Now Playing: Philips Cineos LCoS

[JBtampa]

Finally. After production shut down and all product recall, it has arrived. The Cineos LCoS resides in my home, albiet on a haphazard table until I can find something appropriate for its slim 18" deep frame. I shlepped and set it up single handed, resulting in a Christmas night visit to the ER with a dislocated shoulder. I think it was worth it. A very different beast than my trusty Toshiba CRT, it takes awhile to get to know. Some initial observations include eye-popping detail in high-def broadcasts, for-real blacks, and absolutely not a hint of screen-door. The picture quality is not unlike DLP or LCD in that "digital" quality that I am still undecided on. Settings are adjustable in their own realm, and do not at all relate to what I was acccustomed to with CRT. DVI>DVI with my new Samsung STB disables all adjustments other than brightness/contrast. The result is a more detailed, vivid picture than with my Dish 6000 via component. I'm watching the 55" picture from nine feet, so comparisons to 38" at nine feet must be made carefully. More will be revealed as I learn to tame this beast........John

[CANDY76MAN]

nice.....I just wonder of that lcos technology will ever be able to compete with dlp price wise?...from what i read, those lcos chips are very difficult to manufacture compared to dlp chips....of course that could change....I expect dlp rptv's to replace crt based ones completely over the next few years...too many advantages to dlp with almost no drawbacks except possibly for black level (and just a matter of time on that, the 2nd generation dlp chips are almost as good as crt now on displaying black, it's just a matter of tightening tolerances between mirrors).... and they will become cheaper than a crt tube set as production ramps up.

Do you think lcos makes a better image than dlp?...black level, brightness, sharpness and such?

[bdraw]

nice.....I just wonder of that lcos technology will ever be able to compete with dlp price wise?...from what i read, those lcos chips are very difficult to manufacture compared to dlp chips....of course that could change....I expect dlp rptv's to replace crt based ones completely over the next few years...too many advantages to dlp with almost no drawbacks except possibly for black level (and just a matter of time on that, the 2nd generation dlp chips are almost as good as crt now on displaying black, it's just a matter of tightening tolerances between mirrors).... and they will become cheaper than a crt tube set as production ramps up.

Do you think lcos makes a better image than dlp?...black level, brightness, sharpness and such?

To me any anyone else that spent the extra money for an expensive crt based RPTV. Believes for one reason or another that they have the best picture.

I recently purchased a 55" Mitsubishi Diamond, before I bought I did my home work and spent alot of time with my decision. I personally don't believe that the DLP's or the LCD's(rptv) have the picture that the Mitsu Diamond does. To me the closest second is the Pioneer elite. I do have high hopes for Lcos. I think it has the potential to offer a better picture than my TV. Currently the only Lcos displays that are out are out of my budget, with the Toshiba around 10k and the new Mitsu @ 20K. To me if the get the black levels and refresh times fixed, the key is the 1920x1080p resolution that they are capable of. I have little tolerance for the screen door effect that plangues fixed pixel displays. I do think that this higher resolution will resolve this.

The best thing is that there are plenty of choices, and the new technology sets are only going to get better, and eventually they should produce the undisputable best picture. Untill then I will stick with my Mitsu.

But of couse there are down sides to every display, so it is important to understand the downsides of each one, and then decided witch you can deal with.

[CANDY76MAN]

The best thing is that there are plenty of choices, and the new technology sets are only going to get better, and eventually they should produce the undisputable best picture. Untill then I will stick with my Mitsu.
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thats what i'm looking at...DLP has only been around for a few years and it's already approaching the image quality of high end crt rptv's and front projectors (which have had decades to improve and perfect) with only the second generation of the chip....and there's no reason a 1080p dlp chip could not be manufactured in the future.

[JBtampa]

CANDY76MAN, black level on the Cineos is, to my eyes, true black. One problem I had when attempting to like the new Sony LCD series was that to me there was no black, just a dark mettalic grey. This may be explained by differences in transmissive and reflective display crystal technologies. The same may explain why there is no screen door with LCoS. As far as brightness, it is very bright. I have uncovered windows, french door, and even a fireplace facing the screen. None have affected picture quality to a discernable degree or created bothersome reflections. Sharpness is, to my eye, somewhere between LCD and DLP. Contrast is quite a bit better than LCD, about on a par with DLP. I have a peeve with shadow detail and will work to enhance it. So far it appears to me that only CRT offers significant shadow detail over LCoS. It is important to note that this tv does not come out of the box with acceptable picture settings and Philips makes that clear in the operating booklet, stating that it has been adjusted to look good in a store. Kudos for them for admitting that. When I have had an opportunity to tweak with DVE or similar I will report back.
I will just touch on the audio as most don't use that feature. It has a loudness control, graphic equalizer, delta volume, separate headphone control, "virtual dolby", spacial expantion, subwoofer out, center in, two five and two two inch speakers, 40 watts, and defeatable automatic level control. It sounds quite nice on its own. I plan to try the center channel, as the cabinet is really too thin to look decent with a speaker on top.
Inputs include one DVI, two component, three S/composite, and one antenna.
After I tweak it up with a calibration DVD I'll give a better opinion of the picture quality. It's just too soon to know much now. Like I said, this bird is of a different feather. I am optimistic, though.