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HDTV Advice: Sharp 65DR650 DLP At Costco
Comments(11)
I’m looking to buy a new TV. My research has mainly involved browsing the TV section at the local Costco, and of course scouring the Web for reviews.
[Update] I ended up buying the Sharp 65DR650 from Costco. It’s a monster – really a nice big screen. I’ve been largely happy with it. Not as bright as an LCD or plasma, but a beautiful HD picture. My dad bought an Akai and had the lamp blow out after 1 1/2 years, so it looks like lamps burning out after warranty are par for the course. Overall, I’m happy with the Sharp, no problems so far.
A couple of friends have the Samsung 56″ DLP. They all like it, although more than half have had to have someone come out and repair it. My own browsing of the aisles led me to believe that LCDs are the best looking displays, followed by plasmas, followed by DLPs. Costco has some nice plasmas that are comparable in price to the DLPs, but I’ve been scared off by the rumor that plasmas quickly lose their luster and picture quality.
Anyway, Costco has a $500 off deal going on for the Sharp 65″ DLP 65DR650, ending up at $2500 including shipping. That seems pretty good to me, given what I’ve heard of large TVs’ reliability issues and Costco’s excellent return policy. I looked for reviews everywhere with no luck. Here’s what I’ve been able to find:
http://www.hometheatermag.com/rearprojectiontvs/1005sharp/
http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/2/143579.html
The professional review makes it seem pretty good, so I think I’m going to go for it. I can always return it if it doesn’t work out. Before I do, any words of advice? Anyone out there have this thing?
UPDATE: Fatwallet thread on this deal. According to one poster,
Consumer Reports rated the 56″ Sharp as excellent HD picture quality, very good DVD picture quality, fair s-video picture, and fair non-hd picture.
From someone who bought the TV:
TV looks good, I am pleased, more so than I expected. The monster screen is really astounding to look at. I’d rate the picture quality about similar to the reviews noted earlier (out of 10)
SD TV – Fair 6
DVD – Very Good 7-8
HD TV – Very Good 7-8I have yet to run a game system through it, so I can’t comment on that. Not quite as good picture quality as my Sony Grand Wega LCD-RP, but the screen size and price make me happier I have it instead of my Sony which recently broke after 2 months (thanks to the Costco return policy, another reason this is a good deal in my eyes!)
Another TV stand which appears to work for this TV (see measurements) can be found on the costco website here, let me know what you all think? While it sits on the ground just fine, it really should be about 2 feet above ground for ideal viewing so consider that a stand would be recommended when buying this TV.
The contrast ratio IS low compared to other DLP sets (as mentioned earlier). I only looked briefly and saw one DLP set with 2000:1 and another with 10000:1, I’m no expert so do your homework and determine if its important enough for you. Hope this helps!
Thread from AVS Forum. One guy who has it says:
I have a 65dr650 and think it is great. I have had it for about a month now. My only complaint is the codes for the remote, to switch inputs it has 1 button for every 2 inputs. Or 1 button to scroll thru all inputs. Doesn’t work well when programming a universal remote. Other than that TV is very good for a good price.
I bought the last Samsung DLP that Costco carried, the 5674. It was the same price ($2500 with the stand), though it was from a higher-end line….the 74’s were originally only sold at Tweeter. The current high-end 56″ Samsung is better than the 5656, though it’s only available at other retailers (Circuit City, etc). The 65″ looks pretty cool, especially with the size of the space for your television….you might as well go with a biggie. If you can find good reviews on the Sharp and don’t want to spend more on a better Samsung, go for it.
You also can’t beat Costco’s return policy….I look forward to the day when my DLP dies so I can get my 2500 bucks back and upgrade to the latest model.
Something else to check….figure out what generation DLP chip is in the Sharp. I haven’t looked recently, but when I bought it was important which chip.
HD2
I was looking to get the same sharp tv or the jvc hg886 52″ projection. The only thing is I dont want to have a big tv if it going to look like crap. Please tell me If anyone bought it and how is the picture quality.
I am considering buying the Sharp also. I have found a couple of negative reviews on different sites. However, they appear to be from the same person with a bad TV. I have found the TV cheaper including delivery and taxes from other stores other than Costco. But, I have never had a problem dealing with Costco. What exactly is Costco’s return policy involving TV’s?. I see that the 500 off offer expires on Dec19th.
FJ
Fred, I saw the same thing, seems to be one very unhappy guy posting the same negative review to various sites.
Costco’s return policy is excellent – basically, you can return it at any time you want for any reason or no reason at all. I know of someone who returned a TV after 2 years of owning it. I’m not a Coscto representative, so don’t hold me to it
The return policy is the main reason I’m thinking of buying this from Costco.
On the expiration date, they keep moving it, so I think they’re gonna keep it going till they run out. I’m guessing.
I’ve priced the Sharp 65DR650 online and found the lowest price was 2199.00 plus shipping. What gives Costco the advantage is their customer service and return policy. I will be getting mine from Costco and pay extra $ and have my peace if mind. Think of it like a “service contract or extended warranty”. I wont take a chance spending that much money on an independent internet retailer who basically washes their hands after the transaction is complete. In regards to product reviews, my take is, if there is no review the product has a better chance of being a good product. People would usually take the time to post bad reviews rather than good to vent their experience and these reviews are mostly biased. Just like the 2 reviews you found from the same person. Just my .02 cents.
Ok, I took the risk and ordered it through Costco.com. I’ve had the set since November 2005 and here is my review:
Very Few Existing Reviews:
Costco.com had this set for $2499 with free White Glove shipping, so I decided to read more on this model. The only reviews I could find were from one person. Every review website had the same negative review, so I decided to take a chance and get the TV.
HDTV Tuner:
This set is my first HDTV set. I purchased it 12-05-05. I only have basic cable, so I don’t receive HDTV signals. I tried an amplified Terk HDTV antenna, but nothing happened. Turns out having separate connectors is an awesome plus. You can have basic, analog cable or a TV antenna connected to one and a digital signal connected to the other, such as a UHF HDTV antenna. One negative aspect of this TV while using an HDTV antenna is if you don’t receive an HDTV signal, the TV tells you nothing different from if you had no antenna connected at all. I tried a large Channel Master UHF antenna and put it upstairs using a 50′ cable. I went back to the DTV input selection and the Digital tuner found 15 digital channels, 5 of which were HDTV.
Inputs:
Switching between inputs is very easy and intuitive on the remote (my wife has no problems either).
There are 3 AV inputs; two in the back and 1 on the side of the set which is very convenient! The AV inputs come in RCA and S-Video.
There is a SVGA (15-pin D-sub) input for connecting a PC (If your PC doesn’t support HDMI output). You’ll also need an audio cable to go from the headphone jack to a left and right RCA plug.
Picture Quality:
WOW, the picture is SHARP. I actually watched some of the Winter Olympics (yes, they were this year and they are over now) Using my UHF HDTV antenna. At 65″, this TV still looks sharp with an HDTV signal. Regular cable and A/V signals are not too crisp, but thats what I expected going from a 27″ to a 65″ screen (you get used to it). DVD using component video inputs (red, green, and blue RCA) is best using Progressive Scan. Interlaced mode is darker and looks less crisp. Watching DVDs on a PC connected through the SVGA input look as good as progressive scan, component input. The only input I haven’t tried is the HDMI input. We will be buying a DVD player soon with component and HDMI. The view modes on this TV are cool to have, but getting the screen ratio correct is sometimes annoying. Side Bar mode is basically a 54″ diagonal viewing box on the 65″ screen. Since the aspect ratio of most TV programs and some videos (non HDTV) is around 4:3, more often than not, you are NOT getting all 65″ of this TV. You can use the stretch or zoom view mode, but it either warps the image or cuts off some of the picture on the top and bottom respectively. If you have an XBOX 360, you’ll love playing on this set. We played Condemned, Madden 2006 and Call of Duty 2 and the picture is crisp, sharp, bright and the detail was amazing. Edges on details in the environment were very well defined despite the screen size. At about 8 feet or more viewing distance, the set is perfect.
Sound Quality:
Built in sound is pretty much the best you can get with 2 speakers.
Operation Manual:
The instruction manual is ok. The manual has decent physical interface details, but functional details are lacking. I’m an Electrical Engineer, but I don’t read the manual unless I get really stuck. For example, the manual doesn’t explain the functional difference between the digital vs the analog F-connector on the back of the TV. For someone that is new to digital inputs and HDTV, It takes some internet browsing to really hook up everything correctly.
Closing Notes:
There are high-rpm cooling fans inside this set and I worry about them failing or wearing out based on that other review, but I’ll deal with that when the time comes. Also, The remote lights up when you press any button. Despite that other guy’s bad luck and the lack of other reviews, I recommend this TV! BTW, Costco delivery was very slow, but when the TV got to my house, their White Glove service was very good (they took all packing materials).
I have had this TV since Dec 05 and it has been great……that is until the light engine went out last year. Sharp picked up cost on the first repair (about $800), but now (only 11 months after the replacement) the light engine has failed again. Luckily, I bought from Costco and I am grandfathered in on their old return policy.
Anyway, the TV was very good when it worked, but I will definately think twice before buying another Sharp product.
Hope this helps someone.
I bought this TV in March ‘06. It was running great until I was getting a lot of “flashing” in the black areas and recently getting worse where I have to turn it off to get it to re-set. I also have the old return policy and will do just that. In the meantime I bought the Sony KDS-60A3000 for less than the Sharp and it is MUCH better.
I bought a 65DR650DLP 12/05 and within 24 months I have had to put out over $1700 to fix the lousy thing. Since the unit has only 12 month warranty the company will do nothing about the unit being a lemon. I would never purchase any Sharp product.
WOW!! What Great Reviews you all have left!! I bought mine in March 06 from Costco as well. However, Mine was $1800 since it was a returned Item. I had to have it Serviced 2 DAYS after I bought it. I also have the FLASHING ISSUE!! Drives me nuts, but I Love the TV!! I’m on the phone AS I TYPE w/Costco’s Conceirge (sp.) Service… GREAT PROPLE!! Seems I’m also Grandfathered in since they changed their Policy March of 07′….. Get this… for 4 YEARS!! We’re still working on it… but COSTCO ROCKS!!!