45-50" new DLP - Your reccomendation...

[cooleo_no1]

Hi,

I've been looking at CRTs, LCDs and Projectors. Until I stumbled across DLPs.

They look really impressive and I was hoping to get some advice before I go to the shops (this weekend or next).

I'm looking for a 40-50" screen, with Component and HDMI ports. I've looked at the Samsung SP50L7HX- which looks very nice, but I was hoping for a broader perspective. Price range could be anything really, not over £3k though.

So what's the best I could get? Which are the latest recommended screens, and which screens are close to coming out (before christmas) that would be worth waiting for?

 

[cooleo_no1]

I just want to know which one's are roughly the best. Regardless of price, which DLP is the best?

I heard the new Toshibas are coming out soon? Will they be better than the current gen of Samsungs and Sagems? Which is the best Samsung?

Can someone throw me a rope here!

 

[Chumpy]

Think you can get the Optoma RD65 for under 3k now I believe - there is a thread on it somewhere here recently - this is pretty much the big daddy of the moment - but it is a 65" rather than a 45 or 50. If you want the 50 then either go for the samsung or perhaps look at the optoma RD-50 - the RD-50 isn't a pretty as the Samsung though.

 

[Chumpy]

Here ya go :

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=246817

and check the pictures thread for Razor's RD65 and his crunchy nuts

Razor

 

[hifiboom]

the RD-50 isn't a pretty as the Samsung though.

it is believe me.... and I think it is 3-5 times brighter than he Sammy!

The colours jump into your face...

look at my Rd50 picture thread....


i`ve seen every of these dlp_displays: Thomson DLY, Sagem series, Sammy DLPs, many Plasmas and decided wo go with the Themescene Rd50.

I did not regret it....

If you only use a few NTSC discs i would not care about the 60Hz judder as it is acceptable when you just view one a month....

what did Digital Home write when reviewing the Rd50:
So do you buy a 50”Plasma or the RD50? No contest

Thats exactly what I think about it....

 

[cooleo_no1]

Nice pics.

So is the general consensus that the Sammy is better than RD50, but hifiboom thinks otherwise. Or is hifiboom the only person to own a RD50?

What inputs does the RD50 have? If it has better inputs than the Sammy then I may well consider it.

Is there a new Sammy coming out soon?

 

[hifiboom]

the RD-50 isn't a pretty as the Samsung though.

maybe he just mean that the sammy has a nice look, if you have futuristic furniture...

 

[Jamesy_UK]

I been and had a butchers at the 46" l6 and 50" L7 sammy's and am impressed with what they can do after harrasing the poor store guy to hook up the htpc running hd demo's to them.
RF feeds are awfully noisy but then they are RF feeds what self respecting person would use them unless they wanted to make their nice TV look like crup , SKY looked pretty good for the most part although the low bitrate channels like Sci-fi were a tad ugly to see unless you sat back aways, DVD's looked good to me although they only had a cheapo player on demo I could see hooked up without HDMI which was criminal.

I'd still like to see the Themescene 50" but unfortunatly can;t find anywhere close to me in Herts with one available to demo.

P.S just had an E-mail back from the guy I harrassed in the store saying they have had some advance info on new Toshiba's and the spec looked nice but more importantly that Sammy prices would be dropping in november to make way for new models early december or january..
This is just a store monkey though so no idea how accurate this is, he's the kind of person who wants to be your friend and you don't even know em.

 

[Chumpy]

Yep right on hifiboom - I meant the packaging/aesthetics of the RD50 isn't as pretty as the Samsung - picture-wise I'd agree with you.

 

[kurt_ego]

i got the sammy 7x and am really pleased with it. Remember to budget for wires tho. to get the system right you need to spend 10% oof ur tv cost on wires. So if its 2k then you should spend around £200 n wires! Trust me they make one hell of a difference.
Kurt

 

[hifiboom]

or you just take one DVI cable that works ...... and you get the best out of the display...
and a good dvi cable is not that cheap...

 

[Razor]

The RD50 has the slight edge in pic performance over the samsung IMO. However the Rd50 cant do 60Hz without external help and I do prefer the looks of the samsung set. If was just going for picture performance and wasn't bothered about the 60Hz issue then plump for the RD50. If however you have a large NTSC library (60Hz) and don't fancy the expense of an external scaler or HTPC then go for the samsung. All these DLP sets are large step up from CRT/LCD rear pros of old. I would even say better than the current crop of LCD/Plasma display, but this is my opinion.

HD on these sets is another story and the pic obtained is breath taking. Also the other beauty with these displays is that the picture doesn't suffer on larger screens, again I think it looks far better as you can see the smallest of detail which might be lost on smaller screens. This DLP technology was designed to be projected on screen sizes over 100" over a 12+ foot room. To have them kick out a 45"-65" image in a sealed cabinet is easy work.

Demo as many sets as possible to get a good idea, but bare in mind that these displays like any other display will look terrible with the wrong feed and setup.

Good Luck

 

[hifiboom]

but be carefull, I read about the Samsung and the Optoma and found out that the Rd50 is much more bright and has the better viewing angle...I also saw this with my own eyes..

If you really like to view NTSC discs than go with Sasmung, but if you never use this feature, don`t care about it and take the better PQ, as you`ll have to live with this quality on every material: DVD, analog tuner, HD_material.

I found the Samsung also to show more artifacts, it shows some blocking effects on movement, but this may be the player, which was connected to the dsiplay.... I just wanted to mention this.

I`ve seen the RD65 in real lif and I didn`t like its size and the design also was not my thing, but thats every peronal decision. Bigger than 50" I would go with a beamer and an LCD for TV-Viewing.

While the Samsung has a nice design, I don`t like it at all, because it would look like a UFO in my normal looking room. If you got post-modern futuristic furniture it will look nice. Else it will distroy your look of your room.

The Rd50 looks like old shool high-end TV, nothing special, but a little bit high-end. Its made of plastic, I would prefer a metal made Rd50, but you will love the plastic if you have to transport the display on your own into second stage....

 

[kmhtkmhtkmht]

If I was going for a 45 -50 inch TV, I'd go with a Samsung, despite my thinkingthehd2+chip is better than the hd4, I usually believe newer stuff is better and I would go with Pauleys 46 inch effort.

 

[cooleo_no1]

Thanks for all this golden info guys.

I'll take your opinions with a pinch of salt though, seeing as you all plump for your own TVs .

Obviously though you went for those TVs because of that though, which is a good thing to remember. Anybody know where I can demo a RD50?

EDIT: They don't exactly seem easy to come by.

 

[cooleo_no1]

In fact, where does one get demos of screens?

Major high-street stores like Comet? Or specialist TV shops?

 

[the_pauley]

I auditioned many sets, long and hard and the choice was whittled down to Samsung and Sagem, with the 46" Samsung eventually being the model of choice. Nothing to choose in terms of PQ between the 50" and the 46" for me. Decision was based on personal taste. For me the screen height on the 50" was too high, and I would have difficulty -because of the pedestal- centrally locating my centre speaker.

Believe me when I say that after six weeks of intensive viewing with a wide range of material I have not a single thing to fault this set on.

Can't comment on Optoma - it was never on my short list as I have about 1,500 NTSC discs, so the 60Hz judder issue made it a non-starter for me.

Whatever you get, if you're attaching your DVD via component, check out the Belden component cable sold in the Cable Power Buys thread on these forums. Simply the best component lead I have come across. Stunning upgrade for only £50.

 

[cooleo_no1]

I auditioned many sets, long and hard

Where abouts did you do this?

Great info, thanks. This is certainly a very informative forum.

 

[the_pauley]

Comet, John Lewis, Sound & Vision and a few other local retailers.

Unsuccessfully tried Currys (2 stores on 3 occasions) who seemed to have great reluctance / difficulty in attaching a DVD player to a TV, so I'd pass there.

Apart from the obvious chain store big 3 or 4 I had to do a bit of hunting - but worth it in the end. Should be easier if you're in or near a big city.

Quite often the stores were keen to show the Hi Def demo material which is superb, but make sure you audition it with a DVD player hooked up as well (preferably via component), as most of what you'll be watching for the forseeable future will be standard definition.

Don't be too disappointed by broadcast quality via Freeview or Sky in comparison to DVD. This can range from good to fairly poor. Any screens over 32" will start to show up the shortcomings of broadcast TV, plus feed in stores tend to be not so hot.

 

[the_pauley]

PS - Try arranging a time in advance with the store so they know you're coming for a demo. Found this better than dropping in on spec.

 

[cooleo_no1]

Thanks a lot the_pauley.

I will do my best to try and sort this all out, hopefully demo the Samsung and Toshiba efforts (possibly Sagem as well - though it lacks HDMI, although, hasn't the new 50" version got HDMI? - soon to follow with an update of the 46?).

I'm not gonna try searching for the RD50 because although it is apparently the best 50" I'd rather have a 45-46". I don't want the TV to swamp my lounge or stand out too much, also that TV seems pretty rare.

I live in Warwickshire so it's hardly the height of shopping centres... I'll do my best though .

 

[the_pauley]

When you say you intend to audition Toshibas, do you mean the currently available Toshibas or the soon to be released models?

If you mean the currently available models you should be aware that there are significant issues with motion blurring and solarization with the current models.

Whether these have been successfully addressed with the new range remains to be seen.

Some discussion on this issue here or here or here or -if you dare venture- here.

 

[cooleo_no1]

I see you have a distaste for the Toshys.

Oh well, I'll bear that in mind, but try and keep my own opinion when it comes to demo-ing.

Should I take in a DVD player or what? I guess one of the best things I could do is to buy Sin City on DVD and then play that through all of them. Get completely wacked out by rainbows! hehe.

 

[the_pauley]

The best way to ensure that you get a fair comparison is to use the same player, connection and discs on every set.

A bit of a pain, but paid off for me!