About to pull the trigger on the 50A2000 . . .

[supervij]

And now I'm having second thoughts! Should I or shouldn't I?

I can have it for $2250 plus tax -- that's Canadian currency and that's with the stand included.

Here's my specs:

price limit: $2250 CDN
eyeball-to-screen distance: 8.5 feet
usage: HD programming (SciAtl 8300HD), DVDs, SD programming, and a tiny little bit of VHS. Eventually . . . maybe HD-DVD or Blu-Ray, but it's way too early to tell
amount of light in the room: lots of it during the day, barely any in the evening

My research suggested that I go for something between 46" and 52". Would it make sense to go smaller considering I will be watching DVDs and SD programming? Are there any other HDTVs equal to or less than $2250 CDN that would be better suited to me?

I'll likely be buying toward the end of the week. Any suggestions would be more than welcome. Thanks, guys!

cheers,
supervij

 

[MDS]

Check out this article from Sound and Vision: http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/hitech/1137/maxing-out-resolution.html

 

[supervij]

My reason for posting was not just to question the size, but yeah, I've seen that page and those graphs. Personally, I think the numbers are a little conservative. I don't have 20/20 vision, so maybe those numbers don't fully apply to me. Thanks though for the help.

cheers,
supervij

 

[billy p]

Are you impartial toward Mfg, plasma or lcd or even dlp? The one thing that was explained to me when I was looking, is that brigher tv's work better in very bright rooms! This would make a case for lcd or even(JVC's) D-ILA sets.

I have a dlp and it's located in the basement and works great, I've heard that plasma is better in darker rooms as well. This may help you cut the chase.

 

[supervij]

Hi billy. No, I've never really cared what technology the TV is, so long as I get a great picture at a low price. The SXRD line seemed to me to be exactly that.

And since they're LCoS (same as D-ILA, I think), I figured that the set would be okay in my living room during the day, when it can get pretty bright.

Thanks for the opinion. The brightness factor IS a concern. Is there a technology that is better suited to varied room brightness, other than LCoS?

your neighbour (relatively speaking),
supervij

 

[mouettus]

yes

my sony bravia lcd has a light sensor. it adjusts the backlight automatically. works great in my bedroom where light is a factor.

I've looked at the SXRD as well.. GREAT image! But i've chosen the bravia instead because of the image that looks IMO more realistic than any projection tv.

 

[supervij]

Thanks for the input, mouettus. Although it's too late for me now, cos I just bought the 50A2000! It will be delivered Saturday morning, but I'll have to wait a few more days before I get a hi-def terminal. I have a hi-def PVR on layaway; oh MAN do I hope that comes in soon. I can't WAIT to see hi-def on this bad boy!

cheers,
supervij

 

[Tetonmtnbiker]

I think you'll be very happy

Supervij,

I just got mine delivered last weekend (the 60" though). I tortured myself about which display to get, and now I LOVE my TV. Had over friends last night to watch the SuperBowl with my new HD DVR and everyone in the room said it was the best screen they had ever seen (and I havent calibrated it yet (waiting for DVE to arive)). No green blob. Plenty bright in a light room (XBR2 has a brighter bulb, but the bulb in this one is fine).

BTW it looks great with a good DVD player. My oppo 981 scales to 1080p and it shines on this TV.

Enjoy.

Teton

 

[supervij]

Teton, glad to hear it! I've had my 50-incher set up for just under two days, and boy, is it pretty! I used DVE to calibrate as well. And not a green blob in sight. (Only 10% of SXRD owners on avs reported green blob problems, so I was only mildly worried about that anyway.)

I watched Gladiator (extended edition) last night using my Pioneer 588A player. It looked good, no doubt about it, but it didn't shine. I'm getting my HD box delivered tomorrow, and I'm picking up my Oppo 981 on Saturday. So I haven't yet seen this TV at its best. But my gods, I'm looking forward to it!

I read that although the XBR2 has a brighter bulb, the bulb in the A2000 series is enough for most living rooms, so I wasn't too worried about that either.

All in all, so far, I'm one happy monkey!

cheers,
supervij

PS: Even the standard-def SuperBowl looked good on this set! I was really surprised. In fact, almost ALL SD looks pretty good.

 

[supervij]

My baby died on me . . .

Okay, not died. But as I was watching a movie I had recorded on my PVR, the screen suddenly went black. Looking closer, I noticed that the power light had gone from yellow to red, and was blinking five times, then a pause, then blinked five times, then paused, etc.

Googling the problem, I discovered that the five blinks indicates a fault lamp driver. I'll call Sony first thing in the morning to find out what they can do. The upshot is that the TV itself ain't broke, and the bulb itself is probably okay. The driver is probably some small mechanism that operates the bulb, so I'm hoping it won't cost too much in repairs. And that I won't need the set shipped out; having a tech do the repair here at my place would be plenty nice.

I can't believe this is happening literally one month after my one-year warranty ran out! Arrggghhhh!!!!!

cheers,
supervij