RCA 38-inch HDTV or Sony 36-inch XBR450? (1 Viewer)

[Gary Tjia]

Hi,
I am torn between the choice of these two TVs. Since they are still relatively new in the market, is it too soon to buy now?
I am totally impressed with the picture quality of the RCA 38" 16X9 direct view TV and it would be a great TV for watching DVDs and movies broadcast in widescreen. I had heard of color purity issues with the last year deliveries. Have anyone own one of these for a while? How do you rate it so far?
The Sony 36" 4:3 XBR450 also has great picture quality. This is a new model with 3:2 pull down. Is it worth getting this over the XBR400, especially deals could be had with the close out model?
What other direct view 36" and above HDTV is recommended?
Thanks,
Gary

 

[Timmy]

To help in your decision... measure the heigth of the two tubes (RCA 38" WS, and the Sony 36") and compare.

 

[Grady]

Gary,
I believe the 400 will be just as good as the 450 for dvd if you have a progressive scan dvd player. The 3/2 pull down in the set is bypassed. I haven't seen a 450 yet but it's potential advantage is really only in regular ntsc broadcast tv. The 400, which I own, does have problems with a poor signal. A good signal looks great. You'll have to decide if the 450 is really worth the extra money. If your talking say $200 or so you should probably get the 450.
The RCA I've only seen with hdtv, not regular ntsc so I'm not really qualified to comment on it. HDTV looked nice. I do have one suggestion. The KV-40XBR700 should be out in the next 60-90 days. It lists for $3500. It should have all the updates included in the 450. It's 16x9 picture size will be about 36.6", fairly close to the RCA. It's 4x3 will of course be the largest. If it's within you budget and you can wait I'd suggest you wait and check it out before you buy.