Video Asylum

Posted by JLivermore (A) on March 22, 2004 at 12:11:50

In Reply to: Recommendations on wide screen technologies posted by DavidLD on March 22, 2004 at 08:11:26:

I've been looking to upgrade myself into a nice display, 50" being the target size me me as well. I currently have a Loewe Aconda 30" direct view 16x9 tv capable of 1080i. I've had this for close to 3 years now, and I've only just started watching HDTV in the last 6 months through Time Warner cable. Discovery HD is phenominal.

LCD - I think this may have future potential, but now for larger screens above 30" I just don't see what you pay for. The image seems slow on the refresh rates, and the resolution is sub HDTV today. Let's keep in mind full HDTV resolution is 1920x1080, and anything less is scaled down - unless the channel itself is a lower resolution like 780 or even 480.

Plasma - very pricey, better picture than the LCDs, but then again, LCDs are very new relative to plasmas. Still, the burn in with a still image bothers me for that kind of money. Cool factor is high for rooms that require wall mount, but I can spare 20" or so in depth, so wall mount requirements don't justify the high cost of plasmas.

Front Prjoections - I've thought about this quite a bit, but in the end, I don't want to have to close my curtains to watch a movie during the day if I so choose. But as far as picture quality, I've seen the Marantz top line projector setup with the appropriate Stewart Screen and it was a terrific HDTV picture!

Rear Projection TV (DLP based) - this is what I'm waiting for. Current generation DLP RPTVs are creating quite a stir, primarily the Samsung ones. I've compared the 43" DLP RPTV with a 43" Samsung plasma directly with the same signal. I thought the picture in the DLP RPTV was better than the plasma. The plasma had more of a 'screen door' presentation where as the DLP RPTV seem to be smoother. Blacks on the DLP RPTV were excellent.

Texas Instruments are rolling out their next generation DLP chips. I'm going to wait and see how the xHD3 chipset looks. This is going to be their premire chipset supporting full 1080p resolution! I would expect this to arrive in the Samsung line of RPTVs at their top end price point. So I'm gussing at today's plasma prices, this time next year you should beable to pick up an amazing DLP RPTV with 1080p support.

In a nut shell, I'm hanging on to what I have now hoping to see a major improvement in resolution for a purhcase this time next year. Keep in mind, 2006 is the switch over date for broadcasting here in this country. It seems like so many things are in flux right now, not a good time to be buying a TV until things start to settle. If you can watch HDTV now, then you know whats in store in the future. I would hold off on a major TV purchase for a year or so if you can.