Help seaching for a 60 inch TV

[bikesmikelikes]

I am looking to get a new large HDTV or HDTV compatable TV to replace a 35 inch Mitsi. I am thinking DLP technology at maybe a 50-62 inch size. I have been looking but would appreciate any thoughts of what sets are particularly good or ones to stay away from. Been trying to find on-line reviews but most of what I find are sales adds. Is there someplace where good by side comparisons/reviews of a variety of sets can be found? I see ppl talkin about a Mitsi (pricey) and the JVC LCoS sets (hvn't seen the JVC yet). I have seen toshiba DLP sets and they seem to have a nice picture as well and prices (at least on-line) arn't too bad. I know little about Samsung, except they USED to make junk. I guess they make good sets these days.

ANyway - if anyone can point me to reviews or recommend a few sets to go look at. Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[zumbo]

http://www.downtownaudio.com/index.html
http://www.barrettshometheater.com/index.cfm
http://datavisioncomputer.com/webapp/commerce/command/ExecMacro/Datavision/macros/main.d2w/report
http://www.fotoconnection.com/cy-582.html
http://www.jr.com/JRSectionView.process?N=11392+210359&Ne=101319#Screen+Size+(Inches/Diagonal)
http://www.shopsunshine.com/categories.asp?cat_id=286

 

[Duffinator]

I know little about Samsung, except they USED to make junk. I guess they make good sets these days.

Samsung's has really changed their image in the past few years. You should look at the Samsung and JVC D-ILA sets, both have an excellent picture. The Samsung has the color wheel issue (as do most single chip DLP sets) and the JVC has issues with fan noise. But the pictures are outstanding. Good luck.

 

[JJNab]

Zumbo, I see that you included FotoConnection on your list. Do you have any experience with them? They have a great price on a Samsung I've been looking at ... . JJ

 

[rgriffin25]

At work we have a LCD, DLP and JVC HD-ILA (3-chip Lcos) sitting next to each other. The JVC has a better picture on analog sources and has a really good HD picture as well. It is also noticibly brighter than the other two as well. (which may be a good or bad thing depending on who you are.)

Another idea would be to check out the Philips Lcos sets. Philips has recently pulled out of the LCos market, so their sets could be found at a great price.

 

[zumbo]

Zumbo, I see that you included FotoConnection on your list. Do you have any experience with them? They have a great price on a Samsung I've been looking at ... . JJ

Nope! I have heard good things though.

 

[bikesmikelikes]

narrowing the search - any thoughts?

i am narrowing my search to a Mitsi 62525, a toshiba 62hm94 and the pedestal samsung with the HD 2+ chip.

62 or so fits my room. any other suggestions?

Any experience with reliability on each of these? Any words of caution? How about buying on-line - prices even with shippiing seem a lot less than CC or BB or tweeters.

Another thought i havn't purused is getting an old school style rear projection set that is HDTV compatable. I don't see people talkin bout them much anymore. They are huge and clunky and nearly impossoble to move around - but they seem to be quite a bit cheaper. Any suggestions regarding this cost conscious thought?

Thanks for any feedback - I appreciate it much.

 

[SacKen]

I also just replaced my 35" Mitsu. I got a Sony 60" Grand Wega Rear-Projection LCD (KDF-60XS955) and absolutely love it!

 

[simplman63]

Hitachi

The NEW Hitachi Ultra-vision Cine-form is just incredible. You should read up up on it.

 

[Jcenzo]

Went with the JVC

I just ordered the JVC 61" HD ILA. For me it was between the Sami and the JVC and the JVC was brighter, with richer color and very good contrast. The set is comming in the next few days and i'm keeping my fingers x'ed hoping the fan noise was a problem with the early units. PS I personally found that the LCDs where significantly below these designes in picture quality so they were never in the running.

 

[WoodieB]

I hope the JVC works out for you. I originally bought one, but it had major issues. The entire left half of the screen had a green glow when the screen was blank, and any blacks in the picture would be green tinted. I had heard it was a manufacturing defect from some early production runs. Also, I play Xbox quite a bit, and Halo2, while nice, wasn't that impressive on it. I took it back to Ultimate Electronics and ended up getting a Sony KDF55-WF655 LCD rear projection. I'm very happy with it. Is it perfect? No. If you look closely you can see a bit of "screen door" effect at times, but you have to be trying to. Can it produce absolute black? No, but with a good HD source, it's pretty awesome. I get my HD feed off air, and Monday Night Football games are stunning. Couldn't really ask for more. Halo2 looks awesome, and I have yet to see motion blur or lag as LCD's are supposed to have. I would have considered a plasma, but I game a lot so burn in is an issue. I'm just about to get a Pioneer 578 DVD player for movies. I have been using my XBox for a DVD player, but it doesn't play movies in progressive scan, so I wanted an inexpensive DVD player until BluRay or whatever else comes out in the next year or so. Not dissing your choice, I think the JVC's have a great pic, I just had a bad experience with one.

 

[Jcenzo]

Worried

I have read horror stories such as yours but every time I went to a store to compare different brands I kept going back to the JVC. It looked better than all others in three different stores. I am most concerned about how the SD picture will look since most programming is still in SD. Someone please remind me why are we buying these things again? Anyway, I’ll know next week when the set shows up.
Anyone else out there own the JVC 61”?

 

[docferdie]

The problem with these new fixed pixel sets and doing side by side comparisons is that they have service menu settings that greatly impact picture quality but are very much hidden from the user. If you happened to be looking at a set that was just altered by another store customer prior to your arrival then your opinion may become biased towards one set instead of the other. And remember when you look at side by side comparisons at most retailers you are evaluating the TVs ability to display an image from an analog distribution amplifier not from a DVD player, Set top box or video game console. In my opinion the only real valid side by side comparisons are when the sets are at factory defaults(or alternatively calibrated to the same standard) with the customer having access to brightness, tint, etc., and the sets being fed through the DVI/HDMI port with an appropriately amplified and split digital signal.

 

[Jcenzo]

Great News

My JVC 61” HD-ILA came today! Setup was a breeze. The HD picture is unbelievable. SD is fine and I feel like I’m watching my DVD’s for the first time! I see detail I wasn’t even aware of. Fan noise on these sets is a myth and the reviews I have read are waaay off the mark. Just goes to show ya ….. believe your own eyes sometimes. I don’t even want to go to work tomorrow, it’s so good. I highly recommend this set!

 

[jzac]

Superb choice...

Jcenzo...waaaaay to go on the JVC! That is one killer technology, and to me is the best one in the market. D-ILA has been the core of tech in the JVC projectors world for a while (one of the best in the world), and everyone who has a JVC TV using the same tech has nothing but rave reviews about it. I'm still salivating for one! A couple of my friends bought these babies a few months ago, and they can't say enough good things about it.

On a different note, imagine having this one at your home..
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200412/kt2004121616225410440.htm

 

[RipperHoss]

At work we have a LCD, DLP and JVC HD-ILA (3-chip Lcos) sitting next to each other. The JVC has a better picture on analog sources and has a really good HD picture as well. It is also noticibly brighter than the other two as well. (which may be a good or bad thing depending on who you are.)

Another idea would be to check out the Philips Lcos sets. Philips has recently pulled out of the LCos market, so their sets could be found at a great price.

I totally concur. We routinely have people return DLPs because the picture looks terrible on anything non-HD.

We actually had to take the JVC out of our largest demo area because there were certain demonstrations that we were required to do (like showing the difference between a cheap DVD player using composite cables vs an upconversion DVD with the DVI/HDMI cables) and there honestly wasn't enough of a difference shown by the TV to warrant the extra money.

We put the 52" Mitsubishi DLP in the demo area. You can definitely see the difference now.

 

[mulemaniac]

I'm thinking about picking up a Philips 62" LCOS set (62PL9774) because the prices have really dropped due to them being discontinued. Ultimate Electronics has a display model for $2250 (same price as the 55" model) and it looks too good to pass up. Anyone have any advice or heard about any problems?

Thanks