Newbie....first post....need help/advice, please (1 Viewer)

[Morley Dotes]

Hello everyone!

I have been reading the posts and also looking through old ones, and now I'm more confused than ever! :wink:

Here's my situation:

The television in my bedroom is taking about 15 minutes to do anything after I turn it on, (it's a 15 year old 27" sony). I plan on bringing my 36" WEGA into the bedroom because it is not big enough for my living room (32'x12' with 9' ceilings), my wife actually made the observation first (how lucky am I?!?!). I don't think it is worth fixing the 27", and I may as well take advantage and get a larger TV for the living room. The room gets a lot of light in the daytime, (we're in an apartment). Our viewing area is about 14-16 feet away from the television. We watch a lot of movies, and some television programs.

I was thinking about the Grand WEGA, but I didn't want to spend all that much. The 60" and 65" sony rear projections won't likely fit through my door, so that kind of knocks them out. I found the GRAND WEGA for about $4400, but after reading everything, I have learned enough to know that I better ask some questions before I make such a large purchase, especially since I may be able to get something better.......I have read many posts and am now curious about front projectors, especially the new SONY (mainly because I'm slightly familiar with that brand). Btw, I also have a SONY surround sound system with built in 5 DVD player, etc., (no progressive scan....yet), and would like to use it with whatever system I get.

I would like to stay under $3000 if possible, but if it is a HUGE difference I can stretch to $5000.

Any advice, opinions, etc., would be greatly appreciated.

My apologies for such a long message.

Thank you in advance!!!

-Morley D.

p.s. please keep in mind that as much as I try to learn about all this technology, I really don't understand much of it, nor do I know/understand some/most of the terminology, so please keep it as simple as possible.

 

[Jack Briggs]

In your situation, I would consider an RPTV in the 42- to 50-inch range (16:9). That is taking into consideration size and practicality issues. An FPTV situation is still a little more expensive (you also have to purchase a screen, and good ones aren't cheap).

 

[Morley Dotes]

Hi Jack,

Many thanks for your quick reply!!! I will do some research now and check out some different RPTV's at different B&M stores.

Do you (or anyone else) have any experience with crazyeddie.com? Their prices are very low.....but that kind of makes me wonder why they are so much lower than other places, e.g. onecall.com. Any other online dealers you could recommend?

Thanks again!

-MD

 

[Morley Dotes]

Okay, just ran that past my wife, and she said, "A 50 inch is not much bigger than we have now! What about a 60 inch?" So, perhaps I'll stretch.....any thoughts on where I can view the Grand Wega? I think that would fit without much problem. I forgot to mention that a playstation 2 would be hooked up to whatever television we end up getting, so I also am concerned about "burning" any kind of image onto the screen.???? Is that still a concern? Am I stating it correctly? Anyway, crazyeddie.com has the GW for $4,700, which seems like the best price I can find....ooops, hold on, I just checked and Crutchfield has it for $4,515.98 delivered. I never order from them either. Any thoughts on either company? Any other bots I can use to find a better price/different seller?

Thanks again!

-MD

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

The Grand Wega is LCD based, so it's virtually impervious to burn in.

The great thing about the KF60XBR800 is the excellent brightness (which should help in your brightly lit room), and good resolution (1366x768). The bad thing is the extremely poor contrast. It's definitely better than the old Grand WEGA, but it's not a huge difference.

Crutchfield is a pretty reputable company, and an authorized Sony retailer.

Onecall actually has a 10% discount on bigscreen TV's and free shipping. You have to call to get it on this one though. That would put the price down to $4499.10 delivered. They also have a coupon code for $140 off a $4300.01 to $5000 purchase (expires 11/20/02), which would take your total down to $4359.10 delivered. They're also an authorized Sony retailer/etailer.

 

[John-Miles]

Burn in is always an issue, especially on an RPTV, but if you at least calibrate using avia or VE then it wont be so bad, you also just have to be careful and use common sense.

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

Actually, burn in on digital RPTV's (LCD, DLP, and LCOS/DILA) is not really that much of a worry.

 

[Morley Dotes]

Gabriel,

*MANY* thanks! I went on the website today to order it but they (onecall website) says it is unavailable, and I could not find the coupon for $140, best I found was for $80. Do you think that I can "pre-order" and get the same discounts? Maybe I should wait and see it in person to see how bad the contrast is....I may not mind it, but then again I might.

Thanks to everyone for their help.....Let me ask one more thing.....Is there a similar RPTV by another manufacturer I should look for?

-MD

 

[Neil Joseph]

Do yourself a favour. Find a local b&m store and demo the Grand Wega for yourself. It is a nice TV. If you plan on watching a lot of regular TV on it, you may want to also find out (and consider) what the bulb replacement costs will be.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Bear in mind, however,the most common complaint about LCD technology: relatively weak blacks. Usually, they tend to be a dark gray, robbing an image of some of its snap. Consider CRT-based units as well.

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

The original Grand Wega (KF60DX100) was measured at 267:1 contrast. If the new Grand Wega (KF60XBR800) delivers the full 25% contrast improvement that Sony proclaimed, then it would be 334:1.

 

[Morley Dotes]

Thanks everyone....I'm going to stop by the local Wiz store, hopefully tonight if I get out of work early enough and do some looking.

What kind of contrast ratio should I be looking for?

I have to keep in mind the model differences (crazyeddie has the old one, onecall the new).

-MD

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

Your typical calibrated CRT based rear projection TV will have a contrast ratio exceeding 2000:1. A DLP based RPTV like the new Optoma's coming out should be good for about 1000:1, but that's speculation on my and Optoma's part.

 

[Morley Dotes]

Thanks again Gabriel!

I went to Cirucit City today to see if I could preview the Grand Wega, but they didn't have it.....so, Friday I'm on my way to the Wiz where I will hopefully be able to preview that, and a few other brands.....and also, finally, get cable modem!

Best regards,

-MD

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

If you decide on the Grand Wega, do make sure you get the new one. It has DVI input, which is kind of nice, along with the increased visual quality.