Help me choose a RPTV, please! (1 Viewer)

[Kevin Mical]

I've finally decided to take the plunge on an HD widescreen RPTV. I'm armed with $1800, a 10% off coupon from Best Buy (valid this weekend), and basic information on the following five sets:

Panasonic - 47" Widescreen HD-Ready Rear-Projection TV w/ DVI Input & 2-Tuner PIP (PT-47WX53) $1499

Panasonic - 53" Widescreen HD-Ready Rear-Projection TV w/ DVI Input & 2-Tuner PIP (PT-53WX53) $1699

JVC - 56" 16:9 Rear-Projection HDTV Monitor (AV56WP74) $1799

Toshiba - 51" Widescreen HD-Ready Rear-Projection TV w/ DVI Input & 2-Tuner PIP (51H83) $1799

Philips - 55" Widescreen HD-Ready Rear-Projection TV w/ DVI Input & 2-Tuner PIP (55PW9363) $1799

I'm planning on primarily watching DVD's and Laserdiscs, with some HD cable viewing thrown in on occasion. I'm not sure I need the 540p upconversion or the 1080i upconversion that some of these sets do. If you have can steer me in the right direction, I would be grateful. Thank you.

Kevin

 

[Chris Gr]

Now remember, just because you have a coupon for BB doesn't mean you have to go there! Sears will price match everything and some TV's have a $200 mail-in-rebate. Mitsu and Hitachi I think both have them. Just gotta look at the bottom of the receipt.

 

[John S]

On the Philips, check out www.electronicsalley.com they specialize in Philips factory refurbs. I bought my 60" there for $1248 to my door. These are really factory refurbed by Philips, mine had not one blem on it, looked brand spanking new in every way.

Dang you liked that JVC picture quality huh? Every store I seen it in, it really looked inferior to all the other models / brands you posted.

 

[Kevin Mical]

Well, I'm sort of locked into Best Buy due to 1) My new Best Buy card, and 2) The 18-month no-interest financing being offered. Their price is higher than some other places, but their 10% off coupon and $39 delivery charge make up for it.

The JVC was "okay" looking - but I realize that in-store setups are usually pretty far off from proper calibration. Since it wasn't horrible looking, I included it.

 

[ChuckSolo]

I did a lot of shopping and for my money my RCA was a good choice. Compare features on each set before you plunk down your cash. Stick with a name brand and you should be OK. All of the TVs you listed should serve you well. I went in and compared the picture using my own DVD to finally select what appeared to me, to be the set that had the best picture quality. I didn't care to much about sound because my 5.1 system will take care of that. The guy at Circuit City actually talked me out of getting a TV with a built in HD tuner, saying it was for over the air only so I saved 100 bucks there. In any case, shopping around is half the fun. Enjoy!

 

[nick_rh]

I'm a satisfied owner of the Panasonic 47WX53, and I'd definitely recommend it if you're mainly going to be watching DVDs and HD. I haven't been able to get the colors *exactly* right yet (bright reds still look a little funky) but I haven't done all the service menu stuff or had it calibrated. Despite that, it has a great picture and I'm really enjoying it so far (I've had it about 3 weeks now).

 

[Kevin Mical]

I really did like the Panasonic's appearance in the store, but have read a lot of scary things about the dreaded "POP" that many seem to exhibit. I'm not too excited about having to remove panels and get into the guts of the TV to fix the problem every few months.

The 52" RCA looked really good, but I was not as impressed by its feature set compared to the others.

 

[Alan Wong]

From everything I've seen/heard all these newer CRT RPTVs look pretty good with DVD and HDTV. The big difference is on SD. You'll want a Mits or Pioneer Elite if SD is important, as it is for me. I've got a 55" Mits. Good luck on your researching.

I've got a built in HD receiver and use it all the time but I now recommend people to get this capability from their cable/satellite provider. It's great that Dish is giving away their 811 HD receiver to new subscribers and I hope competition will drive DirectTV to do the same.

 

[John S]

IF SD is ultra important to an HDTV owner, one of the giant 60" Philips 4:3 sets is the ticket.

I'd put it's 4:3 SD performance above any other HDTV I looked at period, regaurdless of price.

 

[PaulB]

I have had my Toshiba 57" 57HX83 for 1 month now and am exceptionally pleased. I got it at HH Gregg in Franklin, TN (Nashville) for only $1999. Terrific HD and DVD performance, plenty of inputs, good user interface, good size for my 10' viewing distance.

 

[Kevin Mical]

PaulB,

I'm glad you liked that set --- it's the same one I just purchased! After making one last trip into Best Buy before the weekend, I was going to wait on the 51" Toshiba ($1799, but I would be getting 10% off).

Instead, I noticed a 57" Toshiba on the floor. I asked about the set, and was informed it was a "Super Bowl rental - you know, someone buys it the weekend before, invites everyone over to watch the game on it, then returns it within the 30-day grace period for a full refund"

I checked the settings - Contrast at 50, Brightness at 40 - and decided that whoever purchased it made a stab at adjusting the default settings. When I asked, he said he'd sell it to me for 10% off. Big deal - since I could buy it new for 10% off starting tomorrow.

I pressed him until he knocked the set down to $1550 --- if I bought the 4-year extended warranty ($249). I thought about it, got a guarantee that I had 30 days to evaluate it ... then took out my Best Buy card and arranged delivery.

Any advice on calibrating it? You wouldn't happen to know where I could find the service mode settings, would you?