narrowed it down to three different sets: toshiba 34HFX85, panasonic CT-34WX15, and the sony 34HS420.
from what I’ve seen so far, not a lot of people are happy with the 34HFX85, the internals are made by orion and many people that bought the HF series (and increasingly the cinema series HFX) are getting white bars, mismatched colors, and “too much” black. the 84 series seems to be “the” set, but they aren’t available anymore…
even using the setup modes and calibration DVDs, they can’t rid themselves of the picture problems. not everyone has them, but a large group seems too. I like the look of the set, (nice black bezel) and the one I viewed at stereo advantage had a great picture, but I don’t want numerous returns or constant house calls to get a great set. I was this —> <— close to picking one up until I read up on it. still a runner if I can get an HFX with a good tube.
the panny seems to be pretty solid, the only complaint I’ve seen seems to be with geometry in a limited case basis. no 720p input, wtf? saw the set at circuit city, it had an odd herringbone to the picture, but likely that was the signal, not the picture tube. also has the sexy black bezel. price is good, only $140 more than the tosh. buddy has a 10% voucher to kill the tax.
finally, the sony - over $1500 msrp. yikes. great picture. two hdmi inputs, good warranty, the typical CRT sony quality - my basement features a 27" trinitron… from 1987. no black bezel. hmph. another buddy says he knows where I can get them for $1140, awesome deal if true.
kliffs: 34HFX85 vs CT-34WX15 vs 34HS420, pros/cons?
34hs420 shouldn’t be over 1500… I think stereo’s got it for 1399 or 1299.
I use to like toshiba untill this years toshibas came in… they Look like ass… I’m not happy with the way they look at all
Panny, Dunno about…
I have the 30hs420 and am nothing but happy with it, the picture is nice and crisp… and with some adjustments the super bright factory settings can be toned down so that the tube isn’t over-driven, adn you actualy have very sharp clean edges.
just compared the 30" sony to the 30" panasonic last night - the sony was definitely better than the panny, clearer text, less scan lines, and once the brightness was turned down, awesome contrast. the price differential between the two (@ $600 and @ $750) was $150, so at that size, I’d probably still consider the 'sonic, it wasn’t really 20% worse than the sony.
but… at the sale prices on 34" sets, both were at $1149 - advantage sony.
zwarbyt, if you’ve got any info on that 34HFX85 I’d love to hear it - it’s the only other one in contention IMHO…
actually, I knew the breakdowns, just wanted to inject some jackassery into the post
last night I placed my order for my KV-34HS420 out the door, free shipping, $1235. can’t wait, now it’s time to build that couch I’ve been sketching.
final question: does the HS420 have the same tube as the series above it (forget the number)?
supposedly there is a TV above mine, and above that is the sony XBR set. the XBR and the set above mine share the tube, but the XBR has better speakers, more inputs, etc.
I wondered if I had a stripper XBR set too. I will get some pics once she arrives.
+tax, + overpriced warranty + delivery Charge, + lying to Fia about waiting for 45 min.
The difference in the picture quality between the HS and XS or XBR is minimal… and not worth the extra dough.
getting my price adjusted tonight, saw you guys just dropped them. I haven’t accepted delivery of the set yet. they’ll adjust it and I still have the free shipping and setup, which > me yanking seats out of the minivan and carting that bad-boy up two flights of stairs.
buddy’s bringing over his avia disc to do calibrations, can’t wait to watch Troy in widescreen
out the door, free shipping, $1235. can’t wait, now it’s time to build that couch I’ve been sketching.