Best TV right now for around $1000? (1 Viewer)

[John_Klimek]

Well, the price limit has changed because I cannot find the Panasonic and the wife has OKed a $1600 Hitachi.

I also was unsure of being able to fit the Panasonic 47", but I'm almost positive I will have enough room now. How far back should I be sitting from a 51" as opposed to a 47"? Do the couple of extra inches make that much of a difference in terms of space? With the depth of the Hitachi, I should be sitting about 8 - 10 feet from the TV.

That's great if the Sony does 720p... does it upscale it to 1080i? Does the Hitachi do the same thing? (just wondering) I've heard that some TV's downscale 720p to 540p...

Thanks!

- John

 

[Tim Jin]

The wife ok'd it??

No need to ask more.

Just go for it and enjoy your new HDTV.

Keep us posted.

 

[John_Klimek]

Well, she isn't thrilled but she knows I really want it and she also knows we need a TV so why not buy a GOOD TV now and then not worry about upgrading for a couple of years.

I am a little concerned that 8 - 10" distance from a 51" TV might be too close, but I'm not too worried (because I think it might be more like 10 - 12" away).

 

[Tim Jin]

Something else to think about.

Have you thought about getting the extended warranty?

 

[Jack Briggs]

John, another thing: An HD set is not that bad as far as "sitting up close" goes. In 480p, things hold up nicely. And in HD, even more nicely. Remember, at commercial theaters you want the screen to fill your entire field of vision. Same is true with home theater.

 

[RobertJB]

John,

I wouldn't worry about the distance. I have a 55" that I sit about 9' from and the picture holds up well at that distance.

 

[John_Klimek]

Thanks for the replies!

I don't think I have ever been so torn about buying something my whole life.

I just got back from Circuit City and Best Buy and nobody within 50 miles of me is selling the Panasonic 47x54. However, they are selling the Hitachi 51f510 and the Sony 51" (51WS520, if I'm not mistaken), Both are around $1500/$1600.

After looking at them in-store under HORRIBLE lighting conditions, both sets look "meh", espicially when compared to fantastic looking LCD panels. The rear-projection has a considerable amount of glare (espicially on dark scenes) and they are not very bright (the Sony seemed less bright than the Hitachi, does that mean the Hitachi is better?)

My fiance is very skeptical about buying a projection TV, but she WANTS me to buy one just because it's either that or we do without a TV (or waste money on a smaller set that we know we will replace).

As of right now I'm planning to buy the Sony on Saturday unless I change my mind for the 50th time. I need a TV for my house and I can't afford an LCD but hate the ton of disadvantages that rear projection has. *sigh*

Maybe I should just go with a tube-based CRT? However, the nice Sony 32 / 34" costs nearly $1500 (the same as a HUGE 51" rear projection TV...)

 

[Jerome Grate]

I have the same model you are looking to buy and I have nothing but praise for it. I love it, satellite t.v. using the wide zoom is sweet, the fact that the Sony seemed less bright than the Hitachi, I contribute that to the warmness of the picture which I find to be more natural. As far as HD, I don't have it yet, but experienced in Tweeters and I was really blown away by it. Finally I have the upscaling player via component and I never looked back. Pristene picture, bulky yes but not so terribly, glare well you can control that with lighting and as to video settings very easy. My experience is that right from the box the picture was beautiful but after Video Essentials that did it all. Hope you enjoy, I think you made the right choice for the money.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Guys, know something? I meant to say "Fry's Electronics." You know, the big chain here in SoCal. As I said, at least last week, the store was selling the Panny for $900.

 

[Tim Jin]

John,

For peek sake!!! . I'm joking. We all feel your pain and went through the same thing .

The glare comes from the anti glare/protective screen. That screen is useless. One major factor is to take it off. You can have a tech do it, or do it yourself. Try searching on this forum and there should be someone who has done it before.

I know that Mitsubishi have instructions in the manual.

If you can live with the protective screen, then don't worry.

First, get the TV in your house, and see.

You need to get a setup disc like Avia or VE. They help a lot and straight forward to use. If you are not planning to ISF Calibrate, Avia is a must have. Go on Amazon and buy it.

What you see at the stores will be very different of what you get at home. Unless the stores calibrated the floor models, overall they all look like crap. No one watches TV at 100% brightness.

Overall, RPTV's has the best blacks then LCD's DLP's, Plasmas. You can fine tune the blacks in the greyscale. This is something that an ISF Calibrator will do and among other things.

ISF Calibration is something to look into later on, if you feel that you have done all that you can with Avia and user tricks. ISF is hard to explain in words. Alot of us has done it and its something that you need to see for yourself.

ISF is not for everyone. If you are happy with the setup of the TV, don't stress. For me, it was money well invested and I will always get my big screens ISF'ed. I see a huge difference.

Standard Def will always look so so. If you are just going to watch SD tv, you are better off getting a tube. If you are going to get HD channels, there where you see the gains.

Have fun...

 

[Arthur S]

John

Just found out that Buy.com has the Panasonic 53WX54 for $899. They don't have the 47, just the 53. Maybe you have even more room than you thought?

 

[John_Klimek]

Thanks for checking on that Arthur!

I'm kind of set on the Sony... I know the Panasonic is $600 less, but I don't like that it doesn't support 720p and the fact that I'd have to mail-order it (I'm really afraid of that), and it's slightly bigger than the 51" Sony.

I just found out that Best Buy is having a deal now when you buy any HDTV above $1299 you get a free portable dvd player (normally sells for $140) and three free DVDs ($20 each). So, I'm thinking that maybe I can swap the portable dvd player for an upconverting dvd player instead.

That means $1600 for Sony 51WS520, Portable DVD Player, and $60 in DVDs. Another way to look at it is $1400 for the TV (if I sell the DVDs and portable DVD player)

Does an upconverting DVD player make that much of a difference? Will it make DVDs look nearly HD quality? Which is a good one to buy for around $140?

(Yes, I know you all think I'm crazy at this point, but now that I'm fairly certain on the Sony, don't try to persuade me! Unless of course you feel strongly against what I'm doing )

 

[Arthur S]

John

I don't have any experience with upconverting DVD players. My sense is that they don't make a significant difference. The picture I get with my regular old DVD players is so good that I will just sit it out till the new HD DVD players are realistic. Probably 2 years or more. FYI, I am watching on a 65 inch Toshiba CRT RPTV from about 10 feet and again, DVDs look great, nearly HD to me. I tried HDMI and found that component looked just fine. Not worth the $100 for the HDMI cable.

 

[Alan Wise]

John,

You should be pleased with the Sony. I have last years model, the KP-57WS510, and it works beautifully. I also have a Hitachi 60V500A LCD-RPTV. I spent a lot of time tweaking both sets to what I call near perfection for their respective technolgies. I am very tired of the over used term "best bang for the buck", but to me it truly applies to the Sony you are considering. Do some research on this forum, and avsforum.com to find the tweaks that have been documented for the Sony CRT-RPTV's. Most of the tweaks are extremely easy. Get yourself a copy of "Digital Video Essentials", or "Avia" and spend a Saturday afternoon setting up your new TV. Finish it off with a cold one and your favorite movie, and all will be good in the world.

Good Luck, and congratulations on you upcoming wedding!

Alan Wise

 

[John_Klimek]

Thanks again for the help everybody!

 

[Jerome Grate]

Well, it's not HD but darn near close. I have the Zenith 318 and I am a strong advocate for upscaling players, and I simply love it on my Sony. Using Component since there are issues via HDMI. I tested the DRC Sony offer to upscale anything coming through component video to 1080i and it's not bad but I find the Zenith does a better job de-interlacing the video and upscaling it to 1080i.

 

[Adam]

Hey, I was just over at buy.com site and they have the Panasonic PT-53WX54 for $849.00

on clearance.

I really want a Sony Grand Vega, but at that price, I may buy one to hold me over a bit.

 

[John S]

Well yeah.. I mean.. well.. That is a screaming deal really. $849 is a pretty minimal HDTV expendature these days. Probably worth a shot for sure.

 

[John_Klimek]

Well, I already bought a Sony 34HS420 ($1350). Thanks for the heads up though!

 

[Travis_R]

My roomate bought the Panasonic 48" for our living room and it looks awesome with Dish Network HD and DVD's, He got it at AmericanTV and paid about 1030.00 with tax