[Artemido]

Some of you might remember a thread that I started a few weeks ago saying that I had decided on the Mitsubishi WS-73909 for my home viewing pleasure...


Well, now that the reality of the fact that I'm not going to talk my wife into a $10,000 TV has set in, I was curious if I could get some advice here on a more affordable alternative...


Let's assume, for a moment, that my budget is now in the $2500 range with a tolerability margin of about $500. I would still like to have as many of the following features as possible (listed in order of preference):


1. 65"+ Screen

2. 16:9 Aspect Ratio

3. 1080i (or better) vertical resolution

4. 9" CRTs

5. high picture quality (duh)

6. high quality integrated line doubler

7. integrated HDTV tuner


Considering that I'm upgrading from a 27" Hitachi TV, I'll probably be impressed with most anything as far as picture quality goes. Also, I consider this TV to be an interim solution, so I would expect to replace this in a few years.


Anyway, anything you can think of that would meet these criteria, please let me know! Thanks!

 

[Ten 99]

Well, obviously you're not going to get all of those things. You might get a third of those things, but not all.


Something has to give.


There aren't too many RPTV CRT setups using 9" CRTs. There are a few, but these are quite a bit more than $2500. You might come close to getting a 65" unit, or even achieve that. You shouldn't have a problem on the 16:9 thing, or the 1080i thing. You can achieve a high picture quality at that price. You can even get a decent internal line doubler. But to think that you'll get an HDTV tuner built in at anywhere near that price... no.


I'm not sure of the current going rate on HDTV external tuners, but I imagine that it's in the $600 to $800 range. This is assuming some OTA transmissions. A STB with HDTV ability will cost as much, maybe more. If you plan to setup an HTPC, perhaps a good OTA HDTV tuner card like the MyHD would work well for you at a good price point?


I'm no RPTV expert, but I've learned a bunch of information in my past 9 months of reasearch, and unless you're getting an exceptional deal on a stolen or used set, to achieve all or even most of the objectives you set at that price point is pretty much impossible.


That being said, could you get a good 7" CRT RPTV setup in the mid to upper 50" sizes, decent internal doubler, no HDTV tuner, good picture quality, and 16:9 ratio? I think that could be accomplished with some realistic hope!


Good luck brother,

 

[John Mason]

Thought I recall a post here about that time about a sharply discounted 9-in-CRT Philips model; not sure if it was a 64-in. design, though, and it doesn't have a built-in tuner. Vintage RCA DTC100 tuners are quite low cost now if you shop around. -- John

 

[Den]

Quote:

Considering that I'm upgrading from a 27" Hitachi TV, I'll probably be impressed with most anything as far as picture quality goes.

Not necessarily. CRT projectors when properly calibrated give off much less light than a 27" TV. And low-quality standard definition cable, satellite and vhs signals which looked fine on a 27" screen will not fare so well on the much larger screen you want. Direct view and RPTV are different animals and some folks never quite warm up to the latter.


Since a high quality picture is a requirement for you, you'll need to learn how to know one when you see one. This is a vast subject and unless you are approaching this as a hobby, you'll need a local expert to rely on here. Once you determine which sets are in your price range, make every effort to see one which has been professional calibrated to produce an accurate picture - and plan to have the same calibrator do your set once you buy it.


Good luck!

 

[Artemido]

What about the Philips 60PP9701, which I oddly cannot find featured on the Philips website? There, I can only find the 60PP9502. Which one is newer, I have no idea, but it seems to have most all the features I'm looking for, available online at around $3200... Anyone know anything about these sets?

 

[John Mason]

This older Philips model is compared with other brands in this LB 12/5/00 post . A search by model number, curiously, doesn't seem to find threads. But if you enter LB for a search under member name and request threads older than one year (just the member name, plus search all forums, nothing else), several threads appear on this model. Although I have a 64PH9905, I haven't followed all the model variations that closely since buying mine about two years ago. -- John

 

[nnci]

You can get a Samsung HCL652W for about $2000 on closeout. After you have it for 100 hours get it ISF'd.


You will then have 1, 2, 3, and 5 covered, and be at or just over $2500.


Many like to poo-poo sets that aren't from the "Big 4" but it looks stunning after ISF.