Ask S&V

I'm not an expert, but I believe RPTVs are going extinct not because the are technologically inferior, but rather because they do not make business sense. TV makers just cannot squeeze the same profit margin out of RPTVs that they can out of flat-panel LCDs.It likely costs very little more to make a 1" LCD TV rather than a 3" model, but makers can charge hundres of dollars more because of the PERCIEVED value of a thin TV.RPTVs, however, have less perceived value so makers cannot jack up the price--even if the picture quality is better.It will take a better educated consumer base to save RPTVs and plasma. Don't hold your breath for that.I would love to spend $600-800 on a 46" RPTV because I'm more concerned with having a clear picture while watching hockey than I am with screen thickness or internet widgets. But the market for that TV does not go very far beyond myself. I know I could probably get a plasma for that price, but I'm not willing to sacrifice the extra car

Actually, I believe it costs substantially more to make a 1-inch-thick LCD compared with a 3-incher. Also, I'm not at all convinced that RPTVs have better picture quality than LCDs in general. I agree that RPTVs are dying more because of business reasons than technological ones, though in my view, the main business reason is that consumers simply don't want big, bulky TVs any more, so they aren't buying them, which forces the price down and cuts profits.

I'm hoping you can help with a problem with my home theater. I have a Yamaha RX V-465 receiver. I have a Comcast cable box connected through HDMI to the receiver. The Comcast box is a Motorola HD box. The Yamaha receiver shuts down if the volume is turned up to what I consider to be a normal level. When I play a dvd through the receiver using HDMI I can turn the volume up with no problem. I had the same problem with my previous Harmon Kardon receiver. I bought the Yamaha thinking the problem was in the receiver. Could the problem be in the Comcast box? Things were working fine for two years until last week when this problem started. I would appreciate any help/advise you could give me.

Tom, because this happened with both receivers and doesn't happen with your DVD player, it seems pretty clear to me that the problem is in the cable box, though I can't imagine what that problem is specifically. The fact that it worked fine for a couple of years is a head scratcher, but I still think it's the cable box. I would ask Comcast to replace the box and see if that solves the problem.

RPTV is dying because new LCDs destroy them. I just went from DLP after 5 years to a new LED backlit w/local dimming LCD, and the difference is extraordinary. I was a proponent of DLP, but their is no way I can defend it with the LCD in my living room displaying the image it does. Most significant TV upgrade I've ever made.

"PERCIEVED" = perceived.

I have a 73" Mits RPTV that I bought at a very good price. I used the savings to have it ISF calibrated and it looks fabulous on all material. I am using Luminex back lighting (about $40) which enhances all the colors but really makes the blacks pop. I also bought a backup lamp for under $160 although I still have a few thousand hours left before replacement. Since most people don't have their HDTVs professionally calibrated, my RPTV looks better than most I've seen in other people's homes. On a cost/value, enjoyment basis, I don't think any current non-projector display can beat it.

I also have a ISF calibrated 67" Samsung HL67A750 LED DLP HDTV and I completely agree with Custodian of the Temporal Vortex and Douglas Kelly that this set blows most other HDTVs, regardless of type, out of the water in terms of picture quality. When I turn the lights out and turn on my CinemaQuest Ideal-Lume back lighting, the picture looks even better.As soon as I heard that Samsung was getting out of the RPTV business, I snatched up this set because I knew it might be a long time before we'd see such a value again in the HDTV market.In my mind, it is a shame that there is only one manufacturer of RPTVs left.

I completely disagree with RPTV's being "Crisper" or "blowing LCD's out of the water" in terms of overall picture quality. I've seen plenty of them, relatives/friends owned them and I have calibrated a couple (Calman software w. i1 Pro spectrometer). Perhaps those haven't seen a properly calibrated good flat panel. If you are comparing Samsung/Mitsubishi RPTV's, compare them against the same brand or any other "major player" brand flat panel; not against trash no name-low budget brands.They can't never be crisper due to chromatic aberration and imperfect focus, lacking the "razor sharp" focusing since you can't adjust it like on a front projector. It may look sharp at distance but never match a flat panel pixel structure sharpness. Motion resolution is as bad as 60Hz LCD's. Look for RPTV motion resolution test results. How about screen texture getting in the way, as bad off-angle and less ANSI contrast due to light bounce in the cabin

Thank you for this.., atleast I found it as an interesting read

Being an owner of the Samsung HL61A750 DLP HDTV, I have not seen a better set than these yet either. Yes, mine is calibrated. The ONLY thing annoying is the inability to rein in the overscan.It doesn't have to 'make up' pixels to keep the action smooth. Until LCD can do that natively, whenever my DLP bites the dust, I can only hope that plasma sets are still available, since the 'green' people in California consider these 'too power hungry'.