Buy me a TV

[Drezzt]

Or gimme an opinion at least :)

I'm looking at Plasma and DLP.
Has anyone seen both side by side?
http://www.dlp.com/home_entertainment/default.asp?bhcp=1

http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/

I'm looking for a screen size of around 50" to 72" for a theater room.

[Wezas]

Plasma's still a bit expensive. Honestly I think DLP will do the trick. I know a local place is running an ad for a 62" DLP for 2k.

My suggestion - go to the store. Be warned that they'll likely be showing high def programming on all the TV's, which you won't always have on all stations.

See how far you need to sit from the TV for it to look crisp. See how far to the side of the TV you can sit and still see the entire screen (not getting dark). Beware of ones that claim they're a great deal because of an included "Surround Sound System". My mom made this mistake. The surround sound wasn't toslink (optical audio), it had a wire for each speaker (6 wires), and most DVD players/Cable/Satelite boxes use toslink, not the 6-wire version.

Mitsubishi is basically the best brand out there right now (at least for DLP). Sony is also up there. Stay away from brand names you don't recognize (obvious, but another mistake my mom made).

And, you'll need to buy one of these:

http://www.remotecentral.com/av3000/photo15a.jpg
Sony RM-AV3100 (http://www.remotecentral.com/av3000/index12.htm)

I know a few places that sell them at a decent price.

[Drezzt]

Originally posted by Wezas
Plasma's still a bit expensive. Honestly I think DLP will do the trick. I know a local place is running an ad for a 62" DLP for 2k.

My suggestion - go to the store. Be warned that they'll likely be showing high def programming on all the TV's, which you won't always have on all stations.

See how far you need to sit from the TV for it to look crisp. See how far to the side of the TV you can sit and still see the entire screen (not getting dark). Beware of ones that claim they're a great deal because of an included "Surround Sound System". My mom made this mistake. The surround sound wasn't toslink (optical audio), it had a wire for each speaker (6 wires), and most DVD players/Cable/Satelite boxes use toslink, not the 6-wire version.

Mitsubishi is basically the best brand out there right now (at least for DLP). Sony is also up there. Stay away from brand names you don't recognize (obvious, but another mistake my mom made).

And, you'll need to buy one of these:

http://www.remotecentral.com/av3000/photo15a.jpg
Sony RM-AV3100 (http://www.remotecentral.com/av3000/index12.htm)

I know a few places that sell them at a decent price.


Samsung was my frontrunner of the moment. They've got a 72 inch set that would fit great along the screening wall.
What do you like about the Sony/Mits?

About the sound system, no sound is best. I've a very nice 10 speaker system set up in our theater that will scare the pants off of ya.

[Wezas]

Samsung is a good brand from what I hear. I said Mitsu because it's what everyone swears by. Sony because I love mine.

I've only got a 500watt 5.1 surround (sub isn't even powered) and because of the dimensions of our basement it hasn't left anyone dissappointed yet.

Surround sound & Big Screen are also awesome for Video Games. Especially now that more are supporting 16:9 and surround sound.

[Janarth]

May I ask what you primarily use this TV for, and whether you've looked into the mechanics of DLP and Plasma? For instance, if you play a lot of Halo, Plasma is prone to burning images and then ghosting. You won't appreciate it when the elements of the HUD from Halo are constantly ghosting while you watch TV. Also, DLP requires a very expensive light bulb. The average between replacements is 3 years I think, but depends on the use. I've heard of it happening after a year with heavy use, and its a 300 dollar repair job at least. Nothing like buying a 2k TV and then paying 300 bucks after a year to get it functional. Upside of DLPs is no motion blur, no chance of ghosting images and no pixel failure (like LCDs) but they are can be harder to see in the daytime then a plasma.

Not scaring you away, just telling ya the facts. I almost bought the Sony Wega 42", but found out not only was is towards the top end of my price range, but that it had significant maintenace costs every coupla years...ending up going with a slim build crt samsung at 34"? forget what size. Like you though, when I have the money I am getting a big plasma/LCD/DLP.

[Wezas]

I bought mine a few years ago and got a rear projection 51" Sony.

Because of the dimensions of my basement, viewing angles really wasn't an issue and our couch was far enough back that it didn't look grainy. And, of course the $$$ was right.

Only issue I've had with it so far is the constant wiping of dog slobber off of the screen.

Another note:

One thing I've noticed with pretty much every TV I've seen is they only have (at max) 2 component connections. They have plenty of RCA, a few coaxial, and usually a DVI/HDMI connection, but only 2 component. Which didn't work for me because I had Cable (component), DVD (component), and PS2 (component). After looking around for a while I ended up getting this:

http://www.copperbox.com/images/1154A.jpg
Audio Authority 1154A Switch (http://www.copperbox.com/lite/popinfo.php?lc_code=1154A)

Basically it lets you connect up to 4 inputs that will exit to one output. And that's 4:

Component Cables (Red, green, blue)
Optical Audio (toslink)
RCA Audio (white & red)
Digital Audio (black surround sound used by some systems)

Basically you plug them in by priority. I have my Cable and PS2 plugged into the unit, with it defaulting to cable unless the PS2 is turned on. In which case it would switch to the PS2. The unit is especially helpful with my surround sound system, which only has one optical audio (toslink) input. If the PS2 is on it will switch the video and audio to the PS2's input.

[Drezzt]

Originally posted by Janarth
May I ask what you primarily use this TV for, and whether you've looked into the mechanics of DLP and Plasma?


Sure, it's going into a home screening room. The walls are sound dampened, curtained and heavy. Light won't be an issue as the only lights to be on will be runners along the aisle. Imagine a movie theater, miniaturized. :)

As far as researching the tech, I'm very impressed with DLP but I was concerned with the actuators that operate the mirrors. Seems like something just begging to go wrong and I'm not interested in another 2k repair job.
Bulb price isn't an issue.

I don't intend this to be a gaming platform. I've a nice office set up for that bid'ness.
(can't wait for UT 2006!!!!1111!!!OMGsexme!)

[Showal]

I remember when I was looking for TVs, a lot of the samsungs had a purple tint to them. The guy explained that it seemed to be a problem with that year of samsungs. Granted this was about 2 years ago, but it still left a foul taste in my mouth about samsung. I've gone back several times and still noticed a purple tint to them, but I havent looked at DLP or Plasma. I don't know if I notice it now because I expect to see it or if it's actually there.

[Showal]

Look at the Phillips with Ambilight, they're supposed to be awesome.

[Eviltwinpsu]

i just bought a 57inch rear projection sony tv and im loving it...my friend had the 51 and i got mine for just under 2k from CC...and they have a deal going..well least they did that if you get their credit card you dont need to pay for it for 2 yrs....

i was going to get the sony wega but then realized that alot of those new tv's dont come with pic in pic which i love about my sony just for football games!!!

but you need like 10-15ft for best viewing on a 57 inch tv....

[Wezas]

Originally posted by Eviltwinpsu
but you need like 10-15ft for best viewing on a 57 inch tv....

Yeah, my couch was about 6 feet away and we said "WTF, it's all grainy!". We moved the couch back 2 feet and it looks perfect.

[Drew2]

It's funny because I can probably get high end TV's cheaper than any of you, but BB doesn't pay me enough to afford them. THEY DO THAT ON PURPOSE.

[Drezzt]

You suck Tayre. Gimme a discount!

:P

And far as room dimensions go, the room is a 20X30. We'll have plenty of room :)

Prolly going to make the rounds this weekend and see what looks good in person. Seems so 1980's though, leaving the house to shop. LOL! What's the world coming to?

[Dalcoe]

Guess I can actually post for once and lend a bit of knowledge.

The room you just described is a perfect environment for a DLP front projector. Not only will you get all the advantages of a DLP, but you can get a much larger screen size.

As for cost, if you're not too worried about going full on HD, take a look at the InFocus 4805. It's only 480p output, but it's also under $1500. A decent wall mount screen can be had for around the same price.

Basically, for the cost of a 50 or so inch unit, you could have a 92 or 110 inch.

And Tayre, I know what you mean about BB not paying enough, and to top it off I work in Magnolia, so the products are even more expensive.

Lastly to Wezas, that AA switchbox is pretty nice, but you know that there are plenty of home theater receivers on the market that have 3 or so inputs. And the new ones that are coming out have HDMI switching and upconvert all the s-video and component inputs to the HDMI output.

[Mistomeer]

The bulbs for DLP aren't that expensive. A plasma, without yearly maitenance, lasts about 7 years.