Zenith: Bigger Isn't Necessarily Better
Written: Mar 09 '02 (Updated Mar 09 '02)
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Pros: High resolution; big picture; easy to set up; average sound.
Cons: Motion lag; price tag; lack of inputs; remote control.
The Bottom Line: This TV is very expensive, and you don't get what you pay for. Buy it if you want to show off to your friends.
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| supahonda's Full Review: Zenith DPDP60W 60 in. TV |
First of all, let it be known that I did not buy this TV. Are you kidding?? $15,000 for a TV? I rented this set to watch the Superbowl on, just to impress all my friends. I still had it long enough to right an informative review though, so don't worry.
Zenith is a company that is well known to me. I bought my first TV from Zenith and I can remember that my first color TV was also from Zenith. I was always been impressed with them as a company and I have never had any complaints. Until now.
Plasma TVs are the future, but not this model. Granted, it looks cool and you can hang it on a wall, but for that much money, I expected more. The sound is average, the picture quality is average, and overall, this TV is average. So why pay $15,000?
First of all, some dimensions. The DPDP60W is 35 inches tall by 57 inches wide, by 4 inches deep. The small 4 inch depth allows you to hang it on a wall, but at 154 lbs, you better have a sturdy wall and some big guys to lift it!
Picture Quality
The Zenith is a 60 inch plasma display, which runs at 1,280:720 resolution, which is fairly good for a lot of applications, such as HDTV broadcasts and DVD movies. The Zenith DPDP60W also has a refresh rate of 60-hertz and a new "intelligent" scanning system, which automatically converts any input into it's 1,280:720 resolution. Also features a contrast ratio of about 300:1.
Overall, the picture quality is average. Movies are crisp (most of the time) and ZTV shows looks all right, but not what I would expect for that much money. There is also a major problem with this TV, which is common to all plasma screens. Motion lag. This causes the input to freeze and blur when there is something moving fast on the TV (such as a car chase or action sequence). This was a bit annoying, but it goes with all plasma TVs, so... oh well.
Sound Quality
I found the sound of this TV to be one of it's best features! It comes with stand-alone speakers that rest on stands next to the TV, and produce supprisingly good sound. It also comes with speaker wire inputs, so you can hook up your speakers directly to your TV, bypassing your audio reciever (why you would want to, I still don't know). There are also audio quality controls and adjustments in the on screen menu, so you can customize the sound. It only features 2 sets of speaker wire inputs, so don't expect to hook up an center, sub or rear speakers.
Ease of Use
I found this TV very easy to set up and I had it running in no time. Putting it on my wall was a different story! One of my major complaints is that the TV only takes it the basic signals. It features a composite input and an S-VIDEO input. Therefore, you can only hook up one peripheral. You constantly have to chose between DVD or your other sources (VCR). You also get a special hook up for a digital cable reciever or a satellite reciever.
The remote that comes with this TV is very basic, with nothing really special. The buttons are large and easy to press in the dark, but overall, the remote sucks. It is big, but all the buttons are spaced out, so it looks like that phone at your grandma's house with each button the size of your fist! Hehe.
I don't know if there was something wrong with the TV I got, but it didn't come with any cables, so I had to buy those as well. Oh well, small price to pay to impress the guys!
The DPDP60W features two tuner picture in picture, but nothing you havn't seen before. Once again, this falls into the large, gaping "average" catagory.
Overall, this TV is big, bulky, expensive and not worth it. The picture is good, but nothing you can't get on a Sony XBR class TV. Nothing about the TV, except for the size, really impressed me, and I don't think I would recommend anyone to buy this. It just costs too darn much!
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 15,000 APROX
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Epinions.com ID:
supahonda
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Member: David DiGirolamo
Location: Ontario, Canada
Reviews written: 30
Trusted by: 7 members
About Me:
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at phildigirolamo@hotmail.com
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