HDTV choices - Sony KDFE42A10
 

I spent the better part of yesterday afternoon narrowing down the choices for purchasing an HDTV. There are so many variables to consider, from image quality to price to possible technical problems. I narrowed the field first to rear projection LCD TVs which are not as huge and heavy as CRT rear projection TVs, cheaper than LCD and plasma TVs and don't have potential burn in problems like plasma TVs. I further narrowed the choice down to a 42 inch DLP from Samsung and a 42 inch 3LCD rear projection from Sony. When I got to Best Buy I was amazed at the image brightness, nice contrast, exceptional resolution of the Sony, and it is packed in a very compact housing, so it will take up considerably less space than some of the other TVs I was looking at. It has a digital processor that increases clarity of analog sources and also adds lines of resolution to other sources like DVDs and camcorders.

I will update you with more commentary after Santa installs the box, and the cable guy installs a cable card in the card slot (I won't require an additional box and remote for HDTV cable).

Oh, and the price from Best Buy was $1730. I rarely pay for added warranties, but this time I did go for the 4 year extended warranty for $400. This will cover replacing the single projection bulb once, and that cost is about $200 alone. So I figured that $50 per year isn't too much to ask to protect such a big investment.

Finally, I know that I could have saved probably $200 - $300 more by going online, but again if something went wrong I wanted to be able to go down the street a couple of miles and complain to somebody in person!

I just bought the Sony one you mentioned from Best Buy, but the 50 inch one.
I just got the dish network with the DVR box which records in HD. The tv looks great (you need to adjust the factory settings). Remember to use the hdmi cable to hook the tv to the set top box as this will improve your picture quality. Those cables are real expensive. I paid 130.00 for mine.
But it's worth it.
The DVR box costed me 300.00 so the conversion to HD is a costly one. I just wish there were more hd channels available. I have 23 on dish but some channels are not that great.
But when watching HD, WOW !! what a difference compared to standard. I was blown away by the picture quality. Especially when watching sports, it's like you're there.
I would go with the Sony because i believe they use 3 computer chips..one for green, blue, and red where other tvs only use one. I dont know if its true or not but its what i heard.
So I have the KDFE50A10 and i'm loving it. I also took the 4 year plan which is in-house repair. So that's good. I believe the bulbs last 3 years so my 4 year warranty should get me one replacement.

Good luck with your choice. I'm sure it will be a good one.

I've really enjoyed the 42 inch Sony; the HD broadcasts are amazing. I contacted DirectTV back in January about getting satellite digital TV; I was choosing between satellite or switching from analog cable over to digital cable. I was told that by March, Memphis satellite TV would have an expanded lineup of HDTV channels, 80 or so. Also there would be an expanded size dish (almost a meter) and an upgraded HD receiver. So rather than make the switch to satellite in January, I got Time Warner to switch me over to digital cable. Looks like the estimate of HDTV expansion from DirectTV was way too premature. The satellite provider now seems much more pessimistic, says it may not come at all this year. So in the mean time the local cable company is broadcasting the local HDTV broadcasts. But there's no video output on the digital TV, so when I record I'm recording in analog cable, which is much noisier in my neighborhood than digital cable. So I'm just not doing that much recording these days. If and when the satellite companies expand their HD lineup, the receivers have video outputs I can then plug into my JVC DVD recorder.

So it's a great TV, but at times it's like having a juicy steak in front of you with no knife and fork to eat (or maybe more appropriately, I've got the knife and fork but there's just not enough bites of steak on my plate!)
Neuro