IMO, you summarize it well. I continue to enjoy my 3 1/2 year old Sammy 720p DLP, and have no plans to "upgrade," but if I was buying now, I would only buy 1080p since not only is the resolution higher, but black levels and contrats are better as well. Only you can decide whether the better PQ is worth the higher price to you.
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Entry-level DLP TVs (HL-T5075S, etc)
Hello,
Been hemming and hawing over the whole HDTV issue for a couple of years now; doing research, following each year's model lineups, reading about users' experiences, and looking at TVs in the retail markets. Bottom line is, I came to the conclusion a while ago that DLP RP was probably the way for me to go; I came pretty close to pulling the trigger on a Samsung HL-S4266W or HL-4666W last year, in fact.
I'll admit it, I was tempted by the great prices on these units, and the excellent reputation of Samsung DLP. Ultimately, I held off though, and started reading about people's problems with these units, especially the 4266W.
Now, here I am again looking at the 2007 models, and noting the "entry-level" models once again. This year it's the 50" HL-T5075S or 46" HL-T4675S; they've eliminated the 42" model altogether.
My question is; how much do these models really share with their bigger (well rated) brothers? I realize these are lamp-based 720p units, but Sammy has built a solid reputation on such TVs, and I'm willing to accept 720p vs. 1080p. The problem is, when I look at some other specs, like contrast, I start to wonder how similar these TVs are to their bigger counterparts.
One of the chief advantages of DLP is supposed to be better blacks; but these entry levels models have contrast ratios of only 2500:1, as opposed to 10,000:1 with the higher-end models (even the LED units now have this higher rating).
I realize the companies must differentiate their product line and build models to a certain price point, but are these entry-level RPTVs actually a good value for what they deliver? Considering the problems I've read of with recent years' entry-level models, combined with the watered-down specs, I'm really starting to wonder. Jumping up to a 1080p display does almost double the price of admission, so it's not like there are a whole lot of alternative options.
Been hemming and hawing over the whole HDTV issue for a couple of years now; doing research, following each year's model lineups, reading about users' experiences, and looking at TVs in the retail markets. Bottom line is, I came to the conclusion a while ago that DLP RP was probably the way for me to go; I came pretty close to pulling the trigger on a Samsung HL-S4266W or HL-4666W last year, in fact.
I'll admit it, I was tempted by the great prices on these units, and the excellent reputation of Samsung DLP. Ultimately, I held off though, and started reading about people's problems with these units, especially the 4266W.
Now, here I am again looking at the 2007 models, and noting the "entry-level" models once again. This year it's the 50" HL-T5075S or 46" HL-T4675S; they've eliminated the 42" model altogether.
My question is; how much do these models really share with their bigger (well rated) brothers? I realize these are lamp-based 720p units, but Sammy has built a solid reputation on such TVs, and I'm willing to accept 720p vs. 1080p. The problem is, when I look at some other specs, like contrast, I start to wonder how similar these TVs are to their bigger counterparts.
One of the chief advantages of DLP is supposed to be better blacks; but these entry levels models have contrast ratios of only 2500:1, as opposed to 10,000:1 with the higher-end models (even the LED units now have this higher rating).
I realize the companies must differentiate their product line and build models to a certain price point, but are these entry-level RPTVs actually a good value for what they deliver? Considering the problems I've read of with recent years' entry-level models, combined with the watered-down specs, I'm really starting to wonder. Jumping up to a 1080p display does almost double the price of admission, so it's not like there are a whole lot of alternative options.
1 - 5 of 5 Posts
I just received my HL-T5675S last Thursday. I finally got tired of waiting for a set to be released that seemed worth spending $3000+ on. I decided to go for a cheap, yet still fairly large, set that I won't feel bad replacing in 2-3 years. For me, the HL-T5675S fit the bill.
As far as I can tell it is no different from last years HL-S5686W except it is in the same piano black case as the others in the HL-T line and is slightly less deep. From my viewing distance the difference between 720p and 1080p would be lost on me. The 1080p sets do have a higher contrast ratio but I didn't want to pay 50% more for it.
The biggest negative at the moment is the amount of overscan and the fact that it cannot be disabled, either by user or service menus. Test patterns show it to be about 5%.
Another, but more manageable, negative is a rather narrow vertical viewing angle. I am sitting roughly 14' from the set and my eye level is about 7" below the center of the screen. The upper 1/4 of the screen is noticeably darker than the lower 3/4. This problem will be solved when I buy a proper stand for the set.
As far as I can tell it is no different from last years HL-S5686W except it is in the same piano black case as the others in the HL-T line and is slightly less deep. From my viewing distance the difference between 720p and 1080p would be lost on me. The 1080p sets do have a higher contrast ratio but I didn't want to pay 50% more for it.
The biggest negative at the moment is the amount of overscan and the fact that it cannot be disabled, either by user or service menus. Test patterns show it to be about 5%.
Another, but more manageable, negative is a rather narrow vertical viewing angle. I am sitting roughly 14' from the set and my eye level is about 7" below the center of the screen. The upper 1/4 of the screen is noticeably darker than the lower 3/4. This problem will be solved when I buy a proper stand for the set.
llowrey: Congrats on the set; it looks very nice, and has better specs than the other HL-TXX75S TVs (10,000:1 contrast ratio); if they all were equal to this I probably wouldn't have started this thread.
It's too bad, but at my viewing distance (~7-8 feet) I really feel that 56" is just too big. I'm not sure why different models within the same line have different specs though; perhaps it's easier to achieve a better contrast ratio on the bigger sets?
Maybe I'm placing too much emphasis on blacks/contrast ratio as well; the logical alternative to the HL-T4675S would be the Sony KDF-46E2000, a LCD RP TV for which they don't even publish the contrast ratio, but plenty of people seem to rave about.
I've only compared the last generation (Sammy HL-S to Sony A10) side by side, and always preferred the Sammy DLP, and thought it looked fine. Maybe I should just stop worrying about specs and whatnot...
It's too bad, but at my viewing distance (~7-8 feet) I really feel that 56" is just too big. I'm not sure why different models within the same line have different specs though; perhaps it's easier to achieve a better contrast ratio on the bigger sets?
Maybe I'm placing too much emphasis on blacks/contrast ratio as well; the logical alternative to the HL-T4675S would be the Sony KDF-46E2000, a LCD RP TV for which they don't even publish the contrast ratio, but plenty of people seem to rave about.
I've only compared the last generation (Sammy HL-S to Sony A10) side by side, and always preferred the Sammy DLP, and thought it looked fine. Maybe I should just stop worrying about specs and whatnot...
As far as I know, this set (HL-T5675S) has the same specs and 2500:1 contrast ratio as the other 2 HL-TXX75S sets. All three in this line appear to be just repackaged versions of last year's 720p line.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WRXpilot /forum/post/0
Congrats on the set; it looks very nice, and has better specs than the other HL-TXX75S TVs (10,000:1 contrast ratio); if they all were equal to this I probably wouldn't have started this thread.
As far as I know, this set (HL-T5675S) has the same specs and 2500:1 contrast ratio as the other 2 HL-TXX75S sets. All three in this line appear to be just repackaged versions of last year's 720p line.
1 - 5 of 5 Posts
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