Buying a BIG TV!!!

[my73charger]

My wife caved in.  What should I buy guys?  I want a quality clear picture above all else so a Projection Screeen is kinda ruled out I think.

[Bluebeast]

Depends on how much you want to spend. I know Costco has a good selection with great prices.

[my73charger]

I would like to stay under $2000 and am pretty flexible as far as the size goes.  42" being the smallest I will go.

[Silver R/T]

go with Mitsubishi

[GTX]

I have a nice 65" Mitsubishi tv that we are thinking of selling in perfect to near perfect condition.
Too far away though.

[Telvis]

Where are you GTX? How much?....Argh........I'm supposed to be simplifying.

[Charger_Fan]

Where are you GTX? How much?....Argh........I'm supposed to be simplifying.

Next door to mee...<evil laugh>...muaaahhhaaahaha.
J/K, I need my buckage for other things.

[GTX]

I'm in SLC- in the middle of nowhere.
Price?  Haven't thought much about it, just had the idea the other day.
We paid nearly 4k new for it although not nearly worth that now even in the condition it's in.
It mostly sits although it is connected to a surround set up and looks and sounds awesome when we do watch it. I just rarely watch that tv.

[Bluebeast]

Here's an honest suggestion-- a friend of mine has this set up in his house. He had been looking to buy a big screen tv, maybe projection, maybe lcd, maybe flatscreen, etc. It finally occured to him through advice from another friend that he buy a LCD projector and screen (the projector cost $1100, and the screen another $250--it's huge!). He has his cable hooked up and he watches his DVDs on it as well as video games. The picture quality is crystal clear and it's like seeing a movie in his living room! This is just an idea but the amount of screen space you would get wouyld be a lot more with paying less and you could always adjust the screen to be bigger or smaller. Anyway, just my two cents.

[my73charger]

Can you get me some info on that system?  Sounds interesting...

[Bluebeast]

I'll see him probably midweek or so. I'll get the info and post it up.

[Chargen69]

one advantage of a plasma tv or LCD tv against the projector and screen method, is you may need to control outside light influences on the projection screen, where on a  plasma tv or LCD tv, it is not as likely that lighting sources would affect the picture quality.

having said that, there is a lot of bang for your buck using a projector and screen.

[dodgecharger-fan]

I second the projector and screen set up idea. But do your homework on the features.
Especially when you think about where you will place the projector. Most of the newer units have adjustments for keystoning, but not all.
Keystoning is what you see when you you can't shoot the image dead square onto the screen.
If you are too low, then the top of the image is wider than the bottom.
Too high, then the bottom is wider.
Same happens when you try and shoot from an angle. The side furthest away will be larger.

Some of the newer units have little lasers that you can aim at the four corners of your screen and then the unit automatically adjusts to fit the screen.
You can put these pretty much anywhere in the room - within reason.
I'll go this route when I do the basement set up.

Something to consider when setting up your screen:
most of us have become used to the black bars on the top and bottom of the screen when watching a widescreen format source on a regular TV.
If you've ever watched regular format (4:3) on a widescreen TV, it can be a little weird. So, size your screen to a 4:3 ratio (something like 8 feet by 6 feet works well) and live with the bars on the top and bottom when viewing widescreen. Your widescreen format sources will still have a 6-foot wide image. That's pretty nice, I think.
I didn't buy into this idea right away. One of my colleagues has his projector and screen set up this way. However, now that I am watching regular TV on my widescreen, I can see the problems. It takes some getting used to AND some channels have some artifacts at the edge of the image that is just annoying. Discovery Channel (where I live anyway),   for instance, has a white line down the right hand side of the image. On a 50" wide aspect screen, that shows up a few inches in from the edge of the screen.

For now, I had to go for a DLP in the family room. Samsung 50" gives an excellent picture.

For ANY digital video display, be aware of a couple of things with regards to HD sources - specifically cable. If the signal is analog, try and get it hooked right into the TV as opposed to running it through a set-top box. The reason is that analog signals need to be processed by the set-top box to be sent through the digital connection. Most set-top boxes do a poor job compressing the analog signal. The result - a bad picture.

With a projector, they usually don't come with a tuner built in. So, you're likely looking at running two set-top boxes and some kind of video switching unit. If you do your homework on home theatre amps, you can get one that will do the video switching for you as well. My dream amp would be from www.anthem.com

The Samsung DLP that I have has a neat feature that offers a pretty good workaround for this:
It has an "ANT 1 In" and an "ANT 1 Out" so that you can bring the cable into the TV and then back out again to a set top box.
This way, you can watch analog channels right off of the wire using the TV's tuner. High def channels can be viewed using the digital video signal from the box.
(It has an "ANT 2 In" connection as well for other RF sources and can be used for PIP.)

There's a couple of catches though:
You have to remember to flip the inputs depending on what you are watching.
If you rely on the set top box to decode premium channels that are not high def, then you'll have to live with the compression problems for those channels.

[Telvis]

What's the expected lifespan of these units?

[Steve P.]

I have a Hitachi Ultravision SDX 60" Digital. It's hi def. over 5 years old and I love it. My buddy has the same thing only a year older. No problems ever.

I don't know much about TV's but when I was looking I asked many Q's and this was the best big screen out there then. Now all I see is Wide screens.. I don't care for wide screens. I think it's all a gimmick to sell us something else since our TV's are not breaking down as fast or needing replacement.

My parents club just installed a projector style TV. Don't know the brand. Sorry. But I checked it out and like it. It hangs from the ceiling and covers a screen about 8 feet wide. Very clear and the screen is tight to the wall witch works out well for the area they wanted to put it in.. It doubles as a dance hall..

[ramit]

Just do me a favor and buy it from Best Buy, it puts food on my table.

[Orange_Crush]

Here's an honest suggestion-- a friend of mine has this set up in his house. He had been looking to buy a big screen tv, maybe projection, maybe lcd, maybe flatscreen, etc. It finally occured to him through advice from another friend that he buy a LCD projector and screen (the projector cost $1100, and the screen another $250--it's huge!). He has his cable hooked up and he watches his DVDs on it as well as video games. The picture quality is crystal clear and it's like seeing a movie in his living room! This is just an idea but the amount of screen space you would get wouyld be a lot more with paying less and you could always adjust the screen to be bigger or smaller. Anyway, just my two cents.

This is the way to go.  Its my setup as well.  We call it the poor man's widescreen.

I'd strongly recommend InFocus projectors www.infocus.com.

My setup is as follows:

Infocus Screenplay 5000 high def LCD projector ($1,200.00 but I got a 300 dollar rebate)
Carada 100 inch (diagonal) bright white fixed screen ($600.00)

Infocus also sell DLP projectors which have a nicer image, but give me motion sickness. 

You can go big or small with a projector.  you can ceiling or tabletop mount it, etc.  the SP5000 also has built in speakers which sound decent, but I'm running mine through a Denon AVR1905 receiver and a bose Acoustimass 10 system (which I wouldn't use again...there are better speaker systems for less money).

If you have a smaller room, its easy to project down to a 70" image.  If you go below that, it will probably be more economical to just buy a projection LCD or DLP TV. 

Let me know if you have any more questions.

BTW, the total cost of my system was $2,100.00 Keep in mind that I got the receiver on sale. 

Keep in mind that there are a couple of downsides to this type of system.

1.  If you plan on ceiling mounting, you need attic or fishing access for your wires.  In addition, the ceiling mount costs an additional 300 bucks.

2.  Bulbs don't last as long (about a year of heavy viewing) and cost about 400 bucks each.

I still say you can't beat t though.

[MoparUSAF]

I have done my research on this subject and nearly bought a large screen tv.....but went with the plasma. I was very close to getting a Panasonic.....but instead went with the new Samsung...the picture and the colors are fantastic. Either one.... the 42 inch or the 50 inch are great. Take a look at the web site sample and travel to the nearest Best Buy / Circuit City / PC Richards and see it in person....you might change your mind...I did!
Good luck
Mike

http://www.bestbuyplasma.com/Plasma/Product.asp_X_Sku_Y_PPM42M5H

[ipstrategies]

I agree that the Projector/ Screen is a great way to go for movies and games. If you are going to watch a lot of tv and you want the best in HD then HITACHI ULTRAVISION. I had my last HITACHI for 11 years. I now have a 57 HD Hitachi because of the TV watching or I would have went with the Projector / screen a friend has one at it is nice. try www.avforums.com for lots of info.

[my73charger]

Thanks guys for all the input...I will let you know what I go with.

[gsmopar]

My $.02

Rear Projection:
Pros = Cheapest of the 4 listed, True Black Colors
Cons = Big, screen burn

LCD:
Pros = Compact size
Cons = Dead Pixels, no true black colors, expensive, new technology with unproven Reliability

DLP:
Pros = Compact Size, Mid priced, True Black
Cons = new technology with unproven Reliability

Plasma:
Pros = Compact size, True Black
Cons = Most Expensive, new technology with unproven Reliability

*Glossary of terms:
True Black = Compare the LCD to any of the other TV's in the store.   You'll notice the difference in the black colors.   LCD is gray.
Dead Pixel = Look close to any LCD screen and you'll notice small blue squares.   These can't be fixed, and more will come as the TV ages.
Screen Burn = Rear projection TV screens may burn similar to computer monitors.   If you're a big CNN watcher or watch movies in the incorrect format for extended periods of time the screen may burn.   I've had my TV for 2 years now and cannot find any signs of burning.

**edit**
I almost forgot.  Your LCD projector option is NOT HD.  You may get a big picture, but it will never look as good as a 1080 HD.  Since you stated that picture quality was one of your concerns I'd stay away from that option.

[Chargen69]

One of the plasma tv's we looked at had something like a 60,000 hour guarentee.


60,000 hours /  8 hours per day = 7500 days.

7500 days / 365 days per years = 20.54 years.

I get tired of just about anything in 20 years.


Just a thought, plasma does look better than most, JMO

[gsmopar]

Good point!  Check the warranties and how they service the TV.  I know the more expensive models (pioneer elite) services them in your home, which will get more important on the bigger TV's.  One of my co-workers had a DLP set take a dump.  It was repaired under warranty, but the cost without the warranty was 90% of a new TV.

[Orange_Crush]

My $.02

Rear Projection:
Pros = Cheapest of the 4 listed, True Black Colors
Cons = Big, screen burn

LCD:
Pros = Compact size
Cons = Dead Pixels, no true black colors, expensive, new technology with unproven Reliability

DLP:
Pros = Compact Size, Mid priced, True Black
Cons = new technology with unproven Reliability

Plasma:
Pros = Compact size, True Black
Cons = Most Expensive, new technology with unproven Reliability

*Glossary of terms:
True Black = Compare the LCD to any of the other TV's in the store.   You'll notice the difference in the black colors.   LCD is gray.
Dead Pixel = Look close to any LCD screen and you'll notice small blue squares.   These can't be fixed, and more will come as the TV ages.
Screen Burn = Rear projection TV screens may burn similar to computer monitors.   If you're a big CNN watcher or watch movies in the incorrect format for extended periods of time the screen may burn.   I've had my TV for 2 years now and cannot find any signs of burning.

**edit**
I almost forgot.   Your LCD projector option is NOT HD.   You may get a big picture, but it will never look as good as a 1080 HD.   Since you stated that picture quality was one of your concerns I'd stay away from that option.

Hoooeeeeee!

Have you even looked at these things since 1997?

Times have changed.  CRT projection televisions are on their way out.  LCD, DLP, and plasma TV technology has gotten so good that there is not much of a reason anymore to go with anything but.

on projection TVs, LCD and DLP are now the way to go as the blacks in most cases are almost as good as CRT blacks.  In addition, you don't have to worry about burn-in or convergence issues.

Dead pixels are pretty much a thing of the past.

If you want to go for flat-panel TV's, I'd go with plasma over LCD every time as, especially once you get to larger sizes, there is obvious pixelation.

As far as rear projection goes, Sony's 3LCD systems are pretty good and have very good blacks.  Samsung has a good DLP system and the price can't be beat. 

With DLP, make sure you spend some time watching a DLP TV before you buy as they can cause motion sickness (they did with me) especially when it comes to projectors.  Its rare, but it happens.

Before you go TV shopping, rent the movie "The 5th Element" and go to the "blue chick" scene.  That is an excellent testing ground for TV's and will make TV deficiencies apparent almost immediately.  Look at the quality of the blacks and look for "banding" between shades of color.

Remember also that all manufacturers turn up the brightness of their TV's and scre everything up color-wise to make their sets pop on store shelves.  There is a great DVD called "video essentials" that you should buy which will guide you step-by-step through setting your TV up properly.

BTW, my LCD projection IS, in fact, high def with true 1080p. 

[gsmopar]

LCD Rear Projection is HD.  LCD overhead type Projector mentioned earlier is NOT.  I was at Ultimate Electornics last weekend and still was able to find dead pixels on the LCD TV's, and I don't think the black has improved on them much at all in the last year.  To each his own I guess.