Looking To Buy Wide Screen TV

I did some looking this last weekend at a local high end audio store that carried many of the more popular brands.

I looked at Pioneer, Sony, Mitsubishi, Toshiba, Panasonic and the new Sharp DLP projector. I was really impressed with the new flat tube Sony Wega 40" (currently the largest tube TV). For rear projection (50" and above) the Pioneer looked the best to me.

All of these new TV's have capability for HDTV. Some have tuners built in, some leave it to the buyer to decide. These are purchase decisions that only you can make, depending on what you watch, what else you own and where you live.

When you go look, take a DVD that you are familiar with. Do not depend on the "canned" demos the stores use. Even if you must look at more than one location, a direct hook up will at least make the comparison on somewhat even ground.

Spending this much money, a salesman should not object to spending 15 minutes plugging in a DVD player for comparison. The only thing you would not have control over is individual TV adjustments (possibly correct, most likely NOT), and room viewing conditions.

I know if I were spending several thousand dollars and considering I would have to live with the decision for several years, I would do tests whether they were happy with me or not.

Maybe he subscribed to cable and looking for a better picture? :^)

I would love to use front projection and get rid of the "box" all together.

However, front projection viewing needs to be in total darkness to achieve best results. Impossible in my home due to huge skylights.

The DLP Sharp that I viewed for 20 minutes or so was perhaps the best big image I've seen. The unit was model XV-Z9000u (HDTV Compatible). Even at an enlargement of ( what appeared ) 10 feet across, the picture was near perfect and very film like.

The only other issue is the bulb. The factory quotes 2000 hours of life, but the salesman who is a long time personal friend, says that is overly optimistic.

At a replacement cost of $300.00 per bulb and considering the viewing habits of my family, this amounts to another $500.00 per year. It might make sense to buy a decent 27" for general viewing and reserve the big projector for special times. Savings would make a high quality 27" free in about a year.

Still I agree with Tireguy, it would be nice, unless you face the obstacles I have.

By the way, I did a search at Sony.com for the 62" rear projection unit. I could only find model KDP-65XBR2 at (MSRP) of $6499.99. Either the price was dropped, or there is a more expensive model that is not featured on the home site.