53" HDTV for sale...

[John Stone]

Anyone want to buy my 53" HDTV? It's the Panasonic PT-53WX42 RPTV. Less than four years old. Supports 480i/480p/1080i modes. Component, composite and SVIDEO inputs (no HDMI). Good picture. Slight burn-in from watching 4x3 material w/black side bars, but not noticeable under most viewing conditions.

TV Cost around $1,800 new, asking just $450. Cash only.

Free Panasonic progressive scan DVD player in perfect condition to buyer.

A set of component video cables, both remotes and all manuals are included.

Will not ship. I will deliver in Central Florida area (delivery charge may apply if you live more than 30 minutes from downtown Orlando).

[Sent]

Wish I were in Fl , good deal

[JKulp42757]

Hi John,

I'm guessing you're selling your TV to replace it with a new model.

What's the replacement set, care to share?

Josh

[John Stone]

Originally Posted by JKulp42757

Hi John,

I'm guessing you're selling your TV to replace it with a new model.

What's the replacement set, care to share?

Sure. We're updating a lot of our home theater as a family Christmas present.

First, the new TV set is the Samsung HL-S6187W. It's a 61" DLP w/ 1080p resolution on all inputs (including 2 HDMI). Picture is unreal, especially after calibration.



We also bought the matching stand, the Samsung TR50X3BX



The new TV supports the highest HD resolution (1080p), but I'm not buying into HD-DVD or Blu-ray just yet. The first generation players have problems, the transfers on a lot of the first releases are poor, and I don't feel like owning two players because the studios couldn't work out their problems. I'll let the studios fight their format war, wait for prices to come down, wait for 1080p HD players (the PS3 is looking mighty tempting, though!) and the transfers to improve before I decide. That's really a subject for another thread, though.

In the meantime I bought a Samsung HD960 1080p upscalling DVD player, which will make my existing DVDs look very close to HD anyway.



Finally, a new universal remote because Lisa will never have the patience to learn how to run all this stuff. The remote is so cool. It even controls our lighting, so if I want to watch a DVD I just press the "Watch DVD" icon and everything switches to where it should be as the lights slowly dim. All the programming is done through a simple web-based interface. The remote is the Logitech Harmony 880 (shown with charging base).


I going to add all this stuff to my favorite things thread anyway, so I guess this is an early preview.

Lisa doesn't know about any of this yet.

[vatechguy]

John - You already got the Harmony or are planning to? I've kicked around the idea of getting one of those - especially for the programming like you describe (no one in my house has any idea how to play a DVD but me with the new DLP set)

Interested in hearing how you like it once you've put it into practice.

[Andrew]

Man...if I had a 1080p TV, I would get a PS3 ASAP!! Seriously!

[John Stone]

Originally Posted by vatechguy

John - You already got the Harmony or are planning to? I've kicked around the idea of getting one of those - especially for the programming like you describe (no one in my house has any idea how to play a DVD but me with the new DLP set)

Interested in hearing how you like it once you've put it into practice.

I've read a bunch of reviews on it, and even though it has not been delivered by UPS yet, I've already programmed it!

How?

You can go to Logitech's site, create a free account, download the software for the Harmony and run it as a "test drive". There you can select all your components and set up all your functions and what you want everything to do. It saves everything online, so when the remote comes on Wednesday all I have to do is hook it up to a USB port, log in, download the config and I'm done.

Their database contained every last bit of equipment I own, including my lighting controller!

[Big_D]

Damn floridians, why do you not live in CO?

I'm getting a Wii myself, love the controller and the options that can be built into games with it.

[Maxzeus]

WOW, John the last time I saw a DVD collection like that, I was in Best Buy

[buckeyeblitzer]

Wow, that remote looks pretty tech

[JKulp42757]

WOW, Very Cool. Thanks for the info John!

I've got an Xbox 360. For Christmas I'm probably going to get myself the HD DVD drive add on.

I've heard the lack of HDMI causes some incompatibility issues, but for my 50 inch plasma it won't be a problem. And for $199 you get the HD DVD Drive and King Kong HD comes with it. That's $175 for the HD DVD Drive, as movies are around $25 each....can't beat that!

[Timbermiko]

I'm so tight I can't even spring for a 20" for the bedroom

[Gordo]

I wish I could enjoy DLP but the rainbows are wa-aaaay too annoying. D-ILA or LCOS would be my best compromise until SED hits the market

[vatechguy]

Originally Posted by JKulp42757

I've heard the lack of HDMI causes some incompatibility issues, but for my 50 inch plasma it won't be a problem.

They've rumored the HDMI cable MIGHT be coming out as early as March for the 360.....

Thats what a little birdie told me anyway......

(I'm waiting on it too..... caue my 65' Mitsubishi won't touch 1080p over component - though 1080i looks nice enough)

Originally Posted by Gordo

I wish I could enjoy DLP but the rainbows are wa-aaaay too annoying.

I've heard this myth also - but I have yet to see any rainbow with mine. I'm thinking that was probably some older model DLPs.

[John Stone]

Originally Posted by Gordo

I wish I could enjoy DLP but the rainbows are wa-aaaay too annoying.

The "rainbow effect", which only some people can see, was more of a problem on older DLP sets. The latest crop of DLP sets, like the Samsung I'm getting, has a very fast color wheel (14,000 RPM). I could sometimes see rainbows on older DLP sets, but can not on this set. That was my only concern about DLP technology, and it seems that the engineers have resolved it.

DLP is cool because there is no possibility of screen burn-in (like Plasma and LCD are subject to), no "screen door" effect (I can see this problem on even the latest LCD and Plasma sets), amazingly bright images (10,000:1 contrast ratio) and inky, deep blacks that are full of detail. Another nice thing about DLP is there is no change in color rendition even as the set ages. Once it's calibrated that's it!

[Gordo]

Originally Posted by vatechguy

I've heard this myth also - but I have yet to see any rainbow with mine. I'm thinking that was probably some older model DLPs.

No myth, it's a fact....don't go looking because similar to magic eye, once you see them....you see them.

I've see them even on 6th generation DLP's (I'm just extremely sensitive to rainbows)
Not sure about 7th gen....which is what John is looking at.

My hope is that when they introduce LED light engines, rainbows will go away since it's bye-bye colour wheel.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/05/s...dlp-gets-real/

[Gordo]

Originally Posted by John Stone

DLP is cool because there is no possibility of screen burn-in (like Plasma and LCD are subject to), no "screen door" effect (I can see this problem on even the latest LCDs sets during fast pans), amazingly bright images (10,000:1 contrast ratio) and inky, deep blacks that are full of detail. Another nice thing about DLP is there is no change in color rendition even as the set ages. Once it's calibrated that's it!

Yeah, I'm a contrast junkie as well

[Happy Monster]

I regularly play DVD's on my PC. That way I can upscale the DVD's to 1080p via software with quite a lot of customisation options.

[gravityhomer]

Originally Posted by John Stone

The "rainbow effect", which only some people can see, was more of a problem on older DLP sets. The latest crop of DLP sets, like the Samsung I'm getting, has a very fast color wheel (14,000 RPM). I could sometimes see rainbows on older DLP sets, but can not on this set. That was my only concern about DLP technology, and it seems that the engineers have resolved it.

Hey John I'm curious as to where you are buying the set from. You seem to have a lot of knowledge about it and it seems like you've been able to really test it out.

I like going to places like best buy so I can see the unit and compare directly with others next to it, but you are usually stuck with whatever video feed they are sending to every monitor, which is never 1080p and usually not even 1080i or 720p. And they usually send it over the coaxial input as that cable is so cheap, and not even component.

Were you able to check the unit out at 1080p?

[John Stone]

Originally Posted by gravityhomer

Hey John I'm curious as to where you are buying the set from. You seem to have a lot of knowledge about it and it seems like you've been able to really test it out.

Through the JSF Mall, of course!

Originally Posted by gravityhomer

I like going to places like best buy so I can see the unit and compare directly with others next to it, but you are usually stuck with whatever video feed they are sending to every monitor, which is never 1080p and usually not even 1080i or 720p. And they usually send it over the coaxial input as that cable is so cheap, and not even component.

Yep, the sets in the store are never an accurate representation of how the sets will look once properly calibrated. In addition to all the issues you mentioned, they usually have the brightness cranked way up to deal with the bright room lighting, and the sharpness is often set very high, which makes things look OK at first glance, but it actually destroys detail and crushes the blacks into a muddy, indiscernible mess. I've seen sets running in stretch mode while playing non-anamorphic DVDs, I've seen them zoomed in on crappy 4x3 programming... the list goes on and on. The best place to evaluate is in a store than has adjustable lighting, and in a store that will let you play with the settings for a few hours using source material of your choosing (i.e., bring your own DVDs). Of course online reviews from knowledgeable folks are an important part of the research process. I like to read reviews by trained ISF techs, who calibrate hundreds of sets and projectors every year. I was lucky enough to know someone who owns this particular set, and was able to play around with it to my heart's content. I also considered a few other sets, and the Samsung was head and shoulders above the other 1080p sets (IMO).

Were you able to check the unit out at 1080p?

Yes, I bought the same upscalling DVD player that I evaluated my DVDs on. It's pretty amazing compared to DVDs played on a standard 480p player. It's not quite HD-quality, but it's so close that some people can't even discern the difference. Not a bad way to give my existing DVD library a facelift!