DLP vs Plasma/LCD

merge03 raised a good point.

But, and this is a big but, there is no need to continue shrinking plasma cell size because human visual perception has limited range and we can't see anything smaller than a cell size of HDTV panel right now. Regardless the size of panel, you will sit at a comfortable distance from it, not using it like computer monitor which is right up against your nose.

And this is not my claim, Applied Materials owns one of the Japanese LCD substrate equipment and they are NOT developing newer tech to shrink cell size. Very unlike the rest of AMAT where they need to continue developing new process chambers and tools like ALD and low K for the demand of 65nm and beyond.

And for DLP, we are talking about millions of tiny mirrors on a silicon substrate that need to move. MTBF (mean time between failure) is low, and you get a dead pixel unlike plasma or LCD where you get a stuck pixel. LCD and LCOS will have an easier time when it comes to reliability.

No tech is perfect if you want slim and vibrant display, but plasma will be my choice again for the display of next 10 years.

are there any 42" LCDs out there, yet?

Darryl...my guess is the 50 inch LCD you see is probably an LCD projection tv, not a flat panel. LCDs larger than 37 inches are very expensive right now while you can pick up 42 inch plasmas for $2500 these days. Don't compare the least expensive lcds to the most expensive plasmas.

http://www.videodirect.com/panasonic/lcdprojectiontvs/panasonic-pt-50lc14.html

Warren,

I recently bought a 50" Samsung HLP RPTV for my bedroom and am very happy with it. Its vertical veiwing angle is more limited than horizontal, so I put shims under the back of the TV so it points slightly downward. This works very well with the TV sitting on a 33" high stand about 6' in front of my bed.

I bought the bedroom Samsung as a follow on to buying a 61" Samsung HLN set for my HT in my living room.

As others have pointed out, your choice should be based on your priorities and preferences.

My own opinions, which are just that, are:

- I much prefer DLP RPTV to CRT based RPTVs

- Direct view CRTs and LCDs are not large enough for me

- Plasma TVs are too expensive, for me, for the large sizes that I wanted.

- DLP, like some other technologies, does not suffer from burn in so you do not have to stretch images to fill the screen. I really do not like a stretched image; e.g., taking a 4:3 image and widening it to 16:9 to fill a display screen. I want to watch everything in original aspect ratio.

- Visit more than one store and more than one chain/company for viewing comparisons. I found a lot of variation in lighting, source quality, PQ of the different TVs, etc.

- I generally found DLP RPTV PQ more consistent than LCD RPTV for HDTV and DVD sources.

- SDTV can be a challenge with any large screen HDTV.

- I particularly like the synergy between an upconverting DVD player with DVI/HDMI and the Samsung DLP RPTVs - depending on quality of the DVD soruce, PQ can be near high def. Based on reading avs forum, it is not apparent that the same synergy exists for CRT based sets or LCD RPTVs that do not have a 720p native resolution.

Again, YMMV.

I appreciate the informative postings above on what the future may hold. My comments w.r.t. current products.

Thanks
Bruce

Interesting stuff, guys . How will these thinner / flat panel LCD and DLP TV's compare in weight to Plasmas ? . Tony I said Large Screen , which to clarify, I define as 50" inches and up. You gave me a link to a Panasonic 50 inch LCD for $2799.00 so Im confused. Can you show me a plasma TV thats 50 inches ,anywhere near that pricepoint ?

Also as an aside, if space is not an issue for you, and your were about to buy a large screen TV today, why in the world would you spend thousands more for a thinner TV albeit Plasma , LCD, or DLP , when you can get a CRT based rear projection, that is reliable , and has at least as good, more often better consistent "picture" ?