I gotta get me a TV!

I've owned a 50" Samsung DLP (HLN5065) for almost 2 years now. I am the envy of all of my friends.

My only regret is not buying the 61". I bypass most of the cool features including the Faruja chipset for analog motion-smoothing, etc.

I go direct from my home grown HTPC using DVI. My All In Wonder 9700 Radeon does a good job of displaying my 1980's analog cable signal.

While I don't watch much TV, I do watch a lot of movies and display a lot of on-line content. DVD's are absolutely gorgeous on this TV. I have done no color adjusting - i am using all factory defaults - mainly because I am lazy.

I have read a lot of posts on how to tweak the color to avoid "clay facing" which doesn't seem to bother me - perhaps given the type of content I watch.

I purchased my Samsung DLP from Best Buy after a couple hours of skillful negotiating and on-line price matching. Contrary to popular belief, Best Buy does allow haggling - particularly on bigger-ticket items.

I purchased the optional 4 year PSP protection program for $299. Considering an equivalent protection program for a 50" Plasma costs around $1,500, this was a no-brainer.

I recently (1 week ago) had the bulb burn out. This would have cost close to $300 in parts/labor ($150 for part, $150 for labor) to replace, so the PSP plan has already paid for itself. The buld lasted me almost 2 years at an average rate of TV watching (10-12 hours per week).

You will love this TV. My suggestion is to pick one up from CostCo. The one on Diversey/Clybourn in Chicago has it for $2,299 - $1000 less than i paid 2 years ago. The 61" is available at the Glenview and Schaumburg stores for $3,299.

If you have the means, I highly recommend you pick one up...

-LC

If DLP is what you're after, Samsung isn't the only company that makes them.

Samsung's Korean rival LG Electronics is knee-deep in the DLP market as well. They offer 44, 52, and 61" sizes. They each contain a similar feature set for a price point, but LG still makes TVs with a black cabinet, which I like.

Mitsubishi, who released the first DLP rear-projection TV in history, is also enjoying success in the high-end DLP rear-pro market. Thier Diamond Series includes a built-in 120GB hard drive for in-TV HD time shifting... very cool.

I wouldn't rule out LCD projection either, considering Hitachi's Director's Series LCD rear-projection displays look fantastic as well. Sony even has a good line up of LCd displays, but they don't include PC support... which is a bummer.

CRT rear-pro TVs are a real bargain right now, and I wouldn't overlook them. These kinds of displays offer deep black levels and beautiful colors. For more about CRT displays read my opinion article CRT Televisions are Still the Best.

This is a model specific question... DLP isn't inherently better than LCD simply because of what it is. There are a lot of other factors that go into a television other than the light engine.

I've seen DLP sets that look good, and some that look terrible. I've seen LCD rear-pro TVs done right, and other done wrong. Poor construction, bad screen, crappy processing (just because it says Faroudja DCDi doesn't mean it's good), and hundreds of other factors can contribute to a television's demise.

What exactly is attracting you to DLP?

Both are solid state technologies. TI recently released a report noting that the organic compounds in LCDs can degrade over time, but their report is highly suspect and circumstantial.

In fact, most believe that LCD has a more solid image, since it uses 3 LCD chips as opposed to a color wheel. Plus, DLP tends to introduce a lot of low level noise into the image, while LCD seems to have less noise in dark areas.

DLP is currently winning the black level war overall, but I've seen DLPs that don't do as well as better LCD products, so you have to examine every model individually.