Best choice of 16:9 CRT RPTV....? (1 Viewer)

[Graham Martin]

It is with many thanks to many poeple in this forum that I am proud to say that I have at least decided upon the technology that I want to buy. Now I would love input from people with experience with this particular setup:

Totaly dark room devoted to HT. Mostly DVDs with some Play Station 2 and occasional 4:3 broadcast TV. Depth of room is 15 feet.

I have decided that a new 16:9 CRT RPTV is probably my best choice. I have $3,500 - $4,000 to spend and I am interested in geting a fairly large picture size. (60 in. or greater) I live in the Baltimore-Washington area.

Any tips of which sets to llok at in this price range with those constraints?

Any tips on good dealers in my area?

Many thanks!

 

[Jason Caudill]

Is the room 15 feet deep or will you be 15 feet from the screen? If the room is 15 ft, then you will end up about 10ft away from the screen. That is very close. I would suggest the Pioneer sd-533hd5 53" set at that price. If you wanted to save some money for other "toys" go with a 50" Toshiba (50h81, 50hx81, 50h82, 50hx82).

 

[Graham Martin]

The room is 15 feet, so about 3 feet for TV and 1-2 feet for head-from-wall space.

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

For that budget, I'd suggest the 64" Philips 64PP9751 with 9" CRT's (instead of the normal 7" guns most RPTV's use). It's $3120 shipped. With the money you save, get it professionally calibrated.
Philips decided to no longer sell this model recently. That's why you can get it for about $3k now, instead of the $6-7k it costed 6 months ago. Marantz is still selling it (Philips builds it for Marantz) for $8-10k.

Specs and Info
Comes with a Genesis chipset scaler/doubler. Philips TS1000 pronto remote. .515mm pitch compared to the .72mm of most RPTV's.
This, along with the Mitsubishi Diamond 73" with 9" CRT's, is as close as you'll get with RPTV to displaying a full 1920x1080 resolution.

 

[Graham Martin]

The Philips sounds like a great deal. Should I be aware fo any issues with it since it is discontinued? How about Philips in general? Also, I found it at several e-tailers and I was wondering if anyone has any feedback about these sites and ordering from e-tailers in general. Thanks!
SITES:
http://www.priceshock.com/64pp9751.html
http://www.niceelectronics.com/Electronics/group207.htm
http://www.mpsuperstore.com/Electron...discr14705.htm
http://www.dmartstores.com/phil6464widr.html
Any others? how do these sets fair during shipping? How do you get the set if you work during the day? Anyone know of anyone in the Baltimore/Washington area that would match these prices so i could just go and buy one tomorrow? Thanks all!

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

Since Marantz is still carrying this machine, it shouldn't be a problem. You still have the full warranty on it anyway.
This is only one of probably quite a few good suggestions around this price range. Personally, if I was going to spend $3-4k on a machine, I'd pony up for the superior image quality and brightness of a 9" gun equipped machine. However, there are plenty of people who would rather have an inferior 7" gun (1280x720 would be the max they can reasonably resolve) but a superior scaler (the pioneer elites have absolutely excellent internal scalers, probably the best in any consumer RPTV). The Genesis chipset is a reasonablly good quality scaler (probably about as good as Mitsu's and Toshiba's), but not as good as the one Pioneer puts on their Elite line.
If you can, try to view some of these TV's before making a final purchase. Be aware though, almost none of the TV's will be calibrated correctly in the stores.
Best of luck to you!

 

[Graham Martin]

I have been looking into getting the Philips you recomended and it looks like it is only available on-line. Based on the horror stories I have heard, I am nervous about purchasing from these on-line merhcants. I can not find anyone local to me (Baltimore, MD) that has the set. Any tips?

Also, I have seen that in many other posts you recomend this set. Do you work for Philips?

 

[terry deto]

I got the 55' version at sam's club, is there one in your area?

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

I have been looking into getting the Philips you recomended and it looks like it is only available on-line. Based on the horror stories I have heard, I am nervous about purchasing from these on-line merhcants. I can not find anyone local to me (Baltimore, MD) that has the set. Any tips?
Also, I have seen that in many other posts you recomend this set. Do you work for Philips?

Do any of the local stores carry the Marantz version? Viewing one is like viewing the other.
Personally, with so much money at stake ($3-4k is quite a bit to me, this statement isn't a value statement if you have this kind of cash just lying around everywhere), I'd definitely want to see what I'm getting before making that purchase.
Oh yeah, and no, I don't work for Philips. In fact, I'm more of a front projector enthusiast than RPTV.

 

[Mike Sheahan]

What do you guys think of the Mitsubishi WS-65819 65"?

I can get one locally delivered, setup, and calibrated for $3164.95 plus tax.

I was thinking of this set because of the unique ability it has to be split in two parts for easy delivery into my upstairs apartment.

The size may be a bit large for now, but I won't be in this place forever.

 

[Graham Martin]

Ah! What is the Marantz version? I don't know the model number.

As for the Mitsu... I just saw a 65819 today when I was out shopping and it looked very good. I am not sure what you get above and beyond the 65809, though. They looked the same to me, btu I was in a store so they weren't properly callibrated.

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

The Marantz version is the PV6480W. It may be easier to find in your area.
Marantz PV6480W

 

[Graham Martin]

Thanks for the info! Is the Marantz model being discontinued as well and should I expect the $3500 or so price for it?