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Strengths: Spectacular picture, good sound, easy to set up. Lots of inputs. Remote is very flexible. Good looking TV.
Weaknesses: Regular TV signal not great, no memory card inputs, no USB or Firewire
Summary: 2006-01-16 18:09:01 I purchased this DLP after a good deal of research surrounding DLP, LCD, and Plasma TVs. I was also considering the 50 inch Sony KDF-E50A10 (LCD) and the Vizio P50HD Plasma Monitor, among probably 20 other models. The top three were rated very highly by Consumer Reports and/or others.
I was having difficulty finding the Sharp DLP at a retail outlet to actually see the picture, but finally found it at BrandsMart, where I was able to compare the Sharp, the aforementioned Sony, and several Samsung models. The Sharp was superior in contrast and brightness to the Sony LCD. All of the LCDs I looked at seemed washed out in comparison, not able to achieve the levels of black capable in the 56DR650. Plus, it had a better picture IMO than some of the comparable and more expensive Samsung models. Some of the more top of the line Samsung and JVC DLP models had a better picture than the Sharp, but they were out of my price range. I thought the picture on the 56DR650 was superior to some of the Samsung or JVC DLPs with larger chips and $1000 more.
Despite the lack of memory card, USB, and Firewire inputs, the 56DR650 has a good array of connection options, including one HDMI, three audio line in, a VGA input for my computer, three S-video inputs, and an additional set of audio/S-video inputs conveniently located on the side. I was able to hook up my digital camera to these, and view a slideshow from Christmas.
The richness of the picture out of the box needed to be tweaked a little (it was too red), but it was easy to adjust to my liking. It's my understanding that this is not uncommon in DLPs. Plus, I can set up different profiles for regular television, watching DVDs, playing games, or working on my PC. The PIP & POP options work well too, and allow you to change input for each. So I can surf the internet on one half of the TV while watching TV on the other half.
Regular TV signal looks a little grainy. I watch all of my regular TV in sidebar mode, to avoid the image squashing common with stretch and smart-stretch mode. DVD looks spectacular, with crisp edges and deep contrasts. The colors look great, and with my surround sound setup, it's awesome for watching movies.
I've given up my collection of remotes for other components in favor of the Sharp's. It is able to control my Dish Network DVR, as well as my Denon receiver, Toshiba DVD player, and Sony CD changer. It even has the ability to learn from other remotes, so you can program buttons to do certain things for which there's not a specific button (such as use the skip-ahead feature on my DVR). It can accept programming of up to 25 different buttons.
All things considered, this is the best DLP you can buy for the price ($1598 at BrandsMart). If you are willing to spend $900-1000 more, then there may be some additional options for you, but you can't go wrong with this set.
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