Rear Projection TVs - Sony, Panny, Toshiba, JVC (1 Viewer)

[Anish]

Hi guys,

Is there a clear favourite in the HDTV 16x9 RPTVs between the listed brands: Sony, Panasonic, JVC, Toshiba? Also, how do they compare price-wise? I know that the Sonys cost a whole lot more (correct me if I am wrong), but are they worth that extra premium over say, a Panasonic?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Levesque]

I'm asking the same question here since 2 days, and I didn't receive any useful answer. I really want to know if the Sony price is REALLY because they do a BETTER product. I hope someone knowledgable will chime in.

 

[Chris AD]

I'm no expert, but I've done a lot of reading about TVs lately, as I'm in the market for a large screen HDTV. Historically, at least, Toshiba, Mitsubishi, and Hitachi have generally superior ratings in RPTVs. Sony has had weaknesses in this area, but in the current model year, has come on strong, as had Panasonic. I don't think Sony RPTVs deserve any special premium price.

 

[Jan Strnad]

There is no clear winner. A number of factors will enter into your decision and different sets make different tradeoffs.

For instance:

Toshiba: Most compact, beautiful color, DVI-upgradeable (supposedly), good picture out of the box.

Panasonic: Bulkier, sharper picture than Toshiba, not as good OOTB but can be tweaked/calibrated to a beautiful picture, DVI-capable.

Mitsubishi: Great picture, no DVI capability.

Etc. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but you see how it goes.

Good luck!

Jan

 

[Phil L]

Jan,

The Panasonics aren't DVI capable.

 

[Chet Hayes]

And the Toshiba HDX series have DVI, the H series are upgradable. Also Sony has DVI.

 

[JimC_A]

I looked for 2 months before deciding on my 50H81, then traded it (same price) for the 50H82 two weeks later. I looked at everything available. I wouldn't trade my 50H82 for anything except a bigger room and a 65H82.

 

[Jon Sciabica]

The new Hitachi swx series are unbelievable, look great OOTB, and have DVI.

 

[Jimmy vb]

Does the Mitsu "promise" possibly intersect with DVI capability. Who knows what it may cost--but the company should try to retrofit some capability--I am out of my element in the specifics of DVI though--it may be technically impossible.

 

[David E Smith]

I will not promote JVC only because I am a biased owner of one, but I can say that i have commonly heard that you get the most bang for your buck from JVC RPTVs. But IMO the picture quality has been good on mine. Their newest ones have not been out for long so there is sorta the guinni pig factor there... The 48" and 56" JVCs also have a DVI connector.
Dave

 

[Chris Perkins]

but I can say that i have commonly heard that you get the most bang for your buck from JVC RPTVs.

Where?!? Certainly not from this forum or any of the other popular forums. Maybe from the guy who sold you yours. I have read numerous threads on serious problems with JVC RPTV's.
Chris

 

[Lee Petty]

sonys price usually reflects the additional features like pip, and the such. i think nearly all of their rptvs have it, while some of the other brands charge a lil more for it. i think the h82 model toshibas have pip, and are in the same price range as the sony's. mitsubishi's are more expensive than either of those.
seems like most people here have a sony or toshiba. both are good selections.

 

[Anish]

Where?!? Certainly not from this forum or any of the other popular forums. Maybe from the guy who sold you yours. I have read
numerous threads on serious problems with JVC RPTV's.
Chris

Chris, I think I remember reading a while back about the I'Arts (JVC brand?) being quite a good bang for the buck... am I incorrect here?

I think, however that you can't go wrong with a Panasonic. At that price range in which we are comparing (16:9 widescreen HDTV RPTVs) I think that if you stick with a name brand like Sony or Panasonic who have been proven over time to make some of the best electronics period, you can't really go wrong. Sure, another brand might have a slightly sharper image, a slightly brighter picture, but for overall quality and function I don't think you can beat a Panasonic (or Sony). Pannys are a bit more reasonably priced than Sony, so that is where my final cut is made, to get the Panasonic. Hope I made the right choice here. I am looking at the WS52 series (probably stick with a 47" seeing as I have an apartment - 47WX52).

 

[Lew Crippen]

I would say that the generally acknowledged leader in RPTV picture quality is the Pioneer “Elite” series, closely followed by Mitsubishi. Further information can be found here, here and here.

 

[David E Smith]

Chris, I think I remember reading a while back about the I'Arts (JVC brand?) being quite a good bang for the buck... am I incorrect here?

This is what I was referring to. Specifically the I'Art AV-XXWP30 Series of widescreen RPTVs. When you do a feature comparison amongst other similar devices, it makes the JVC stand out as a good value. Also, the new D.I.S.T. technology has been VERY impressive IMO. I believe they are attempting to increase market share by adding this technology at a very reasonable cost.

 

[Darrin_R]

Well I returned a Hitachi 53uwx10ba for the JVC AV-56WP30 and I am very please.

To say that there are serious problems is an overstatement. They did display a verticle bar when fed an HD signal but that was easily corrected in the service menu. I have never heard of any DOA units like the Toshiba.

 

[Lee Petty]

making a trip to circuit city today, i took a look at some sets. of the ones they had hooked up, it looked like the hitachi's had the best picture quality with deep rich colors. the sony's and panasonics came very close together, but i would have leaned toward the sony a little. they had no toshibas to look at whatsoever.
now i know with some tweaking they would all look great, and you cant trust a store presentation every time.
best buy had some good looking mitsubishi's, and had no toshibas or sonys hooked up to look at either. they had some samsung sets up, but i dont care for those.
out of what i saw today, the hitachis looked great. a little more pricey though. but i do have to say the sonys and panasonics i saw both looked very nice.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Do not base your decision entirely on what you see on display sets. Unless you go in with the AVIA disc and hook each set up to the same dvd player with the same cables and calibrate the set, you are not going to get a consistent feed and proper settings on the sets for comparison.

The set I originally bought was the one that consistently looked best in store displays, looked terrible at home. Swapped it for one that didn't look nearly as good in the store but had good owner reviews and fewest problems reported here and at Home Theater Spot.
I love the one I ended up with, but would not really have considered it based on what I saw on display models.

 

[Lee Petty]

yeah steve, thats what i was just trying to sort of point out, dont guess i made it very clear. i guess what i was trying to say is that is how things looked in the way they were presented at the time. though, all the sonys of the same line looked the same, all the panasonics looked the same, and all the hitachis looked the same.