Saw something unexpected at an A/V store this weekend (Sony LCD Projection TV) (1 Viewer)

[Frederick]

My brother-in-law and I went by a HT Store near his home looking to see Sony's 40" Grand Wega and Sharp's new DLP projector. Well, imagine our surprise when we walked in and in and near the front of the store was a widescreen profection TV that I've never seen before. I thought it was a DLP TV, based on the brightness of the picture and the depth of the television. Boy, was I wrong. The salesperson told me that it was Sony's new LCD projection-tv! I didn't even know that there was one coming out! They were sending a hi-def feed straight to it, and the colors were stunning! The blacks weren't too bad at all. And get this: there was no screen door! We were right up on it, and I couldn't see any screen door effect whatsoever. The picture was super-sharp. I couldn't get much detail from the salepeople on it (they were pretty busy), but hopefully I'll be going back next weekend to take a second look. They also had Mitsubishi's DLP television, which I hadn't seen in real life before yesterday. Does anyone know anything about this set? I couldn't find anything on Sony's website ...

Freddy C.

 

[Micheal]

Sounds interesting! Why they would use LCD technology for a TV is beyond me though...? I guess they would be a lot lighter than the CRT based RPTV's.

 

[Guy Kuo]

Smaller, simpler electronics, cheaper optics, zero to no setup time in the factory for convergence, and still adequate image quality for most viewers could add up to a winning combination for a manufacturer.

 

[Micheal]

What about dead pixels... isn't that still a side effect of LCD?

 

[Frederick]

Guy pretty much hit it on the head. It had a much smaller profile than other widescreen projection tv's they had there, all except the plasma's, of course. They had it set up on a stand so that it was at the perfect viewing height when you sat on a sofa. I wish I could remember the pricing! I just talked to my brother-in-law and he thinks he remembers them saying it weighs somewhere in the 130-150lb range. He couldn't remember for sure either, though. And I think it was somewhere between the 53"-60" screen size catagory ...
** Update ***
I found a link! Why I didn't think to check the store's website for info is beyond me. It's called the Grand Wega. I think I've seen threads about it. Link Removed ...
Freddy C.

 

[Will]

Wow! A 60" 16:9 LCD and get this:

The Grand WEGA LCD rear projection television has a native resolution of over 720 progressive and accepts all ATSC formats including 1080i and 720p high-definition signals when paired with an external HDTV set-top box via the HD component video inputs.

Anyone know what it costs?

 

[Mark Rogo]

$8000.

Mark

 

[Will]

Since that price is "only" a few hundred dollars more than a Pioneer Elite 720, I wonder how they compare in performance.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

The thing that will turn most people off about this tv...
Burnt out Projector bulbs.. $500 bux a bulb and maybe 2000
hours view time at best (more like 1000-1500 hours)
Nope I'd never buy one...Unless they gave you like 15 free
bulbs

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

Since that price is "only" a few hundred dollars more than a Pioneer Elite 720, I wonder how they compare in performance.

Not having seen them side by side take this with a grain of salt: I would guess the Pioneer would win out else being equal. Given that both are properly calibrated and viewed in a proper viewing environment the Pioneer should exhibit greater color fidelity and improved blacks with more depth. Where the Sony would pull away would be in brightly lit viewing environments - the CRT based Pioneer could not compete with the LCD's light output. Ease of setup is absolutely in favor of the Sony, but once properly calibrated the Pioneer would only need minor touchups. Ultimately the choice would be based on personal needs. Aversion to setup, limited floor space, little to no lighting control would suggest the Sony as a better choice. Otherwise I think CRT based RPTVs are still the way to go. Won't be long until that changes, though.

I have yet to read a glowing review of a fixed-panel based RPTV. The technology doesn't seem to be there yet. If I were buying an LCD based set, however, I would look no further than the Sony depending on which engine it's using. They still make arguably the finest LCD FPTV with the 11VPLHT (or whatever the cryptic model number is). Could make for a stellar RPTV.

BTW, did you get a chance to see the new Sharp DLP? It's supposed to be amazing. Likewise with the 40" Wega. Amazing grayscale tracking on that one - flat across the board. And I mean flat.

 

[Frederick]

Jay,

Yeah, I saw both the 40" Sony and Sharp's DLP. They had the Sony in it's stand not to far from the Sony's LCD RPTV, and it too was being fed a hi-def feed. Beautiful television, and the stand compliments it perfectly. Looking at the 40" and then seeing their 43" hi-def RPTV made me understand why they made this set. The picture was fantastic. It was so much brighter and more detailed than the RPTV's being fed the same footage ...

The thing I like about The Little Guys is that they have theaters set up in the store. Now I know that any good A/V store would have one, but they have 3! They also have rooms set up with speakers and televisions, plasma monitors, etc. The store's definately worth a look. Anyway, they had a room set up with Sharp's DLP, and it looked very good. They set it too far from the screen, so it didn't totally fill it, but both my brother-in-law and I were surprised at the picture. Especially when the guy told us that they did NO real calibration to it. It was basically out of the box and focused. They had it ceiling mounted, and the screen was a normal screen, no grey in it at all. I can't remeber what gain it was. Looking at it, and then going into the other room where they had a Sony CRT projector, in my opinion, they weren't THAT far from each other. But then, I think the CRT was only a 7". I'd pick the Sharp and be very, very happy with it. The price, the size, the picture ... I was really impressed. As was my brother-in-law, and he does A/V for hotels and conventions ...

Freddy C.

 

[Dann Cutter]

I should start off by saying that i have bought one of these, so take the bias as you will...

Mine came broken... alas, so I didn't get to fairly evaluate it, but I did spend some time at another dealer looking at one set up nicely and here are my quick thoughts... when I get my set, i will give a more thorough review.

Black levels aren't great. Its a projector in a box...

Brightness is MUCH better than most. It was setup next to the Elite 64" and the Mits DLP, and was brighter than both. Looked much better then both as well (though the mits was close) when i asked the store lights to be turned on brighter.

Picture is good... not as deep as the elite, but very very satisfactory none the less. I would, and did, choose it over the elite due to burn in and lighting issues. It was better than the Mits DLP in my opinion.

The set has very little reflection... when the lights came up... both the mits and the elite relected more...

Size... its too damned wide... speakers on the side really make the thing wide, which is silly for those who buy this are also going to use a home theater system i would bet. VERY thin though...

Stand... waste of money. At $1000, it is still twice as expensive as it should be.

Price - Got mine for $7000. retails for $8000. IF I have another dealer tell me they will only sell for list... I cannot tell you how many places lost selling me this tv for this reason. Score one for the Good Guys.

Inputs... may be upgradable... I have hope... there are spots where it looks like something is intended to go later. Looks fantastic on progressive input.

Weight... 132Lbs... very easy to lift.

All in all I chose this set over the others or a plasma because it really hit the mark well in all areas. While the Elite has the better picture by a slight margin, and the Mits has the better tech... I gotta say the sony was right up there, and was truely very futuristic looking... made me feel like I was watching a 'movie' screen from the Jetsons.