OT: In a moment of weakness we got a 62" DLP

riredale wrote on 3/18/2005, 11:48 PM
In a word, wow.

Our family TV set has been a creaky old 40" Mitsubishi rear-projection unit for nearly 2 decades. The darn thing just kept running and running--one service call in all those years. The green CRT was getting long in the tooth, though, and very bright objects would sport a green smear on the leading edge.

I loved that old TV not only for its reliability but also for the wood cabinet, with stout hinged doors that covered the screen when closed. Remember when TV sets were pieces of fine furniture?

Anyway, I had some money burning a hole in my pocket last weekend when the Fry's ad came out--$800 off the regular price for a Mitsubishi DLP rear-projector monitor. One thing led to another, and now I'm $2,800 poorer but with a new toy in the living room.

This DLP technology is really cool. I have discovered, however, that it's easy to spot the "color strobe" artifact if you know how to do it. Also, there's an expensive lamp that will need replacing every few years.

I'm just learning about all the different screen display modes. I am frankly baffled why anyone would want a "stretched" mode (where the image is stretched horizontally so that a 4:3 image now is a 16:9 image), or a "zoom" mode (where the 4:3 image is expanded vertically and horizontally, so that substantial vertical data is cut off). This stikes me as appealing to the same people who select the "jazz" or "concert hall" audio equalization curve on boomboxes. Give me flat, please, and hold the coloration.

Anyway, it's a really neat toy, and I would recommend it to all Vegas people. It even does a great job with the video I've shot myself, though now I'm paying a bit more attention to the Sony HDV camcorder ads.

Comments

JJKizak wrote on 3/19/2005, 5:29 AM
My buddy just got a Samsung 50" DLP and while watching it I asked him why the people were short and fat. (full screen). He didn't know so I got the remote and tried 6 different zooms (yes 6) The first zoom was just in the horizontal plane, the second in the "panoramic" mode which is severely distorted sides and non-distorted middle, third 4 x 3 zoomed in horzontal
plane and fourth zoomed in vertical plane, and fifth zoomed in horizontal and vertical vertical not stretched, and sixth zoomed in vertical and horizontal with proper linearity but top and bottom cut off a bit. I set it to 4 x 3 and told him this is where it's supposed to be. (analog cable service). He said he would have never bought the TV if he knew it would not show a widescreen picture all the time in the proper mode.
All of you video people out there and lens designers take note---3000% linearity distortion doesn't mean crap to the average tv viewer.

JJK
Grazie wrote on 3/19/2005, 5:34 AM
Just saw my first DLP - phhhaoorrhh! That's for me people! - Looks like real film .. . Now THAT I would make movies for! This apears to be the delivery for PAL anyway.

I need a BIG fat contract!

Grazie .. . . . .


riredale wrote on 3/19/2005, 8:00 AM
Next time you're in Portland, Oregon, come on by for a beer. We can play with all the different screen stretch modes.

In doing some hasty research just in the past couple of days (nothing like doing a critical analysis after buying something!) I learned that each technology seems to have strengths and weaknesses. For example:

(1) DLP
-cheap way to make a big picture
--contrast can wash out due to light scattering from the fact that it's a projection technology
--might be able to see "rainbow" effect from color wheel technology (and apparently, 1% of the people can easily see the effect)
--Lightweight box
--expensive lamp replacement

(2) CRT rear-projection
--cheap big picture
--eventual CRT burnout
--CRT burn-in if left in 4:3 mode continuously
--alignment issues
--heavier unit than DLP and "boxier" (more depth needed)

(3) CRT direct-view
--size limitation
--weight
--low cost

(4) LCD rear-projection
--rapid irreversible color shift

(5) LCD direct-view
--expensive
--beautiful picture
--size limitation
--issue with motion smearing?

(6) Plasma direct-view
--beautiful picture
--expensive
--size limitation
--unit can double as space heater


Anyway, that's my first take on some of this stuff. After a couple of thousand hours the projection lamp in this new set is going to need replacement. It's apparently a 5-minute operation (no service call needed) but the lamp assemblies cost something like $300. Maybe the price will drop over time. I was surprised to read in the specs that the projection lamp is only 120w. It sure gives out a lot of light.
planders wrote on 3/19/2005, 8:26 AM
My moment of weakness last December led me to a 50" Sony Grand WEGA LCD rear projector. Riredale, the flaw you note for these TVs is news to me! The only real limitation I kept coming across in my research was that the black point is slightly lighter than that of a DLP--but I found this to be a non-issue for the models I was looking at, while on the other hand overall brightness on the Sony LCD was significantly better than anything other than plasma--which was well beyond my means.

The film-like appearance of quality DVDs on any of these new TVs is quite amazing, and is frankly hard to appreciate in the typical store environment. The place I bought mine had a demo unit set up facing the sales counter at a distance of about 6 feet, essentially making it impossible to view properly. Then they moved it to a better spot, among the DLPs, and my choice was made.

In a slightly more on-topic aside, I was really impressed to see how good my Vegas-produced stuff looks on it. Every once in a while I'm reminded just how good desktop video has gotten, and this was one of those occasions. Also, I was equally impressed to see how absolutely terrible VHS looks on it!
riredale wrote on 3/19/2005, 5:48 PM
Planders:

I could be entirely wrong about rear-projection LCD. I had read that DLP supporters had funded a study that showed that an LCD TV would begin to shift its color balance as the panels aged, with the blue panel being hit the hardest. It may turn out that, yes, the panels age, but not so that you'd notice it while you own that set.

I will try to relocate the source of that information.