The short answer is: yes, they do appear brighter and "sharper". However, there's a practical side to it (just like with projectors). If you want something BIG (> 40" or so), you have no choice--it has to be some form of projection. If you want something that can stay on all day, doesn't go out of adjustment everytime someone bumps or moves it, and is easy to see in a bright room from the side, then direct view will (almost) always win. In reality, good (9" gun) RPTV's can display "higher" resolution than any direct view TV, but it's hard to tell on smaller direct view TV's anyway. FWIW, my ideal situation would be to have a direct view HDTV for all "normal" viewing (e.g. it stays on all day) and a front projector/screen for "special" viewing (e.g. DVD's, etcl.). I have the first part down; I'm still working on the second part!