HDTV help, good RPTV, budget $2500 (1 Viewer)

[Sumir B]

Any suggestions? Also is it worth buying a 16:9 tv?

 

[James Stierman]

I would definatly buy a 16:9 set. Your probly looking in the 50-55 inch range. Probly Sony 51, toshiba 50, or hitachi has a new 51 coming out soon. Possibly also the mitsubish 55 gold.

 

[Sumir B]

the problem is that I watch a lot of 4:3 stuff,(ie tvs, anime dvds etc...) so would there be a problem of burn in with the side bars? i also found a toshiba 65hx81 for 2300, is that a good deal?

 

[James Stierman]

Yes they would be arick of burn in, but all the maufatures give you options of how to fill up the screen so burn in won't occur. Thats a great price for the toshiba it reatiled for around 3200, but is on closeout pricing now.

 

[Sumir B]

are there any tv's that have black bars, or is this not prefered? i would assume black bars when watching 4:3 would make for uneven wear? but that would happen with 4:3 tvs when watching 16:9 esc movies correct?

 

[Claire Panke]

If you can stretch your budget a little bit ($2700), you might consider a 43" Samsung DLP RP. No burn in issues with DLPs and the bars are black, I believe. Plus it is much lighter at 85lbs than most RPs.

 

[Sumir B]

i have heard of dlp tv's, i saw them on the pansonic website but those were in the 10,000 range!! i think i have settled on the toshiba 57hx81, i found it for 2200, any reason not to get it, i am really new at HDTV so any help would be welcomed.

 

[Claire Panke]

Toshiba is well regarded. I have heard there are issues with some of the Toshibas, mainly regarding 540p conversion and "ghosting" issues...for details go to avsforum.com and look under RP displays. Also check out hometheaterspot.com and go to the Toshiba forum.

We watch both widescreen and 4:3 so the DLP is very enticing (no burn-in), plus it's very sharp and bright. OTOH, I'm guessing the blacks won't be as good as the better CRT RPs. But the Sammy DLPs are shallow (16" and 18" deep) and lightweight (75lbs and 85lbs), easy to move around, never need convergence or CRT replacementand they're affordable. Then again, the next generation sets with 3 DLP chips will be even more spectacular. What to do, what to do...

I'm waiting for the new models to come out in August and the fall. DVI, better line doublers, new chips...