Smoke...fire...dead.

[tekkieman]

After 5 years, my 51" Panasonic BLEW UP! Not a good return on my investment. Not that I'm that upset over it. This thing was a monster. It took up half my living room, and despite being "HD-Ready", it really wasn't. Since it was an early model 4:3 version, it would pan/scan any 1080i signal to full screen, even if the STB was set to 4:3LB or 16:9. I managed reasonable results by setting the STB to 480p. The convergence was also starting to get really bad.

So, time to go shopping. There's no way the household accountant will part with another $2800, so I have to find something within reason. I understand the reasons to go with a 16:9, but unfortunately, we are still at the point where better than 65% of our viewing is SD content. I don't want to have to explain why a new set has burn-in on the sides after only a couple of years.

I don't mind skimping on some features to keep the cost down. So, are there any suugestions for something in a HD capable set around 42" that won't break the bank?

Also, just exactly how do you dispose of something as large as a 51" RP TV? It's not like I can put it out on the curb on trash day...

[BJ_M]

if you put it outside -- someone will take it most likely ...

for "resonable" costs = rear projection is still the way to go ,,, and crt RP is the cheapest - and often still the best quality

http://reviews.cnet.com/Home_video/4521-6531_7-5021476-2.html

but dlp projection has really dropped in price and along wit the better lcd - look pretty good with hd material ... some look not great with sd though , where crt still can look better

[yoda313]

They have "thin tubes" now that mimick lcd/plasma/dlp in terms of depth. They could be a good alternative since crt's tend to be cheaper than the newer tech tv's. Just something to think about.

Don't forget to get a set with HDMI if you want to with bluray or hddvd in a few years.

we are still at the point where better than 65% of our viewing is SD content.

Well don't forget the beauty of dvds and the massive release of tv shows on dvd - many of which are starting to be 16x9 - like 24 and CIS and the like.

[RDS1955]

Tekkieman said:

"Also, just exactly how do you dispose of something as large as a 51" RP TV? It's not like I can put it out on the curb on trash day... "

Don't know where you live, but in my community, the town government has a program where they will come and pick it up and dispose of it for a small fee, like $15.00 or so..In the past I've had them come pick up an old Living room suite and some appliances..

[RDS1955]

Also btw.. I also have a older model Panasonic 51" rear project unit that just went up on me..And I am going to go with a much bigger and newer type of DLP HDTV set... Probably not from here, but this the model I'm looking at:

http://www.planetdtv.com/PROJECTION_TVS/TOSHIBA/72HM195.htm

[elister]

Use craigslist.com, find a used HDTV on the cheap. There should be listings for several cities in Canada, find the one closest to you.

http://vancouver.craigslist.org/
http://ottawa.craigslist.org/

etc, etc. Just look along the right side of the website.

In Seattle there are plenty of people upgrading to thin screen HDTVs and need to rid themselves of older units.

[ROF]

In the past three months I've sold 2 Magnavox 42" Plasma TVs(42MF230A/3 ). This model has a built in HD Tuner, is DVI-HDCP compliant, 1024 x 768 Resolution, 16:9 Widescreen, a VGA hookup(for PC integration), and is very thin (3 inches).

You can find it in the price ranges of $1700-$1900. I wouldn't pay much more than this for it if you find someone selling it at that premium price.

The screen is plenty bright, the cooling system keeps the system cool while not causing audible disruptions. It includes a stand for table or floor display but you can also mount it onto a wall.

[SingSing]

The unfortunate fact is most of the large screen will loss brightness after a while, either the Plasma use up, LCD back light weaken, CRT aged.

By comparision, CRT back projection last longer. If you has a large living room, I will go for another 50 to 65 inch widescreen back projection ( Their profile are thinner now ).

I always have the mis-giving that thin TVs which always cost more is for people that are dealing with their smaller living space ( Due to cost, neighbour hood they like, lower house keeping effort... ).

[tekkieman]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I have several issues working against me:

Budget.
Location (Only one "chain store" in my area that I won't name to save my pride).
Time.

We did get a replacement, but due to our rushed schedule, I wasn't able to research the model until after we bought it.

What did the research show? This model has a couple of instance of catching fire!!!

Just my luck. On the plus side, it does look great! RCA 40" HD 16:9. Dual tuner picture-in-picture/picture-on-picture, 3 composite/S-Vid inputs, 2 component inputs, DVI in, video/audio out.

Total: $800 USD delivered (Ok, $760 out the door, plus $40 to my unemployed brother-in-law for the use of his truck and helping carry it into the house). 8)

I watched CSI: Miami in HD last night, and it look fantatic! Next week we have Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire being delivered. Can't wait to see that on the new set...

[SingSing]

RCA D40W20 listed at $1455.00. Is this the model you pay $760.00 for ?

[tekkieman]

RCA D40W20 listed at $1455.00. Is this the model you pay $760.00 for ?

It is.

[BJ_M]

good price -- that is $150 below cost -- unless it is a factory refurb , in that case it is $50 over ...

and that is not counting any taxes

[tekkieman]

Shouldn't be a refurb. I'm pretty sure they need to disclose that info by law. Definately a closeout though since that model was introduced in 2003.

I like the zoom feature(s), it has 16:9, 2 16:9 zooms, a 14:9(?), 4:3 and 4:3LB, as well as an auto-select - best guess. The only problem is that the zoom feature doesn't work on the component inputs, so AR is still controlled by the STB. The STB doesn't do as good a job on the stretch.

[FulciLives]

This past Christmas I bought a Hitachi 51" 16x9 HDTV CRT Rear Projection. The model number is 51F710A

I'm not sure what the MSRP is (I think it is $1,699 or something like that) but I got mine for $1,350 + $50 for delivery + $180 for a 2 year extended warranty. This was at Circuit City circa mid December 2005.

Anyways I am very happy with my purchase

The TV has plently of inputs including multiple component, S-Video and composite as well as a HDCP HDMI input and a CableCard input. There is even an OTA HDTV tuner built-in and watching HDTV via "rabbit ears" is a blast considering how poor regular TV is via "rabbit ears". The HDTV this way is crystal clear. So strange! For the record I also can get HDTV through my cable box (I don't use the CableCard input).

The depth of the unit is just under 2 feet (I think it's 22 1/2 inches if I recall) so it is not as HUGE as old model CRT Rear Projectors.

The unit only does 540p or 1080i (with a nice quality built-in scaler and defeatable 3:2 pulldown detection) but it accepts 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i.

I've been meaning to get a HDTV "upscaler" DVD player like the one made by OPPO but currently I just feed it a standard 480i or 480p signal from a standard DVD player and it does fine. If I know the DVD is progressive I use 480p output if I am unsure or know it is interlaced I use 480i output and let the TV do the 3:2 pulldown which looks damn impressive to me although if the source is true interlaced you get better quality with the 3:2 pulldown turned off otherwise you get an interlaced combing effect.

Anyways my point is I am very happy with this TV and find it to have a very high quality image and yet despite the nice big size it wasn't that expensive.

When I was shopping for a CRT RP HDTV I found that there are models that are as cheap as $999 but none had HDMI and most didn't even have DVI so you have to be carefull since it looks like having a HDCP HDMI input will be something you need for full quality HD DVD and/or Blue Ray.

I should point out though that HD DVD and Blue Ray are both capable of 1080p so although the players will "downsample" that to 1080i it sure would be nice to have a 1080p TV. You can buy a TV now that is capable of 1080p but not for cheap. I think you have to go at least $2,000 if not $3,000 + for a 1080p capable TV and even then I think only DLP supports 1080p but I'm not 100% on that.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
Oops
I kinda skimmed through the thread at first and only realized now (after making this post) that you already got a new TV ... maybe my info will help out someone else looking for a CRT RP HDTV

[SingSing]

There are quite a few people posted their happy experience with their rear-projection TV.

Generally, they are happier becase they got a good product without paying a lot ( Flat TVs are two to ten times more for the same viewscreen size ). They also can predict their rear projection TVs will last a long time just like those hard to die CRT products ( That's why we can't convince our spouses, we need a new _____ ).

With HDTV transmission date coming soon, We will start talking about to buy a TV with HDTV receiver, or buy a box to work with our exist TV monitors, because back projection TV was first to market, and a lot of us own older products, that does not have the latest decorder built in.

[FulciLives]

For me the choice was a Sony 34" 16x9 CRT Tube HDTV or the Hitachi 51" 16x9 CRT RP HDTV.

I went with the Hitachi because the Sony would have been the same price by the time I bought a stand for it whereas the slightly more expensive Hitachi didn't need a stand due to the design of a CRT RP TV.

So price wise it was basically a "wash" other than the Hitachi was $40 more in the end due to a higher priced Warranty. But only $40 more for 51" instead of 34" !!!

Can you blame me for going with the bigger screen size

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[SingSing]

If you look at RP TV screens, there are two types : clear ( actually somehow reflective ) and the no-so-clear ( So they don't reflect light on your screen ).

My RP TV has a clear screen, but the majority aren't. Can folk comments on their pro and con ?

[FulciLives]

If you look at RP TV screens, there are two types : clear ( actually somehow reflective ) and the no-so-clear ( So they don't reflect light on your screen ).

My RP TV has a clear screen, but the majority aren't. Can folk comments on their pro and con ?

Mine has a smooth clear screen and yes it does reflect light but it's not so bad especially at night with controlled lighting. Even in the day time it is in a position where sun light is not hitting it directly.

I really can offer nothing more than this though as I have no experience with Rear Projection other than this one TV so I have no clue about the pros and cons of different types of screens.

I would however expect a smooth clear screen to allow for a brighter picture with more resolution. The other type probably makes the image a bit darker and may effect the resolution as well but I'm just guessing here.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[cyflyer]

What are your opinions on lcd tv's ? My crt also went up in smoke this week and I opted for a Samsung LE26R51BX lcd tv.

[budz]

I bought a Samsung 23 inch LCD TV for my bedroom from Best Buy a month ago. It cost me $979.00 including the extended warranty. I was lucky that I walked into Best Buy a few weeks after my purchase because they dropped the price $49.99 more. I got a price adjustment without any hassles.

I bought a cheapo Cyberhome HDMI upconversion dvd player from wally worlds for $83.00. When watching movies that I convert with DVD REBUILDER I set the Cyberhome to 1080 which makes the picture stunning. In my eyes anyway. I chose the Samsung over the Sony 23 inch model because I couldn't see paying $200.00 more for the Sony. The Samsung picture quality surpasses the Sony model. Of course if I had $4000.00 to spare I would have bought the Sony 40 inch XBR model.

[cyflyer]

I was going for the 27" model but then spotted the ones that had HDi enchanced picture, and asked for a demo. I couldn't believe the difference in picture quality. It was worth the tad extra money.

[FulciLives]

I was going for the 27" model but then spotted the ones that had HDi enchanced picture, and asked for a demo. I couldn't believe the difference in picture quality. It was worth the tad extra money.

What is "HDi enhanced picture" ?

When I was shopping for a new TV this past Christmass season I was looking at a Sharp Aquos 32" 16x9 TV as an option. I thought the quality was very nice but in the end I wanted a bigger picture and the price ... at least for the size ... was a bit much.

I have to admit the Sharp looked good in the showroom but I've heard that the LCD televisions must deinterlace video that is not already progressive and that sounds like a bad thing. Just wanted to point that out.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[BJ_M]

plasmas and other technology also must de-interlace also anyway ..

[FulciLives]

plasmas and other technology also must de-interlace also anyway ..

So are you saying it ain't a big deal then?

Since I know you have a lot of knowledge let me ask you this ... what is the "best" type of home display for watching interlaced video? ... or should I ask are some better than others when it comes to displaying interlaced video?

I am asking this in the context of a display that can also do HDTV.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[BJ_M]

HD CRT , like the 34" sony (except it is a pig to move around)

[FulciLives]

HD CRT , like the 34" sony (except it is a pig to move around)

I was going to get one of these ... I think the weight was just over 200lbs

As I stated above in an older post in this thread I instead went with a HDTV CRT Rear Projection since the price was about the same as the SONY 34" tube but I got a 51" sized screen instead.

I have to say the SONY did look nice and this was the "lower end" 34" not the top-of-the-line 34" which supposedly can display more resolution.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[zzyzzx]

Also, just exactly how do you dispose of something as large as a 51" RP TV? It's not like I can put it out on the curb on trash day...

If you have tools and are handy, it should be easy enough to break it into smaller pieces and put in car and drop off next time you pass an apartment complex dumpster.

[TBoneit]

Also, just exactly how do you dispose of something as large as a 51" RP TV? It's not like I can put it out on the curb on trash day...

If you have tools and are handy, it should be easy enough to break it into smaller pieces and put in car and drop off next time you pass an apartment complex dumpster.

In my area given the time of year to and to avoid problems, I'd just stash it for a few weeks and then let the yearly cleanup that the town runs pick it up, that's assuming it didn't disappear from the front of the house before the pickup time. Every year the frugal types run around with pcikup trucks and stations wagons (SUVs) grabbing stuff despite that it is illegal to do so. I suspect the town doesn't really care as it lightens the fee they pay for disposal. I wonder how much of what they savenge that way ends up in flea markets or on E-Bay?

[TBoneit]

Also, just exactly how do you dispose of something as large as a 51" RP TV? It's not like I can put it out on the curb on trash day...

If you have tools and are handy, it should be easy enough to break it into smaller pieces and put in car and drop off next time you pass an apartment complex dumpster.

I hope anybody that takes your advice is aware of how to safely handle CRTs and is aware of the shock hazard.

[cyflyer]

What is "HDi enhanced picture" ?

it is contrast enhanced, motion blurr optimised, etc etc, basically the deluxe model, latest technology version. Look for it on the Samsungs.