Topic: How to Properly View DLP RPTVs

[gren]

hi all,

i am currently in the process of researching which big screen tv i'll be considering for purchase (daming steps bago bumili ).  as i play games a lot and am considering hooking up my big screen display to my PC, it seems that DLP RPTVs are best for me.  However, I have never been able to watch them properly, meaning, whenever i look at them, they look ugly, especially compared to plasmas.  i understand its a matter of view distance, but even the 42" samsung dlp (SP 422gHX?) didn't look so good at about 6-8 feet away.   I tried the DLP SP56L7 just for comparison's sake (its too big for my room) and it looked decent at 10-12 feet, but plasma still seems to take the cake.

Why do these samsung dlps look artifact-y?  They just can't compare to plasmas at all (and they're mostly the same price, cept DLPs are a bit bigger) in terms of PQ.  I'm hoping someone who is used to DLP RPTVs could help me out here because they seem to be most suited for my viewing habits.

gren

PS. I tried watching the Grand Wega 42" model and it performed a bit better than the Samsung DLP but i'm not happy with it overall.  Stills looked amazing but for action scenes, too much shimmering for me (slightly less evident on some of the plasmas).  I left the shop scratching my head thinking about what i'm doing wrong here.

[gren]

got to love answering my own posts, but after doing a bit more research, i've finally managed to figure out what's the deal with dlp-rptvs (yes, i'm slow like that )

anyway, this is in reference to them 52" and 62" toshiba's available in the market right now.  bottom line is, if you don't view these babies far enough, they'll suck.  viewed far enough though, they provide blacks that (i'd dare say) are better than what plasmas have to offer (and we're not just comparing specs here).

simply put, the images from dlp-rptvs have more depth to them, as they provide more black detail compared to some plasmas which are simply dark and lose some of the details especially when images are covered in shadow.

i stil can't figure out lcd-tv's though, looking at them from afar yields better results, but not to the extent that they're comparable to plasma's in my eyes.

as it is, i still prefer plasmas, especially since i prefer watching close to my tv.  not to mention the fact that my room is too small

[rene_canlas]

Baka naman it's not the TV that's bad, but what they were playing on it.  I've seen very good RPTVs hooked up to DVD players via composite input that resulted in horrible horrible picture quality.  Same with console games that use composite/svideo instead of component video.

Were the units you've seen already using VGA/DVI? The quality of the display will improve dramatically once you connect it to a PC with VGA or DVI.  Trust me on this.  I have a Samsung ST-50L2HXX DLP connected to my Pentium 4 gaming rig.  I have Half-Life 2, Far-Cry ,Doom 3, Call of Duty 2, Guild Wars (fantastic graphics!) , Dungeon Siege 2, Fahrenheit and NBA Life 2006 installed and tweaked to look their best on my Samsung.  I play 4 feet from the screen.

Before you buy, bring a laptop with VGA-out and a VGA cable and try the unit out using your target resolution.  I brought my laptop with me and tried Windows XP Media Center, Some DVDs and a game or two.

[upinsmoke]

It's really hard to judge a TV from looking at department stores demo.  I was shopping around for a DLP TV a few months ago and it was a major headache.  You have minimum wage employees setting these things up and they have no idea what they're doing.  As long as the player is playing something, their job is done.  I'd say 90% of TV in the display area aren't calibrated properly.  Because of the excess lighting in the store demo area, the sales people turn the contrast up too high.  They also go crazy on sharpness level, they ALWAYS turn it up too high.  Sharpness should always be low or near 'off' or else the picture looks artificial.  Most of the time, the TV is hooked up to the player through composite video only.  Some demo unit out there play pirated DVDs and we all know how crappy they look in big screen.  DLP is also very picky on viewing angles.  You have to watch directly in front of it at a proper distance to get the best picture.  Your eyes shouldn't be looking down nor up.

When you see one unit putting out better picture than another, check out which player it's hooked to.  Some of these TV are hooked up to a HDTV recorder which gives them HDTV quality picture.  If you place this TV side by side with another TV that players regular DVD then the consumer would think the TV with the HDTV player is a better unit (not knowing it's the HDTV player that made the difference.).

The best solution is to find a demo unit that hooks up to a DVD player through component or DVI.  Bring your own DVD.  Ask the sales clerk for the remote and set it up yourself.

[number1]

Whenever I watch DLPs there is always a "screen door effect". I think this is caused by the thick plastic covering the actual screen. 

[firewired]

It's really hard to judge a TV from looking at department stores demo.  I was shopping around for a DLP TV a few months ago and it was a major headache.  You have minimum wage employees setting these things up and they have no idea what they're doing.  As long as the player is playing something, their job is done.  I'd say 90% of TV in the display area aren't calibrated properly.

Hear, hear!  Aside from totally screwing up the unit's calibration, the guy who I was talking to even claimed that DLPs were good for up to 60K hours.  I ended up doing on-the-spot adjustments to the Samsung and Sony units I was testing which kind of irritated them I think-- especially when I upped contrast a bit, brought down brightness and killed the sharpness. I also told them that they were doing these DLP/LCD units a disservice by using non-progressive players and bad PQ PDVDs . Sayang lang ng laway nila. Heck, even their demo discs looked awful.

[kt]

bros suggestions naman on wat to look for in a DLP tv before choosing...tnx

[iceman90a]

what's the proper screen size to viewing distance ratio?

ty

[upinsmoke]

what's the proper screen size to viewing distance ratio?

http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-h60jhNXsWfX/learningcenter/home/tv_faq.html#viewing_chart

[iceman90a]

thanks upinsmoke 

[erwin]

bros suggestions naman on wat to look for in a DLP tv before choosing...tnx

Rainbow effect. A few viewers report seeing rainbows on the screen. The effect is often caused by the wheel that generates color. It's important if you are thinking of buying a DLP that your entire family go to the store to look at the screen, because if anyone is sensitive to the "rainbow effect" they may not be able to watch the TV for long.

[kt]

bro erwin tnx for the tip!

[upinsmoke]

If you're one of the few unfortunate people who see rainbow when watching DLP then I suggest you give Sony's Grand WEGA a look.  Instead of DLP, they use 3LCD.  Even though I'm happy with my DLP, I prefer the picture quality of 3LCD.  3LCD is also not as picky when it comes to viewing angle.  The 42" one is only P180k now.  Baka pwede pa haggle hangang P170k.