The TV I've Been Waiting For

I have been researching big screen TV's since the Black Friday sales after Thanksgiving. I was going to be content with a CRT-based rear projection television that was on sale. Fortunately for me, they were sold out. After looking at the pictures, they were just big, nothing spectacular at all, in fact, I thought they were rather grainy and suffered pixel paralysis with High Definition signals.

Then I saw the Sony SXRD Grand Wega. It was as if I was looking at a piece of art, a beautiful painting on the screen in real life. However, the price tag seemed like it would never be in reach, so I continued my search for the next best TV. I had finally settled on the next generation Samsung DLP series of TV's. I went to our local Circuit City and low and behold they were having a pre-Memorial Day sale and had knocked $800 off of this TV. When compared to the Samsung I was going to buy, there was no comparison.

For inputs, this TV offers:
HDMI - 2
Video In - 3, including one on the front panel
S Video - 3, including one on the front panel
Audio - 6, including one on the front panel
Component (YPbPr) - 2
Satellite/Cable/Antenna - 2
1 Sony Specific Input
PC - 1, D-sun 15-pin analong RGB
i.Link (Firewire) - 3 with one on the front panel
CableCARD Slot

For outputs:
1 Digital Audio
1 Sony Specific Output

I have a satellite dish (DISH Network) as my main source for watching TV. The picture for most of the channels are clear though on occasion there are some that look grainy, particularly when viewing them from the DVR. Understand however, that I have not upgraded to DISH High Definition. It is a $200 upgrade right now, and there are not enough offerings available for me to justify the expense.

Something I found particularly impressive is the HDTV reception from a piece of garbage Terk indoor antenna I bought in 1993. The picture from Over-the-air (OTA) broadcasts is impressive. Watching NBC and The Tube makes you feel like you can reach out and grab the picture. When watching a pro golf tournament, you can count every blade of grass on the fairway. Watching Saturday Night Live, you can see the crease in the faces of the actors - simply put, the picture is incredible. It is important to note though that the non-High definition signal from an antenna is terribble. Our local affiliates broadcast in both HD and regular OTA signals. The regular signals are not watchable.

For DVDs I have some questions. I attached a Philips DVD player with HDMI capabilities and it reports that 480p is the best I can do thought the DVD player itself has upscaling to 720p and 1080i. After several talk with Philips they told me that it needs to be connected to
component cables and not HDMI in order to upscale. The question is which is better? HDMI at 480p or 720p/1080i with composite cabling. There doesn't seem to be a definitive answer, and I am not willing to fork over tons of money in cabling. I will report though, after watching Apocalypse Now with a 480p HDMI cable, the picture is clear and intense.

We have a JVC VHS player, again from 1993, and the picture on this TV is great.

Now that I have mentioned all of the wonderful things about this TV I guess it is only fair to mention the things I don't like. I don't care for the speaker arrangement, nor do I care for the speaker sound. They extend the TV by an additional 8 inches that render our bookcases useless. It adds to the aesthetic quality of the TV, but it does nothing to add to the practicality of the TV. Besides, the speaker quality isn't all that great to begin with so I use our JVC receiver when I want my surround sound.

There are talks of the green blob on the screen. I have also noticed a bit of blob on our TV. It is 2 inches in diameter but it does nothing to detract from the TV, but I am concerned if it grows.

A highlighted concern is the delay in the sound on HDTV. When watching Saturday Night Live with the antenna in HDTV, there is a definite delay between peoples lips moving and what they are saying. I don't know if this is a function of the antenna or the TV. Watching it on DISH, or the non-High Def signal there is no problem.

The picture from an i.Link capable JVC video camera is very crisp.

I like the remote, though some complain it is heavy. I think it has nice solid feel in my hands. It operates most of our equipment, however, I would like to see someone offer a remote that allows you to program both a VCR and a DVD. On this remote you must choose wither or.
I know they are out there, but again it is an extra expense.

Finally, anyone considering the purchase of an HDTV has to review the total expense of owing such a device. You have to look at the sales taxes, the cost of the stands (approximately $400 for the Sony Stand), upgrading your cable or satellite, the cost of the cabling for HDMI and/or composite. You can run into $1,000 in those things alone. Plus you might have to completely redo your room to make space for this.

If had the money I might have gone with the 60", but there is a limit I am willing to spend, and frankly I think, or I know I got a great deal on this TV. There will be new technologies coming in the future, but one has to decide to make that jump at some point, and I am glad I made the jump when I did.

Update 9/4/2007

HDTV transmissions have been better and there is no delay with lip-synching.

In the last two months, my TV is exhibiting the "Yellow Blob of Death" that many others have reported. Seeing this happening to an otherwise beautiful picture is heartbreaking, especially considering the cost of this TV. Sony has admitted there is a possible failure in the optical block. From what I have read, this is a $1,600 fix. Fortunately I have a two year repair contract from Circuit City and they are sending someone to repair the TV. I will post updates regarding the service we receive.

Update (10/2/2007)

The TV repairman came yesterday and my XBR1 has been restored to it's full glory!