Help with new RPTV (1 Viewer)

[StevenB]

Here is what I was originally going to post before browsing through many hundreds of threads on this RPTV subject:
"Hello,
I am new to this part of the forum, so any help and/or criticism is much appreciated. I am in the market for a new TV to complete my Home Theatre. I am looking for a 16:9 set in the 55-73" range (60-65" ideally). HDTV compatabiliy preferred, not for HDTV programming, but moreso for my progressive scan DVD player. 9" guns, they seem clearer. Anything under $5500 is preferred. Now the technical stuff:
I have a very capable audio system for the home theater, so can I save money with any model lacking speakers? I see most of these large sets come with speakers just as large as the screen itself. I don't need them.
I hear that some models, while viewing a digital sports feed for example, "break up" the picture. Any models to stay away from?
I know these questions are asked 10 times a day, but when I looked for info, I had trouble narrowing anything down. Any advice from owners with anything remotely close to what I am looking for?
Sincerely,
Steve Burtson "
Now after seeing all the bugs that these large TV's have, I think I am going to stick with my little 27" WEGA. If someone can truly convince me that spending $3000-$5500 on a TV that is going to need repair after a year is worth it, all the glory to you!! I cannot at this time see spending that much money on something that is not going to last me at least 5-10 years and that I don't need to spend much dollars on an ISF every 6 months or so. Please do me some convincing, or to steal a line from the old crone in Monty Python's Holy Grail, "DO YOUR WORST!" Have a good one.
Sincerely,
Steve Burtson

 

[Michael Reuben]

that I don't need to spend much dollars on an ISF every 6 months or so

There's hardly a TV made (big or small, HD-ready or otherwise) that can't benefit from ISF calibration. Conversely, it's not a requirement unless you want to make sure you're getting the best image the set can deliver. And I'm not sure where you got the 6 month figure. The general recommendation is to recalibrate after 18 months of use -- and again, that's only if you want to make sure the set is delivering its peak performance.

M.

 

[Robert P. Jones]

I recommend cleaning your unit every year, and recalibrating it every 2-3 years. The tighter I get it for you duriung calibration, the longer you will be able to go before needing me again. DEFINITELY not "a repair every 6 months", tho the convergence can usually stand a trimup every 6 months if you sit rather close to your TV, as I do, at 7' away from my DELICIOUS 65" Panny, whose finished product pic you can see as the front page of my website, below, taking up the entire field of view.

But the geometry and greyscale and focussing will last infinitely longer.

And the pic obtainable from a 7" gun is INCREDIBLE. See my website. No need for a 9" gun unless you have the very expensive oversized 73" Mit.

You bet your pippy I think it's worth it.

Mr Bob

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Steve,

I think you've been scared off unnecessarily by the "sky is falling syndrome" one can easily get by reading the internet. People with negative experiences are much more likely to post than those with no problems.

I'm on my 3rd rptv, and have not had one service call or isf calibration.

The ISF calibration is not an absolute necessity. Depending on the "out of the box" performance, you can get a very acceptable picture with just an AVIA calibration in the user adjustment menu.
This varies from brand to brand, avoid sets whose owners report as looking terrible until they were ISFed. Generally Sony and Toshiba are pretty good choices in this respect.

Check out the tweaks section here and at Home Theater Spot, and you can find many fairly easy service menu adjustments you can do yourself that will further improve the picture.

My current KP57HW40 Sony looked quite good after just 20 minutes with AVIA, and I've been able to further improve the picture by adjusting the color decoder to get virtually 0 red push and have also been able to turn off SVM in a few minutes in the service menu.

ISF isn't a real economic possibility for me due to the fact that I'm 200 miles from the nearest ISF tech, but I'm perfectly happy with the results I've achieved on my own, and I am by no means a skilled video technician.

Owners of other makes have also been able to get very good results doing their own tweaks.

I'm not saying ISF isn't beneficial, just that it is not necessarily a must-have.

As for overall reliability and need for repairs at one year, I don't see more than a handful of posts complaining of this around here or over at the Spot, which is imho remarkable considering the high proportion of these forum's users who have these sets. Remember that the owners who've gotten 5 or more years of trouble free service from their rptvs aren't going to all post here reporting that fact, whereas the minority of users that have had problems definitely will, so it's easy to get the impression that these are trouble prone products.

 

[StevenB]

Thanks for the advice guys! I AM going to get a RPTV. I am headed in the direction of the Pioneer Elites. Any stories about the Pio Elites anyone cares to share?
Steve