No way do you want a projection TV. The color tubes go after a few years. They are extremely expensive to replace. As the one with the brain says, "its a pretty good picture". A pretty good picture is not acceptable for me. The room has to be dark too. A sunlit room, forget it, sitting off to the side, forget it.
I just bought a 56" DLP from Samsung. It is absolutely beautiful! I looked at alot of tv's and this one was the best. If you are going to spend 3 or 4 dimes on a tv you need to get the accessories to go with it. I would definately return your plasma. Take a look at the DLP's they are very nice.
arty:
arty:DougJ said:
There are different types of projectors. I am betting the one he got for 600 was a discontinued model, bought off ebay (WHICH YOU SHOULD NOT DO AT ALL) or was bought from a friend.
They range in prices from 1k all the way to 30k or even way more. And the prices of the bulbs depend on the wattage or how powerful it is. The more powerful it is, the more the lamp will cost.
Chuck Sims said:
I am not talking about a projection TV...I am talking about an actual Digital light projector like the one featured here...
http://www.electronicsoutfitter.com/store/ep751.html
Like i said there are pros and cons about getting a unit like that. Of recent they have been releasing units that can work in norma day light with out distortion to the picture.
And like i said, unless you take your tv watching seriously, dont get this unit..
But it kicks LCD arse any day of the week and you cant really say much when you can get a picture up to 160 inches and your neighbors across the street can see the picture crytal clear in your living from...
With HDTV, football games, boxing, Basketball just look amazing...Especially football games at in door stadiums...
I have a Samsung 50" DLP and it works great in direct light so I don't know what Chuck Sims is talking about.
The main difference between the DLP and an LCD is that a DLP can't burn in, meaning you can leave a static picture on the screen and it won't burn in (leaving a ghost image on the screen) like LCD or Plasma screens can. With LCD you can have some pixels go out and unless it breaks a certain threshold (usually 3-5 pixels) the manufacturer doesn't consider it defective. With DLP the picture shouldn't degrade but you do need to change the bulb (no picture tubes as Chuck SIms stated) when it goes out. They are supposed to last 10,000 hours and cost about $250 to replace.
The main difference between the DLP and an LCD is that a DLP can't burn in, meaning you can leave a static picture on the screen and it won't burn in (leaving a ghost image on the screen) like LCD or Plasma screens can. With LCD you can have some pixels go out and unless it breaks a certain threshold (usually 3-5 pixels) the manufacturer doesn't consider it defective. With DLP the picture shouldn't degrade but you do need to change the bulb (no picture tubes as Chuck SIms stated) when it goes out. They are supposed to last 10,000 hours and cost about $250 to replace.
Interesting stuff you guys. .
Here's some info I came across on projectors
<CENTER>Battle of the Budget Projectors
Shootout of the 854x480 DLP Projectors
Evan Powell and Bill Livolsi, June 16, 2005
ProjectorCentral.com
</CENTER>
The hottest selling home theater projectors in the market these days are the inexpensive DLP projectors built around Texas Instruments' 854x480 resolution chip. With some of them selling at or below $1,000, these units deliver the best video quality for the money we've ever seen. They truly shine with NTSC DVD, since they display this high quality 480-line video source line-for-line with no vertical scaling. Furthermore, they generate amazingly good HDTV quality despite their lower resolution format. If you want to step into the world of large screen home theater and don't want to spend a lot of money doing it, the new 480p projectors are the way to go.
(the article is continued at that site)
Here's some info I came across on projectors
<CENTER>Battle of the Budget Projectors
Shootout of the 854x480 DLP Projectors
Evan Powell and Bill Livolsi, June 16, 2005
ProjectorCentral.com
</CENTER>
The hottest selling home theater projectors in the market these days are the inexpensive DLP projectors built around Texas Instruments' 854x480 resolution chip. With some of them selling at or below $1,000, these units deliver the best video quality for the money we've ever seen. They truly shine with NTSC DVD, since they display this high quality 480-line video source line-for-line with no vertical scaling. Furthermore, they generate amazingly good HDTV quality despite their lower resolution format. If you want to step into the world of large screen home theater and don't want to spend a lot of money doing it, the new 480p projectors are the way to go.
(the article is continued at that site)
Buying an actual projector be it Dlp or LCd is a decision one must go into very carefully. There are many things to consider before you pick which one to buy because one you buy these things 99% of the stores have a no return policy. Worse yet its almost as though electronics makers were caught unaware of the explosion of this market for use as home theaters. The market has been flooded
with many cheap units originally designed for software applications and business presentations and some makers are now marketing these units as "home theatre" units.
Both these units have their pros and cons. I personally will always go with DLP because DLPs typically have their advantages lying in the realm of video presentation and thats all i use mine for.
I will recommend that you read as much on this matter as possible before making a decision.
copy and paste the link below to read a full article on the issue.
http://www.projectorcentral.com/lcd_dlp_update.htm
with many cheap units originally designed for software applications and business presentations and some makers are now marketing these units as "home theatre" units.
Both these units have their pros and cons. I personally will always go with DLP because DLPs typically have their advantages lying in the realm of video presentation and thats all i use mine for.
I will recommend that you read as much on this matter as possible before making a decision.
copy and paste the link below to read a full article on the issue.
http://www.projectorcentral.com/lcd_dlp_update.htm
Ok...heres an update.
My DVD player won't need to be upgraded. Most importantly because it's a "Progressive Scan" player. The problem was defnitely the cables. I upgraded to component cables (red, green, blue) after switching off the the regular RCA cables (audio L+R & yellow video). Huge difference! Just finished watching "Saving Private Ryan" and it kicked ass! To let you know it ran me about $34 bucks for some Monster, HD grade component cables. Not to bad of an upgrade.
As for the satellite feed. I'm gonna have to bite the bullet. I placed a call into the DirectTV and it's gonna run about $340 bucks for the HD receiver, new dish, local channel HD access, and installation. (Not to shabby) Hopefully this will get me the results I'm looking for (like being at the actual sporting event!)
I'll keep you posted.
My DVD player won't need to be upgraded. Most importantly because it's a "Progressive Scan" player. The problem was defnitely the cables. I upgraded to component cables (red, green, blue) after switching off the the regular RCA cables (audio L+R & yellow video). Huge difference! Just finished watching "Saving Private Ryan" and it kicked ass! To let you know it ran me about $34 bucks for some Monster, HD grade component cables. Not to bad of an upgrade.
As for the satellite feed. I'm gonna have to bite the bullet. I placed a call into the DirectTV and it's gonna run about $340 bucks for the HD receiver, new dish, local channel HD access, and installation. (Not to shabby) Hopefully this will get me the results I'm looking for (like being at the actual sporting event!)
I'll keep you posted.
Chuck Sims said:
Chuck sorry if I misunderstood what you referring to, I thought you were referring to Rear Projections DLP HDTV's like those made by Samsung, LG and others. Maybe the difference is that most (maybe all?) DLP Tv's are rear projection where the DLP Projectors you guys are talking about are front projection?
Although it may not be true that projections TV's are DLP it is true that DLP TV's are projection TV's. Kind of like a square is a rectangle but a rectangle isn't necessarily a square.
3peet said:
Comcast offers Hdtv for 5 bucks per month extra on your bill. (thats $60 a year) But given the current trend in technology and its advancement, that is a far better deal than a $340 unit whose maintenance and upkeep will totally be up to you. With comcast if you have trouble with your unit you just swap it out. Also, if there is an industry upgrade, then you wont have to be stuck with old technology.
Ps...Make sure to ask your Directv provider if they carry Fox in HDTV....It has taken a whole year of complaining from a whole bunch of pissed off customers (for comcast) before the regional owners of Fox finally decided to come to an agreement to provide fox tv in HD.... Last i heard, Direct tv customers are still out in the cold in my region and they are now just remembering to start an uprising to demand it too... (the fight did really get nasty with both sides actually calling into sports talk shows and flinging mud at each other. Comcast even selected a blank channel and added a 24/7 message that was blaming the Sinclair group (owners of fox in our region) I am glad they resolved it because Fox tends to have a bunch of dome games and HDTV is friggin killer for those games.
