Best Projection TVs

I have an LCD projection TV (Sony Grand Vega) that I got less than four years ago and it’s starting to get dimmer and dimmer. Should I get a plasma TV if I want a long life? I got a new lamp recently, but the picture is pretty dim. What’s the problem? How long a life can I expect?

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I’ve been looking for quite some time for a good deal on a used LCD.

I have found a 42″ Viewsonic that he claims he barely used, he moved to a new house and doesn’t have room for it as a kitchen tv anymore. It gets pretty good reviews as well.

Its going for $500 firm and was just posted today. Its for sale in one of the richest neighborhoods in the state, so selling off for cheap isn’t that much of a surprise to me considering they can afford to.

He says its very nice and there nothing wrong with it at all. Now if this were a projection or DLP there would be more things to check. Yet since its an LCD, aside from dead pixels, what else can I really check on?

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Not much more than the title, well, i can provide some description i guess, i am looking for a good 1080p, 1920×1080 resolution, 50″ minimum, and good for gaming. I can’t decide between these two: http://www.butterflyphoto.com/product.html?postId=1101063&cm_mmc=Yahoo-_-Sony-_-Rear+Projection+TV-_-SONKDF50E3000&zmam=8564958&zmas=1&zmac=76&zmap=SONKDF50E3000

http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Samsung%20HLT5676SX%2FXAA%20Television:1994690647:page=details;_ylt=AvFU0wg_CYmJ03pHSnL9uFARSXAD;_ylu=X3oDMTA5ZW01N2htBHNlYwNiZ3NpYg–?clink=dmss//ctx=sc:ctelevisions,c:ctelevisions,mid:59,pid:1994690647,pdid:59,pos:0

I have a 32″ 1080i Sony Bravia in my living room, and so far it has exceptional performance, but i wanted one for my room, i know i cant mount these on walls, due to rear projection, but the samsung is 56″ and the sony is 50″ and i like both, yet one comes with free shipping, but i don’t know the quality, if you can refer me to a better TV aswell, much apreaciated, but keep ‘em under 1500

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Should I buy a Toshiba 50A62 50-Inch Projection TV for $240 it is 6 years old and i am not sure if it is a good deal or not, i think its 1080p

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Can anyone that owns this projector offer me their opinion on it? Has anyone switched recently from a TV to a Projector? Are you happy you made the switch? How much picture quality do you think I’ll lose, if any?

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double colors include yellow and blue. It will not reset with flash focus and using the reset botom.

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i was looking at an HD projector that costs 900-1000 but was wondering if it would be better or equal to an LCD HDTV of a similar price. i will be using it for watching TV and movies. i will have it in a somewhat dark room and use a grey projector screen. unless a white screen would be better. would i be better off getting a 50″ lcd tv or would the 100″ projector screen make it worth it? here’s some info on the projector:
The Optima HD20 operates at a native 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels), while it also is compatible with most computer formats, such as UXGA, WXGA, SXGA+, SXGA, XGA, SVGA, VGA resized, VESA, PC and Macintosh It can also accept common global video inputs and video formats up to 1080p (HDTV, EDTV, SDTV, NTSC, PAL, SECAM). Like all Optoma projectors, the DLP engine operates without filters, keeping ownership and maintenance costs low while ensuring consistent performance throughout the projector’s life. The projection lamp is rated to last up to 4000 hours in standard mode or 3000 hours in bright mode. The HD20 also incorporates a rapid shutdown feature that further reduces ownership costs, and it comes with a one-year parts and labor warranty, with the lamp being covered for 90 days.

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I’m planning on buying a PS3 in the next couple of months and I figure I need a new television to go with it (I currently own a very, very, old TV). Thing is, I have no idea what to get. All I know is:

(Price Range)
I don’t feel like spending over $1000 and with the PS3 currently priced at $299 that leaves me $700 for a television.
(Viewing Distance)
I measured it out to 80 or 105 inches (on top of dresser or mounted on wall).
(Video Games)
More than likely I’ll be playing them often. So, it’s important that the games look good.

That’s about it.
BTW, I don’t need a specific television just a general idea of what to look for – i.e, Rear projection, LCD, Plasma, 1080i, 1080p, 720p, etc.

Thanks in advance!

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I can’t seem to find any reviews on this TV. Ciccuit City is using it as a warranty replacement for my old RCA 52″ projection piece of crap. The TV is 50″ 1080p, with a 2500:1 contrast ratio. The only downside I see is s slightly lower contrast ratio compared to the 10000:1 I have been seing on other TV’s. I just wish there were some reviews so I could decide whether I should buy the extended warranty 2 Years -$250 and 5 years – $450.

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a 65 inch dlp projection hdtv, 1080p, 3 hdmi, etc. $1800.00
or
47 inch LCD HDTV 1080p , 2 hdmi, etc. $1100.00

Both TV’s look great, however i hear that DLP’s arent as good as LCD’s because of when your sitting at an angle, but i wont be sitting at an angle all the time, I love the DLP for its size of the screen, and i Love the LCD for its slimness and great clear picture from any angle, and if i dont have an HD recieve will my games not play in HD. Please answer i’m hooking up consoles to these so if you can help, thank you

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Ok hear is the deal… About 8 months ago I bought a 50″ samsung lcd 720p. The 1080p was still a little pricy so I bought 720. About a month ago I found a 55″ Sony KDS55″A2020 SXRD (rear projection) for sale on craigslist for 500.00…so I jumped right on it cause this tv had great reviews when it came out and it was also a 1080p…which is what I really wanted…when i brought it home, I plugged in my xbox360 into the Sony and the picture was great…then I plugged it into the samsung again..LCD and the picture is so much more brighter….so now I dont know what the game was supposed to look like…lol.

Anyways..for anyone who has both a DLP, SXRD…and then a plasma or lcd 1080P….

My question is…will there be a BIG difference if I sold my SONY 1080p rear projection and bought a 1080p plasma or LCD?

I want to make sure there wont be a big change…befor I go out and buy a blueray.

Thanks in advance.

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I have replaced the bulb recently. the problem is that intermittently it seems that one color goes missing for awhile. i.e. the screen appears generally more purple or green than it should be, then corrects later. sometimes there is a band of green or purple on the screen. I could get a phillips person to come here and fix for more money or could take it to a shop (it’s BIG and hard to transport) to fix. My fear is that such a problem might involve the main “light engine” or some primary circuit board. I don’t know whether it would be $200 to fix a minor problem or $800 to fix a more likely major problem. Dilemma is that although the TV was worth $2K-$3K+ when purchased that intrinsic new value now may be closer to twice the value of fixing it for $800 and i feel that used equipment is worth half new. i.e. if it costs $800 to fix it, i might be lucky to sell for $800 and would not be worth fixing. If I take it in and price is as such then i still pay $100 or more to look at it and it would be likely just a waste of money. don’t know how likely it would be fixable for only around $200 which would be worthwhile. from calling repair shops, they seem unfamiliar with such a problem (lcos is not a popular technology, mostly people use DLP now) I had taken it apart and looked at it, and saw what appeared to be a spinning part that had some wobbliness (vibration/buzzing of spinning part with flat edges) during the problem. service people on the phone say LCOS has no moving parts aside from fans. This is not visibly the case as it appears this moving part is within the outer part of light engine. so i don’t know if these people don’t know anything about the technology, but it would seem likely that although the part is small, with such things a replacement of the whole “light engine” may be neccesary if they don’t really know what they’re doing to begin with, and i believe that may be a $700 part. So although I think i see a problem moving part, i can only guess that due to phillips lcos discontinued status, local service center inexperience with the product, and location of the specific part that it may cost $800 to fix. So would it be better to sell a mostly working TV to someone who intermittent problem does not bother? through where… ebay local or craigs list or newspaper?, sell it to a pawn shop as-is? or try my luck at getting it fixed by taking it in and hoping it’ll be cheap, maybe letting them keep it if it will cost over a certain amount to fix? would be nice to sell it to a tv repairman or maybe someone here knows the technology and knows of a spinning square part apparently not a fan blade, (lcos is not supposed to have a color wheel like dlp nor a spinning mirror i think) and thus would be able to give repair advice. otherwise the advice i seek is what to do with a TV that is only partially broken where expense to fix is unknown but likely high as local repair shops are unfamiliar with the technology.

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Here is my current, very modest, home theater set up:

TV – Sony KF50WE610 50″ Grand WEGA HDTV-Ready LCD Rear Projection TV
link to specs: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-KF50WE610…9676076&sr=8-3

Receiver – Yamaha RX-V530 Natural Sound Home Theater Receiver
link to specs: http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/p…ETYP=ATTRIBUTE

Speakers: All Polk
Front Speakers – R30 Floorstanding
link to specs: http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/s…rstanding/r30/

Rear Bookshelfs – RTI38
link: http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/specs/rti38/

Center Channel – RTI20
link: http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/specs/csi20/

Sub – PSW250
link: http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/specs/psw250/

I have a 360 and a PS3. I have both set up with component wires. My tv does not have HDMI inputs. Eventually, I will be upgrading my tv to a newer model with full 1080p and HDMI inputs, but I can’t afford that right now. My speakers have a lot to be desired, but I don’t know if the speakers are

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my sony tv just died, the tv repair man did the autopsy and recommended i just buy a new one because mine would cost around $1000 to fix. This tv only lasted about four years and i paid $2700 for it. That sony tv gave me problems from the beginning and I will never buy another sony tv. It was a 50 inch projection XBR series. so now im gonna go get a new one but what brands are good and known to be user friendly and trouble free. Should I buy an LCD or another DLP. Im not getting a plasma. I want a 1080P and atleast 50 inch. what brands are good

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I know there are several types of TV’s from Plasma to LCD to Projection….etc. But with a budget of $1000 should I save my money and wait for a few years? Will I be sad that I didn’t buy a 1080P unit? Should I get something entirely different? What say ye?
Oh….the one I’m looking at is a Sanyo brand.

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im shopping for a new big tv and i found a couple at good prices i think…..so im looking for suggestions

the Toshiba is 65″ DLP rear projection for $1500
the Mitsubishi is also 65″ but is a regular DLP for $1900

theyre both 1080p and most everything else si the same too…basically one is rear projction and one isnt……im just wondering if the extra 400 dollars is worth it for the regular dlp instead of projection…because ive heard about all the problems with the lamps in the projection tvs.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated….or if anyone knows where i can get a better deal for a huge newer tv for the price?? Thanks

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With the price of large (>32”) LCD displays decreasing rapidly and new functionalities being added to LCD displays, does it still make sense for businesses to buy a projector vs. an LCD display?

Some of the variables to consider when evaluating this question are product quality, price, picture quality, screen size and other such considerations. We discuss these and other factors from a typical business organization perspective. Read other articles and make your informed judgement.

Product Life: LCD TVs or displays typically have a backlight life of 30,000 to 60,000 hours (ie, if you have the display on for ~6 hours every day, the backlight will last for 16 years). Even then the backlight can be replaced in most LCD displays. A projector bulb typically has a life of 2,000 hours.

Price Considerations: A basic projector can be found for INR 25,000. However, if the projector is going to be used for video conferencing or board room presentation, a high resolution, good contrast ratio and saturated colour projector would be required. The cost of such a projector is close to INR 1 lakh. Thereafter, you need to factor in the prices of projector bulb and projection screens. A typical projector bulb needs to be replaced almost every year or two with bulbs costing Rs 20,000+ per bulb. We have added these costs over a five-year period to compare a projector vs. an LCD (see chart below). With 46” LCD TV or display costing around Rs 135,000 – Rs 150,000 and dropping, price becomes less of an issue when considering whether to buy a Projector or LCD display

Figure: Total Cost of Ownership Comparison for Projector vs. LCD Display

Basic Device capital cost for projector is INR 70,000 and that of an LCD display is INR 150,000, Projector Screen Capital Cost (Wall Mount Screens INR 5-15K) is INR 10,000, Consumable cost of the projector is 20,000 x 3 = INR 60,000, Consumable life of a projector is 2,000hrs and that of an LCD display is 60,000hrs and the Cost of Ownership of a projector is Rs.140, 000/- and Rs.150, 000/- for an LCD display.

Assume: 5years of usage @ 5hrs a day ~ 6600hrs of use. This translates to 4 lamps in 5 years requiring the customer to buy 3 lamps in addition to 1 supplied with machine.

What is clear from the above figure is that a Full High Definition 46” LCD Display is, at best, only marginally costlier than a XGA Projector of ~2500AL. Additional costs of low screen installation costs and lower device loss costs are purely additional.

Picture Quality: Projectors such as a DLP or LCD projector use glass panels to combine red, green and blue colours to create the image. When sitting close to screen, the viewer can see the different colours at the borders of an image, aptly described as the rainbow effect. The rainbow effect takes away from the image quality and can give headaches. High-end projectors have been able to reduce the rainbow effect, however the problem still remains and these high-end projectors cost more. LCD TV or LCD displays do not have rainbow effect issues and the quality of the picture is good at close range.

Rather, projectors cannot compare with the picture quality for an LCD display. The vividness of the colours, the contrast ratio, the colour saturation and image sharpness are much better for an LCD display than a projector. When viewing a projector image, especially in ambient light, the viewer has to dim the lights or close the curtains unless the business has purchased an even more costly higher lumen projector. Not true with LCD displays, as the brightness and colour quality are much better.

Viewing angles used to be an issue with LCD displays but this issue is no longer true. Most LCD displays can be viewed from up to 176 degrees.

Dead or Stuck Pixels: Projectors can suffer from dead pixels and LCD displays can suffer from stuck pixels. Both dead pixels and stuck pixels result in white spots in the projected image. However, the manufacturers of both technologies have worked hard to minimize such issues and in most cases they provide warranty against such issues.

Screen Size: A common thought is that screen size is not an issue for most projectors as the thinking is that the projector image can be made larger by moving the projector away from the screen. This is not true as the image quality deteriorates as the image becomes larger. With projectors, most buyers opt for maximum optimized projector image sizes from 76-inches to 120-inches and the actual working normal projection image used is much smaller. Today, if businesses need a large LCD display in the maximum projector image size, a wide variety of competitive LCD displays can be found in this range.

Portability: Projectors are easy to carry and move around. For a business this could be a value-add or a drawback. LCD displays are durable and can be moved however they are not as light as projectors.

Power Consumption: Projector power consumption varies more from unit to unit, with brighter conference projectors requiring more power than smaller portable projectors. It is hard to compare the two technologies on this performance parameter.

Connectivity: Most LCD displays have more number and different types of ports than projectors. As a result more types of devices can be connected to an LCD display than a projector.

Other Value-Add Features: New features are appearing in LCD displays that could be quite valuable for businesses. For example, touch screen features on LCD displays allow for LCD displays to be used as digital whiteboards where the data written on the display can easily get captured electronically in a text document.

For more information on Sharp’s LCD monitors, check out Sharp’s official LCD monitor site! http://lcddisplay.sbsil.com/

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If you’re excited about your latest TV or film project and are hitting a pitching wall, you may be tempted to grab a camera, call in some favors and shoot the whole thing yourself! Is there ever a right time to do that? Well, yes. And there also are right times to not even consider it. Let’s talk about the truth and consequences behind shooting your own reels.

Presentation Reels
For filmmakers, you’ll often want to shoot a presentation reel to convince funders to come aboard. That actually is a terrific idea. But not always a necessary one. Start with a solid screenplay first. Shopping a screenplay is far easier and certainly wholly acceptable as a means to get financiers, key team members and even vendors on board. If you’re not getting any action from the script, put your next budget dollars towards a professional script analysis. Make sure your script is truly shootable and worth shooting. It costs only a few hundred dollars for detailed development notes from The 1-3-5 System, for example (for info on this system, visit my website listed below). It will cost you a few thousand, at the least, to shoot a reel and hope you can do with pictures what you haven’t yet done with words.

EXCEPTIONS: The big exception here is when you have a challenging, non-CGI visual, setting or performance that repeatedly is questioned by script readers. If you keep hearing “Can that be done?,” it might be time for a presentation reel.

RULE: Once you commit to doing a reel, hire a professional staff and crew. A shoddy-looking reel may cost you credibility, while excellent production value can really boost it.

Sizzle Reels
For reality producers, your show’s demo tape is called a “sizzle reel.” And your battle cry is all too often, “I’ll just produce the show myself!” Slow down. I had an interesting discussion last weekend with two major reality production and network execs, both of whom were happy to get sizzle reels since they feel reels help them sell an idea to others on their team. But I have often heard exactly the opposite from execs: “Sizzle reels can kill a deal.” One concern is that reels often don’t match the vision your pitch was building in an exec’s mind. Bye-bye sale. Another concern is that a good producer conforms a pitch to work with the brand of each partner s/he meets with. So a sizzle reel you shoot that satisfies one prod co’s brand may completely violate the mission of another company, etc. How many reels do you plan to shoot?

For more detailed dissection of when to sizzle or not, read my book, The Show Starter Reality TV Made Simple System, Vol. 1: How to Create and Pitch a Sellable Reality Show (for info, visit my website listed below).

FYI, the general consensus at the end of last weekend’s debate was, if at all possible, be sure to ask the exec you plan to pitch how they feel about sizzle reels.

EXCEPTIONS: If something in your show is visually electrifying or conceptually challenging in words, a demo reel of just that portion of your show is a big help.

RULE: Don’t cheap out on the shoot! Make it look great; it’s also your calling card to show what you can do if they keep you attached to the show.

Performer Reels
No disagreement here. Any time you are presenting unknown talent to an executive, a reel that showcases their ability and brand is a winner. For fiction, that’s a casting tape; for non-fiction, that’s a talent reel. For a casting tape, invest in real audio, and choose sides that sell your talent in his or her strongest part of the script. For a talent reel, you can include a brief personal introduction (interview set-up is fine), the talent in action in their natural environment and even testimonials. Whatever project you’re doing, light this reel beautifully and edit it professionally – this is the face of your project!

Professional Reel
If you are a director, producer, DP, editor or other B-T-S professional, you often will be asked for a demo reel of your work. Note that there is a huge difference between a professional reel…and a professional anthology. You don’t/shouldn’t/can’t put absolutely everything you’ve ever done onto a tape. Take the following advice – even though it challenges everything you believe in. Make a branding statement with your demo reel. Choose shows and selects that all accent your point-of-view as a content creator. Or that highlight your particular visual style. Or that showcase your big league clientele. Decide what impression you want your reel to leave, what makes you special as a project hire, then play the rough cut for people and ask them to share their gut reaction. If their feedback doesn’t match the kind of projects you most want to get – get back in there and re-cut that reel.

All Reels
You have 5 minutes at the most for a reel, but know that an exec really will only look at the first 2-3 minutes. Don’t get carried away! If studios can get you to pay $14.00 for a film by showing only a 30-second trailer…well, you get the picture. Now go get that deal!

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I went to Best Buy today asking some questions about blue ray players, the guy asked me if I had a HD ready TV, I told him yes. He then asked my if it was 720p or 1080p, I told him that I didn’t know. He then asked if my TV was over a year old, I told him yes It was made in 2003. He said that more than likely it isn’t compatible with blue ray and if it was then it wouldn’t matter because I would need at least a 1080p to fully appreciate the blue ray player anyway. So I look up my JVC model number over the internet, the JVC website list it as a 1080i, I am assuming this means the same thing as a 1080p. So my questions are. Was this guy mistaking in estimating that anything over a year old is too old? How can I find out with absolute certainty if my TV is compatible with blue Ray players before I buy one (How do I find out the number of pixels I really have?) And finally if it is compatible will I be able to notice a difference or will it be like the guy at Best Buy said and I wouldn’t notice a big difference unless I had a newer model TV?
Just a side note, for about a month I subscribed to a HD service through my satellite company and was not really impressed enough to continue the service, but my TV did receive HD quality pictures.

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I have about $300-$400 to spend on a used TV. There are great deals on craigslist. This would go in a bedroom, I have lots of space in this layout so that’s not an issue. I already have a smaller 42″ TV with 1080p, so I don’t care about that much quality, I just want something HUGE, over 42″, to play halo and hook up to my computer. Which is better for what I want?

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