Hey Everyone,

I left the country Jan 5th only to return Jan 19 to my Samsung DLP set not turning on and giving me the 3 blinking lights on the front. I had the color wheel serviced in November of 2007 to fix the high pitched noise, but this time the tech came out and said the "Whole light engine is dead".

Well My 3 year service ended Dec 1 :mad: so the tech said it's ~$800 to fix the light engine and ~$1000 for a new DLP set. He was a bit off on the new DLP set price now being ~$1500+ and insurance will only cover up to $1000 with a $1000 deductible ($2000 total).

So I'm turning to you guru's for advice. Should I punt on fixing the old 720p, no HDMI, Non DNIe set for $800?
AND
if I do get a new set, which should I get for the alloted $2000 limit? DLP is preferred because of the room setup and price for 50".

Thanks in advance
-Dave
(long time reader, first time poster)

Well,

Insurance has decided to cut me a check for 1/4 the original tv price, meaning I can buy any brand I want. Now is it me or is a 4 year life span on a nice TV too short? I always thought Samsung made good products but I can't help but have a bitter taste in my mouth regarding my TV going belly up :(

I'm really looking for advice on a 50" DLP set now, preferably one that will LAST!

Any advice on Manufactures / Models is appreciated!

-Dave

Samsung letting me down lately too. That being said, look at Mitsu DLP, JVC dILA, or Sammy LED DLPs for more "potential" reliability. If you want to move up in quality, check out the Pioneer KURO Plasmas. Best TVs available, but expensive.

If you do a Google search (shopping) you can find a Samsung 50" 720p HLT model from a reputable on-line store for about $958 (includes shipping).

Thanks guys for replying and sorry I haven't checked here in a day, I thought I had email notifications on :-/

Anyway, I was eyeing Samsung HL-T5089 for my replacement set. It looks good on paper, but so did my old Samsung. I started reading the "Official Owners" thread for that model but jesus...300+ pages of posts, it's hard to muttle through that much info to come to a good conclusion on if it is a good model or not.

I assume I was an early adopter for DLP and just got a raw deal and the LCD based Samsungs do sound nice, so I'm willing to give DLP another shot. I called some local retailers today and they said they didn't have many of the HL-T5089's left because "Samsung is releasing next years model and this is last years model" Can anyone confirm / deny this info?

With out a doubt I want my replacement TV to be 1080p and the DNIe sounds like good tech if its not all marketing BS. I was hoping it would be a "This manufacture, this model are the best, most reliable DLP sets" but I see the waters are just as murky as ever.

Any further advice on sets is appreciated!!
-Dave

It's going to be several months before Samsung releases their new 2008 models.

Your local retailers usually don't carry the high-end models. The xx89 series is the high-end model. You will have to buy it online.

Yes, go for the HL-T5089. You'll love it after you get some 1080p video running on it. You'll wish your old set died sooner.

If you can't find the xx89, the xx87 series is the same - minus HDMI 1.3, of which there are very little electronics out that use it, and they are uberly expensive.

Circuit City has the 50" on closeout. Also try frys. I just bought another 46" dlp there on closout and it was CHEAP!

Your options in 50" are basically getting a DLP that will last 3-4 years or an LCD that costs twice as much "might" last twice as long.

I say but the $1k DLP, then get the best option in another 4 years!

Also, sell your DLP on craigslist. It's probably worth at LEAST a hundred bucks. (where located?)

Thanks mooninite,

According to the Samsung site there are a few differences between the T5089 and T5087.

The 5089 has 1 HDMI on the back Bluetooth (for....headphones??)
while the 5087 doesn't have either of those, but does have a PC input in the back.

My previous set had all the hookups in the back of it, am I going to have to rewire everything to get the wires to the "Side" of the set now?

Seems kinda lame :-/

Thanks,
-Dave

Yeah, thats another question...What do I do with my perfectly intact 50" HD set case? I would repair it, but it only does 720p and who's to say it won't just fail again soon?

Also, WTF with new tv's just dying...these things are expensive :mad: The old tubes used to weigh as much as a nuclear reactor, and work twice as long! I thought technology got BETTER, not worse.

My previous set had all the hookups in the back of it, am I going to have to rewire everything to get the wires to the "Side" of the set now?



The hookups are about 6 inches to the left of where they have been in the past. They aren't on the side of the TV, just on a slant that is closer to the edge of the TV. It's so people can hang these models (plus the xx76 bulb version) on a wall..... pathetic right?

On another note, I have Bluetooth stereo headphones, but I'm not going to use them to watch TV. I have a HT speaker system for that.

It's so people can hang these models (plus the xx76 bulb version) on a wall..... pathetic right?

lol if you want a TV to mount on a wall....DLP is not the tech for you :-P

So in general are the Samsungs then "Just as good" as all the rest? If that's the case then I'll just go get the stupid T5089.

I'm still so pissed my other set's light engine "died"...what a (bad) joke.

-Dave

lol if you want a TV to mount on a wall....DLP is not the tech for you :-P


Seriously I think they did make wall mounts for a couple of the models since they are only 5 inches thicker than an LCD panel (11.1 inches on a 46" samsung DLP versus 6 inches for lcd), and even less than that if you're counting the stand. I think my flat panel was about 8 inches deep if you count the stand.