Dell TVs ?!?!?!?!?!

H

hornbanger

25+ Posts
My tv just blew so I am looking to get a new one and wanted to know if anyone had any experience with Dell LCD and Plasma tvs.

Basically right now I am looking for something 20-30 (dell plasma would be 42) inch that can serve as my main tv until the fall when I go 50+ inch DLP just in time for football season.

After I purchase the big boy in the fall this tv will fall to bedroom or kitchen duty (will not have dgital cable hooked up to it).

The prices for the Dells seem very reasonable (26" LCD 1300, 30" LCD 1500, 42" plasma 2000-2900). Of course if I go plasma I will find something better to do with it then have it sit in my kitchen. Regardless, this purchase will be my secondary tv in a few months.

So back to my question, has anyone had any good/bad experiences with dell televisions?
 
I recently bought a 37" Samsung HD Plasma and I could not be more pleased with it. I chose it over the lower priced Dells although I only paid $2200.

you get what you pay for with PC maker televisons, Samsung makes the guts for Sony.
 
Buddy of mine bought the Dell 42"HD Plasma- I hear the glass is Samsung and guts are Phillips (major threads on the avsforum about this set). From what I've- seen - it's great- and includes a built-in hi-def tuner. Some people claim it 'buzzes' though. No probs according to him.
 
why you'd get a DLP for football season is beyond me. doesn't anyone else see the "stretching" at the sides that is horrifyingly noticeable while watching sports?

get a large RP LCD screen, you won't be disappointed.
 
The "stretching" occurs with non HD content being displayed on LCD and plasma. You will not see this "stretching" on DLP.
 
FYI- DLP is still "rear" projection, it's just digital (with a bunch of tiny, tiny mirrors).
 
actually Z, when i was looking at TVs the ONLY stretching I saw, HD or not, was on DLPs. I have an LCD and even with non-HD signals there is no stretching.
 
The only stretching I have seen are on the plasma's at Pluckers on non-HD content. DLP and RP are basically the same with the exception being how they project the light (signal). That's why the DLP is about half the depth and height of a RPTV. It uses tiny mirrors instead of "guns".

There are many different aspects and variables that could have been in affect when you were watching a DLP set. But, I would take a DLP set over any other set available (for the $$)
 
As a DLP owner, I can say with certainty that the supposed stretching is a bunch of bunk. You must have seen a set that had the aspect set to something non-traditional. I can't remember the name of the aspect setting, but there is one that stretches the sides out. No idea who uses that setting, but it doesn't happen with normal viewing.

As far as Dell TV's go, buy with confidence. Dell is trying to become a major player in the market, and is using disruptive pricing to do so. They could easily be charging 15 to 20% for their TV's, based on the quality. I have a 19" LCD in our workout room and it works and looks fantastic.
 
When you get your new TV in the fall, your gonna put a 42inch TV in your kitchen?

With all the great new TV's out there, I keep praying that my old RCA console will die, but that f'er just keeps going. It's gotta be 20 years old.
 
JohnnyM: you're the only one I think. You must have seen a messed up TV or something.

None of the DLPs I've ever seen had any kind of "stretching" or any picture distortions whatsoever.
 
First, I'll agree with all of those who say the Dells are good stuff. I don't think you can go wrong with one, although you certainly should pay attention to the differences between plasma and LCD and decide which is best for your application.

But I also agree with Iba, you can get the Syntax Olevia LCD very inexpensively, and if it's going to be a secondary TV for you in a few months, then you probably shouldn't spend any more than you have to. It's 16x9 and HD-capable, but no HD-tuner.

I bought the 27" LCD Syntax Olevia at CompUSA about 5 months ago as my bedroom TV, and it's really been a great TV. The picture is just about as good as the more expensive LCDs I looked at, and it costs significantly less. We got it for $900 with 36-month no-interest financing, but now CompUSA (and Fry's and others) sell it even cheaper depending on the week and the specials they're running.

The biggest drawback so far is that the remote is pretty awkward and clumsy, but at $900 for a 27" LCD HD-capable TV, I can put up with that. I've also heard that it refreshes quick enough to be used as a computer monitor for gaming, but I'm not a gamer so I don't know if that's true or not.
 
What Johnny M is referring to is on the Samsung DLP, these sets do the worst of any TV in the industry at taking 4x3 material and filling the screen. Its mode of panorama, which most people would use if they wanted to expand the picture, stretchs and distorts the other parts of the screen. This has to be one of the worst modes I have ever seen and I have been in the industry for 12 years now. If you are going to go to a DLP I would take a look at the Toshiba cinema series, but before that I would look at the JVC DILA. As to the Dell thing, I don't think I would buy any TV with out being able to take a look at it first. There are many plasma TV's in the same price range such as the Panasonic and Toshiba, I would strongly reccomend the Panasonic. If I can be of some help to you send me a pm.
 
Why not just view 4x3 images in 4x3 mode? Some algorithms are better than others at stretching a 4x3 image to a 16x9 aspect ration, but none of them are great. And larger screen sizes only magnify the problem.

Anyway, that's certainly not the way I would judge a TV. 4x3 images simply aren't made to be viewed in widescreen mode.
 
You can see Dell TV's at the Dell Direct Store kiosks, located in several malls. Check out Dell's website for a list of locations. They usually have some pretty sweet stuff playing on them. I saw the Batman trailer in HD at Barton Creek this past weekend. Looked tight.
 
If it is the panorama setting he is referring to then it isn't the TV's fault.

People who want to watch a 4:3 image filling up a 16:9 TV are going to have to distort the picture somehow.

Doesn't mean the TV sucks, it's the person who sucks at watching his own TV.

Just watch the source in whatever aspect ratio it was intended to be viewed in.

And the Samsung has another setting other than panorama that takes a 4:3 aspect and fills the 16:9. The other one stretches the whole image evenly instead of stretching just the outer portions.

But stretching a 4:3 image to 16:9 on any TV is retarded.
 
I have a 2nd gen 50 inch samsung DLP for a year and a half and am very happy with it. HD football and baseball on this thing are unreal. I plan on getting a 56 or 60 inch in the near future.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Weekly Prediction Contest

* Predict HORNS-AGGIES *
Sat, Nov 30 • 6:30 PM on ABC

Recent Threads

Prediction Results Threads

2024 Schedules

Back
Top