[Wrelax13]

Hey, I've had the Sony KDF-E42A10 for four or five years. I'd like to upgrade to a new LCD that does 1080p and is around the same size. My question is...is it worth it to buy one of the newer LCD's? Will I see a noticeable difference in picture, color, and clarity? I have been looking mainly at the X400,500 series, as well as the Sharp Aqous LC40E77U. Any advice is greatly appreciated. I will mostly use it to watch cable and play PS3 games.

 

[Wrelax13]

bump

 

[spyboy]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Wrelax13 /forum/post/18194759


Hey, I've had the Sony KDF-E42A10 for four or five years. I'd like to upgrade to a new LCD that does 1080p and is around the same size. My question is...is it worth it to buy one of the newer LCD's? Will I see a noticeable difference in picture, color, and clarity? I have been looking mainly at the X400,500 series, as well as the Sharp Aqous LC40E77U. Any advice is greatly appreciated. I will mostly use it to watch cable and play PS3 games.

With a 42 inch display you would have to use a viewing distance of no more than ~6 feet to really see all the detail of a 1080P TV.


Save your money until you can afford something much larger. Then it would make sense to go 1080P.

 

[Steve S]

^^^His old set is a 720p lcd based 3 chip rear projection model. It's got much more limited viewing angles than most any current lcd and a much softer picture, especially if the optics and mirror have never been cleaned. Sony continued to make lcd based rptvs in this small size for a couple or three years after the advent of lcd flat panels of similar size in order to offer a much less expensive alternative to lcd or plasma flat panels. This was at a time when flat panels of this size were upwards of 2k and these could be sold for half that. Samsung, Hitachi, and some other mfgs. also offered chip-based rptvs this small for the same reason. When production and retail costs for lcds and plasmas in the 40 to 42 inch range became more reasonable they were dropped.


Strictly from the standpoint of resolution alone there's not much to be gained by going from a 720 to a 1080 set at that screen size with more than about a 6-8 foot viewing distance but given the much greater inherent sharpness, brightness, and more vivid colors of a flat panel vs his rptv I think it would be well worth the switch.

 

[Servicetech571]

Just about any flat screen will look better than your current set, especially if it's been awhile since the lamp was changed. If you can wait snap up a deal when one comes along. I picked up an LG 42LH20 for $450 last black Friday @ Newegg.


FWIW I hated working on those Sony LCD sets, optical blocks were dropping like flies.

 

[Wrelax13]

Thanks for the replies guys. Steve - that's interesting how they phased out the RPTV's, makes sense. Anyway, my viewing distance is about 11 feet when laying on my bed. Didn't realize it was so far. I have the money to get the Sony KDL46EX500. This 46 inch set seems ideal for me based on your input. What do you guys think? By the way, I've never changed the lamp on the Wega or cleaned the optics and mirrors.