Hey Guys I know very little about HD rear projection TV's. First, I have to buy at Best Buy Canada because I have about 1500.00 in gift cards so I am limited to what they are currently offering. Right now, they are having a sale on both of the Sony SXRD KDS50A2000 50" and the Samsung Dlp HLS 5687 56". My dilema is this; I have to place the TV on a shelf that's 4 feet 3 inches off the floor. I have absolutley no choice because of the layout. The majority of the TV viewing will be about 8-11 feet away. I have read that in order to get the best picture quality for DLP your eyes must be the same height of the center of the screen or picture quality is quickly lost. Is this true with this particular Samsung model? Is this also true with the Sony SXRD model. If I choose the Sony should I buy a 55" instead for that viewing distance? Perhaps, I will have to get Plasma instead?

Thanks any help is much appreciated.

I have read that in order to get the best picture quality for DLP your eyes must be the same height of the center of the screen or picture quality is quickly lost. Is this true with this particular Samsung model? Is this also true with the Sony SXRD model.

Yes it's true - I think the sets are pretty comparable in this respect. I have the SXRD, and it is fairly sensitive in terms of vertical viewing angle so it's pretty important to have it at the proper height (same is true of the DLP). If you're truly stuck with the TV that high a plasma is probably your best bet, assuming there isn't too much light in the room. Some will argue a RPTV will work in that type of setup, and while it sort of would, it's a pretty poor choice, imo.

If it helps, I've owned both, and I think the SXRD has a noticeably better vertical viewing angle.