Questions on upgrading from current HDTV

[Indiana627]

I have the Sony E50A10 720p LCD rear projection that I bought 2 years ago. It's my first and only HDTV. I've gotten a lot of HD enjoyment out of it, but am starting to experience some buyer's remorse. The reasons for this are:

• only 720p
• only 1 HDMI input
• Screen Door Effect
• maintenance costs - I just paid $190 a month ago for a new lamp as my original lamp had 4500 hours and the picture had gotten noticeably darker

I always check out the Sony W3000 series whenever I'm in a store and have always been impressed. Now with their new W4100 series coming out, I'm debating getting a W3000 on closeout. But at the same time, I don't want buyers remorse again in a couple years and wished I had gotten the new W4100 series. If I do buy a new TV soon, then I need it to last me a long time (both in functionality and in my satisfaction with it).

Would you guys recommend a W3000 on closeout?

Or should I go for new W4100 series? The big difference between the W3000 and W4100 is that the W4100 has 120Hz refresh rate. Links to info on new Sonys:
SONY BRAVIA 2008 Line Up - AVS Forum
Fresh design, new technology, same distinctive style.

Are either the W3000 or W4100 series better than my E50A10 at displaying SD content?

Lastly - and probably most importantly - how much of an improvement am I going to see between my current TV and any of the new ones I'm considering? Is the improvement worth ~$2000? Has anyone else made a similar upgrade that could share their first hand experience? I don't want to go through buyer's remorse in reverse - wishing I had just kept my E50A10.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[bidger`]

Hey Mark. I have the 42A10 and I can understand what you're going through. I already have my replacement lamp in the house and the set has served me well, but since I see the flat panels on a near-daily basis, I'm aware of my sets limitations.

My advice is if the 120Hz set fits your budget, go for it. BTW, the hyperlink for "Link to info on new SONYs" isn't working on my Firefox browser.

 

[teamlazyboy]

you will ALWAYS have buyers remorse in 2 years.

 

[jayn_j]

you will ALWAYS have buyers remorse in 2 years.

What he said. There is always something better coming out. I would buy the latest I can afford right now and then STOP LOOKING!

I bought 720P (Toshiba 56HM66), and will keep it for another 5 years. Among other things, letting technology get ahead of you a bit improves the wow factor when you finally do upgrade. You will take a bath on the old set as it is, so getting a couple more years makes sense.

 

[Indiana627]

Updated links to info on the 2008 Sony's:

SONY BRAVIA 2008 Line Up - AVS Forum

Fresh design, new technology, same distinctive style.

 

[Indiana627]

Hey Mark. I have the 42A10 and I can understand what you're going through. I already have my replacement lamp in the house and the set has served me well, but since I see the flat panels on a near-daily basis, I'm aware of my sets limitations.

My advice is if the 120Hz set fits your budget, go for it.

The flat LCDs are soooo tempting. I'll be keeping a close eye on the price of the 60Hz W3000 series for closeout deals and the 120Hz W4100 series as it comes out.

you will ALWAYS have buyers remorse in 2 years.

Good point! But I think I'd have less remorse with a 2 year old 1080p flat panel LCD than I do now with my 720p rear projection.

 

[gadgtfreek]

I just put my E2000 RPLCD in the bedroom in favor of my new plasma. The Sony was great(the A series is better than the E series) but the SSE and the lack of color was a little annoying.

If you can afford it, dont stop with the W and get a XBR or Sammy 120hz.

I agree on the buyers remorse with a nice 1080p tv, I dont think Ill have it until OLED becomes big because this tv I have now is great.

 

[bidger`]

you will ALWAYS have buyers remorse in 2 years.

I don't regret buying my 42A10 because, while it may not be the equal of the newer sets, it's served my needs quite well and shown me what a leap in technology HD is.

If you're saying that the technology changes so quickly that the purchase I made 2 and a half years ago seems horribly dated, then true dat. In September 2005, flat panels were still real expensive for a similar size set, 1080p was off on the distant horizon, and there was no hi res optical format. I was happy to have an HD DVR...well, that hasn't changed, but I believe there will be all kinds of options coming out in the next few years.

I'd like to get five years out of this set as my primary viewing device, so I'm at the half way point. If I can make it that far, I can just imagine how the landscape will have changed by that time. Problem is I see the Sammy LN46A650 at online sites for just a little over $2000 and I want it real bad.

 

[Indiana627]

I don't regret buying my 42A10 because, while it may not be the equal of the newer sets, it's served my needs quite well and shown me what a leap in technology HD is.

If you're saying that the technology changes so quickly that the purchase I made 2 and a half years ago seems horribly dated, then true dat. In September 2005, flat panels were still real expensive for a similar size set, 1080p was off on the distant horizon, and there was no hi res optical format. I was happy to have an HD DVR...well, that hasn't changed, but I believe there will be all kinds of options coming out in the next few years.

That's exactly how I ended up with my 50A10. At the time, it was $2200 (with a price adjustment to $2000 about 3 weeks after I bought it) and it was the max of my budget. I hadn't had HD before and had only seen HD in stores, so I wasn't sure how good it would look in my house (thinking that the stores really played around with the signal to make it look better than I'd get at home). Well that theory quickly went out the window. Now today with the same $2000-2200 budget, I can get so much more than 2 years ago, and the real upside is that I think today's technology (1080p, 120Hz, 10 bit processing) will have a lot longer staying power than the technology of 2 years ago, which leads me to believe that I would not have the same buyer's remorse 2 years from now. Will there be something newer and better in 2 years? Yes. But I don't think it will be as big of a jump as today's tech is compared to 2 years ago.

 

[Indiana627]

I just put my E2000 RPLCD in the bedroom in favor of my new plasma. The Sony was great(the A series is better than the E series) but the SSE and the lack of color was a little annoying.

If you can afford it, dont stop with the W and get a XBR or Sammy 120hz.

I agree on the buyers remorse with a nice 1080p tv, I dont think Ill have it until OLED becomes big because this tv I have now is great.

XBR is out of my range. The new W4100 series coming out has 120Hz just like the Samsung.

After buying your new plasma and getting it setup, did you have any regret for spending the money to replace your relatively new E2000?

 

[gadgtfreek]

XBR is out of my range. The new W4100 series coming out has 120Hz just like the Samsung.

After buying your new plasma and getting it setup, did you have any regret for spending the money to replace your relatively new E2000?

None, the 1080p Bluray PQ is outstanding and the blacks/color are much better than I had with the RPLCD.

 

[Tyralak]

XBR is out of my range. The new W4100 series coming out has 120Hz just like the Samsung.

After buying your new plasma and getting it setup, did you have any regret for spending the money to replace your relatively new E2000?

If you don't like the screen door effect, you're going to hate almost any plasma. The vast majority of them (although I've seen a few really good new ones) have a worse screen door effect than most other TVs.

 

[gadgtfreek]

If you don't like the screen door effect, you're going to hate almost any plasma. The vast majority of them (although I've seen a few really good new ones) have a worse screen door effect than most other TVs.

Not really. You should see my 1080p. I can sit right in front of it and do not get a SDE. 720p, yes but other designs have it too.

Then you have to watch out for the Silky Screen look which can be very annoying.