Help me with TV Choice

[SABIO]

I have two choices for a new TV.

Sony 42\" Wega LCD Projection HDTV --KDFE42A10

Samsung 42\" Wide Screen DLP Projection HDTV --HLR4264

Both are new on the scene. July and August released. So newest Tech. Sony is $100 more.
Does anyone here have one of these? Or have either brand of previous model LCD Sony or DLP Samsung?

I know this question will be debated forever (LCD vs. DLP) but if someone could give me thoughts or actually ownership opinions of either type. Likes / Dislikes that would be kewl.

[TheProfessor]

While I can\'t offer too much insight, I can say this.......I have always found the LCD projection\'s to be a bit brighter, which when in an already bright room is huge. I can\'t remember which, but one if not both of those have something called a \"colour wheel\"? Whatever it is, it requires replacing down the road and from what I remember the cost is $700+.

I used to manage a 2001 audio video and still know a few managers there......where do you live? I can get you to speak to one of them for more info (and a deal if you don\'t have one already)!

[FLIPDADY]

Originally posted by PSIVIC

I used to manage a 2001 audio video and still know a few managers there......where do you live? I can get you to speak to one of them for more info (and a deal if you don\'t have one already)!
Was that at the Fairview mall location by any chance? Just asking b/c a few years ago I bought a Kenwood surround sound system from there.

[TheProfessor]

Yes it was! I was manager for about two years there, then left to come to my current job.

[PlatMS6]

neither...HITACHI

[bubba1983]

eww wega....stray away...

[Neo]

The electronic sector has become really competitive lately... back in the old days (before LCD, Plasma, DLP) there was 1 choice... Sony! They make the best CRT\'s in the business.

But now everyone wants a flat panel TV... and we all know Sony doesn\'t make any of those in house!
A few of their panels are bought from Pioneer and some from Panasonic... Regardless, they don\'t make their own panels... they do try to propritor the way the video is displayed by using their own video electronics... but the panel comes from somewhere else...

If it were up to me I would choose, between those 2, the Sony. Their Grand Wega\'s are the best bang for the buck TV\'s on the market right now.

However, if I was choosing to get a TV of that size, and I would like a good display, I would go with Plasma. They still hold the best quality amoung flat panel displays...

Or you can wait to see Toshiba\'s new SED TV\'s to come out... That tech looks like it might fly!

Lates,

[PlatMS6]

Only 3 brands that i would buy and in that order
#1 Hitachi
#2 Panasonic
#3 Toshiba

[FLIPDADY]

Originally posted by PSIVIC


Yes it was! I was manager for about two years there, then left to come to my current job.
I swear I bought it from you K.

Anyways I\'ve always had Sony so I would go Wega!

[TheProfessor]

Originally posted by FLIPSPEED



Originally posted by PSIVIC


Yes it was! I was manager for about two years there, then left to come to my current job.
I swear I bought it from you K.

Anyways I\'ve always had Sony so I would go Wega!


Small world eh?!

There is not one company who makes every product the best. As has been stated, for CRT\'s you should go with Sony, for projections typically Hitachi is #1, and for plasma I believe Panasonic is the best (that\'s what we have and it\'s awesome). Also, each technology has it\'s draw-backs....CRT\'s are big and bulky, projection (either LCD, DLP, or normal) are also a bit larger but not usually as sharp and require upkeep, and plasma\'s cost alot and can experience burn-in. Also, most HDTV\'s today look pretty shitty when hooked up to regular cable, but plug in a true HD source and wow, simply amazing.

[SABIO]

Sony,LG,Samsung...and a handful of others source out their panels. kinda weird....but it whats in the inside that counts.(of course greater profit)
Yes, Panasonic 42\" Plasma.... MMMM Yummy :) but $4k, where as the 42\" Lcd Rear Pro. is $2400 or less.(I do have a size limitation due to space)
Hitachi does not have anything new out. Same goes for Toshiba.

*sigh* this will be like deciding between Draxas/Vibrant/Magnaflow ;)

[oroboru]

Screw all the choices; get the new 40\" Sony XBR LCD TV. It\'s freakin\' sweet, but will set you back a few $$... say, $4500.

[SABIO]

Originally posted by Neo
But now everyone wants a flat panel TV... and we all know Sony doesn\'t make any of those in house!
A few of their panels are bought from Pioneer and some from Panasonic... Regardless, they don\'t make their own panels... they do try to propritor the way the video is displayed by using their own video electronics... but the panel comes from somewhere else...
Lates,

I did a little diging.... It seems like Sony NOW has a plant in Korea that they share with Samsung (which they own part of) and they are making their own panels.....

[Neo]

As luck would have it, I\'m in the market to get a new big screen TV for our finished basement...
So I went TV hunting today... and took a good look at all the models... and I see why the rear LCD projectors are such a huge hit... Alot of bang for the buck... However, I can still see imperfections (artifacting, slow response, that damn lighting!). Rear projectors will always have this problem...

So I decided to take a good look at all the plasmas they had on display... And after comparing everything, the Hitachi 42\" and 55\" plasmas look the best! Really sharp, response is good, and they have very good colour displays...

By far the worst sets were the slightly lower scale brands (samsung, LG, Norsent? etc.)

The Pioneer Plasma comes really close in 2nd... And despite what the sales people say, the Panasonic panel did not impress... has a horrible tendancy to blotch colours together... no real detail... looks like pastel paintings in motion... really bad!

So now I have to see what kind of price I\'m dealing with on the Hitachi unit..

As for rear LCD projectors, if you don\'t get the favorite right now (Sony Grand Wega 50\"), the close ones I saw were the Toshiba and Hitachi units! Couldn\'t believe how sharp the Hitachi unit was! Even at their 60\" scale, the thing looked great! Just hate the light properties of rear projectors.
The Toshiba was another favorite.. however, on one of the commercials the DLP became very evident... really plays some eye tricks... Too much of that and I\'ll have a headache! So no DLP for me...

And there you have it... choose what you think is better... get out there and take a look at the sets!

Lates,

[PlatMS6]

Originally posted by Neo


As luck would have it, I\'m in the market to get a new big screen TV for our finished basement...
So I went TV hunting today... and took a good look at all the models... and I see why the rear LCD projectors are such a huge hit... Alot of bang for the buck... However, I can still see imperfections (artifacting, slow response, that damn lighting!). Rear projectors will always have this problem...

So I decided to take a good look at all the plasmas they had on display... And after comparing everything, the Hitachi 42\" and 55\" plasmas look the best! Really sharp, response is good, and they have very good colour displays...

By far the worst sets were the slightly lower scale brands (samsung, LG, Norsent? etc.)

The Pioneer Plasma comes really close in 2nd... And despite what the sales people say, the Panasonic panel did not impress... has a horrible tendancy to blotch colours together... no real detail... looks like pastel paintings in motion... really bad!

So now I have to see what kind of price I\'m dealing with on the Hitachi unit..

As for rear LCD projectors, if you don\'t get the favorite right now (Sony Grand Wega 50\"), the close ones I saw were the Toshiba and Hitachi units! Couldn\'t believe how sharp the Hitachi unit was! Even at their 60\" scale, the thing looked great! Just hate the light properties of rear projectors.
The Toshiba was another favorite.. however, on one of the commercials the DLP became very evident... really plays some eye tricks... Too much of that and I\'ll have a headache! So no DLP for me...

And there you have it... choose what you think is better... get out there and take a look at the sets!

Lates,
:)


Only 3 brands that i would buy and in that order
#1 Hitachi
#2 Panasonic
#3 Toshiba


Seems like u have same views as me, but theres always price to consider though, so its always a balance of quality and what you want to dish out. Hitachi is always on top tho!!! :D

[TheProfessor]

I think everyone should keep in mind that when comparing TV\'s it\'s important to make sure they\'re being fed the same signal......when I worked at 2001 I could make a Sony XBR HDTV CRT look worse than a 20\" JVC!

Neo, when you were looking at the plasma\'s, where were you? What signal was being fed (HDTV, digital cable/satelite, analog cable, DVD)?

Also, make sure you\'re comparing apples to apples. If you\'re looking at a $5K Hitachi HDTV plasma then go and compare it to a $2K EDTV Samsung, it\'s not really fair.

[majic]

how about DLP projectors with a white screen/wall.. that\'s something i would look into but i haven\'t really done my research yet..

[TheProfessor]

They can be quite sharp however you typically need a really dark room, so it\'s not practical if you\'re using it as your day-to-day TV. For a dedicated home theatre, they\'re an amazing option.

[TheProfessor]

Interesting news:

Taken from...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050922/ap_on_bi_ge/japan_sony


TOKYO - Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news). said Thursday it will cut about 10,000 jobs, close 11 plants and shrink or terminate 15 unprofitable operations in an ambitious restructuring bid to revive its stumbling electronics business.

The turnaround plan, which will reduce Sony\'s global work force by 6 percent, comes under the fresh leadership of Chief Executive Howard Stringer, a British-American dual citizen who was named in March as the first foreign head of the Japanese electronics and entertainment company.

But prospects remain uncertain for Sony, which has lost money in its electronics sector for two straight fiscal years. On Thursday, it revised its forecast downward for the fiscal year through March 2006 to a net loss of 10 billion yen ($90 million), far worse than its initial forecast for a 10 billion yen profit, citing restructuring costs for the latest plan.

To cut costs and streamline its sprawling empire, Sony said it would downsize or quit 15 business categories and reduce the number of models by 20 percent. Sony refused to specify which businesses would be trimmed, but the company\'s president, Ryoji Chubachi, said research costs for its Aibo robot division will be reduced, and no new product development will be carried out in its high-end Qualia brand line

Under the plan that Stringer said will cut costs by 200 billion yen ($1.8 billion) by the end of March 2008, Sony will reduce 4,000 workers in Japan and 6,000 outside the nation, while factories would be cut from the present 65 to 54.

Tokyo-based Sony, which did not give a nation-by-nation breakdown for overseas job cuts, employs more than 151,000 workers worldwide.

Sony denied Japanese media speculation that it was selling off its financial businesses, which include banking and insurance, and did not announce any major spin-offs or sales. The company said it would review real estate, stock holdings and other assets to dispose of some 120 billion yen ($1.1 billion) in assets by March 2008.

John Yang, analyst with Standard & Poor\'s in Tokyo, wasn\'t impressed, describing Sony\'s cost cuts as only a continuation of a plan laid out by Stringer\'s predecessor, Nobuyuki Idei. Also disturbing was Sony\'s unchanged mentality of wanting to be an all-around king, instead of focusing on key areas, Yang said.

\"If I had to give a grade to Howard Stringer, I\'d give him a C-plus,\" Yang said. \"He talks a lot about restructuring in cost reduction. He doesn\'t really talk about stirring growth.\"

Stringer acknowledged the \"basic strategy\" had not changed, but that the difference this time will come with faster decision-making and a more definite commitment to getting things done.

\"We have made promises before but we failed to execute them,\" Stringer said at an afternoon news conference in Tokyo. \"We must fight like the Sony warriors that we are.\"

Sony, known as a pioneer in electronics first with the transistor radio and later the Walkman, has seen some of its glory dimmed by Asian rivals like Samsung Electronics Co. and other lesser known companies that are offering cheaper prices.

It has had to rely on its movie division such as the popular \"Spider-Man\" series and its successful PlayStation video-game consoles to maintain profits in recent years.

Sony has also been criticized as falling behind in slimmer TV models, such as liquid-crystal and plasma display sets, that are increasing popular around the world, losing market share to relative Japanese newcomer Sharp Corp. as well as old-time rival Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which makes Panasonic brand goods.

Sony also fell behind Apple Computer Inc.\'s iPod in what should have been its forte — portable music players — clinging to CD and minidisc formats and its own proprietary but unpopular format for digital music files. The iPod models are proving a big hit in Japan, where Apple began its iTunes store in August to rave reviews.

Over the last five years, Sony shares have lost two-thirds of their value, and are trading at about 4,000 yen ($36).

Chubachi, also head of the electronics division, conceded that his company wasn\'t making products that people wanted to buy and that Sony\'s technological prowess had declined.

Sony said it would focus now on so-called \"champion products\" including the PlayStation 3 next-generation game console, Bravia liquid crystal display televisions and the Walkmans.

Chubachi tried to reassure the crowd that Sony was making headway in winning consumers with new products such as the newly available Bravia flat-panel TVs codeveloped with Samsung.

\"We are definitely feeling that the recovery is under way,\" he said.

[Neo]

psivic,

Yep, it\'s very important you know what type of connections the sets are being fed... and luckily enough they have all their sets setup for HDTV off a regular HDTV setbox... They had it on Muchmusic HD, and between all the sets, the Hitachi was the one with the better signal... Now, if you\'re HD resolution and performance is good, then any other feed is going to look really clean. I made sure of it by switching to a regular channel, and then changing the feed from the setbox to a DVD player... That set is fantastic...
And they\'re all within price range... the Hitachi is on promotion right now for 3499, where as the Samsung\'s are a bit more at 3999. Even though their displays were set the same and looked very different...

Gotta make sure you have the right feed going into these sets when you go see them... but you definately have to go see them for yourself... the specs can only tell you so much... you have to trust your eye... afterall, you are going to be staring at this thing for awhile... ;)

Lates,

[SABIO]

hmmm. I made a post last nite... and it\'s not here :( I hate when that happens.
I like the Hitachi rear lcd\'s, but they are really wide with the speakers on the side. and that kills the deal right there, bad design(and heavy),Toshiba is the same. When buying a product that big 40-60\" wide, thats alot of wall space, I don\'t know why they put speakers on the side.
Sony\'s 50\" is smaller than Hitachis 42\" and 15 lbs lighter.
I went to the Sony store and watched some Rogers HD programming, even watching different HD channels you could see the difference between channels. Some looked like true HD, others looked like a normal signal. I switched over to normal digital signal and watched TLC (GF fav. channel)
It looked pretty good, I was worried becuase I\'ve seen some bad TV\'s out there, but I was happy with it.
I\'m going to be 11-12 feet away from the set, so alot of these minor problems that crop up with any set should not be visible.(some people sit 4 feet away, no wonder they see shit, their eyes are frying).
So, it looks like it is going to be a 50\" Sony for me. No Puking noises from the back row please.

Thanks for everyones comments. a nice change from car talk. i will let ya\'ll know what happens in a few days.

[torpedo20]

Quote:
\"even watching different HD channels you could see the difference between channels. Some looked like true HD, others looked like a normal signal.\"
Those probably were the standard format channels fed thru HDTV - there is little content available in true HDTV; usually, only during the prime time (man, that new episode of \"Lost\" looked amazing in HDTV!). Here is a good site for you on HDTV technologies in Canada:

http://www.digitalhomecanada.com/

As for the original poster - man, that\'s a tough one. I guess it depends on your viewing preferences.
I personally own Sony CRT 30\" and still think it\'s the best but with both LCD and DLP I\'d not know...
Generally, LCD has a huge problem with how it handles the analog tv [crap]; it\'s ok with HDTV programming. DLP is somewhat better on the analog end and good with HDTV. It\'s your choice at the end.

Keep us posted which brand you decided to go with.

[billyfo]

Sabio, Future shop has some TVs on sale this week, you may take a look 1st, though I can\'t recommend which one is the best, cause I\'m too poor to buy new TV now.:D

[eguiyab]

Im in the hunt for a new TV at present also. I have seen all the nice plasma\'s and lcd\'s out there and I would have to say I really liked the new veira line by panasonic. I personally felt that the colors were sharper and brighter. A close second and third to that would be sony\'s new 40\" XBR LCD and their 50 LCD projection.

Its so hard to compare these things in the store because as PCivic said lighting conditions, source and setup make a big difference. Half the time the guys at futureshop dont use a clean source, monster cables and have to use a signal spliter to feed all the TV\'s. Your definetley not seeing the best it can do. As I was talking to a guy at best buy.. it seems that alot of it now just has to do with where your gonna put it and the conditions of that room that really chooses your TV. IE. a huge LCD projection in a bright living room facing a window would be horrible... but but it in the basement and it would be cinema quality. And vise-versa with an LCD... I find it too bright in a darker room.. but stands up well in a very bright room.

Buy the way both best buy and future shop are running the same sale this week, and almost all places are giving 10 months free of Rogers HD programing. So many choices.. so many factors... but thats the fun in buying a new tv. Good luck too you..

[bluntman]

Just be careful when choosing the set, chech their maximum resolution. Some sets labelled HDTV are in fact only capable of EDTV.

Here\'s a link (http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatv/plasmatv-highdefinition.html) that I just Majoogled.

OMG, now I\'m starting...:D

[firstmazda]

This is what my friend just e-mailed me. They just bought a new house so had to get TV\'s.



okay - i just checked futureshop for our tv. its on sale for $2800. i\'m pretty sure we spent $2300 for our tv. an extra $300 would have gotten us the 62\" and that retails for $3800.

if you can wait for this sale - its totally worth it.

http://www.bestbuys.ca/Computers&Electronics/Computers&Electronics2.htm
TOSHIBA CONSUMER ELECTRONICS GROUPS CHRISTMAS SALE (\"http://www.bestbuys.ca/Computers&Electronics/Computers&Electronics2.htm\")
(November/December Sale)
This sale has gained in popularity over the years resulting in lineups hours before this sale opens. Merchandise consists of new and refurbished products. You\'ll find TVs, projection TVs, VCRs, DVD players, and more.

Address: 191 McNabb Street, Markham, Ontario, L3R 8H2
(Warden Avenue & 14th Avenue)
Phone: (905) 470-3456
Open: Call for details.
Payment Method: Visa, MC, AMEX, Debit, Cash

what do you guys think of Toshiba\'s? it\'s looked pretty good in their house!
dunno which model they got tho. 52\" looked like.

Ray

[TheProfessor]

SABIO, there are a ton of great sites that you can do some research on....one in particular that I used when in the same position you\'re in now was http://digitalhomecanada.com/forum/index.php.

[SABIO]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y226/sabio7/IMG_08012.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y226/sabio7/IMG_08014.jpg

It took a couple months before I got off my ass,,, but I picked up the 50\" Sony. I waited for the
KFE version without the ATSC Tuner and Cable Card. $400 dollars less than the KDFE with that stuff.

A cpl qik pics with some normal digital cable program. It looks great.(to bad the crappy Canon can\'t focus properly) DVD\'s look awsome.
i think Santa is gonna drop off sony\'s upconverting DVD player so it will look even better. I believe tomorrow I am getting my HDTV PVR from Rogers.... yummy....

very happy so far :)







:D :D :D

[TheProfessor]

Oh man, the HD PVR is gonna be awesome.....best thing I ever got from Rogers ;)

[swales]

Yep the HD PVR does rock, I can\'t live without it now :p

[firstmazda]

Originally posted by SABIO


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y226/sabio7/IMG_08012.jpg


Hmmm.... did you get the snowman and santa lamp decor from TLC???
LOL j/k I\"m just jealous of the TV :D :D


One question, as someone mentioned, most places are giving away 10 months
of ROGERS HDTV, but what if Rogers ain\'t your provider?

I\'m moving to Oakville next year and from what I understand Cogeco deals with
most of the market there. Anyone here from Oakville get Rogers?
or hear of free Cogego HD when buying a TV??

Thanks
Ray