DLP rear projector recommendation please

Have my new 5063 50" samsung dlp rear projection arriving tomorrow. Email me and I'll be glad to tell ou what I think. I don't always keep up on forums, but I welcome email.

Ed ewilfong@surewest.net

Just bought an 52" LG. Not perfect but prefer the skintones to to the Samsungs which seem a bit saturated. The LG is rumoured to use plastic ball bearings (instead of metal) which makes them quieter...esp. over time. Sammys are rumoured to whine and need work after 6 months. Would have bought the JVC LCOS 52" but they are not for sale yet in my area. Hope this helps.

I have had a Samsung HLN507W for about 6 months, so far so good. I really like the picture on it, and the colors are very adjustable.

Negatives-

1) it has a bulb that needs replacement every few years ~$250

2) I've noticed it occasionally has difficulty with picture when you first turn it on. The sound goes on immediately, and then the picture takes about 10 seconds to come in normally. About one in four or five times that you turn it on, no picture has come in after 30 seconds, and the set turns itself off and then back on. It hasn't had to do this twice so far.

Other than that I'm very happy with the set.

There is a relatively definitive guide to DLPs at http://www.digiupdate.com, which includes an in depth discussion of the new chipsets used in various models, known defects, etc. You should def. view one under decent conditions before buying tho', b/c some percentage of people report seeing something called "rainbow" effect that detracts from video quality. Not everyone sees it tho'.

I own two Samsung DLP RPTVs. One is a slightly older HLN617W that is the display in my HT. The other is the newer HLP5063 in my bedroom. I like both very very much, have had no trouble with either, and can recommend Samsung highly.

I did a lot of comparisons in making the decision to go with the HLN617W. The HLP5063 purchase was not based on comparisons as I was fully satisfied with Samsung, and had been tracking the design improvements at avs forum.

One comment is I believe the digiupdate page was the one that Arun Gupta ran, but unfortunately Arun was killed riding his bike and the page is no longer up to date. I second the recommendation to go to avs forum to get the latest information.

Just as no technology is perfect; e.g., some see rainbows although I never have, I expect no one brand is perfect, so you need to weigh the pros and cons of each. Samsung was the only game in town when I was doing my comparisons (primarily Samsung DLP to Sony GWIII), so I cannot comment on other DLP brands.

If DVD viewing is a priority, then one thing I would look for is the ability to accept a 720p feed via either DVI or HDMI, and the ability to display that without any intervening processing, so you can take advantage of an upconverting DVD player. The Samsungs can do this. RCA has/had a model that could not. It downconverted to 480i/480p and then rescaled to the native DLP resolution of 720p - needless extra processing.

I would appreciate feedback on any comparisons you do between different brands of DLP RPTV.

Thanks
Bruce