Thats the six month rating. Lifetime Rating: 6.86 / 10

I've used tiger direct a few times without a problem, so I wouldn't hesitate recommending them. If you actually read through the ratings, I bet a large percentage of the negative comments were written by morons with stupid complaints. Oh noes, my monitor has a dead pixel and TG wouldn't take it back.. Well, no shit sherlock, read the return policy.

 

I do remember when the company first started they were strictly discount, bad policies and didn't have the corporate backing they do now to goodwill things like they do. They also didn't have the buying power to send things back to manufacturers if they were faulty so the customer sometimes got stuck.

 

[QUOTE=Daniel L,Oct 17 2007, 06:07 AM] Just curious, why did you decide on a DLP system versus an LCD or plasma?

[QUOTE]vtec9

 

unfortunately that bulb replacement is the cost of the better picture.

You can go LCD and live with sub-par color and black.

You can go plasma and have it continuously become less bright.

With DLP and LCoS you basically have a renewed picture each time.

There are LED-lit DLPs which are supposed to last the life of the set.

 

[QUOTE=steven975,Oct 18 2007, 12:21 AM]

You can go plasma and have it continuously become less bright.

 

true.
Diminishing brightness on a plasma is not a big deal. Hell diminishing brightness (not burn-in) on rear projection sets isn't that much either and they both use phosphorous elements to an extent. Granted, they're used differently but you get the idea.
You're much more likely to have problems with dead pixels or some electrical failure before brightness will ever become an issue. My dad's plasma he bought about 7 years ago has a couple nasty vertical lines running through it. Since plasmas are mostly sealed assemblies there's not much you can do if something goes wrong, so warranties are damn near a must.

 

yea I know it takes a while for plasmas to become less bright but it happens. burn-in, too, but not much unless you watch CNBC all day.

One thing about plasmas is power consumption. 400-500W is par for the course here. That's an incremental double-digit power bill increase. My 50" SXRD only puts out 190W max and that's with the bulb at full brightness. At the settings I watch at I'm only looking at 150W.

 

2008 model line plasmas have lower power consumption. Max consumption for plasmas might be in the 400-500 range, but plasmas do not draw constant static power like an LCD or RPTV.. Typical use will net around 50-60% max power. Most plasmas will give you avg power consumption of 200-350w (of course a few are higher.. 450-600.. but there are LCDs that are close to 600w draw as well), so thats maybe $70 more per year with average use over your RPTV drawing a constant 150w.

 

I've returned the DLP. Ok, now I'm back to square one. For the money, should I go with LCD or plasma? I'm looking to spend less than $1500 for 50" or smaller. It'll be mostly for watching TV and movies, not games and such. Thanks, guys!

 

On the other hand, plasmas throw off SO much heat that your heating bills will drop drastically