Rear-Projections w/o Picture Fading at Angles (1 Viewer)

[Chris-R]

Howdy.

I'm starting to shop for a rear projection 16:9 display. It seems that most (all?) of them lose color vibrancy unless you sit directly in front of them. Is this what I can expect from rear projection TVs?

(BTW, if anyone has a good reference for rear project newbies, I would appreciate a pointer.)

Cheers,
Chris

 

[David Abrams]

Chris,

The answer to your question is yes, you can expect a light falloff if you do not sit in front of them. Basically the CRTs inside the set can only put out a certain amount of light, the manufacturers know this, but push the tubes anyway. Then to increase the perceived light output they put a high gain screen on the front that focuses the light straight out of the set. This is causing the falloff you are seeing on the sides.

To fix this you could purchase an RPTV and then have Stewart or Da-Lite make a new screen to put on the set that has a gain of about 1.3; however, your picture would be very dim.

The best way to get a RPTV without light falling off it to purchase a CRT projector - Sony, Runco, Barco...and then put it in a mirror assembly behind the screen and use a screen such as the Stewart Aeroview. This will give you the compactness of an RPTV with a movie theater type screen that does not have the light falloff.

Best of Luck,

David Abrams
ISF Calibrationist

 

[MarkWC]

I just got my 53" Elite. I have a sectional couch and a captains chair. Everyone, including myself, were impressed that the picture was clear no matter where you sit in my living room. There were six people watching movies too!

When I was in Tweeter I found the Sony, Toshiba, and Mits all had pretty lousy off axis viewing. I personally find the Elite superior in so many different aspects that it is the best value on the market.

Good Luck!

 

[Carlos Picart]

I have a Sony 46 inch 16:9, almost everyone who has sit in my living room has been amazed at the viewing angles I'm able to get with my set. I too have an L shaped couch and sitting to the side of the TV doesn't mean your picture viewing is going to be bad.

Overall I've been pretty surprised at the performance I'm getting out of my set, with minimal tweaking.

 

[Mike Matheson]

Instead of CRT-based RPTVs, take a look at the newer DLP and/or LCOS-based RPTVs (by Toshiba, Pioneer, Samsung, etc.).

Much less light falloff as you get off-axis.

Then, of course, there's plasma. Not RPTV though.

 

[Shawn O]

The new Sony wv700's seem to do a very good job.