New DLP TV Advice... - CEG Archives

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Allright all. I finally gave in and bought a new TV. Found this little guy for $1300 at my local Circuit City on clearance. Seemed like a hellofa deal, has plenty of inputs, relatively light, good picture. Only downside I see so far is that it's only 720p. I'm just throwing a bone out there to see if anyone has any advice/comments on this TV and what to get with it. I'm mainly concerned about cables and whether I should get a new DVD player (currently using my XBox), or would I get similar performance out of a new XBox 360? I'm pretty clueless in this world and now just want to maximize my fun on the TV! I'm a bit overwhelmed right now, still trying to find a friend with a truck so I can squeeze past that $60 delivery fee, and I've got a new pup coming on Saturday! Should be a heck of a week coming up. Thanks for any opinions fellas.

I just got the HLS5086W (little newer styled version of yours, 50 inch though)
If you have or are getting a xbox 360 just make sure you use the component cables, should make your dvd viewing much better.(not to mention gameplay too)
i havent had one issue with my samsung yet, you should even try hookin up your computer/laptop to it, quality is great and dont have to worry about burn-in. nothin like playin half life 2 on a 50+" tv.
just make sure you use component or better and you should have a great experience.

I've heard nothing but good things about Samsung DLPs. I would say you are best of getting a new DVD player that upconverts and uses HDMI. They aren't that expensive and will offer better picture quality than a XBOX (360 or otherwise).

If you want a lot of opinions from guys who really eat this stuff up check out

www.hometheaterforum.com
or
www.avsforum.com

HTH!

just remember LCD and Plasma HDTV's aren't as sharp as "regular" tube HDTV's. That is why i went with a 34" tube HDTV.

Thanks for the advice and links guys! Finding plenty of info out. I do know that the 'ol tubes are more reliable and perhaps clearer, but they also weigh about 200 lbs. I live in a 2nd story apartment, so this had to be reasonable, and like someone stated earlier, I've heard DLP is THE best bang for your buck right now. Although I did see a 42" Plasma for 1400 while I was there that was very tempting.... But, I'd rather have the reliability of DLP and of course an extra 14" didn't hurt.

Originally posted by PlatoSVT:
...and of course an extra 14" didn't hurt.

thats what she said!

Originally posted by PlatoSVT:
14" didn't hurt.

that's an out and out lie

~Andrew

Get Digital Video Essentials and spend some time setting up the picture after you do an initial warm up/burn in with all the video settings (brightness, contrast, color, etc.) turned all the way down. If you spend the time with DVE you'll be very pleased with the way your picture looks. $20 at Amazon, well worth it.

I agree on the suggestion for an upconverting DVD player. Check techbargains.com for deals - they're often available for around $40-50.

Get a quality surge protector.

Scott

Originally posted by elraido:
just remember LCD and Plasma HDTV's aren't as sharp as "regular" tube HDTV's. That is why i went with a 34" tube HDTV.

Until the day that a CRT HDTV can reach 60", be affordable, and can be mounted on anything other than steel reinforced concrete, I'll stick with an RPHDTV... SXRD is my drug of choice. Hopefully by year-end.

Originally posted by bishop375:

Originally posted by elraido:
just remember LCD and Plasma HDTV's aren't as sharp as "regular" tube HDTV's. That is why i went with a 34" tube HDTV.

Until the day that a CRT HDTV can reach 60", be affordable, and can be mounted on anything other than steel reinforced concrete, I'll stick with an RPHDTV... SXRD is my drug of choice. Hopefully by year-end.

Oh yeah...

i also think it depends on the size of the room. Anything bigger than what I got would not fit/look good at all. Living room is a little small and wierd shaped, kind of like an L.

We have a 50" Samsung DLP (not sure on the model) and its great. DLP is probably the best value and its still great quality. We got ours a year ago and i know i love it.

Originally posted by elraido:
i also think it depends on the size of the room. Anything bigger than what I got would not fit/look good at all. Living room is a little small and wierd shaped, kind of like an L.

Size of the room is a bigger deal than most people think.

The optimum viewing distance for a huge 62" TV is a whopping 15 feet away. Any closer than probably about 12 feet and you're gonna get an image that looks worse than standard television. DLP is particularly susceptible to this. Many people don't have room where that's even possible.

But cut that down to about 50", still a large TV, and you can get down to an 8-10' optimal viewing distance; something that most people are going to have in their rooms.

According to THX recommendations, for a 60" wide aspect screen, 7.8ft is the optimal viewing distance for 1080 HD content. My couch is just over 8' from my screen, and my eyes are happy. =]

This is my 1080p LCD setup in the family room. I dont have a picture of the Plasma upstairs yet.

Originally posted by chemguru:
According to THX recommendations, for a 60" wide aspect screen, 7.8ft is the optimal viewing distance for 1080 HD content. My couch is just over 8' from my screen, and my eyes are happy. =]

THX's recommendations are slightly faulty when reduced to the average TV-sized level. If you took them literally, the maximum viewing distance for your average 27" television would be just 3 feet for HD content. But try doing that yourself; you probably won't like it at all, and it surely won't be optimum.

THX numbers are not necessarily the "best" for picture quality, but the point at which you no longer start to lose detail in your picture. The two don't go hand-in-hand, you have to sacrifice some image detail for the best picture. If you're sitting just 8 feet away from a 60" TV you aren't losing any detail in the picture, but it's not the best looking picture you can have. The bare minimum for image appearance is two times the width of the screen, which would be 10 feet for a 60" screen, 15 feet would be the preferable distance.