New HDTV opinions wanted

[P5-133XL]

Time to get a new TV: Old one is having problems and not worth fixing.

So, obviously HDTV and one that will display 1080p is preferable. I have a daytime sun, so projector is not appropiate and anti-glare is important. The maximum case width is 67"; The current viewing distance is 96", but I have signifigent room to move back or forward. $1,500-$2,500 seems to be a reasonable budget for a large screen HDTV, but I'm flexible enough to exceed it, if some feature/capability is worth the additional money.

What should I be considering -- Technology, brands, models, sizes, etc.?
Do brands matter? My personal habit is to find an excellent brand and then buy the low end of their line: I get the quality built in without paying excessively for all the unnecessary extra's.
Where should it be bought -- Local retailer, warehouse store, Costco, Fry's, internet retailer?
Installation and Waranty's are they worth it?
What are the Gotcha's?

Anything else, I should be considering?

 

[Stereodude]

Sony SXRD 60". Sears has it on sale currently for $2k. It's 1080p, end of story.

 

[Stereodude]

Oh yeah... the model number...

KDS-60A2000

 

[Pradeep]

*Nods*

The Sony SXRD screens are excellent. I wouldn't bother paying for installation, extended warranty is probably not required unless it somehow includes replacement lamps. You could spend a couple of hundred on an ISF calibration if you want perfection.

You probably want to look at some type of HD content as well, because SD at 60" is not a pretty thing. Options for HD tv would be OTA, cable or DirecTV/Dish.

And then HD-DVD or Blu-Ray for movies (can be rented from Netflix).

 

[Mercutio]

I would consider not buying anything made by S*ny. Samsung, JVC and Mitsubishi all have 1080p LCD displays more worthy of your consideration.

 

[Pradeep]

Avoid the single chip DLPs (Samsung/Mitsu) unless you are certain you won't notice the rainbow effect. JVC has HD-ILA (similar to Sony's SXRD).

 

[P5-133XL]

Lets see,

First, I already subscribe to Comcast and am perfectly willing to rent their HDTV box...

From the research that I did, the KDS-60A2000 has excellent reviews, is one of the few LCoS displays, and signifigently cheaper than the JVC HD-ILA sets. I have to admit Merc's correct that Sony, as a brand, does currently have issues.

LCos does seem to be the current new technology of the month without the drawbacks of DLP or LCD internal projector sets. I always assume that there is a hidden gotcha. So what is the drawback of LCoS?

 

[Stereodude]

JVC has HD-ILA (similar to Sony's SXRD).

Yeah, but it doesn't look as good as the Sony. It seems to have more internal reflections, inferior optics, and inferior analog video processing.

 

[Stereodude]

You probably want to look at some type of HD content as well, because SD at 60" is not a pretty thing.

I have a 57" Hitachi RP CRT (2 year old HDTV with QAM tuner) and no one is going mistake analog SD for HDTV, but it's certainly watchable even from ~8 feet away.

 

[Stereodude]

So what is the drawback of LCoS?

The drawback is that Sony is the company that have the best implementation of it, and some people think Sony is evil.

 

[Mercutio]

My general impression of LCOS is that it is visually nearly identical to DLP, which means it's not as bright/vibrant as a Plasma or LCD, though the level of clarity is the same.

Now that large LCDs are available and less expensive than Plasma, that would be my choice, but LCOS and DLP are available as large and INEXPENSIVE sets. It's really hard to say yes to a 42" LCD when you can get a 60" DLP set for the same money.

And S*ny is evil.

 

[Stereodude]

Sony's SXRD has better color and contrast than DLP...

 

[Mercutio]

I've only been in a couple showrooms where I could see both in the same lighting conditions. Didn't look different enough for me to notice any difference.

 

[Stereodude]

A store setup is never going to be good enough to see squat on these TVs.

 

[P5-133XL]

My observations on showrooms, is that, at least in my area, the TV's are not shown at their best. Most are simply not shown at high-Def but rather, SD or using a DVD. The only exception is Samsung and that's because That specific manufacturer is supplying the showrooms with dedicated HD source material (From a DVR) and because Samsung is supplying it, the showrooms are not allowed to use the source on any machine other than a Samsung. It really makes comparason between the different manufacturers and technologies difficult except at lower resolutions. Even at low rez, I don't think that they are optimizing the individual machines because of the different brightness and the number of TV's with off-colors. It's like going to a computer store to buy monitors where all the monitors are 640x480 at 60Hz and all from a source that is being over-driven so that everything is fuzzy: You can't tell what's good and what's not from looking. Frustration!

The only sure thing is that they sell far more Samsungs than other brands. I don't think the stores care, because they are all doing the same.

 

[Stereodude]

Around here most of the stores have the same HD loop on all the TVs.

 

[i]

I guess I'm more suspicious than most. I always assume that the store managers intentionally tweak the settings to bring out the best-looking images on the televisions that they make the biggest profit on. To hell with any other consideration.

(At least that's what I'd do.)

 

[Stereodude]

I'm sure they do to a point. The set in most stores are horribly setup, with less than ideal sources, in too bright of an enviroment, etc, etc...

 

[P5-133XL]

After spending a day, going the rounds from store to store, I am choosing the Sony. The local fry's has it for $1,699 and the cheapest I could find it anywhere else was $2,399. I just can't beat the price. Now Fry's is about 40 miles away and that's a pain, but I went to several local stores and while they really didn't want to, they all agreed that they have a price matching policy and will match it.

Now, not all were really forthcoming about it. Best Buy wanted to fiddle with the numbers, including stuff like surge protectors; cables; and getting the Comcast HD upgrade through them. Circuit City, was willing to price match but they wouldn't actually follow their own stated policy of price matching at 125% of the difference. The difference being exactly $1000, so following their policy I should get an additional $250 making it $1,449 instead of $1,699. They would however, sell it to me and $1,699 and even that felt like pulling teeth from the managers mouth: He was not a happy camper. Really, none of the salesmen or store managers were happy campers when faced with that $1,699 Fry's ad in front of them and a potential customer asking about their price matching policies. I'm really not surprised, that is a really good price ... The real sad thing is the amount of anti-Fry's trash talk I had to endure: Even if they are correct in their statements, it is really bad salesmanship and ethicly it sucks.

Further, because of issues with the Sony brand, I asked about extended warranty. Fry's has 5 years for $249 on-site labor and parts service (including replacement light bulbs). The other stores are much less happy about price matching the warranty. I can really understand their point of view. With extended warranty's, what matters is really in the fine print and none of them have the same fine-print, so it is really expecting them to price match apples with oranges. However, I did get one (Video only) that was willing to price-match that too.

Now that warranty may be totally bogus. I have no idea if Fry's or Video Only will even still being the area five years hence. In Salem, these types of electronics stores come and go with a certain amount of frequency. For example Fry's used to be Incredible universe (Radio Shack) and Video Only used to be Future shop. However, even if it turns out to be bogus, I'm still getting quite a good price for the set at $1,699 + $250 = $1,949. That's still $350 dollars less than the cheapest I could find anywhere else.

So, tomorrow I'll be going out and buying a TV. Thanks for all your opinions, they really did help.

P.S. The reason it will be tomorrow is because I refuse to make a large purchase on impulse driven by a salesman. It's an internal rule of mine, that I refuse to break. I require of myself at least a day to mull over any descision. I find, I make errors in judgement, when making impulse buys driven by salesmen. I think that more than anything else, asking these people about their price-matching policies; getting a yes, and then refusing to actually buy the product on the spot made them really angry with me: You should have seen their faces ... In the end, I am the customer and I make the rules on how and when I part with my money.

 

[Sol]

Interestingly for much the same price here in the UK I can buy a spare globe for that TV...

 

[Pradeep]

Excellent pricing Mark. Just a single replacement lamp will prob cost more than the price you paid for the warranty. This way you can leave the thing on without worrying about lamp hours and when you will have to come up with $$$ for replacements.

 

[Stereodude]

You got the 60" for $1699, or was it the 50"? If it was the 60" you got the steal of the year x10, if it's the 50" you got the lowest price I've heard of and a really great deal.

 

[theSwede]

I am actually planning to buy the Europeean version of that TV. The only difference is that here it is only 55" instead of 60".

Oh, there are a another minor thing aswell... The best prices over here are around $4000 at the current exchange rate. :crap:

 

[Stereodude]

I am actually planning to buy the Europeean version of that TV. The only difference is that here it is only 55" instead of 60".

We have a 55" in the states also.