to 720p, and this is where my TV really shines.
Games on my Xbox look good @ 480p. Plus, many of them are widescreen.
But, IN MY CASE, the bad outweighs the good and I'm not happy with my purchase. I've got rainbows, internal reflections, motion dithering and who knows what I'll find next!:frowning:
As far as the GW3's, I've never laid eyes on one, but I'm very interested in seeing the 42".
Have you considered plasma?

 

[Tim Hess]

I've thought about Plasma, but the issue there is burn in (and size). The price for a high end LCD/DLP will only net me an entry Plasma.

The other thing that worries me is the little woman and the DLP. She has halos due to Lasik and she is VERY sensitive to strobing and odd light output. While she's seen both sets and liked them both and when asked she didn't notcie anything 'funny' about each set (I didn't want to sway her to look for rainbows). I worry about the DLP and her eye develping issues with it. So I guess you could say I am leaning towards the GWIII. Second generation (as far as TVs go) LCDs feels safer than first gen DLP (not to mention the cost, with the money saved on the DLP I can pick up a DVI DVD PLayer).

The real bonus here is that the wife could see an improvement on both sets of the one we have

 

[Craig W]

Tim,

I was looking at the same sets, Samsung DLP and the new Sony LCDs in Ultimate Electronics today. I was really impressed with both units although I could detect rainbow when moving my eyes off the DLP screen. I was not intentionally trying to see but I did slightly notice it. I really liked the new non-XBR 50" Sony LCD but I did notice at least one stuck blue pixel in the center of the screen. So again it just shows that neither technology is perfect yet.

If I was going to buy today I would probably save the cash and go with the Sony since my wife has problems with migraines. I was very impressed with black level and the vivid color image. I would definately try to get the store to agree to a zero dead pixel policy if you go with the Sony.

 

[Tim Hess]

Indeed the technology is not perfect as they are so new, which some people seem to be forgetting.

I'm willing to adopt new tech (aren't we all) and right now, both sets meet my needs, but I think the GWIII is the lowest risk.

I'm with you on the Dead Pixel return policy

 

[Mike Boniferro]

I'll get more info for you on Sony's warranty policy for dead pixels, but I believe they warranty against all of them. I was talking to someone from Sony the other day and that is what I was told, but I will confirm it.
If you buy in a store you normally have 30 days anyways no questions asked... and then if sony's warranty covers you for a year you're set. Also if the store offers a warranty, confirm that it extends everything sony does (ie dead pixels) and then you're totally set.

 

[Tom Fynan]

Tim,

I bought a Sony 50" GWIII after looking at both the Sony and the Samsung DLP, and the Panny plasmas. The Sony was delivered two days ago. I spent last night tweaking it with my Avia disc. I use my TV almost exclusively for watching DVDs. I went with the Sony because I could get more size for my money than with a plasma, and I thought it looked much better than the DLP in the store. I needed a set that could sit on top of my 34" high audio rack, which eliminated most of the RPTVs.

I upgraded from a 36" Sony XBR. I am very pleased with the picture on the new Sony LCD. My main concern was the black levels. The blacks and shadow detail really look no different than on my old Sony. I compared the old and new sets using the opening 10 minutes of Woody Allen's MANHATTEN, which is very dark, and they were almost identical in terms of shadow detail. The same with CASABLANCA. Colors on THE LION KING were stupendous, and THe TWO TOWERS and NORTH BY NORTHWEST were gorgeous - smooth, film-like with none of the "digital" look that bothered me on the Sammy DLP. I have a high-end (Proceed PDMT) DVD player with component cables, which produces outstanding, smooth images, and they looked great on the 50" LCD. Our seats are 7-8 feet back from the set.

I haven't got my high-def hook-up yet, but my basic cable plugged into the back of the set looks just fine. It is really no different than the quality of my old CRT Sony - the Weather Channel in all it's 50" glory!

I would recommend the 50" Sony without hesitation. From what I can figure out about warrenty coverage and dead or stuck pixels, they consider them normal wear and tear. They will replace the set only if a number of them occur in the same area, making a noticable defect. The salesman at Tweeters said thaey had specific criteria (pixels per square inch or something), but didn't elaborate.

Tom Fynan

 

[John Geelan]

The 42" Sony GWIII's I've seen looked great and handled SD broadcast of CNN very well. A 50" model I recently saw at a BestBuy also looked great.
Sony has a winner.

The only downside to LCD at this point is dead pixels and that may just be a minor point for 99% of owners.