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Now that is an HDTV
Pros
Bright, Big, Colorful, Beautiful!
Cons
Potential to sit on couch and watch movies all the time.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
No Rainbows and no blockiness. The last problems with DLP have been solved. Gorgeous, bright and colorful. This is what HDTV is SUPPOSED to look like!
I just retired my 50 inch LCD projector set from Hitachi. http://www.epinions.com/content_131949104772 if you want to look. So I found myself with no TV and 2600$ to spend on a different set.
I chose the HLR5067W from Samsung. So far, my only regret is not being able to purchase it earlier and skip the debacle of the 50V500's.
INPUTS
AV in (RCA): 3(1 side, 2 rear)
S-Video In: 3 (1 side, 2 rear)
RF In: 2
PC in (D-Sub 15-pin): 2 in
PC Audio in: 1 Rear
Monitor and Sound Out (RCA): 1 rear
HDMI input: 1 rear
Component Video Input: 2 rear
Firewire: 2 rear
In short, this means that you can hook the television up to an antenna, videogame, DVD player, Blu Ray player (when they come out), cable box, and computer all at the same time. You will likely never run out of inputs for your electronics. You can also hook up digital cable directly to the set and not use a cable box as this set is the first generation to allow a "cable card" to be installed in the back. The set can display a picture in a picture too, though I have had no need to test that function.
SIZE
Compared to the 50V500, the HLR5067W is quite compact. Almost all the space of the set is taken up by the display and the speakers are placed in the bottom couple of inches. The screen is surrounded by a black bezel which allows it to blend in with furniture more readily while also making it easier to view the screen.
IMAGE
Easily twice as bright as the LCD projectors, and much sharper. The set is supposed to be 720P vertical resolution just as the LCD projectors are, but I swear the set is sharper than that. I could stand by the LCD sets and set the pixels - I cannot see the pixels on this set no matter how close or how hard I look.
This set has solved the most vexing problems (for me) with DLP as well. The reason I went with LCD originally was because the Samsung sets generated "rainbows" when my eyes moved across the screen. No more - the problem has been licked. How? By using a new generation of DMD (basically, a million little mirrored light switchs) that work faster, and by spinning the color wheel much faster than before. The color wheel spins at 10,800 rpm now, so the colors are now switched so fast that I cannot see the rainbow problem anymore. Kudos to Samsung and TI for fixing that.
The other problem with DLP sets was the "blockiness" displayed when fast motion or rapid movement was shown. I no longer see this problem. On HD at 1080i or watching DVDs at 480p, the set faithfully reproduced everything thrown at it without turning blocky once. While this is a subjective thing, it was enough to turn me off DLPs before - I am glad to see they fixed it.
NOISE
You will hear a whine when you turn the set on. That is the color wheel spinning up. After a couple of seconds, the sound is inperceptible. Fan noise is much lower than in the 50V500 also. The set can be played quietly and dialog can still be easily heard. On power up, the set makes a chiming noise by default, but it can be turned off in the menus.
SOUND
You will need to keep the volume up to about 1/4 in a regular house with central air as the speakers in the set are somewhat small for the task. They can, however, overpower two small rambunctious children when pushed passed the 1/2 mark. The set has SRS sound and it sounds nice, although it cannot come close to the reproduction of a 5.1 stereo system. But for regular TV viewing, the sound is adequate.
REMOTE
Volume and input selection are all I use it for. I use the remote on my cable box. However, I can tell you that the "source" button is all you need to press to switch from one video input to the next. Pretty simple.
LIFE EXPECTANCY.
Ah. Well, the weakest point with the DLP technology is not with the DMD, but with the color wheel. The motors driving the wheel have had less than perfect service records. And since they replaced the bearings (which fail) with air bearings, this generation of set will last about 10 times longer than the preceding generation. The problems with color wheel motors was also one reason I previously didn't want to go with DLP. I am now confident that the problem has been fixed starting with the HLR family.
And since I bought an LCD projector set thinking that nothing could go wrong with it, my ability to read my crystal ball and guess what will fail in the distant future should be considered suspect at best. You _will_ have to replace projector bulbs at every 2 years (of average use) at about 200$ each. This is true of every projector set in existance and should be expected.
OVERALL
This set is very bright and can be watched at oblique angles much better than other sets. It is a bit dim if your head is higher than the set, but I consider that to be no real problem unless you plan on placing the set on the floor. It fits in a smaller space and is visually unobtrusive, unlike some sets which proudly announce their presence in the room and command your attention.
It worked perfectly right out of the box. There are no green skin tones and there was no adjustment necessary. A little tweaking produced the desired color and contrast within 10 minutes. No technician was necessary to get the set running, unlike previous versions. And DVDs looked so good I was shocked at the picture.
In short, this is the kind of set I would have bought 18 months ago, had it existed then. The picture is gorgeous and it's a breeze to operate. If you are looking for your first HD set, or replacing a dead one, go to your local store and give the HLR line a look. You'll be amazed how much picture you can have.
I chose the HLR5067W from Samsung. So far, my only regret is not being able to purchase it earlier and skip the debacle of the 50V500's.
INPUTS
AV in (RCA): 3(1 side, 2 rear)
S-Video In: 3 (1 side, 2 rear)
RF In: 2
PC in (D-Sub 15-pin): 2 in
PC Audio in: 1 Rear
Monitor and Sound Out (RCA): 1 rear
HDMI input: 1 rear
Component Video Input: 2 rear
Firewire: 2 rear
In short, this means that you can hook the television up to an antenna, videogame, DVD player, Blu Ray player (when they come out), cable box, and computer all at the same time. You will likely never run out of inputs for your electronics. You can also hook up digital cable directly to the set and not use a cable box as this set is the first generation to allow a "cable card" to be installed in the back. The set can display a picture in a picture too, though I have had no need to test that function.
SIZE
Compared to the 50V500, the HLR5067W is quite compact. Almost all the space of the set is taken up by the display and the speakers are placed in the bottom couple of inches. The screen is surrounded by a black bezel which allows it to blend in with furniture more readily while also making it easier to view the screen.
IMAGE
Easily twice as bright as the LCD projectors, and much sharper. The set is supposed to be 720P vertical resolution just as the LCD projectors are, but I swear the set is sharper than that. I could stand by the LCD sets and set the pixels - I cannot see the pixels on this set no matter how close or how hard I look.
This set has solved the most vexing problems (for me) with DLP as well. The reason I went with LCD originally was because the Samsung sets generated "rainbows" when my eyes moved across the screen. No more - the problem has been licked. How? By using a new generation of DMD (basically, a million little mirrored light switchs) that work faster, and by spinning the color wheel much faster than before. The color wheel spins at 10,800 rpm now, so the colors are now switched so fast that I cannot see the rainbow problem anymore. Kudos to Samsung and TI for fixing that.
The other problem with DLP sets was the "blockiness" displayed when fast motion or rapid movement was shown. I no longer see this problem. On HD at 1080i or watching DVDs at 480p, the set faithfully reproduced everything thrown at it without turning blocky once. While this is a subjective thing, it was enough to turn me off DLPs before - I am glad to see they fixed it.
NOISE
You will hear a whine when you turn the set on. That is the color wheel spinning up. After a couple of seconds, the sound is inperceptible. Fan noise is much lower than in the 50V500 also. The set can be played quietly and dialog can still be easily heard. On power up, the set makes a chiming noise by default, but it can be turned off in the menus.
SOUND
You will need to keep the volume up to about 1/4 in a regular house with central air as the speakers in the set are somewhat small for the task. They can, however, overpower two small rambunctious children when pushed passed the 1/2 mark. The set has SRS sound and it sounds nice, although it cannot come close to the reproduction of a 5.1 stereo system. But for regular TV viewing, the sound is adequate.
REMOTE
Volume and input selection are all I use it for. I use the remote on my cable box. However, I can tell you that the "source" button is all you need to press to switch from one video input to the next. Pretty simple.
LIFE EXPECTANCY.
Ah. Well, the weakest point with the DLP technology is not with the DMD, but with the color wheel. The motors driving the wheel have had less than perfect service records. And since they replaced the bearings (which fail) with air bearings, this generation of set will last about 10 times longer than the preceding generation. The problems with color wheel motors was also one reason I previously didn't want to go with DLP. I am now confident that the problem has been fixed starting with the HLR family.
And since I bought an LCD projector set thinking that nothing could go wrong with it, my ability to read my crystal ball and guess what will fail in the distant future should be considered suspect at best. You _will_ have to replace projector bulbs at every 2 years (of average use) at about 200$ each. This is true of every projector set in existance and should be expected.
OVERALL
This set is very bright and can be watched at oblique angles much better than other sets. It is a bit dim if your head is higher than the set, but I consider that to be no real problem unless you plan on placing the set on the floor. It fits in a smaller space and is visually unobtrusive, unlike some sets which proudly announce their presence in the room and command your attention.
It worked perfectly right out of the box. There are no green skin tones and there was no adjustment necessary. A little tweaking produced the desired color and contrast within 10 minutes. No technician was necessary to get the set running, unlike previous versions. And DVDs looked so good I was shocked at the picture.
In short, this is the kind of set I would have bought 18 months ago, had it existed then. The picture is gorgeous and it's a breeze to operate. If you are looking for your first HD set, or replacing a dead one, go to your local store and give the HLR line a look. You'll be amazed how much picture you can have.
