£60,000 Sharp RPTV!

[calibos]

I was in Dublin recently and called into Brown Thomas'(Posh Department Store) as I had heard that they had a Sharp rear projection tv on sale in their Audio Visual department...costing IR£60,000(probably about STG£45-50,000)!!! I just had to have a look. It was a 60 inch LCD 2-3 million pixel(can't remember model number) model with a DVD playing. All I can say is that the picture was mediocre at best. Definitely no better than any other RPTV I have seen.(I'm not a RPTV fan by the way) The only plus point it had going for it IMHO was that it seemed to have a wider viewing angle compared to other £2-3,000 RPTV's in the shop. Therefore, can someone tell me why they think this TV is worth such a huge amount of money?

What compounded my astonishment was the fact that they had a 50 inch Grand Wega costing IR£6,000(again not cheap for a RPTV but still!) in a dedicated Sony room that had a picture that I can only describe as sublime for a RPTV. Very,Very close to a CRT IMHO. Even a Rear projection sceptic like myself could be persuaded to part with his cash! Why in the name of God would anyone spend the price of a Porcshe(well almost the price of one)on this or any other tv when they could

A. Pay a tenth the amount for a superior RPTV
or
B. Build an entire custom built kick ass Home-Cinema(with plenty of spare change).

Now before you say "typically poorly set up TV" or "Aimed at corporate users for conferance purposes". Surely they would make the effort of setting up correctly in order to persuade someone to part with £60,000 and even if it is aimed at the corporate market, there must be a better performing cost effective solution available to them that they would never even consider this TV.

I remember seeing a news item in HCC or Home-Entertainment last month about a Sharp LCD RPTV costing £25,000( even this is a ridiculous price) aimed at the corporate market. Could this be the same TV and if so does that mean it is just a publicity stunt by Brown Thomas' or are the import taxes,exchange rates etc in Ireland so bad that they have to charge £35,000 more than in the UK. Anyone got any idea's?



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Don't be a don't be.......Be a do be!
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[LV426]

The Sharp TV you've seen is "special" because it is HDTV compatible. For the Yanks (and Japs?), who have HDTV, this is of some use. For Europeans, at present it's f*&k all use. Who knows, maybe someday we'll get HD-DVDs? If you can see one of these sets showing a real HDTV signal (Harrod's were demo-ing it doing just that) you'd see a REAL difference.

But there's no way it's worth its price.

By the way, I agree wholly with your assessment of the Sony Grand Wega. Best picture I've ever seen.

[mart.stokes]

And the moral of this story? Buy your Grand Wegas in Ireland, IR£6000 isn't bad. I have seen it (don't laugh) in Currys for £6500.

The second moral? Sharp are having a laugh, this make no sense at all. Even top notch Vidikron projectors (capable of HDTV) look cheap in comparison. HDTVs are still expensive in the states (the first ones were even sold without tuners and still cost $8000) but nothing justifies that price tag.

On the Grand Wega front; better than my 50" Pioneer but not worth £6k. That damned reflective screen is a pain if there is any light about, you may as well have a projector.

[Nic Rhodes]

[quote]Originally posted by nigel:<br /><strong>By the way, I agree wholly with your assessment of the Sony Grand Wega. Best picture I've ever seen.</strong><hr></blockquote>

I thought this Grand Wega was stunning at Live2000 and very nearly bought one. What stopped me was the LCD bit. When I viewed this tv for longer and removed Toy Story it's picture stared to fall apart. Great stylyng etc but this baby can't do blacks / contrast. The latest Plasmas are way better IMHO (Panny W3) but give me CRT base stuff for the ultimte quality. The Sharp is actually better in this respect but....

[Nic Rhodes]

[quote]Originally posted by pickfoc:<br /><strong>Now please correct me if I am wrong but isn't LCD (liquid Crystal Display) different to Rear Projection.

I thought that LCD in the TV mentioned was not rear projection but a large scale LCD as seen on laptop computers or LCD monitors.

That would explain the hurrific cost!</strong><hr></blockquote>

Rear projection tvs are as they sound. You can two variants. CRT and LCD (and a few others coming to the market). Front projection is the same. CRT generate light and LCDs have light shining through them to produce the picture.

On top of this is direct view LCDs panels like computer panels.

Does this make sence?

[LV426]

Picfoc: The TVs referred to here (Sharp, Sony Grand Wega) etc., DO use an LCD array to generate the picture.<br />On a laptop PC a single LCD panel, with all three colours present as individual pixels, typically 15 inches diagonal produces the image. It is back lit by a low-wattage lamp. You look at the LCD panel directly to see the image.

In a LCD RPTV, there are three small (say a couple of inches diagonal) monochrome LCD screens inside the TV. Each produces one of the three coloured components (red,green,blue) of the picture.

Behind them is a bright lamp and a prism. The prism splits the light three ways to illuminate the LCD panels. In front of each is a coloured filter. The filters make the green image green, blue-blue and red-red. Another prism then recombines the three coloured images into a single stream of light (a full-coloured image)which is then thrown onto the screen by a projection lens and a mirror.

(Just think of a slide projector, but swap the slide for a little LCD panel. X3.)

Nic: Acknowledge what you say about black levels. For some reason, this has never bothered me to the extent that it seems to bother others. What bothers me MUCH more, is the

a) low refresh rate (flickering)<br />b) bad convergence (yes I know it can be adjusted, but I haven't the patience, and I've never seen one that is EXACTLY right)<br />c) bad voltage regulation (image changing size with brightness)<br />d) bad geometry (yes I know....)

that LCDs, including the Grand Wega, do not, indeed almost cannot, suffer from.

[Nic Rhodes]

[quote]Originally posted by LV426:<br /><strong>Nic: Acknowledge what you say about black levels. For some reason, this has never bothered me to the extent that it seems to bother others. What bothers me MUCH more, is the

a) low refresh rate (flickering)<br />b) bad convergence (yes I know it can be adjusted, but I haven't the patience, and I've never seen one that is EXACTLY right)<br />c) bad voltage regulation (image changing size with brightness)<br />d) bad geometry (yes I know....)

that LCDs, including the Grand Wega, do not, indeed almost cannot, suffer from.</strong><hr></blockquote>

I avoid CRT with these problems as well, I guess it is down to doing something correctly. Quality always wins.

Now please correct me if I am wrong but isn't LCD (liquid Crystal Display) different to Rear Projection.

I thought that LCD in the TV mentioned was not rear projection but a large scale LCD as seen on laptop computers or LCD monitors.

That would explain the hurrific cost!

[boozydoo]

I saw the Sharp RPTV at Harrods running a HD source of American Football. It was without any doubt the finest picture i have ever seen. Totally gobsmacking - i just stood there with my jaw on the floor, and i cant stand US Footy.

Not saying its worth the cash, but i i were a rich Jonny foreigner with a HD source i'd get one. Far superior to all the plasma sets i've seen. It's close to watching reality through a 60inch window.