Projection vs LCD
 

I've been reading various reviews where TVs using LCoS/DLP systems have better PQ than a LCD TV. The one thing that bothers me though is that all the projection systems in the stores seem kind of dim compared to a LCD. I'm currently using a fairly cheap LCD monitor (the Westinghouse LVM-37W1) but one thing it does have going for it is that it's very bright. Are the projection TVs just not adjusted correctly in the stores or is that just one of the advantages of a LCD TV? My black levels suffer on the Westy but I'm not sure how well I'd adjust to a display that isn't nearly as bright. So, I guess what I'm asking is if the projection TVs can get close to same brightness or if that's just a tradeoff you have to make to get a better contrast (better black levels)?

So, can someone that has gone from a LCD TV/monitor to a projection TV (or has owned both) compare the two.

One of the projection TVs I'm considering is the one mentioned in this thread:

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=84530

I'm also considering the less expensive Sony KDS-60A2000.

On the LCD side, the two I'm looking at are the newish 52" Sony LCD or the Sharp 52" LCD. I'd probably wait a bit for the price to drop a bit on the Sony 52" LCD though.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Sharp...oductDetail.do

Here is the Sony 52" LCD I'm considering: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1164156736657

So, that's another tradeoff, possibly 52" (LCD TV) versus 60"+ with projection.

Any thoughts on this?

Re: Projection vs LCD
 

The LCD is what isn't adjusted correctly. LCD will have higher overall brightness than an RPTV, but at what cost? Crushed blacks, overblown colors, they are just a mess.

Do you watch TV in your house with the same lighting as a major electronics retailer? You aren't supposed to watch TV with 4,000 watts of lighting on. If your room is full of skylights that can't be blocked or whatever then an RPTV probably won't work for you. You can crank them up too, but at the expense of PQ. My brightness is on 25/100.

If you want pristine, accurate PQ you will * have * to adjust to a much lower brightness. Even with LCD's, I calibrate them all the way down to where they should be.

Re: Projection vs LCD
 

On my Westy LTV-32w6, I've got the brightness at 20/50 and the backlight is down around 40/50 because the black crush was just terrible otherwise, and everything looked so washed out.

Now, my black levels are the exact same color as the top/side bars and I can see no distortion/compression at all. It's perfect as far as I'm concerned.

Re: Projection vs LCD
 

I'd say go with the RPTV. Generally you don't really want an LCD over 40".

Evilchris's explanation sounds reasonable. I mean personally I don't even have the lights on when I'm watching tv so brightness shouldn't be a problem.

Re: Projection vs LCD
 

Another vote for RPTV

LCD's look GREAT for HD content, but SD content looks like trash. If it wasnt for this issue I would have bought an LCD instead of RPTV

Re: Projection vs LCD
 

You know, I agreed with you on SD content all looking like crap for the most part, but on a whim tonight, I popped in nine inch nails live: and all that could have been and my God.

The picture is stunning.

Especially from about 10 feet back...it's so crisp and clear...a large part of that is thanks to Trent being such a wh0re when it comes to the best in audio/visual quality and no doubt some help from the HD-A2's awesome upconversion.

But still...wow. If only the rest of my SD content looked like this. :o

Re: Projection vs LCD
 

By SD content I believe he is referring to SD television. Sd TV looked pretty craptacular on my old CRT projection set and I wasn't expecting much out of our new set but I'll be damned Mitsubishi actually made the SD tv channels look pretty decent. Well I guess the newer technology had something to do with it also as the old set was from 2000 or 2001. ;)
DVDs always looked good on both sets.

Re: Projection vs LCD
 

are you talking about DVD? DVD should look just fine on an LCD. SD Television was what i was talking about.

Re: Projection vs LCD
 

Ohhhh...okay....I thought you meant ALL SD content.

Re: Projection vs LCD
 

Honestly for my money LCD is better.

CRT actually hurt my eyes, because i pay attention to their 60 hz refresh rate and it just pisses me off.

like, for example, in order to notice this, move your eyes back and forth quickly when the CRTtv is in front of you. youll notice each individual frame, because your eyes move faster than the tubes emit heat.

With LCD and Plasma, I notice no light refreshing going on. (i do notice ghosting and etc, just not the light images)

Re: Projection vs LCD
 

wtf, this post is wrong on so many levels I'm just not going to bother. Not to mention this is a Projection vs LCD thread, not CRT vs LCD...

Re: Projection vs LCD
 

Yea, I know what you mean by DVD's. I was surprised how good DVD's look on HDTV televisions.

What resolution are DVD's btw?