OKay my old 55" Sharp CRT rear projection finally decided to die (I want to get it fixed, but most places are 2 weeks out to even come look at it). So I'm deciding its time to knuckle down and buy a new set.

I want 55" or better. I've gone down to the local Tweeter and looked at all the RP-TVs they have. Between that, listening to the sales guy, reading forums, and reading reviews, I am thoroughly on the verge of a brain melt.

I have narrowed it down to two choices. Sony SXRD 55A2000 (about $2200 on Amazon) or my local Tweeter has an out of box deal on a Mitsubishi WD-62927 for $2499. I don't think I am one of those people who fall into the "rainbow effect" category who can actually see it (I didn't see anything that caught my eye on all the DLPs at Tweeter).

At this point... I'm not sure which is the better option. Both support full 1080p inputs. Both have received good reviews (both have received some negative comments too, but thats par for the course, not everyone will be happy).

The Mits is at the top of my budget ($2500 is pushing it for me).

So with that, and the expertise on this forum... help! :) Am I barking up the wrong TV tree?

I don't think you can go wrong with either one! What matters most is the one you will be happiest with! I just bought a 65" Mitsu 732 series and love it. I researched and looked at many displays and had my heart set on the SXRD but after looking at the Mitsu's P.Q. (outstanding) and 5" more of screen for the same price, which was well below cost at my local Brandsmart, persuaded me to get the Mitsu. I encourage you to spend more time and research while factoring P.Q. features, looks, fitment issues and price! Good Luck.

Save $250 and buy the SXRD. No sales tax and most probably free shipping(Amazon), brand new set (there's something about opening somthing brand spanking new out of the box).
I haven't seen the Mitsu but the new Sony's are stunning!

I was a DLP fan till I saw the new Sony's which by the way are LCOS not LCD. I liked the deep blacks and the reds (deep red, not orange).

And... No, you are not barking up the wrong tree. Good luck!

If you've got the room I'd go with the Mits. The extra 7" of screen will add a lot to the impact of your viewing experience. One other benefit of the Mits - if you have any interest in being able to record HD programming, for under $150 you can pick up a Mits D-VHS recorder that will seamlessly intergrate with the TV via firewire and allow you to record and playback in HD on regular S-VHS tapes. I don't believe the SXRD's have a firewire connection.

OKay my old 55" Sharp CRT rear projection finally decided to die (I want to get it fixed, but most places are 2 weeks out to even come look at it). So I'm deciding its time to knuckle down and buy a new set.

I want 55" or better. I've gone down to the local Tweeter and looked at all the RP-TVs they have. Between that, listening to the sales guy, reading forums, and reading reviews, I am thoroughly on the verge of a brain melt.

I have narrowed it down to two choices. Sony SXRD 55A2000 (about $2200 on Amazon) or my local Tweeter has an out of box deal on a Mitsubishi WD-62927 for $2499. I don't think I am one of those people who fall into the "rainbow effect" category who can actually see it (I didn't see anything that caught my eye on all the DLPs at Tweeter).

At this point... I'm not sure which is the better option. Both support full 1080p inputs. Both have received good reviews (both have received some negative comments too, but thats par for the course, not everyone will be happy).

The Mits is at the top of my budget ($2500 is pushing it for me).

So with that, and the expertise on this forum... help! :) Am I barking up the wrong TV tree?

Scoops, the SXRD are 2 million pixels while the DLPs currently only can produce 960,000 pixels.
Its a no brainer, go with the SXRD!

I'd say Sony, it's new in the box (get the warranty mine paid for it's self in ONE service call for a new bulb) I've got an older Sony and love it, so I'm biased. BUT get as BIG a screen as you can LOL our 60" looks kinda small after looking at it for 3 years.

I've looked at the SXRD's and they did look stunning. Even the wife said D@mn!! that's nice. I think she wants to upgrade in the next year or two :)

Scoops, the SXRD are 2 million pixels while the DLPs currently only can produce 960,000 pixels.
Its a no brainer, go with the SXRD!
Dude, the picture on the screen is 1080p... 1920x1080 pixels. Don't believe for a second that it's not. When you put up a patten that tests resolution, the 1080p DLPs do produce the resolution.

:rolleyes:

-Gagan

Oh, and I would go with which ever TV has the warranty. If Tweeter can give you an extended warranty for a good price, go with them. Amazon could be a headache to deal with if you had any problems.

-Gagan

I own a SXRD because I prefered watching the image to DLP sets. I'm curious why you're not considering another CRT though. Personally I don't like screen reflections so I'd never buy CRT, but when I've watched CRT I do like how I've never noticed the screen on bright portions of the image like with SXRD or DLP. I guess it's called silk screen effect (SSE) and I do notice it less when off-axis left or right, but I do find SSE to be a big downside of both SXRD and DLP. Considering that you already own a CRT I figure you don't have a problem with screen reflections, so I don't know why you wouldn't buy a another TV that doesn't suffer from SSE. By the way, you should probably be able to get the SXRD locally for that price.

I have the CRT now and talking with some electronics friends (some formerly in the TV repair business) CRTs are alot more expensive to fix when they go due to all the high voltage components. As for why I went CRT to begin with, my current set is 5 years old and was $2400 at the time I bought it... which wasn't expensive. :)

Based on what you folks are saying, and from what I've been hearing from other friends, I'm leaning towards the SXRD. I'll be buying locally because I started thinking about the whole support/warranty thing if I bought it through Amazon and realized it would be much more of a hassle (what if its broken on receipt... no Super Bowl in HD).

Plus, despite the significantly reduced price on the OOB Mits they have... its still last years DLP tech and while it was top line then... its probably middle road now (in terms of tech and PQ).

Thanks to everyone for their comments and suggestions. Unless I get a blast of SXRD cons it looks like Sony 55A2000 is going to be in my living room tomorrow night.

Dude, the picture on the screen is 1080p... 1920x1080 pixels. Don't believe for a second that it's not. When you put up a patten that tests resolution, the 1080p DLPs do produce the resolution.

:rolleyes:

-Gagan

Adding to Gagan right-on-target comment ... here's a notable quote by Geoffrey Morrison from Home Theater Magazine ... 1080i v. 1080p - Posted 1:57 PM ET (http://blog.hometheatermag.com/geoffreymorrison/0807061080iv1080p/)

There has been a lot of concern and confusion over the difference between 1080i and 1080p. This stems from the inability of many TVs to accept 1080p. To make matters worse, the help lines at many of the TV manufacturers (that means you, Sony), are telling people that their newly-bought 1080p displays are really 1080i. They are idiots, so let me say this in big bold print, as far as movies are concerned THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 1080i AND 1080p. See, I did it in caps too, so it must be true. ...


FYI: The following is from "The Perfect Vision" Winter 2007 Magazine - Review Toshiba 72HM196 1080p DLP HDTV by Scott Wilkinson (some notable quotes) ...

page 84
Looking at a pixel-phase test pattern (which indicates the relationship between the imager's actual pixel structure and the pixels in the processed image), Dave and I determined that the NATURAL aspect-ratio setting looks like a 1:1 mode -- that is, we were able to easily discern each pixel in the imager.

Conclusion
The importance of a 1:1 mode cannot be overstated when it comes to 1920x1080 content -- without it, whatever scaling the processor does definitely degrades the image. This is one reason the 72HM196 looked so good displaying HD DVDs (as long as its NATURAL aspect ratio was selected). Another factor is its apparent use of inverse telecine to deinterlace 1080i content, resulting in smooth, artifact-free motion.

page 83
The Last Word
- 1:1 mode makes 1920x1080 content look exceptionally detailed and sharp
- Excellent deinterlacing
- 12-bit processing results in smooth brightness gradients

Definitely love my Digital Video Essentials video calibrated 62HM196 1080p DLP!!! :) ;) :D :rolleyes:

About my 62HM196, ... adding to the above "The Perfect Vision" Mag. quote ...

Sound & Vision Magazine Subjective Review & Test Bench: Toshiba 62HM196 62-inch 1080p DLP HDTV by David Katzmaier November 2006 (http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/hdtvs/1881/toshiba-62hm196-62-inch-1080p-dlp-hdtv.html) ...

Test patterns confirmed that the 62HM196 could resolve every detail of a 1080i signal, a feat few other 1080p DLP HDTVs can match.

Test Bench:
The Toshiba resolved every line of a 1080i test pattern, one of the few DLP TVs I've seen that can do so.

It's easy to check if your 1080p HDTV resolves every 1080 lines if you have Digital Video Essentials SD DVD. Like Geoff Morrison (Home Theater Magazine), ... I ran the SMPTE 133 pattern from my SD DVD Digital Video Essentials (480 upconverted to 1080i by my Toshiba HD-A1 > deinterlaced = 1080p) and my 62HM196 showed all lines of resolution - just like "The Perfect Vision" & "Sound & Vision Magazine" confirmed in their objective benchmarks.

Impressive as that was, it should really look even more impressive after I get my HD DVD version of DVE!!! :D

Phil

Unless I get a blast of SXRD cons it looks like Sony 55A2000 is going to be in my living room tomorrow night.


If you want to save money, have you checked out JVC? They're 1080p and seem to be similar technology to Sony. In store I personally wasn't able to tell a difference between D-ILA and SXRD. A salesman tried telling me that they're vastly different, but I've never heard of anything that backs that up. I only wanted a 50", or else I would have probably went JVC.

Does amazon have the option of 0% financing, or a warranty?

I'm almost ready to buy the the price tag is a little high...I can get it from a couple of different vendors cheaper.

Does amazon have the option of 0% financing, or a warranty?

I'm almost ready to buy the the price tag is a little high...I can get it from a couple of different vendors cheaper.

I don't think they offer 0% financing. But they do offer extended warranties.

If you want to save money, have you checked out JVC? They're 1080p and seem to be similar technology to Sony. In store I personally wasn't able to tell a difference between D-ILA and SXRD. A salesman tried telling me that they're vastly different, but I've never heard of anything that backs that up. I only wanted a 50", or else I would have probably went JVC.

The JVCs are less expensive than the equivalent Sony, but reviews I have seen have stated a PQ that isn't as good as the equivalent Sony SXRD or Sammy DLP. And unfortunately, going to my local Best Buy to look at TVs isn't optimal. Best Buy's setup in their Non-Magnolia section is crappy for trying to truly show how good an HD set looks... those bright sodium overhead lights and the fact that half the time they are just running SD programming doesn't help.

OKay my old 55" Sharp CRT rear projection finally decided to die (I want to get it fixed, but most places are 2 weeks out to even come look at it). So I'm deciding its time to knuckle down and buy a new set.

I want 55" or better. I've gone down to the local Tweeter and looked at all the RP-TVs they have. Between that, listening to the sales guy, reading forums, and reading reviews, I am thoroughly on the verge of a brain melt.

I have narrowed it down to two choices. Sony SXRD 55A2000 (about $2200 on Amazon) or my local Tweeter has an out of box deal on a Mitsubishi WD-62927 for $2499. I don't think I am one of those people who fall into the "rainbow effect" category who can actually see it (I didn't see anything that caught my eye on all the DLPs at Tweeter).

At this point... I'm not sure which is the better option. Both support full 1080p inputs. Both have received good reviews (both have received some negative comments too, but thats par for the course, not everyone will be happy).

The Mits is at the top of my budget ($2500 is pushing it for me).

So with that, and the expertise on this forum... help! :) Am I barking up the wrong TV tree?

I just bought a Mits 65732 based on admittedly in store PQ, these boards, the CNET review of the 65831 (basically the same set with a brighter bulb) and pricing that impressed. Check your PM for price and vendor

I am doing a similar search as the original poster and for a while the JVC HD56FH97 was going to be the choice for its outstanding PQ and price point.

But, after reading several different posts on this site and others about short bulb life and bad maintenence record with consumer reports I decided that the last thing I want with this purchase is problems.

Thus I am now leaning toward Sony's SXRD for its better overall maintenence record.


PS - Costco has their version of the 56" JVC for $1799, but I did not ask about delivery or warranty

I was just in the local Fry's this morning comparing sets. I wasn't ready to buy just yet because I'm waiting on a refund check on my defective Pioneer Elite TV. I have always liked the 60" XBR2 picture but never did like the dumbo ears on the sides. The design just adds to much width to the set. That being said last Saturday CC online was running a one day sale on the 60" XBR2 and for the price they were at (under $2800.00) I hit the buy button and bought one. They don't have any locally so I had to pick delivery so it won't be here for 7 to 10 days.

Anyway the reason I'm posting here is while looking for stands I've come to the conclusion the XBR2 might not fit into the space I wanted it in. I looked at the Mits 57732 & 57831 at Fry's today and compared them to the XBR2 and the 55 & 60A2000. All were in the same row all running ESPN-HD. In store feeds and conditions are not the ideal place to really compare but I always came back to the XBR2 picture as being the best,most natural looking out of all of them. It would be followed closely by the 55 & 60A2000. I just never could get the DLP's to look as good. I adjusted the heck out of them and there always seemed to be noise in the picture and if I turned around I didn't see it in the Sony's. I'm not saying in home you or I could not get them looking better but I liked what I saw in the Sony's

Like I said it could be the store feed but I didn't leave there feeling good about the Mits DLP. I like the size of the Mits and the 60A2000 but with the price I got the XBR2 for I'm going to look at moving the room around and get rid of some stuff and try and make it work. I wanted to keep one of my matching Pioneer Elite cabinets to use with the XBR2 for all my gear but I just don't think it will work that way.

Sorry for the long post but just wanted to relay my thoughts. If I were you I'd go to the local stores and check all the sets you can and get what looks good to you. I think locally is the way to go and you can always return it to the store or complain to somebody face to face.

Jim

I went through a similar debate between the Samsung DLP (mainly because of 1080p support for VGA) and SXRD and ultimately settled on the latter.

I don't know exactly what rainbows are supposed to look like, but was bothered by the DLP display at close range.

I bought my 60A2000 from a local B&M store for ~$2200 (after an Amazon price match) and have been loving it so far. Given the small difference in the size (2 inches) and lower price, the SXRD seems to be the way to go IMO...

I don't think they offer 0% financing. But they do offer extended warranties.

Do you know of anyone who does?

Do you know of anyone who does?

Most B&Ms seem to have 0% on occasion.

do a forum search on green glob or green blob. It will be obvious which way to go.
the 2007 Mits 1080p sets have received the highest rating of any RPTV yet on CNET. Check out CNET for reviews.

Not the first time, but the thread should be LCoS vs DLP. SXRD is only a name one manufacture gives to their version of LCoS.

It's not the only LCoS out here;
http://www.jvc.com/product.jsp?productId=PRD4208502&pathId=125

I have been debating over SXRD vs Samsungs DLPS 87-88 Series for quite some time now and have been driving myself nuts as well. I really like the SXRDs but it really bothers me they dont have anything with PIP other then the huge and highly prices XBR2's.

If the a2000's came with PIP and that picture quality sony would be rocking the house. Considering the Samsung and their 88 series DLPS contain PIP in smaller and CHEAPER televisions then sony I think it hurts them.

Sorry went off on a little rant there.

I have been debating over SXRD vs Samsungs DLPS 87-88 Series for quite some time now and have been driving myself nuts as well. I really like the SXRDs but it really bothers me they dont have anything with PIP other then the huge and highly prices XBR2's.

If the a2000's came with PIP and that picture quality sony would be rocking the house. Considering the Samsung and their 88 series DLPS contain PIP in smaller and CHEAPER televisions then sony I think it hurts them.

Sorry went off on a little rant there.
what should bother you about the sxrd is the green glob. Do a search in this forum and youll quickly arrive at a conclusion. The Mits 1080p dlp has received the highest rating yet of any TV review on CNET.

He's back!

what should bother you about the sxrd is the green glob. Do a search in this forum and youll quickly arrive at a conclusion. The Mits 1080p dlp has received the highest rating yet of any TV review on CNET.
From cnet:
Its principal competition comes from the likes of Sony's KDS-R60XBR2, which we had an opportunity to compare directly to the Mitsubishi. Both sets produced excellent pictures, and image quality competition was close to a wash--both sets received the same performance rating, with each having its own strengths and weaknesses (see Performance for details)



Not biased there are you buddy boy?

the 2007 Mits 1080p sets have received the highest rating of any RPTV yet on CNET. Check out CNET for reviews.

I'm always confused why anyone would buy any couple thousand dollar product mostly off of reviews. While I've only watched a few movies on my parents CRT rear projection, I know that it easily whips any digital RPTV for image quality simply because it lacks the silk screen effect. I wouldn't buy one because of weight and how you have to have a really dark room to cut down on reflections, but when it comes to image quality you're kidding yourself if you think any 1080p rear projection is the best of the best.

The OP asked for an opinion on the current sxrd A2000 vs an open box Mits WD-62927. If I'm not mistaken that was last year's Mits 1080p set which used bob & weave for 1080i de-interlacing, as opposed to the current 731/732/831 sets, which incidentally are 65" and not 62".

I've seen last year's Mits next to the current model and it's decidedly inferior.

The Sony has better menus, but Green Blob issues. The JVC LCoS process is probably 2yrs ahead of Sony's (they are the only two to stick with it, its a very hard chip to manufacture) , read through the entire 65 page owners thread of the '06 models and you see one or two that had a few bad pixels.....and that's it. Compared to hundreds of Sony Blob's. :D The Bulbs are non issue, your reciting older model data. New ones have something like 7K hour half-life IIRC. You can get the FC56 in Costco for under $1800. I have the 61" model FN and love it. And SSE is not an issue once you properly tune the thing, I would worry about with most any set. And Rainbow effect of DLP's.....your not effected...what about others? Family? Friends? Things to think about. I was all set for the HP 1080P DLP until my 55" Philips RPTV died, BB warranty forced my hand...I did a ton of quick and lengthy research (they paid 100% of what I bought the Philips for 4 yrs ago) and the JVC was an easy winner.......YMMV. Good Luck!

I've had a Mits 57732 and a Sony 60XBR2 in my home at the same time for over a week. I've since sent back the Mits, and kept the XBR2. I ordered the Mits at the end of October from costco.com, figuring if I see rainbows or otherwise don't like it returning is as easy as a phone call. Took nearly 2 weeks to get. Hooked it up and started doing user-level calibrations with Avia and DVE. Got it looking pretty good. Within a few days, I started to occasionally see a flash of red,green,blue stripes when glancing across the screen, or to and from the screen. In other words, I saw rainbows. Overall the image looked good, and fairly sharp - certainly sharper than my Toshiba 50HDX82 CRT set that I had moved upstairs before the new one arrived. (I later wished I would have kept the CRT downstairs so I could compare side-by-side)

I had been looking at the A2000 sets in the stores, but at each store I looked at (at least 3) the A2000 had a softer look on peoples faces than DLP sets sitting right next to them. The XBR2's were hard to find on display, I finally found a Tweeter that had a display unit set up. It was next to an A2000, and just above a (non-functioning) HL-S6188W. The XBR2 definitely looked better than the A2000, again, the A2000 had a softer image when viewing peoples faces. I asked for the remote, and put both sets in custom mode, and reset the parameters so both sets would be configured close to the same. Except for the A2000's softness, the picture was very similar. (They had DiscoveryHD on)

Went back home and watched my Mits, still thinking about whether or not to keep it. Then, the day after thanksgiving, sears had the 4-day sale on the XBR2 sets, where they went for about the same price as CC had them for last Sat. (Under $2800) Figured I might as well try one. Ordered it online to get free delivery, then took the order confirmation printout to the store to get the price matched 110% to Sears. Got the set 12/1, and hooked it up via HDMI to the Cable DVR, and hooked the mits up at the same time to the DVR via component. Side-by-side, the XBR2 has a sharper, more detailed image.

I had happened to be in a Frys later, and they had a 60A2000 next to a 70XBR2. For the first time, the A2000 did not have a softer image on faces than other sets surrounding it. Learned later that the A2000 sets built before October went out with an incorrect service mode setting (LPF) that reduced the visible sharpness/detail slightly. See the Cnet review for the details; they discovered it and asked Sony about it.

So, the short version is, get the A2000, check the build date sticker on the back to be sure it's October or later. And buy locally; there have been reports of image quality problems that are easiest to resolve by swapping the set for a new one. The 60A2000 was going for under $2000 on thanksgiving day weekend, so I'd hold out for that price (or less for the 55) again. Superbowl is coming up quick.

As for the JVC's, I looked at them briefly in a few stores, but I could never buy a JVC product again after the horrible reliability and (lack of) customer service I experienced from them in the past.

Thanks to everyone for their comments and suggestions. Unless I get a blast of SXRD cons it looks like Sony 55A2000 is going to be in my living room tomorrow night.


I think you are going to go with SXRD you should go with the XBR series.

I looked at the Mits and SXRD's a lot. I was going to buy the Mits, but before purchase I took a friend along to give me their opinon and use a second pair of eyes to see if I was missing anything. Finally went with the A2000 because it had a wider viewing angle. The picture is absolutely superb after some tweaking!

I'm yet another guy driving himself nuts over the same questions. I spent 2 hours at BB last night trying to gain a glimpse of TRUTH. I did discover that I can see rainbows on all the dlp sets including the Samsung 1080p (and showed the sales guy he can to). It wasn't bad, only noticeable with dark scenes or light images on black and I really had to make myself see them. But I'm the sort of person who can't resist pressing his tongue on a sore tooth, so I would probably be annoyed by it whenever it came up - like dropping $2000 on an amp and noticing slight 60 cycle hum was just barely audible during quiet passages in the music. It would irk me - so I'm ruling that the dlps out for now. I'm curious about the jvc line now since the sxrd is just out of my range.

Also, I just was on Amazon and there is an offer for some sort of 0% financing, no payments for 1 year kind of thing. I didn't look at the details yet though.

The only crt rptvs out now are the hitachi and magnavox lines. I just wasn't impressed with the picture on the hitachi despite extensive fiddling with the settings. I wish they looked as great as people say crt is supposed to looked. $1100 and your done

That was on last year's XBR1's and not the new XBR2's. Those with problems with their XBR1's had many exchange/upgrade possibilities extended to them from Sony's excellent customer service team.

I have the XBR2 and it is by far the best TV I have ever owned. If there is a problem with it, I have no doubt that Sony will take care of it for me. My 2 cents.....

I picked up my Sony SXRD 55-A2000 today. It is fantastic. Bright, clear, crisp. I have to get one of those DVDs to do color adjustments as there is too much Red in everything (guys looking like they are wearing lipstick).

I have to say that I am completely satsified with the picture quality of the Sony. And I'll have to say it looks even better in my house then it did in the showroom.

Thanks everyone for their opinions and suggestions. They were helpful to me in making my final decision.

From cnet:
Its principal competition comes from the likes of Sony's KDS-R60XBR2, which we had an opportunity to compare directly to the Mitsubishi. Both sets produced excellent pictures, and image quality competition was close to a wash--both sets received the same performance rating, with each having its own strengths and weaknesses (see Performance for details)



Not biased there are you buddy boy? Very good point! I never heard about this review before deciding on the 732, which is basicaly the same display with a lower light output on the bulb. Point is everyone is going to have differences of opinion and tastes as well as percieving what has a better P.Q. That is why it is imperitive to research and compare in realistic conditions as well as making adjustments on the in store floor models, and not going by one or even a few different reviews as much as it fills the ego of a new owner of that particular reviewed model. Both are excellent displays and if you like either one or perhaps a JVC or Toshiba, if it looks great and your happy with it, then you can't go wrong!

I picked up my Sony SXRD 55-A2000 today. It is fantastic. Bright, clear, crisp. I have to get one of those DVDs to do color adjustments as there is too much Red in everything (guys looking like they are wearing lipstick).

I have to say that I am completely satsified with the picture quality of the Sony. And I'll have to say it looks even better in my house then it did in the showroom.

Thanks everyone for their opinions and suggestions. They were helpful to me in making my final decision. Congrats! and many years of fun entertainment and use out of it. The SXRD is without a doubt and excellent display!

The Sony has better menus, but Green Blob issues. The JVC LCoS process is probably 2yrs ahead of Sony's (they are the only two to stick with it, its a very hard chip to manufacture) , read through the entire 65 page owners thread of the '06 models and you see one or two that had a few bad pixels.....and that's it. Compared to hundreds of Sony Blob's. :D The Bulbs are non issue, your reciting older model data. New ones have something like 7K hour half-life IIRC. You can get the FC56 in Costco for under $1800. I have the 61" model FN and love it. And SSE is not an issue once you properly tune the thing, I would worry about with most any set. And Rainbow effect of DLP's.....your not effected...what about others? Family? Friends? Things to think about. I was all set for the HP 1080P DLP until my 55" Philips RPTV died, BB warranty forced my hand...I did a ton of quick and lengthy research (they paid 100% of what I bought the Philips for 4 yrs ago) and the JVC was an easy winner.......YMMV. Good Luck!

Two years ahead of Sony? What do you base that statement on?

I was going to mention if you look around you might be able to find a sammy 6187 for 1,800. That was the best deal going. Good luck with the sony.

I have to get one of those DVDs to do color adjustments as there is too much Red in everything (guys looking like they are wearing lipstick).

First thing you can do is set the picture to Custom, from Vivid.
Then, turn the "Picture" down from 99 to around 50.
Just doing those two things will help significantly.

Of course, a test disc will help further - but my 60" XBR2 was decent in most other regards and the test disc just made it nearer to perfect. Do those two things though and I think you will notice a big improvement until you can do more calibrating.

I have to get one of those DVDs to do color adjustments as there is too much Red in everything (guys looking like they are wearing lipstick).

First thing you can do is set the picture to Custom, from Vivid.
Then, turn the "Picture" down from 99 to around 50.
Just doing those two things will help significantly.

Of course, a test disc will help further - but my 60" XBR2 was decent in most other regards and the test disc just made it nearer to perfect. Do those two things though and I think you will notice a big improvement until you can do more calibrating.

Excellent, thank you for the advice. Dropping another $50-60 bucks on a DVD was not much of an option right now... buying the TV (and the stand since my old TV was a big floor standing model) broke the bank. Water and Ramen for the family for the next few weeks. :)

I am also going nuts!! I have a grat deal and need as much feedback as I can get I posted this and would really like some help making up my mind!

Thank you for your help.
linK: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=785721

I am in a similar position. I currently have a old 1080i 55in crt rear projection by Samsung. It does not have any digital inputs and I want to replace it.

I have been going nuts looking at different Tv and researching them. I either an going to go with the 60in XBR2 SXRD, a 65in Mits or a Sammy 61in or 67in. I am a little reluctant to go with DLP since I have seen rainbows on my parents 720p Samsung. The thing that is keeping me from just going ahead with the SXRD is I really want a 65in or larger screen. I know that Sony has a 70in SXRD but it is more expensive than I want to spend.

Thanks for any input

I had the same problem as you. I started looking at TVs this summer and at the time, I was looking at Sony's because of the universal admiration of the XBR1. Then I decided that 1080p became a necessity. And the A2000's didn't have as great as a processor for Standard Def. So I looked at the Mitz's. But read in some guy's Break It Down blog that he got the 831 which he loved and his friend got the 732 which had bad standard def so I looked at the Sammies, following the recommendations of UMR here. And bounced around, back and forth, back and forth. Ultimately I stopped the madness by walking into a B&M store one day, telling the sales guy how much I was willing to pay, and him saying ok. Now I have a Sammy 5688.

Honestly, I think I spent more time agonizing over it than I ever would noticing the difference. Pull the trigger. Don't look back. That's my advice.

All SXRD, even the XBR2 have the Green Glob design defect. The pushed the edges closer the physics will allow which results in the color distortion call the green glob and is a green hazey donut in the center of the screen usually, although its shape can very. All sxrds have the defect and cannot be repaired, no matter how many times the light engine is replaced.
your best best is to get a decent tv like the Mitsubishi DLP. It has recieved the highest rating of any tv ever on CNET
http://reviews.cnet.com/Mitsubishi_WD_65831/4505-6484_7-32121615.html?tag=lst

All SXRD, even the XBR2 have the Green Glob design defect. The pushed the edges closer the physics will allow which results in the color distortion call the green glob and is a green hazey donut in the center of the screen usually, although its shape can very. All sxrds have the defect and cannot be repaired, no matter how many times the light engine is replaced.
your best best is to get a decent tv like the Mitsubishi DLP. It has recieved the highest rating of any tv ever on CNET
http://reviews.cnet.com/Mitsubishi_WD_65831/4505-6484_7-32121615.html?tag=lst


TROLL IS BACK what a loser

All SXRD, even the XBR2 have the Green Glob design defect. The pushed the edges closer the physics will allow which results in the color distortion call the green glob and is a green hazey donut in the center of the screen usually, although its shape can very. All sxrds have the defect and cannot be repaired, no matter how many times the light engine is replaced.
your best best is to get a decent tv like the Mitsubishi DLP. It has recieved the highest rating of any tv ever on CNET
http://reviews.cnet.com/Mitsubishi_WD_65831/4505-6484_7-32121615.html?tag=lst

Funny... I don't see it, even after tuning my setup with the Avia tuning setup. Not that it matters, I have the TV now with no defects and I'm keeping it.

All SXRD, even the XBR2 have the Green Glob design defect. The pushed the edges closer the physics will allow which results in the color distortion call the green glob and is a green hazey donut in the center of the screen usually, although its shape can very. All sxrds have the defect and cannot be repaired, no matter how many times the light engine is replaced.
your best best is to get a decent tv like the Mitsubishi DLP. It has recieved the highest rating of any tv ever on CNET
http://reviews.cnet.com/Mitsubishi_WD_65831/4505-6484_7-32121615.html?tag=lst

Geez how many aliases does this guy have?

He's got to have the record for the most banned poster!! :eek:

Honestly, I think I spent more time agonizing over it than I ever would noticing the difference. Pull the trigger. Don't look back. That's my advice.

Truer words have never been spoken. When you have to labor to determine which TV is better, they are pretty similar.

All SXRD, even the XBR2 have the Green Glob design defect. The pushed the edges closer the physics will allow which results in the color distortion call the green glob and is a green hazey donut in the center of the screen usually, although its shape can very. All sxrds have the defect and cannot be repaired, no matter how many times the light engine is replaced.
your best best is to get a decent tv like the Mitsubishi DLP. It has recieved the highest rating of any tv ever on CNET
http://reviews.cnet.com/Mitsubishi_WD_65831/4505-6484_7-32121615.html?tag=lst
My SXRD doesn't. Could barely be happier.

OK, so Hme Theater rated JVC a couple of units ahead of Sony's 60" SXRD, so I trooped off to the local B&M store to look at both...they were side-by-side...the Sony 2000 and the JVC...uh I think 58" 1080p.

Upon first look, very impressive with the JVC, but looking longer in BRIGHT scenes, the JVC screemed of SSE...much more than the Sony unit right next to it. The extreme SSE would be a reall deal-breaker for me. RP's tend to have SSE asnyway, but some are more susceptible. NO on JVC.

BTW, a lot of DLP's, certainly including Samsung are plagued very badly by SSE. :(

I picked up my Sony SXRD 55-A2000 today. It is fantastic. Bright, clear, crisp. I have to get one of those DVDs to do color adjustments as there is too much Red in everything (guys looking like they are wearing lipstick).

I have to say that I am completely satsified with the picture quality of the Sony. And I'll have to say it looks even better in my house then it did in the showroom.

Thanks everyone for their opinions and suggestions. They were helpful to me in making my final decision.


Good choice. I would have gone with the SXRD also.

For what is worth I purchased the 5087w dlp from circuit city two weeks ago, only later to go and exchange it for the 50" sxrd. I loved the sammy but I couldnt get past seeing rainbows, thats was the deal breaker. Now that I have the sxrd I wished I would have just gotten it in the first place.

Has anyone compared the SXRDs to the Sammy LED 5679s? Just curious what people thought about the 2.

hi everyone i'm looking to get a sxrd this weekend but i'm just wondering if there is anything in the tv that needs to be replaced after a while? like lamps or whatever thanks in advance and sorry for going off topic

Yeah, and CNET didn't think there was any difference between the Sony A2000 and the XBR2. I do think the 732 series from Mitsubishi is a terrific bang for the buck.

the best TV now is the Mitsubishi. It has received the highest rating of any TV...EVER...by CNET.
http://reviews.cnet.com/4323-6531_7-6509125.html?tag=dir
Ignore this guy. He just does copy/paste the same crap until he gets his name banned and then he makes another and starts all over.

my mine is set on the a2000 but how long do the bulbs last?