First of all, i would like to introduce myself, as this is my first post. :)
I have been browsing the Plasma/LCD forum for some time, and have read a few posts from people who would like to see a review for the Dell W4201C Plasma. After lots of research, i made the decision to purchase the Dell W4201C high definition plasma television. I simply could not find a better deal for a television with similar specifications. I placed the order today, and according to the Dell order status system, i should have my TV sometime between January 1st and 3rd. I currently work in the IT dept for a company who utilizes Dell pc's and servers, and we have had very few problems with Dell products (i would be lying if i said this did not influence my purchase decision ;) ). When we did experience problems, their technical support was outstanding; replacement parts would always arrive the next day!
Once i finally set up and adjust my new TV, i will post a review of this product and answer any questions you all may have. i look forward to becoming an active participant in this forum.
Thank you, and hello!

Mine is supposed to arrive this Thursday. I'll have mine ahead of yours by a few days :)

cool! congrats on your new purchase. i just checked Dell's order status page...mine shipped out this morning and is has an ETA of Jan 4th. (i think it should arrive before then, as mine shipped w/ the 3-5 day shipping option).

I just ordered the W4201C. Looking forward to seeing it!

Any news? I am about to pull the trigger on the same deal, but have been looking for some sort of review. It seems as if you are one of the few people to buy this thing...

Mine is due 1/10. I think a couple people in this forum are set to get theirs sooner. I gave up on waiting for a review before making the purchase. I usually don't do that, but there were enough reasons for me to get this, I decided to get it.

Hi,
I'm on the fence right now. I finally finished my basement and am ready to buy. For the last year I was 95% sure that I would get the panny th-42px50u when the time came but now that Dell has this new unit out I am very impressed by it. I like the physical looks of it better with the speakers side mounted and removeable verses the pannys bottom mounted speakers. Some other areas I like better are the on screed menus, the number of connections that come standars, the sound quality through the included speakers and the price. I still like the pannys 8th generation build quality and known reputation in the plasma industry. I have read that Dell uses Samsumgs panels is that true? What were the reasons that pushed you to decide on the Dell? Are you worried that the 42" will experience the same issues that folks are having with the W5001C and the pasterization in the dark areas?

Any and all comments are welcome. I need to make up my mind by Wed to get the deal through Dell.
Thanks, Brian

My reasons for buying the Dell:

- price I was able to get it for
- the specs (high contrast ratio, 60,000 lifespan (maybe), the inputs)
- the fact that this is a new design - I'm hopefully making a good assumption that it will be an improvement on the older 4200, which had mixed reviews - I think people did like the PQ of the 4200, in general
- the look/size of it - it will work perfectly where I will be putting it

I'm guessing any PQ issues (pasterization in the dark areas) might follow in the 4201C - I think a major portions of the components are the same in the 42" and the 50". In fact, it looks like they share the same user manual. The only difference is the contrast ratio, from what I can tell.

I saw the 50" at a Dell kiosk, and was impressed with the picture. I'm not a videophile, so could have missed something. But, based on what I saw with the 50", I think I will be very pleased with the 42".

Hope this helps...

Ordered mine today thru my Dell Coporate rep. I had asked him what would happen if one of these had to be serviced outside of warranty. He said he would check and let me know. It took him 3 days, but he personally returned my call and said that although Dell does not have service facilities for these, I would be able to take it to any reputable repair/service shop and they could order parts from Dell for it. The rep also said he personally had a W4200HD plasma in his home (he won it in a raffle from Dell) and was quite pleased with it and the wall mount that Dell sells.

30 days to return and you can extend warranty any time before your original warranty expires. I especially like the dual NTSC and NTSC/ATSC tuners, and dual HDMI ports on the unit.

I am going nuts trying to find a review on this Plasma, or for that matter any of the new / updated Dell models. Does anybody have any personal reviews, or third party reviews???

Thanks!

I've been looking off and on for the past couple of weeks and have found nothing. I think this forum will be your best bet, as a few of us have ordered them and will be getting them very soon.

Mine is coming on the 11th, but I am no expert when it comes to Plasma TVs. This will be my first. I will have a few comparision pictures, but they rarely do justice anyway.

I am going nuts trying to find a review on this Plasma, or for that matter any of the new / updated Dell models. Does anybody have any personal reviews, or third party reviews???

Thanks!

Thats probably because these tv's only started selling in early december from what i can tell. I am sure that those of us who have them here can start an "Official W4201C" thread to share our thoughts...

cool! congrats on your new purchase. i just checked Dell's order status page...mine shipped out this morning and is has an ETA of Jan 4th. (i think it should arrive before then, as mine shipped w/ the 3-5 day shipping option).

any review yet?

Costco com is selling the W4201C and W5001C plasmas on their site. They also include a 2 year warranty. This along with their great return policy I think has just pushed me off the fence.

Thanks, Brian

Is the two-year-warranty through Dell? If so, kinda sucks, in that you'd have to mail it back. If it's through Costco...does this really mean that if you had a problem after 22 months you could bring it back and get a refund (as no replacement model would be available at that time)? Seems like there must be a catch.

I dont see how the warranty could be through Costco instead of Dell. However, the order page does say the standard "You can return this at any one of our 400 Costco locations" .. but all pages always say that, so I am not sure. If anyone is considering buying from Costco, call them/Dell up and confirm this before purchasing. Costco.ca had the W4201 with a 3year warranty, but it ended up being $300 more than getting the Boxing week deal directly from Dell and bumping up the warranty to 3 years.

Note that avdeals sells extended warranties through VAC Service Corp., you can purchase upto an additional 4 year warranty (after your initial manufacturer warranty expires) for a total of 5 years for a little over $400 CDN, while Dell will charge you about $700 for the same.

Yes the two year warranty is through Dell. When I talked with someone at my local Costco today on the phone she said that they want you to deal with Dell if there is a problem in the first two years. This is using their on site service or box and ship back standard policy. The person at my Costco told me they don't believe that anyone should have to buy extended warranties and if something happened after two years or more simply return it with a copy of the recipt and they would gladly refund your money. I was amazed when I heard this too. They went on to say that they had to limit the return period on the computer products to 6 months because people were returning computers after two years and just upgrading. This is what i would call abousing the system. If you would have a problem I think they will stand behind it.
Brian

and so far, it looks great. I've only really watched off-air HD broadcasts so far (I can see the top of the 2 broadcast towers that are about 20 miles from my house - I can pick up all of the major network's HD channels with a cheap pair of bunny ears). PBS had a show on last night on their HD channel - and the pq was amazing.

I haven't had much time with it yet, so I'll gather some more thoughts and post them soon. In the mean time, if anyone has specific questions, let me know.

Hello...I'm new to this forum....I accidentally posted in the Dell 50" thread, too, but realized that this thread might be more appropriate...

I've had the 42" Dell 4201c for about 4 days now.

Overall, I'm impressed with the PQ. HD is amazing, especially sports. I have seen some weirdness with really black screeen shots, but nothing major.

My main issue is ghosting. I'm seeing ghost images VERY easily. (I know there's a big thread about ghosting/burn-in, I've read all 34 pages, but I'm hoping to get feedback from other Dell owners). On light backgrounds I can see COMCAST frequently (from the menu guide). I watched tennis for about 1 hr the other night, and the scoreboard was ghosted for at least an hour (could see it from sitting on the couch). If I turn the TV off and on, when standing very close, I can see various images from our recent viewing. The images go away, but it has totally freaked out my fiance. She had a bad dream about burn-in!!

So I called Dell Support tonight, and they had me do a test. Unplug all cables including power, hold the power button for 30 seconds, wait 15 seconds, hold for 30 seconds, and plug back in and power up. Then go to the VGA input and let the RGB box dance around the screen. After each jump, I could see the ghost of the previous location. As soon as I said that, he authorized a replacement to be sent to my home = amazing customer service.

But here's the kicker: if I wait for the replacement, my return period will expire. If the ghosting will go away with the new set, I will be very pleased with this TV. But if it doesn't I'm gonna be upset, and regret not returning.

Has anyone else had ghosting issues with their Dell? If you go to VGA input and let the box dance around, do you see ghosts if you look up close? Please let me know your thoughts. (I'm considering going to a Panny, or perhaps even an LCD or DLP to remove the burn-in worries) thanks

I just tried the VGA test you described (I have the W4201C), and have no problems with ghosting.

I'm not an expert on this - but, re: ghosting/burn in - from what I have seen on other sites, the first initial hours can be somewhat important with plasmas. It sounds like they are more prone to burn in and ghosting issues during this time. Some advice I've seen is to be careful what you watch in the first 100 hrs (i.e.: tennis scoreboard in the same location for extended periods). I'm sure each person you talk to will have something different to say about this issue, but these are a few bits of advice that I've decided to follow--not sure if they'll make a difference or not.

Re: the blacks - I haven't noticed issues yet watching off-air broadcasts.

Thanks for checking...just to make sure, you were standing close to the TV when you looked for the VGA ghosting, right?

How many hours have you used your W410C so far?

Yep - I was about 2 feet away from the screen. I've probably had it on for a total of 10-12 hrs

I haven't had much time with it yet, so I'll gather some more thoughts and post them soon. In the mean time, if anyone has specific questions, let me know.

How are the noise levels? I think that was a problem with the older Dell 42".

Thanks a bunch for the review so far, I might just get this thing too.

B.

No problems with the noise so far like the older 4200's.

Just got mine today, about 3 hours ago and it has been running for about 2. I ahev 2 HDMI cables, and 2 composite inputs hooked up.
HDMI is working without any problems and so are the components.
I have not had any ghosting problems.
There is no noise coming from the back, just some electronic noise that comes from any appliance. My HTPC is louder than the TV, and you have to put your ear against it to hear it.
HD does look good. DVDs with FFdshow(DVI to HDMI from my 6600GT) look even better. I am quite amazes actually.
I went from a 27 inch crt to this, and so the size difference is quite amazing.
I jsut got my scientific atlanta 8300Hd to work with the dell. So I have both the HDMIS working with no problem whatsoever.

I don't think that you should worry about the burn in, though the ghosting might be a problem.

Any other questions, make sure to let me know.

I was going to do some calibrating, but the pciture quality out of the box seems quite fine, then again I am no pro, and this is my first plasma.

I have had this plasma for a couple of weeks now. Here are my findings.

HDTV looks great. I am able to get great OTA HD reception. Colors look as they should.

SDTV tuner is average. My HTPC has a tv tuner built in and when I play that back on the plasma, the standard definition signal looks cleaner.

The plasma response time is fast when changing channels and the menu is simple to use. The plasma does produce electrical noise but unless you are standing right next to it, you can't really hear it.

The only issues I am enountering is when I playback anything using a DVI to HDMI cable, every 30 minutes or so, the screen will blank out for a half a second and then come back. I read other people on Dell's forums with similar issues and supposedly goes away when you use an HDMI straight cable. I will be receiving my new DVD player today which has native HDMI. I hate this because my HTPC has a Geforce 6600 and outputs really nice DVD picture, nicer than my LG DVD/HDTV tuner set top box. I wish graphic card manufacturers would come out with graphic cards which included HDMI output.

I am having some crackling noise from the speakers, anyone else?
Seems to happen more with my HTPC and when the volume is above 70. I am guessing this has more to do with my onboard sound rather than the plasma tv, but you never know.
Please let me know if any of you have had this glitch.

Actually just confirmed that this happens with a regular DVD player as well. As well as the HDMI Cable Box. Weird. Anyone else?

I think this has something to do with the cables instead of the TV. The question is how do I get rid of it? Do the ferrite cores have anything to do with this?

Called Dell. They were not able to find a solution and they are replacing it. The customer service person on the phone suggested that there might have been a bad audio chip. I will be contacted by friday, and then have it replaced. Let's see what happens...

I did notice parts of my wallpaper in the back somewhat burned in, but plasma conditioning took care of that.

Got some good news today.

Dell Customer Care (a "plasma specialist") told me that I would have the option to do a full return if I'm unhappy with the replacement set, even though I'll be more than 21 days past invoice. She said the 21 days would "reset" once I have my replacement. Of course, this is only the case if you get a replacement within the 21 day return period.

So, I don't have to make the return vs. replace choice now. I can check out the new set to see if the ghosting is still an issue. Dell's customer service has been amazing imo.

The sound on mine has been just fine - I haven't noticed any crackling.

Sound has been fine for me also. My new DVD player arrived yesterday which has native HDMI and my blinking problem went away. Damn how I hate HDCP and HDMI. Worst invention ever made or released before it polished.

I purchased the Dell 4201C about a week ago. The picture is outstanding. I noticed some temporary burn-in when viewing 4:3 video. There were two vertical lines representing the left/right most scan lines of the 4:3 view. It became noticeable after switching to widescreen mode for an HD broadcast. The lines, however, went away after an hour or so.

There is one problem I'm having which I can't figure out yet. Has anyone experienced an audio/video sync problem with the ATSC RF input on the WD4201C ?? The HD video is lagging behind the audio while watching some (not all) 720p or 1080i broadcasts. I'm awaiting D* to install my new HD receiver and dish, so I currently can't test the unit's HDMI input for the audio/video sync problem. I'm currently using an OTA (Terk 55) antenna to view local HD channels. For instance, the other night, I was watching the People's Choice Awards on CBS and the video was a little behind the audio(around 1/2 second, maybe a little less, but it's noticeable). On NBC, the Leno show seemed in sync, but Conan O Brien was definitely out of sync last night.

Any help would be appreciated...I will contact Dell and explain the problem to them also.

I don't use the speakers on my set.

I noticed some audio/video lag a few times.

I figured it was the cable box...maybe not.

Hasn't really been an issue though

I've never tried setting the volume of the 4201C at 70. Seems like a very high setting. I would expect some crackling at that volume. I've never needed to raise my volume above 50. But if Dell will replace the speakers for you, that's great!!

My 250 dollar phillips TV did not seem to have any problems, even on 100% volume, granted they were cheap speakers.

However, as suggested the problem might be with the chip and not so much with the speakers, and why use a defective TV if it can be replaced with a non defective one after all.

Strangely enough, the issue is repeatable. It cracks above 70% volume while watching Finding Nemo, Nemo is being captured by the divers coming back from the boat at the edge of the reef.

I wish the speakers were loud at 70%, but it seems that they are not. Maybe I am slowly going deaf. I wil make sure to update you people when the TV is replaced hopefully by tomorrow, is what I was told by Dell Customer Service.

Since the problem is very repeatable, I should have no problem knowing if the new TV will encounter the same problem.

STTy0,
to clarify for you.
If you do have problems during the warranty period, a replacement unit will be sent out, a 3rd party tech dispatched to setup new one and box old one up for shipment back to Dell. Dunno where rep came up with bringing it in locally for repair/parts. :)

Ordered mine today thru my Dell Coporate rep. I had asked him what would happen if one of these had to be serviced outside of warranty. He said he would check and let me know. It took him 3 days, but he personally returned my call and said that although Dell does not have service facilities for these, I would be able to take it to any reputable repair/service shop and they could order parts from Dell for it. The rep also said he personally had a W4200HD plasma in his home (he won it in a raffle from Dell) and was quite pleased with it and the wall mount that Dell sells.

30 days to return and you can extend warranty any time before your original warranty expires. I especially like the dual NTSC and NTSC/ATSC tuners, and dual HDMI ports on the unit.

I received my Dell w4201C about a week ago. On the second day when I turned it on I had a vertical black stripe in the middle of the display. It was basically a dead area that wouldn't turn on. I contacted Dell and waited for the usual 30 minutes to speak with someone. It took all of about 30 seconds to explain the problem and they said I had a bad screen so they would be sending me a new unit. I've been using the plasma for about a week as is and HD is awesome. I haven't noticed any noise or ghosting. I hope my screen problem is an isolated incident to do with shipping and not with quality control problems.

Are these replacement units new or refurbished?

new

I had a choice... Refurbished in a couple of days or New in 7 - 10 days.

STTy0,
to clarify for you.
If you do have problems during the warranty period, a replacement unit will be sent out, a 3rd party tech dispatched to setup new one and box old one up for shipment back to Dell. Dunno where rep came up with bringing it in locally for repair/parts. :)

actually we were discussing what would happen if the set was out of warranty. he meant that i should be able to take to a plasma tv repair shop and have them order parts for it from dell for repair. After reading a few threads here and elsewhere, i have my doubts about that. Seems Dell will say "buy a new TV, we will give u a discount".
You wouldnt happen to have insight into this situation would you? .. like what would happen if a Dell TV stopped working (assuming it wasnt the screen gone bad) 5+ years from now? Of course, on the dell forums the argument is that "well in 5 years a new TV will be really cheap and better" .. but come on, that is like saying I buy a Honda new. It stops running after the 3year bumper-to-bumper warranty, but Honda says "we dont actually repair those or supply parts for them, our new models are way better and cost less, why dont you get one of those?"

I hope that Dell eventually gets a system in place to at least supply parts for their sets in the future. Some of us are not made of money, and dont want to purchase a new set every x number of years.

I just got my w4201c plasma really nice change from my 4 year old 52" rca hd
never bothered setting up the extra speakers
awesome picture, xbox360 clear and crisp, I wasn't too sure about buying this, and dealing with the sales in India
great great looking system highly recommended could have used a dvi connection and a swing out mount , just kidding

congrats and enjoy.

I just hooked up logitech z5500 speakers to this and I am amazed everytime I listen to the THX videos.

I also realized that the spdif and optical out do not work unless the atsc tuner is in use, so I had to connect the speakers to the cable box rather than through the tv.
Here (http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mehmetmunur/album?.dir=b556&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mehmetmunur/my_photos) are a few pictures for those interested.

Thanks to the positive reviews here, I ordered one for myself. Should have it in 7-10 business days. While I eagerly wait for the delivery, I figured I can go ahead and order the HDMI cables from monoprice (again, based on the reviews here :) - Thanks to all of you for that).

Do I need one or two HDMI cables? Do I need any other cables that don't come out of the box?


My configuration -
Cable box (Comcast HD)
JVC Receiver
Bose speakers
JVC DVD (I may have to replace this eventually).

I am guessing that I can reuse some of these cables as my old TV is going into the basement. but I don't want to guess what I need.

You need one HDMI from cable box to TV (as you said check out monoprice.com - a forum sponsor)

You need one set of component video cables from DVD to TV (good cables are needed for component cuz it's analog)...the TV comes with some. You might want to upgrade...your call.

You need a coax or optical cable to run audio from cable box to the reciever.

You need a coax or optical cable to run audio from DVD to the reciever.

If you plan on using the TV's speakers (I don't), use a coax or optical to run from the reciever to the TV.

My dell w4201c warranty replacement came in. The speaker cracking noise was most likely due to speakers as some of you mentioned.

With the new speakers, the cracking is a lot less, and starts at around 100% instead of 70%, which comes to show that there might have been something wrong with those set of speakers.

The problem does not concern me as much anymore since I got the surround sound speakers and do not even attach the dell speakers.

But the good part is, I got a new plasma out of it, and this one seems to work just fine as well. Both HDMIs still working and no problems with the picture whatsoever. Have been watching it for the last 5-6 hours.

Though, DHL has not come to pick it up yet, so I have 2 dell 42 inch plasmas sitting in my house. I am wondering what will happen if I don't return it. I could go dual monitor 42 inch plasmas with the HTPC... There is one for dreaming....

Dell Serviceman was present the whole time, which was nice, but he did not need to do anything except to help me pack the old one. So far so good. No problems with Dell customer service except the long waiting on the phone which is to be expected....

My employer bought the Dell W4201C to use as a conference room display. A computer is connected to the display using VGA. Can anything be done to prevent the stretching of the 1024 x 768 image when connected over VGA?

Just placed my order for the W4201C today with Dell Canada. I managed to get it for $2600 CDN with half price shipping. A pretty good deal considering they have it on special till the 26th for $3000!

stty0, I'm guessing you're from Canada as I've seen your post on Digital Home Canada. I was wondering how long you had to wait for delivery. The Dell sales guy said that they use a different company for the larger TV's and he said that they would call ahead to arrange a time.

Can't wait to get it all hooked up. One of the things that made me choose this TV was the shear number of inputs. I don't think I've seen a TV that has two HDMI's before, certainly not in this price range!

Just placed my order for the W4201C today with Dell Canada. I managed to get it for $2600 CDN with half price shipping. A pretty good deal considering they have it on special till the 26th for $3000!

stty0, I'm guessing you're from Canada as I've seen your post on Digital Home Canada. I was wondering how long you had to wait for delivery. The Dell sales guy said that they use a different company for the larger TV's and he said that they would call ahead to arrange a time.

Can't wait to get it all hooked up. One of the things that made me choose this TV was the shear number of inputs. I don't think I've seen a TV that has two HDMI's before, certainly not in this price range!

I placed order on the 6th of Jan i believe, it arrived on the 18th of Jan, although the order tracking system was estimating the 23rd. Canadian Freightways was the carrier, showed up around 10:30am after I called (the tracking # on the dell website didnt work) ... the driver was having a coffee down the street when dispatch contacted him!

Anyway, inspect the box for damage (i actually had to help the guy carry the box inside, so I know it was OK from that point on) if there is any, refuse the shipment and have them send another.

I am still totally impressed with this TV ... SD channels are clear, DVDs with the LG LDA-531 upconverting DVD player set to 1080i look awe inspiring. As for the 2 HDMI, it is cool, although I would have not minded if they had kept it to 1 HDMI and 1 DVI, like the previous model had.

oysterhead Thanks for your response. After doing some more research, I have more (new) questions.

1) I have Comcast cable service. I will have to call and get a new set top box. In my area, they are providing either the Motorola DCT 5100 or the DCT 6200. I looked at the picture for the DCT 6200 and could not figure out where the HDMI cable would go into the cable box. It could be possible that these cable boxes are not capable of interfacing using HDMI. Is that correct?

As a newbie - I cannot post the URL of the image of DCT 6200. Found it on the motorola website.

If so - is there anyone using Comcast HD signal - how do you use HDMI in that case?

2) This brings me to the second question. If you cannot use HDMI with Comcast service, what is the next best option (in terms of audio and video quality)?

3) Now, what do I do with 2 HDMI ports when I cannot use them - I considered that as one advantage of the Dell TV vs. a Panny.

What am I missing? I guess, things will be more obvious once I receive the TV next week. But, I wanted to buy the cables in advance if I can.

I just took a look at the DCT 6200 and you're corrent in saying that there is no HDMI output. However, there is a DVI output so you could buy a DVI to HDMI cable to use on your W4201C.

http://images.monoprice.com/productlargeimages/26611.jpg

When inlcuded two HDMI's on this plasma, I think they were future-proofing it for when the HDDVD and BluRay players hit the market, which will feature HDMI outputs. Therefore, you will use both on the inputs on your TV; one for your cable box, another for a HDDVD / Bluray player.
oysterhead Thanks for your response. After doing some more research, I have more (new) questions.

1) I have Comcast cable service. I will have to call and get a new set top box. In my area, they are providing either the Motorola DCT 5100 or the DCT 6200. I looked at the picture for the DCT 6200 and could not figure out where the HDMI cable would go into the cable box. It could be possible that these cable boxes are not capable of interfacing using HDMI. Is that correct?

As a newbie - I cannot post the URL of the image of DCT 6200. Found it on the motorola website.

If so - is there anyone using Comcast HD signal - how do you use HDMI in that case?

2) This brings me to the second question. If you cannot use HDMI with Comcast service, what is the next best option (in terms of audio and video quality)?

3) Now, what do I do with 2 HDMI ports when I cannot use them - I considered that as one advantage of the Dell TV vs. a Panny.

What am I missing? I guess, things will be more obvious once I receive the TV next week. But, I wanted to buy the cables in advance if I can.

anyone using the optical or coaxial audio on the tv? the manual says that they are outputs for when you are using ATSC and not inputs... can they do both in/out?

i have a satellite receiver that I'm using component for video and currently using the white/red composite for audio.... of course i already have optical out from my satellite receiver to my audio receiver but sometimes i just don't want to turn on the audio system and just use the tv speakers... Not sure if it's Bell Expressvu sat receiver with the red/white cables but the audio from the satellite receiver out through the TV speakers sounds too quiet (have to turn it up to 60-70 for normal viewing in small living room)


You need one HDMI from cable box to TV (as you said check out monoprice.com - a forum sponsor)

You need one set of component video cables from DVD to TV (good cables are needed for component cuz it's analog)...the TV comes with some. You might want to upgrade...your call.

You need a coax or optical cable to run audio from cable box to the reciever.

You need a coax or optical cable to run audio from DVD to the reciever.

If you plan on using the TV's speakers (I don't), use a coax or optical to run from the reciever to the TV.

thought the people following this thread might be interested in my comparsion of the 4201c vs. the NEC 42Xr4A

there a pics attached to post #668 on this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=622396&page=23&pp=30

yet another new NEC owner here....my 42XR4 arrived yesterday in great shape. I had to wait like 4 hours for my fiance to get home and help me mount it on the stand! It killed me!

i'm totally stoked about our decision to send back the Dell W4021c and get the 42XR4. I was surprised to find out that my moto box will output via HDMI and component at the same time, so I was able to do some side-by-side tests! (Dell's coming to get their set this afternoon). I figured a good way to review the NEC would be to compare it to the Dell....I know some of you would think "well, yeah, it will kill a crappy Dell", but the Dell PQ is pretty damn good. In fact, we went to a few big box stores to check out Panasonics (500U's), and both my fiance and I thought the Dell could hang with the Panny in many regards...in other words, before we got the NEC, I thought the Dell's PQ was top notch.

We did a couple switch back-and-forths between component and HDMI, and ended up giving the Dell the HDMI to even the playing field a bit. Also note that I tweaked the Dell for weeks to get the picture right, but only took a few minutes to set-up the NEC. I started out with cpcat's contrast/bright/sharpness setting from his 50". The out-of-box picture of the NEC was a little red, but I turned the red down a bit, and all hints of "too-red" disappeared.

So here it goes:

PICTURE QUALITY: Within seconds (literally!) we could tell that the NEC was superior on both SD and HD. Before changing any of the settings, the colors of the NEC were so much more saturated than the Dell. I don't know if this is a function of the scaler, or the 67 billion colors, but the colors of the NEC are amazing. Skin tones especially. Faces just come to life. But the most dramatic improvement is shadow and highlight detailing. There were sooooo many instances when you couldn't even see a dark object in the Dell that you could make out on the NEC. Any time a scence was very dark or very light, the NEC's picture included objects that the Dell didn't pick up...very cool. I guess the flip side of this would be that the Dell's blacks are blacker than the NEC's. But they're not real! They're like TOO black. When an object is truly black on the NEC - it's truly black. When it's not truly black, you can see the details.

STANDARD DEFINITION: Viewing of SD channels is probably where the NEC really rips the Dell a new one. The stadium function of the NEC does such an awesome job of NOT making images look fat. During face shots it was soooo obvious how the Dell was making people look fat. (it's amazing that this didn't bother me before) This is really the only place where my camera could do justice for the comparison. See for yourself - look at the attached pics of shots from Scrubs...the Dell is in front.

REMOTE CONTROLS: This is really the only place where the Dell excels. I really don't like the remote of either set, but I have to say I like the Dell remote better. It's better looking, and you don't have to point the remote DIRECTLY at the sensor to make it work (you have to be precise with the NEC)

OPTIONS: The menus and number of settings/options on the NEC are awesome. You can change the menu position, the menu contrast, any color setting you can think of, there's like 10 modes of picture saver (image retention reducer), etc. If you want to change it on the NEC, you can. The Dell gives the user limited ability to adjust things.

IMAGE RETENTION: Like any new set, I can definitely see a little bit of ghosting on the NEC. It's just the nature of plasmas....But I think the Dell was much worse at ghosting when it was brand new. The NEC's ghosted images go away much quicker. This was one of the main things that got me motivated to return the Dell. Either way, I can't wait to have lots of hours on the NEC...I hate having to babysit the TV (e.g. zoom in during commercials)...I should admit though that I'm a little anal about making sure there's no chance of ghosting.

AESTHETICS: Before we got the NEC, I thought the Dell was one of the best looking sets...but man the NEC looks SOOO sweet! Full-on professional looking display. The stand especially looks really nice. If there's one thing where the NEC definitely kills the Panny it's in looks. This thing is hot! My finace quickly got over the "bevelled glass" bezel on the bottom. You can't even really see it, and the overall look is just awesome.

That's about all that I can think of now...overall, I'm stoked!

Another shout out to Chris at Cleveland Plasma for seeing me through this...his customer service is top notch.

As I was cruising the menu for the new w4201, I realized that this one had a different menu for color and brightness whereas the old one had it all together. Also, in the setup menu, the new one has options for DVI input, which is interesting. Meanwhile I am having trouble hooking up my audigy 2 zs with z 5500 through the coaxial out using a 1/8 inch adapter through the coaxial out of the audigy. I can't get anything for some reason while other outputs seem to work fine..

I am wondering if there is anything I can do to check if the mini-co-axial out of the audigy is working properly. Any recommendations welcome..

thought the people following this thread might be interested in my comparsion of the 4201c vs. the NEC 42Xr4A

there a pics attached to post #668 on this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=622396&page=23&pp=30
For me, this is an unfair comparison simply because of the price difference between the two TV's. [EDIT]

From the opinions gathered in this thread, I feel that I got a good deal, but then again I am biased :)

EDIT>>

mod note: no price talk, please. Thanks

For me, this is an unfair comparison simply because of the price difference between the two TV's. [EDIT]

From the opinions gathered in this thread, I feel that I got a good deal, but then again I am biased :)



I TOTALLY agree...the NEC with a stand cost me about $500 more (with a 5yr extended 3rd party warranty, compared to the 1yr factory dell warranty - the fact that Dell makes most people pay both tax and shipping makes it closer than one might think)...

here's what I said in the 5001c thread:

i say it comes down to (1) price and (2) post-purchase satisfaction.

to address (1): is the dell at the upper limit of what you want to spend?

if yes, buy dell no interest.

if no, check out the displays that you can purchase for a little more $$

to address (2):: trial dell for the 21 days. if you like, keep it and you're stoked that you didn't spend more $$. if you don't like it, have them come get it. all you lose is $100 non-refundable "fee". since you're gonna finance, the $4k never even comes out of your bank account. you simply have to pay the $100 after you return the set.

anyone using the optical or coaxial audio on the tv? the manual says that they are outputs for when you are using ATSC and not inputs... can they do both in/out?


No, the digital audio is output only and, as you say, just for the ATSC tuner.

Steve.

Well, I have received my Dell W4201C. Initial impressions are good. Haven't really had time to go through everything in the menus. I'll have a good look over the weekend.

So far I have my SA 8300 HD PVR hooked up through HDMI. This took a few attempts as at first I simply plugged in the cable while both devices were turned off. I couldn't get a signal on the TV, so I just rebooted the PVR a few times and eventually got it working.

Also have my Xbox 360 hooked up and the games look amazing. I was going to hook it up through the VGA connection but I've heard that there are gamma issues using this method which results in washed out colours. It's not an issue with the TV, it's to do with the 360 as it's happening to everyone.

I really like the sound from the speakers. Offers some good bass, even at fairly low volumes. Initially I thought I could here some slight popping sounds from one of the speakers, but I can't hear it now. I'll keep my ears open for them though!

Last night I did a very quick brightness / contrast calibration with DVE but I haven't tested it fully. What settings are other W4201C owners using for each input?

One thing I'm not really liking is the zoom modes. My Toshiba CRT HD has a great stretch mode that keeps the center of the image almost perfect, and gradually gets strectched out the further to the left and right you go. The Dell looks like it simply strectches every pixel. What picture mode are people using on their TV?

...
One thing I'm not really liking is the zoom modes. ... The Dell looks like it simply strectches every pixel. What picture mode are people using on their TV?

Got my set yesterday and setup was a breeze. Using component inputs as my cable box (Comcast Motorola) does not have HDMI. May go for DVI to HDMI eventually.

I agree with mark_in_2K on the view mode. I haven't settled on one that I like - right now, I am using fullscreen. For SD transmission, everything other than 4:3 makes people look stunted and fat.

Did anyone try the PIP mode? It is supposed to have two tuners. I tried to connect a coaxial cable from my HD cable box to the ATSC but I couldn't get it to work beyond one channel. Would it work? Here's what I am doing

Component from Cable box --> Component Input of W4201C
Coaxial cable from same cable box --> ATSC input of W4201C

In this config - I got to watch NBC on the ATSC input (Digital TV). The picture looked much better than the component input signal.

Any comments from those in the know?

Got my set yesterday and setup was a breeze. Using component inputs as my cable box (Comcast Motorola) does not have HDMI. May go for DVI to HDMI eventually.

I agree with mark_in_2K on the view mode. I haven't settled on one that I like - right now, I am using fullscreen. For SD transmission, everything other than 4:3 makes people look stunted and fat.

Did anyone try the PIP mode? It is supposed to have two tuners. I tried to connect a coaxial cable from my HD cable box to the ATSC but I couldn't get it to work beyond one channel. Would it work? Here's what I am doing

Component from Cable box --> Component Input of W4201C
Coaxial cable from same cable box --> ATSC input of W4201C

In this config - I got to watch NBC on the ATSC input (Digital TV). The picture looked much better than the component input signal.

Any comments from those in the know?

There seems to be an issue with the Dell plasmas and video dropouts when using DVI-HDMI cables. I dont think HDMI-HDMI is an issue, but of course your cable box would need to have HDMI output for this.

There seems to be an issue with the Dell plasmas and video dropouts when using DVI-HDMI cables. I dont think HDMI-HDMI is an issue, but of course your cable box would need to have HDMI output for this.

Yep. Had a DVD player which had DVI output and so I purchased a DVI to HDMI cable. Got alot of drop outs so I purchased a Panny DVD player with native HDMI and it has resolved all of my problems. I know it was the DVI to HDMI because I tried two different cables and two different sources (dvd player and home theater PC).

Did anyone try the PIP mode? It is supposed to have two tuners. I tried to connect a coaxial cable from my HD cable box to the ATSC but I couldn't get it to work beyond one channel. Would it work? Here's what I am doing

Component from Cable box --> Component Input of W4201C
Coaxial cable from same cable box --> ATSC input of W4201C

In this config - I got to watch NBC on the ATSC input (Digital TV). The picture looked much better than the component input signal.

Any comments from those in the know?
Try splitting the incoming cable and sending one leg to the cable box, the other to the NTSC tuner (you should be able to use the ATSC/NTSC combo tuner as well, but might as well save that for OTA HD). Your cable box might only be sending the current channel to which it's tuned.

Steve.

I am using 6600GT and a DVI-HDMI cable, and had blinking once or twice over maybe 20-30 hours of game playing, but I was messing around with the cables and they were probably lose, and after I unplugged them and then plugged them in, never happened again.

Another funny this is how I got PIPIP. Scientific Atlanta has PIP and so does the Dell, which gives you PIPIP if you are watching TV/DVD or TV/TV, which I thought was kind of cute, though quite useless since the last picture in the PIPIP is very small.

has anyone had issues with the onscreen menu being burned in? I used it for about 30 seconds last night and had to use the built in wipe function to get rid of it.

I am within my return window and a little concerned that their warranty does not cover this and its their own menu that caused it??

Has anyone done a full calibration with DVE/AVIA on the W4201C yet and willing to post their settings?

CNet has now reviewed the W4201C ... it got 6.9/10 ... not too great of a score, but they did find some good points with the TV.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Dell_W4201C/4505-6482_7-31637947.html?tag=pdtl-img

has anyone had issues with the onscreen menu being burned in? I used it for about 30 seconds last night and had to use the built in wipe function to get rid of it.

I am within my return window and a little concerned that their warranty does not cover this and its their own menu that caused it??
I haven't had any problems with the menu ghosting (it's not really burn-in as it will generally fade on it's own after time or if you use the "plasma conditioning" option. You can change the transparency of the onscreen menus in the TV's setup. I think it's the last option on the right when you press the "Menu" button.

Has anyone done a full calibration with DVE/AVIA on the W4201C yet and willing to post their settings?
I'd be interested in seeing peoples settings too. I'm going to see if I can rent the DVD this weekend and have a little play myself.

I got one of these about 2 weeks ago. My problem right now is that the audio coming out of the TV speakers is out of sync with my stereo or any other device I play in to or out of the TV. This makes the audio echo because the TV speakers are delivering audio slower. In fact even if I have another TV in my living room tuned to the same station there is a serious echo between them. This doesn't happen with any of my other components. Dell tech support is terrible. Is anyone else experiencing this? So much for variable or fixed audio out. I also wanted to use this with my computer, but they won't let you change to 4:3 mode while using the VGA input so the Windows display is distorted like watching 4:3 TV in 16:9 mode. My eyes can't take that. I'm starting to think I should have bought the Sony Wega 42" projection LCD. When you see Sony's in the store they have superior picture to other brands. LCD would also not burn in (which I've noticed with this set), run cooler and weigh less. The only problem with the Sony is that it doesn't have PIP.

LilNizle, check your video card options. There may be a 16:9 setting in there.

Steve.

It has been 1 month since I accepted delivery on my W4201C, I thought I would post some of my impressions ...

After recieving the TV, I turned down the brightness/contrast/saturation settings, and a week or so later calibrated the set (AVIA). Since then I have done some fine tuning to tweak these settings to my liking (I like my blacks a bit darker than calibration DVDs do). I use the following sources everyday on my TV:

LG LDA-531 Upconverting DVD Player - HDMI 1(was using via component at first)
Analog cable (NTSC input)
OTA HD (ATSC input)
DishNetwork 301 (S-Video1)

I estimate that I am just over 100 hours on this set as we speak. I personally can vouch for 4 hours a day, son/wife do about another 2-3, mostly (ugh) Barney/Wiggles DVDs. Here are my impressions:

Black crush - lots written about black crush on Dell plasmas. I have seen it once in 100 hours (a couple of days ago), on an SD channel on analog cable that always seems much worse in PQ than other channels. I dont think it was the TV's fault, the channel was looking quite grainy and dark compared to others. Black crush seems to be more of an issue on the 50" models, as far as I can tell.
White crush - havent seen anything at all.
Red Push - you guessed it, none seen.
Posterization - once again, nothing to note.

PQ - impressed by overall PQ. Colors seem very accurate. Good overall PQ in SD, Excellent in HD. Upconverted DVDs (i watch em at 1080i) are amazingly detailed with composite or HDMI inputs, HDMI is a little crisper and cleaner looking. SD much better using satellite compared to cable (garbage in, garbage out I suppose). Excellent brightness for well lit areas (like a family room during the daytime).

Picture modes - A proper zoom without stretching the picture would have been nice. Not much difference between wide/standard/full screen modes, esp. with 4:3 SD programming.

Presets - pain in the butt that color temp settings are not saved if you change to a preset and try to go back to 'Personal'. Sheesh. No explanation as to why they did this. Color temp reverts back to Blue. At least make the default 'Normal' or 'Natural'. Come on Dell, you can do it.

Annoyances:

1) Who TF at Dell decided it was a good idea to remove the ATSC signal strength meters from the W4201C? They were there in the W4200HD sets. Stupid, since it makes pointing an antenna difficult, maybe near impossible if you are very far from broadcast points. Bummer. If you are in a fringe or near fringe area, I would recommend an external ATSC tuner, with a freakin signal meter! :mad:

2) Remotes "Prev Ch" button does not switch between inputs. Now that is useless!

3) Plasma screen is very glossy, shows a lot of reflections in bright situations .. easy to see reflections from ceiling lights/lamps and windows on bright days, esp. if you are watching darker scenes. Not sure if other plasmas are less shiny than this one.

4) Speakers are nothing to write home about, about par with most plasma TV speakers. Was expecting better, kind of tinny sounding, lots of bass though. They are removable, so at least you can turf 'em for better ones.

4.5) Volume levels are on the low side of this TV. The vol does get quite loud, but only once you take it above 95% of max. That is a lot of button mashing to change levels noticeably. Perhaps my Panny CRT has me spoiled, but it has only about 40 steps from lowest to loudest, and anything above about 75% volume is ear splitting. I can max out the Dell, its loud, but not enough to stress your ears with.

5) Dell support can be a bunch of asshats. My set is missing the 2 thumb screws that secure the speakers to the stand. I do not need to be transferred 20 times to 20 different people, hung up on, etc to get a pair of screws. Ok, the 20 figure is an exaggeration, but it felt like 20. Really.

Overall: Excellent value for the price in Canada, considering its an HD plasma, has a jillion inputs and an ATSC tuner. Great so far, hopefully it stays that way ;)

stty0 I'm a new owner of the W4201C too. Thanks for you great insight into the set.

I have a similar setup to you, with the LG 531 DVD player. I'm still waiting for my DVE calibration DVD to arrive, so I was wondering if you could post your colour settings for your HDMI input.

Also, do you have any connections using the component inputs? If so, would you be able to post those settings too?

Tantrum, the problems with the speakers that you described, were they loud popping noises on high dynamic sounds like explosions, etc. with the volume set around 70 or above and using the dell factory speakers. I have had my 4201C about 2 weeks and am noticing that type of problem. At low volumes the sound is fine. Has anyone defined the exact cause yet? Speakers or bad audio chip?

I saw this TV at the mall and got to play with the settings to do a eyeball calibration. I was fairly impressed with it, I don't totally buy the Cnet.com review, I'm going to wait for a real HT mag review before I totally pass judgement.

:) Just got this a month ago and so far, love the set. I have connected it up to my home theater ( but left the speakers connected to the tv without the BASE, as i think TV looks muchhhh better this way. Love all the inputs. Amazing that even with basic cable, the clarity and reception is great. Im looking to switch to dish soon but so far, all is well. Always warning wifey about leaving DVD menu movie in still mode, to avoid burnin. Got the this beautiful stand to go with it and get all kinds of complements on it
Look forward to hearing others response on this unit. One thing i didnt like was DELL adding some extra fee to final price which they couldnt validat and got tired of being switched form one dept to another in BOMBAY " which looks like where Dells HelpDesk is
but oveall love my set. Cant wait till football season

CNet has now reviewed the W4201C ... it got 6.9/10 ... not too great of a score, but they did find some good points with the TV.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Dell_W4201C/4505-6482_7-31637947.html?tag=pdtl-img

Here's where cnet fu$$ed up.

The opening scene of Star Trek: Insurrection clearly indicated the presence of 2:3 pull-down from our reference Denon DVD-3910 via its component interlaced outputs. However, we saw more visible noise than usual in this scene and in other DVDs we viewed, as well as in HD material, which leads us to believe that the Dell's video processing leaves something to be desired.

The 3910 has MB issues. Now wonder he saw the noise.

Here's where cnet fu$$ed up.



The 3910 has MB issues. Now wonder he saw the noise.

Huh. Good post. I'm about to buy one and have had lingering issues re: that review.

here is a review , from hdtvsolutions. **m /dell_4201C_plasma_tv. **m I am unable to post the site........ that puts the dell w4201c into the right frame of mind
bottom line the colors on this make up for all the nit picking , I walk into any store and I can compare the differance , and price

**com ** htm

Tantrum, the problems with the speakers that you described, were they loud popping noises on high dynamic sounds like explosions, etc. with the volume set around 70 or above and using the dell factory speakers. I have had my 4201C about 2 weeks and am noticing that type of problem. At low volumes the sound is fine. Has anyone defined the exact cause yet? Speakers or bad audio chip?

Yes. The problem was a loud poppin noise and there was no problem at lower settings. Such as the scene in the beginning of Finding Nemo when Nemo gets captured by a diver that emerges out of nowhere as Nemo is swimming back to the reef.

It turns out there is nothing wrong with the audio chip. It was a problem with the speakers. The new speakers and the new tv that dell shipped showed the same problem but very much less. I am no longer using the Dell speakers, I purchased logitech z-5500's from amazon for cheap and it made all the difference compared to the Dell speakers.

By the way did anyone notice that PCmag gave W5001C 2 out of 5. Wow!

Any further discussion on this, I've had mine for about 2 months. I felt Dell had the best product for price. I was going to order it online but decided to check it out one more time at the kiosk....got another 7% off (Presifdent's Day). That sealed the deal. Did oysterhead stay with Dell.

I'm on my second W4201c now. The first one developed two vertical black lines (about 2 inches wide) down the middle of the screen after about a week and thus was replaced with a new unit.

I've had my replacement for just over a month now, but I've become annoyed by a buzzing sound it makes while in use. I notice it mostly at night when watching it with the volume low. I've read some other threads about a buzzing on their plasma and most seemed to return their unit. I talked to Dell and they will only offer me a refurb in exchange, so I'm not sure if I want to do that.

I think I'm going to hold out and see if the buzzing goes away. Just curious if anyone else has had a similar problem with their unit.

I love it.
I had an older panel with lower contrast ratio and nits...
The difference is AMAZING!!
2 HDMI inputs is awesome!!

No ghosting issues.
I live in a very bright house in Hawaii and it still looks great.

The only thing that did suck is I had to have Dell ship it to LA to a friend who had it crated and boated to me..

Well worth the extra $200..

I know the that buzzing can happen in high elevations....Where do you live?

You can also get buzzing from heat issues. Make sure your tv is well vented.

It is sitting on a stand about a foot away from the wall with nothing on the sides or above it...I live at sea level so I'm guessing that isn't an issue.

I've had no audio problems..just bothered that I have to reset my personal settings each time

I just got my W4201C two weeks ago and have been very happy with it until now...

I have it approx 2 feet above the floor on a stand, with the speakers attached to the sides of

I currently have the following devices attached: HD Cable Box (Component and S-Video), X-Box360 (Component), and DVD (Composite). All are connected to a Tripplite ISO bar.

As of this morning, I seem to have lost approx 15% of the display on the left side!!! I've switched to all the other inputs and have gotten the same results. I've called it into Dell and after some troubleshooting, they have decided to replace the unit.

The Customer Service was ok, but it hurts to think I've only had this for two weeks and already need a replacement. Meanwhile my old Sony WEGA 27" which is almost 7 years old just keeps on chugging.

I'd like to hear from any others who may have experienced this issue and/or how the replacement plan worked out for you. Thanks!

According to the published specifications, the W4201C will supposedly accept a 576p (PAL EDTV) input signal. Has anybody tried this over HDMI? And if so, was the image displayed at its native 50hz frame rate, or was it converted to 60hz?

Basically, I'm trying to find a flat panel display, for sale in the United States, that will allow me to watch PAL DVDs over HDMI from my Denon DVD-3910, without frame rate conversion. I don't care about speakers, tuners, or analog inputs--the 3910 will be my only source. Perhaps the Dell will be suitable for my purpose...any advice is appreciated!

--Paul Curtis

Does Anybybody Know If The Dell W4201c Has An Anti Burn In Mode If It Does Then Can I Play Video Games So I Whont Get Burn In's. Thank You

The Dell W4201C is serving us well thus far. After making dozens of Dell computer purchases we took the leap in the TV division.

The clarity is much better than the skeptical reviews I read. Even without the HD feed the cable service is providing a very clear picture. I connected a cheap direction HD antenna and picked up the few HD stations brocasted 25 miles south of us. The built in tuner did the job giving us HD without the charges!

I am looking a adding an inexpensive RCA DRC257N DVD player. Its reviews on this site are rather positive for a $75 unit.


By the way, this TV is bought by my 70 year old mother who demanded she have an HD Flat screen. I cannot afford one and really don't have time to watch that much TV. The humor in all this is great.

Thanks for all your comments.

I've had my dell 4201c for 3 weeks, I like it so far. The only problems that i have had is the tv will just shut off at random times, and when i first plugged in the tv it wouldnt turn on . the power light in the right lower corner just kept flashing. I finally got it to turn on but then a couple of days later i moved the tv and when i plugged it in again it did the same thing. I have no idea why its doing this but its kind of annoying. other than that i think the tv is great. Any feedback on my problems would be great.

I've had my dell 4201c for 3 weeks, I like it so far. The only problems that i have had is the tv will just shut off at random times, and when i first plugged in the tv it wouldnt turn on . the power light in the right lower corner just kept flashing. I finally got it to turn on but then a couple of days later i moved the tv and when i plugged it in again it did the same thing. I have no idea why its doing this but its kind of annoying. other than that i think the tv is great. Any feedback on my problems would be great.

I never had the problem you mentioned. Is there any timeout selected - not that I am aware of such a feature.

Here is an unrelated bit of information. I used to set the volume between 50 and 70 for most of the channels for comfort. Of course, commercials would shatter my eardrums but things were fine. Over the weekend, I found a setting in the Comcast cable box. Once I changed that, the audio is much loader.

I no longer use anything above 50 for audio. Since I didn't see it posted so far, thought I will share it with others. :)

I've had my dell 4201c for 3 weeks, I like it so far. The only problems that i have had is the tv will just shut off at random times, and when i first plugged in the tv it wouldnt turn on . the power light in the right lower corner just kept flashing. I finally got it to turn on but then a couple of days later i moved the tv and when i plugged it in again it did the same thing. I have no idea why its doing this but its kind of annoying. other than that i think the tv is great. Any feedback on my problems would be great.

Check
http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board?board.id=dce_W1700LCD&page=1

Whatever problem you have, get it fixed while in warrenty. It's reported that out of warrenty repair would cost more than a new plasma.