Possible new DLP TV Problem? (1 Viewer)

[Sidney]

Oh yah.. forgot to mention the Avia black level test patterns showed the moving white bars on the TV at Good Guys.. while I can't get anything on my TV at home (at least when I last tried). I'll try it again tomorrow just to confirm I couldn't get it.. but I'm sure I couldn't.

 

[PeterTHX]

Myself I'm not too thrilled with DLPs...too much hype (too much $$$ comission & perks for their salesmen).

You'd be better off with a LCD from Hitachi or Sony. Better resolution & more accurate color too.

 

[John S]

Well, I do think you will find the culprit very shortly...

Post back, curious minds ya know.

 

[Alf S]

From a recent comparison article:

While DLP still holds the lead in producing the deepest blacks, LCD chips have made serious improvements recently, bringing their black-level performance to within striking distance of DLP. Translation: Unless you have them side by side, you won't be able to tell which of the two delivers the deepest blacks. Prices for similarly sized DLP and LCD TVs will likely remain close as big-brand behemoths face off and try to outdo one another.

LCD also has a slight advantage in color fidelity over DLP, meaning colors can be truer and deeper, but again the differences are slight. LCD does not suffer from the rainbow effect--a big deal if you see rainbows on DLP sets, and a moot point if you don't. Don't put too much stock in the slightly higher native resolution afforded by some LCD chips; in the big scheme of things, 1,386x788 doesn't provide much of a sharpness boost over 1,280x720.

 

[PeterTHX]

I sell the things. It does, in HD, SD, DVD, even something as trivial as a DirectTV program guide.

That's 100K more pixels, over 10% more. The Sony sets are 1.1 megapixel per chip. DLP looks great until you calibrate them both side by side and see the enhanced resolution of the LCD. Or how things like fleshtones look.

 

[Sidney]

I think I read that article before. I forget if it was from this forum or another one.

At one point I was going into Good Guys set to buy the Sony LCD, but came out with the Mitsubishi. The picture looked similar to me and I know Mitsubishi was a good name for TVs. I did like the menu system on the Mitsubishi and the idea of changing a bulb would renew the life of the TV, where as the LCD you're stuck with burned out pixels (at least that's what I believe).

I haven't gone to the store yet to try my DVD player. Once I do, I plan to play it on a few other TVs just to see if there's a big difference in their black levels.

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

I hope you know that pixels (aka mirrors) die on the DLP too ... they just look different. Like water stains that don't go away.

Regards

 

[Sidney]

Really.. never knew that. I was told that the good thing about DLPs were if you change the bulb (assuming it was dying) the picture quality would be like back to new..

Well I took my DVD into the store and confirmed it was the culprit. Couldn't even get the AVIA calibration disc to show the moving bars when adjusting black levels. There wasn't any setting in the player for black enhancement so I'm pretty much stuck on getting a new one. Well I'll just use this DVD player for karoake and buy a very nice DVD player (I was planning on doing that anycase since the one I have isn't even have progressive scan) It just gives me a excuse to get one sooner. hehe. Time to read reviews in the DVD player section of the forum.

I appreciate the input guys!

On another note.. I guess I'm not sure if I like the picture quality of my TV.. though it's not the TV's fault.. I need to get some HD input signals going so I can make sure it's crisp and clear as I hoped.

Another item.. I tried looking for the rainbow effect and I couldn't really see it.. I think I saw it once, but couldn't catch it again. When I did catch it, I was forcing my eyes to move across the screen very quickly to catch the right timing.

 

[Sidney]

Oh yah.. forgot to mention that Man.. DVD players are very expensive! Mouth dropped when I checked out the top of the line Denon was over $3k! After seeing that price the Pioneer Elite looked more reasonable.. well this is another topic for another section of the forum.

 

[PeterTHX]

Sidney, those "Good" guys are on commission, they make a LOT more money on the Mits TVs.

I should know, I'm in the industry. I recommend the best bang for the buck, and LCD (especially Sony's) are among the best.

With HD (bluray) around the corner, don't drop a lot on a DVD player. I'd recommend the Sony DVP-NS975V. Do NOT use the HDMI output. The component is just as good and it passes blacker than black. (Don't believe the hype around upconverting players either.)

 

[Sidney]

I saw the Sony TV before and I did like the look of that TV as well. I did go in for the Sony, but came out with Mitsubishi. Maybe I'll just swing in to the store near my work place just to look at the TVs more closely.

The Good Guy also mentioned that the upconverting players are a bit of hype. He did say it did help a little bit on the picture, such as helping smooth out some of the artifacts. I'll have to do more research and test comparison to see if that's true.

Not use the HDMI output? I thought HDMI would be a bit better.. didn't expect a world of difference, but a side by side comparison I would expect it to look better. The guy at Good Guys said they had a TV in split screen running HDMI on one half and component (I believe) on the other half, and he said he could see some differences.

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

A good upconverted image versus a good 480p image would probably yield a subjective improvement of about 5% ... with the difference more readily seen on test patterns than real material.

Upconverted material does tend to look tighter than the 480 material and it is preferable to leave it in the digital chain rather than turn it into analog from the component out and into the TV where it goes through another A-D cycle.

There is seldom a night day difference, but most appreciate that difference none the less ... given the minimal cost to attain that.

Regards

 

[Sidney]

5% improvement.. Hmm.. Probably I will buy a DVD player with upconversion, now I will have to hunt down some reviews on them to see what players I may like.

I've been hearing about HD DVD players coming out. I'm wondering when they would go main stream. Probably take a while since the costs would be very high to buy one.

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

The HD units will be about $1000 to start and take 3 to 5 years to come down to the $300 level.

just follow the DVD model ... 1997 ... Top of line Toshiba = $700 ...

2005 ... same performance or better for less than $100.

Regards

 

[Sidney]

Isn't it always this way? (rhetorical question)
I'll wait for them to lower the price and improve on the quality/standard.