oh, for the love of...

[cletus8269]

so about 3 1/2 years ago i moved into my grandpa's house. everything is cool cept there was a 20" tv where i was used to a 50" at the parents'. saved up some money and went to sears ( to score a siblings discount ) and brought home a toshiba 52" DLP. well for every year i have owned it now i have replaced a bulb... which is costly... Toshiba asks $250 for theirs while i found a different manufacturer for $130. well the first was replaced for free under a recall notice, the next one i bought out of pocket for the $130. the toshiba replacement lasted nearly a year and a half, the $130 for maybe 8 months... you get what you pay for i guess. i kept the bulb off the bright setting to try and lengthen its life and it failed in a shorter amount of time than the one it replaced... Pissed is an understatement to say the least. I dont have the money at the moment to throw down on a tv. its gonna be a few paychecks before that can happen. so a 20" tv will reside on the 52" stand... how ironic. the toshiba was a DLP projection which are dirt cheap now, i have people telling me LCD, i dont care for plasma myself, but i have been looking at the LED tv's. what might be some recommendations?

[PurdueGuy]

LCD IMO

[loki]

LCD IMO

+1

i'd say go for LED backlighting, should last longer, and provide a better picture.... if you can afford the extra dough.

[SAmadei]

so about 3 1/2 years ago i moved into my grandpa's house. everything is cool cept there was a 20" tv where i was used to a 50" at the parents'. saved up some money and went to sears ( to score a siblings discount ) and brought home a toshiba 52" DLP. well for every year i have owned it now i have replaced a bulb... which is costly... Toshiba asks $250 for theirs while i found a different manufacturer for $130. well the first was replaced for free under a recall notice, the next one i bought out of pocket for the $130. the toshiba replacement lasted nearly a year and a half, the $130 for maybe 8 months... you get what you pay for i guess. i kept the bulb off the bright setting to try and lengthen its life and it failed in a shorter amount of time than the one it replaced... Pissed is an understatement to say the least. I dont have the money at the moment to throw down on a tv. its gonna be a few paychecks before that can happen. so a 20" tv will reside on the 52" stand... how ironic. the toshiba was a DLP projection which are dirt cheap now, i have people telling me LCD, i dont care for plasma myself, but i have been looking at the LED tv's. what might be some recommendations?

Its a shame, as I like the DLP systems, but they just haven't fixed the bulb problems. Was yours at least quiet? I've heard many DLPs have noisy fans or color wheels.

Are you sure that the keeping the brightness low helps bulb longevity? It might decrease it, just as brown outs hurt computers.

I would also check to see it the fan is running properly... cooling the bulb definitely extends the life... on the DLP projectors we had idiots blocking the fan vents and it resulted in burnt bulbs, overheated components and melted plastic... we are lucky a fire didn't break out... those bulbs are HOT.

Unfortunately, you are not going to get a 52" LCD for $250... so I'd spring for another bulb, and try to keep fingerprints to a minimum (they create hot spots on the glass)... perhaps in a year and a half your situation will be better and LCD/LEDs will have become even cheaper. Unlike CRTs, which always had a price floor due to the high price of building a Cathode Ray Tube itself, I've felt that LCD/LEDs will eventually get obscenely cheap.

[daves87rs]

A cheap, solid LCD. I won't waste my money on more than that....

[cletus8269]

+1

i'd say go for LED backlighting, should last longer, and provide a better picture.... if you can afford the extra dough.

yeah, im going to try and horde some extra cash back but that'll be a tall order what with insurance for both the colorado and the impala as well as taxes on both due in the next 3 months. not to mention Christmas coming up. LCD LED is def on the radar.

Its a shame, as I like the DLP systems, but they just haven't fixed the bulb problems. Was yours at least quiet? I've heard many DLPs have noisy fans or color wheels.

if by quiet you mean sounds like a dremel tool in the next room cutting through class 3 body armor then yes... heheh

Are you sure that the keeping the brightness low helps bulb longevity? It might decrease it, just as brown outs hurt computers.

not really sure to be honest. it had a 400 lumen setting and a 700 lumen setting. was hoping that would keep the high temps at bay and save the filament in the process. there is actually a class action lawsuit against toshiba for this exact reason. they had people to believe that the lamps were good for 8000 hours when in fact they were barely making it to 4000. thats my fault for not doing adequate homework before buying. i found this info out after my purchase and the first bulb going. it was clearance at sears and my sister got me her discount on top of the clearance price. tv + stand was around 1000 where the tv itself had been 1500 on its own.

I would also check to see it the fan is running properly... cooling the bulb definitely extends the life... on the DLP projectors we had idiots blocking the fan vents and it resulted in burnt bulbs, overheated components and melted plastic... we are lucky a fire didn't break out... those bulbs are HOT.

the noise from the fan never really changed, however there would be times that i would turn the tv on and there would be a loud squealing noise from the speakers i assume and then it would go away. the tv would turn on sometimes and there would be sound but no picture, the tv would reboot and then the picture would come up. i knew it was coming though when at times there would be a flicker of bright here and there at random. i have it in the corner so that it wouldnt be flat against the wall.

Unfortunately, you are not going to get a 52" LCD for $250... so I'd spring for another bulb, and try to keep fingerprints to a minimum (they create hot spots on the glass)... perhaps in a year and a half your situation will be better and LCD/LEDs will have become even cheaper. Unlike CRTs, which always had a price floor due to the high price of building a Cathode Ray Tube itself, I've felt that LCD/LEDs will eventually get obscenely cheap.

i would wear gloves to keep the prints out of the equation, but a bonus is that the design of the housing you slide the whole shebang in like it has a handle. yeah cause there was a mitsu projection at HH Gregg for $900 3 months ago. its a 73" hehehe. its just a matter of waiting, just like with computers.

[FAPTurbo]

I'd roll with an LCD. One thing of note is that if you do choose one, make sure the area is decently lit. If it's a darker room, you might be better served with a plasma from the likes of Panasonic who make a fantastic TV.

Plus, with an LCD/Plasma you can easily hook up a PC to it through DVI or HDMI. Frag sessions at 40+ inches!

[Camino LS6]

I'm so happy that I've still never purchased a TV!

[PONTIAC06]

I'd roll with an LCD. One thing of note is that if you do choose one, make sure the area is decently lit. If it's a darker room, you might be better served with a plasma from the likes of Panasonic who make a fantastic TV.

I have a 50" Panasonic Viera that's about 2 years old and I've loved every moment I've watched it.

[Z-06]

LCD FTW for a while. I have a 17" Dell Precision Laptop with UXGA LED Display, and it is FANTASTIC. However, the price jump in TV's from LCD to LED does not justify purchasing one with LED.

I will recommend Samsung top of the line 7 series with 240Hz frequency if you want picture quality almost on par with LED at lot less price.