Im curious to know how owners of PLASMA owners also feel about their DLP sets...and is it worth it to you to also own a DLP?

What brand tvs do you have?


Im curious because I am a very happy owner of a Panasonic 42PZ700 and the picture is really great. But I need to replace my 50" Hitachi LCD RP V500A that is starting to look washed out and very banded (skins tones especially you can see where the colors band)

Im wondering if I will be happy with a DLP based on what I currently own....what will the DLP bring me that the Plasma may not?...Just larger size screen?


thanks

Ha! I was in the exact same situation as you. I own a Panny 75U from last year and started looking for a replacement for my 52" 4:3 rptv in our living room. I was looking at 50" plasmas (specifically, the PZ80 and PX80). I honestly hadn't given dlp's a second thought until I happened to pass by them in a local Ultimate Electronics store. I started to notice how good the color was as the sharpness. I had always assumed (assumption is the mother of all screwups) that DLPs weren't going to be as sharp as flat panels. Boy, was I wrong. Honestly, my current DLP (Mitsu 60735) blows away my Panny in terms of crispness of the picture and color pop. The black level is just as good, if not slightly better than my Panny. Keep in mind though, I've got the base model from last year's Panny line and not the top of the line 700 series as you do. Your processing may be a little better so your blacks probably are too.

Now as you know, no tech is perfect and that certainly includes DLPs. First and foremost, my set has about 2% overscan vs. 1:1. Most likely, this is built in to compensate for the geometry of the set. Also with DLPs, come geometry issues. You can usually correct most of them out, but I don't know if they can totally be eliminated. Also, DLPs have lamps that have to be replaced. Mitsu's lamps are now only $99 but the thought of replacement lamps bothers some people. The Sammy LED sets are nice in that no lamps are present, but they too have their own set of problems consisting of less viewing angles and the sets themselves, are somewhat flimsier (word?) than the Mitsu sets. Also, the Mitsu sets now use the newest D4 chip which provides better contrast and black levels than the D3 chips that Sammy uses. Don't get me wrong either, the Sammy sets are great in their own regard too.

What my decision was based on was nothing more than value for dollar spent. IMO, the price of these sets, the quality of the picture, and the screen size they provide more than make up for their shortcomings when compared to the flat panels. Also, coming from a 52" set, a 50" set would have been a downgrade in terms of pure screen size. I sacrifice having to by lamps and not being able to wall mount it (although, it's only 14" deep, weighs 58lbs and looks great on my tv stand that was designed for a 50" flat panel).

All I can tell you is that it made sense for our situation. Whatever you decide, I can honestly say you won't be disappointed in the picture quality at all compared to your plasma. All this and without the typical flat panel issues i.e. color banding, motion blur, phosphor lag, image retention, SDE, excessive picture noise, etc.

Good luck in your search and if you do end up with a DLP, you won't be disappointed IMO.

wow thanks for the advise...I didnt think there would be anyone on this forum that actually owns both a DLP and a PLASMA tv in their home to offer this feedback...it is very welcome indeed.

Now when you say Mitsubishi uses the newer D4 chip then the Samsung (D3) are you comparing both TVs latest DLP models? I know the Samnsung 750 series is their newest one. Can it compare to Mitsubishi's newest model in terms of performance/picture quality?

As an owner of a Pioneer Kuro PDP-5010FD (plasma) and a Samsung HL67A750 (LED DLP), it is my opinion that they are both stunning. The well informed member above correctly and honestly stated how all technologies have their shortcomings. Such limitations are greatly eclipsed by the benefits...I'll explain.

As we know, plasma technology inherently is "power-hungry" vs. other technologies and release a substantial amount of heat. Conversely, the LED Sammy is perhaps the greenest TV ever made (no mercury, no or little heat, and efficient). On paper, the plasma will have superior contrast and perhaps greater fine detail. Even with the 3rd gen DarkChip, my Sammy produces incredible black detail IMO. Once calibrated, colors of both technologies have the potential to be very, very accurate. While we hear about screen glare of the plasmas and viewing angles of the DLP's to be such unforgiving issues, such concerns have never been relevant to my applications. Motion blur will not be a factor with either technology. With a difference of 17" in screen size, I must emphasize the DLP experience to be much more immersive. Its value is also unparalleled. To me, there is also a greater feeling of comfort gaming on the DLP despite the orbiter feature within the plasma....call me paranoid. Ultimately, I can sincerely state that I have no buyer's remorse over these two wonderful sets/technologies. My $0.02

wow thanks for the advise...I didnt think there would be anyone on this forum that actually owns both a DLP and a PLASMA tv in their home to offer this feedback...it is very welcome indeed.

Now when you say Mitsubishi uses the newer D4 chip then the Samsung (D3) are you comparing both TVs latest DLP models? I know the Samnsung 750 series is their newest one. Can it compare to Mitsubishi's newest model in terms of performance/picture quality?

The Sammy 750 does indeed use the D3 chip. Both the Sammy and Mitsu have their benefits. The nice thing about the Sammy, is that theoretically, the led tech should last the life of the set. The downside to the led, is that the contrast is reduced and the picture is somewhat dimmer. Whether this applies to you and where the tv will be placed is up to you. IMO, the Mitsu just had a little better color pop than the Sammy. One other downfall of the Sammy set, is that it definitely has a smaller sweet spot in terms of how far off angle you can be and still have max. picture quality. What ultimately swayed me towards the Mitsu was the killer price (a grand for a 60" 1080p!, can't beat that) whereas the Sammy 61" LED was at least $500 higher if not more. I just figured with the money I saved, I could buy 3 more bulbs and have my tv all set for about 8 years (hopefully). In all honesty though, if the prices had been within $100 of each other, it would have been a very hard decision.

Either way, you're getting far more screen real estate for the money than plasma or LCD. Also, as mentioned above, the DLP's have that screen size that does immerse you in whatever you're watching.

Oh yeah, even though Panny's and Pio's for that matter, are pretty bullet proof when it comes to burn in, it is nice to not have to worry about it with my Mitsu dlp.

wow thanks for the advise...I didnt think there would be anyone on this forum that actually owns both a DLP and a PLASMA tv in their home to offer this feedback...

I have a 42" Samsung plasma in the kitchen, a 73" Mitsubishi (73736) DLP in the den, a 46" Sony CRT RPTV in the living room, and a 24" LCD that does double-duty for HD and PC in the bedroom. :D But as the others have said, ALL technologies have their pros and cons. But good examples of each of them can produce very nice pictures. A top tier plasma is going to have better blacks, perfect geometry, no SSE, better sharpness (at the expense of the smooth film-like look of a wobulated DLP), better viewing angles, no risk of rainbows, a better chance of judder-free 24fps playback, and they're wall mountable if that suits you. If I could have gotten a plasma on the level of the latest Panasonics or Kuros in the same size range for the same price, I would have been all over that. But that's not to say that DLP doesn't have it's own set of advantages... lower power consumption/heat, no SDE/smoother more film-like image, no burn in/image retention concerns, and they're much lighter yet less fragile. But by far, their best aspect is value. Assuming their list of negatives are acceptable to you, you can't approach their cost/performance ratio in the larger sizes. While I do believe a good plasma will generally outperform a DLP in most areas, the differences are not huge. Certainly not anywhere near as huge as the price difference in the largest sizes. There isn't any mass produced plasma in the size range of my DLP, and the differences afforded by a "proper" size to seating distance ratio easily outweigh any technical advantages the plasma may have, IMO. Probably the biggest issue you need to be mindful of is viewing angles (I wouldn't recommend DLP if you often watch at very wide angles). As long as that's not an issue, you can get great images out of both. But you can do it bigger and cheaper with DLP.

I have the Pioneer Elite 1150HD and a Samsung DLP HLT568. The Kuro is excellent and (after pro calibration) the Samsung DLP is very good. The only thing I dislike about the DLP is the "Silk Screen Effect" which I notice when seated within 15'.

guys...I have a Rear Projection Hitachi V500A LCD that I am looking to replace in my living room. I just feel like this tv doesnt look that great any more even after hundreds of tweaks...I've squeezed all of the possible PQ potential out of this thing....will the new DLP Sammy or Mitsus be much better in terms of PQ (picture quality) in comparison to my Hitachi?

That's just totally subjective and only you can answer that question.

A properly calibrated rptv with good convergence and geometry is going to look beautiful regardless of brand (my 56" RCA has great picture quality). Will a dlp look better? Possibly and most likely but only you are going to be able to make that decision.

Your mission should you choose to accept it, will be to go to some stores and do some eye tests on your own. Just be aware, if you go to a BB or CC type place, the DLPs are going to look like total crap. They'll either be set on a shelf too high and on an aisle where you can't back up enough to get to normal viewing distance, or they will seem really dim thanks to the harsh lighting of those stores. Your best bet for viewing them in a realistic setting would be to try and find a local dealer that has controlled lighting just the same as your home does. If you can't find a local dealer and BB is your only option, just remember that once you get it home, it is going to look totally different than what it does in the store and probably 100X better. The big box electronic stores just aren't that interested in selling these sets (must be higher margins on flat panels).