Thoughts on DLP...

[SuperChuck]

PJ's aren't for everyone. I've got a 14 x 22 room painted burgandy but furnished with regular furniture (couch, recliner etc.). Dark paint and curtains to inhibit light is not for everyone.

A buddy of mine painted the wall with the screen on it a couple shades darker than the other 3 walls. The result was incredibly subtle, but looked great.

[QUOTE]That said I love my DLP projector on the 12" screen. {/QUOTE}
You know, if you back the projecter up a bit, you can get that image bigger than 12 inches

Hence my point. check out the bulb life if you are thinking DLP or a few other types of TV's to factor in bulb cost. Mine is around 419.00. It's like buying a normal size TV every couple years just for a bulb. Also, you won't want to leave it on for show while you go in and out or to entertain your dog while you are at work! You should see ESPNHD though!

Bulb life and price... Most run around $200 or so and live for 3000-6000 hours. There are some new LED-based units coming out that claim 20,000 hours without a color wheel.

It's a little like buying a car. You have to take into account the price of gas, insurance, tires, oil, etc. If you do your homework you won't get surprised at that first $100 oil change.

[planenut]

You know, if you back the projecter up a bit, you can get that image bigger than 12 inches

silly me. 12'
Reminds me of my other saying. "what you measure your screen in inches... how cute!"

[SuperChuck]

So I finally got to a point where I had made a decision (Samsung HL-S5087W), the price was in the right spot (and seems to have settled down), and I commit to buy on Monday...

Being a smaht consumer, I find a company out of Brooklyn, NY who has it in stock and can ship via ground service (UPS/DHL) in 1-2 days. With 2-3 days for delivery, I'm optimistic I can get the thing by Friday.

Yesterday evening I get a call from them; it's a salesman trying to sell me cables and such. When I finally get him off the phone, he mentions it's backordered, so it will be out in just a few days. Um, excuse me?

Furious, I call their customer service. Basically, the kid I'm talking to just keeps saying "DHL's policy on ground shipping is 7-10 days and I'll have it within 7-10 days". For some reason he can't seem to understand that they actually need to give it to DHL for that to be true...

It then occurs to me what their scheme is. They know full well it only takes 2-3 days to ship something out to RI. Their "ground shipping" is 7-10 days. So... They can sell the television I reserved and just give me one off the next truck. If they ship it 5 days after I order, it should be in the same window.

Fuck 'em. I cancel the order and order it from Amazon instead. I actually save a couple bucks, too, by using my amazon visa card.

Ten minutes later, some slimeball from their company calls me asking why I cancelled my order. For some reason I can't seem to explain that I do not enjoy being lied to. I bought something based on the knowledge that it was in stock and would ship within 2 days when it apparently was not. After yelling at him for 10 minutes it became painfully obvious that he was NOT going to offer me the world on a silver platter, so there was no point to continuing the conversation.

It just amazes me that a company would pull something like that and expect me to want to continue doing business with them. If they lied to me once, I really have no reason they wouldn't lie to me again. What next? The truck got a flat tire? The DHL guy didn't come that day? They can't ship on a full moon?

I'm not sure I understand the rationale behind calling me after I cancelled the order, either. I only answered because I figured they'd offer me free overnight shipping or something. Nope.