A/V guys, need advice for new TV - Page 2

LightngSVT · 11-14-05, 03:55

Thanks for the info guys! I will check out AVS Forum too. We are very happy with our 57" projection Sony, but thanks to our builders "oops" its either the TV (going to slim or wall mount) or my 5' long tropical fish tank. The fact that they are giving us $5k for their goof makes this pretty tolerable. The TV will sit 4-4.5' above the floor on the mantle, up here in MI we use our fireplaces and people expect them come resale time (we did think about just dumping it though). Our room will only be 17x17, we have a sectional that will sit in one corner and the tv will be across the room in the opposite corner. the TV will sit next to, but in front of a large wall of windows (with view of the lake).

We also talked about getting a 42" ED-TV plasma with plans to keep it 1-2 years. Then moving it up to our bedroom and getting the latest at that time for our family room.

CarWeenie · 11-14-05, 05:04

Quote:

LCD and DLP 1080p (1920 x 1080 resolution) offerings have just recently started showing up on the market.

Unfortunately, those will not take 1080p signal and display natively.
I think it is a very good idea to get an super cheap ED tv and then get something much
nicer in 1-2 years. (price drop on these items are scary - if the auto was on the same price curve, you could get a Rolls for $500). Hopefully, the 1080p would be all sorted out
(Of course, there would be the *new* *new* 2160p then).

By the way if you planning to move the plasma into the bed room, I suggest you get one with
tuner and speakers. I don't think you want to deal with set-top-box, 5.1 speakers in the
bedroom. You may think 5.1 speakers are manly things to have in the bedroom. However, our fairer sex would disagree every time.

LightngSVT · 11-14-05, 06:10

Funny thing is we kept our old sony 5.1 receiver to use in the BR and it was the wifes idea! LOL! But I do agree that running the wires through the walls and hanging speakers may be a bit much in the BR. As far as the EDTV's, there was a very nice Samsung for $1999 at Circuit City (that I know we can get cheaper), it looked much nicer than the $1799 Phillips. In a year or 2 we can get probably something nicer than the TVs currently costing $4-5000 for half that price. Although Id like to go 50" instead of 42".

CarWeenie · 11-14-05, 07:42

I hear you.
Unfortunately, there is no 50" ED.
If you are interested in a 42" ED, I would highly recommend looking at the Panasonic
42PD50U. It has tuners/speaker/stand. No cable card, PIP, though. No sure how important those things are to you.
You can go to the sponsors on the avsforum. I think that tv can be had for around $1800
shipped.

LightngSVT · 11-14-05, 08:37

Looks like a decent TV, would be a good bedroom tv in a year or 2 and I saw it for $1549 online. I dont know much of what the HDMI port or cable card is and we never use the PIP feature on our current tv so thats no biggie. Im kind of thinking of one of the 50" Wega LCD projection TV's as well. YEs you have to replace bulbs every 3-ish years, but the picture quality, features and price are hard to resist and they are oly about 14" deep. Regardless I want to see the TVs in person before I buy.

CarWeenie · 11-15-05, 05:17

Trust me, you don't need to see that tv before you buy.
(It is like buying a car without test driving it - you have problem with that?)

I saw them at Circuit City.
A cable card is something (very small) that slips into the back of your tv.
Then you do not need a set-top-box anymore (for pay-per-view, etc).
Very aesthetically pleasing.

DETAILKING · 11-15-05, 05:43

I wouldn't even consider an LCD. I just got a DLP set and love it, but I think you are looking for something a bit more slim line.

I did the research on plasma, and I think the best for your money is a panasonic 42-50" Over 50 they are not cost effective at all and really start to get expensive. You should be able to find a 42-50" for under 3500 or so. The industrial models rate higher but have no bells and whistles and don't even have speakers build in. The consumer models are good too though. I highly recommend putting it on a stand. The TV should be level with your eyes at viewing position. Mounted on a wall, the TV will look funny so low, and if you mount it high, brightness will suffer from teh viewing angle. Hope this helps...

Inthedetails · 11-16-05, 02:36

Certainly not being argumentative, but if you buy the right bracket, you will not lose a quality by mounting above your fireplace. Trust me...I don't have problems.

And as for the no ED comment. It ultimately depends on what you are going to watch. If you are not going to have a HD receiver, and most of your watching is standard TV, then ED should be fine. And ED will decode HD signals, if you decide to upgrade.

mgm121499 · 11-16-05, 03:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by TortoiseAWD

LightningSVT,

If you haven't already, you might try poking around at http://www.avsforum.com, too.

Tort

Ditto that. Lots of good info. there.

I'm a huge Sony fan when it comes to TV's. The 50 inch SXRD-HDTV has a silicon reflective display coating, which a few years ago was very $$$$ (well over 10K). What this amounts to is a superior picture across the board (cable, sat, dvd, etc..) I believe this unit it also set up to take advantage of the new HD-DVD formats coming out in early 06. I believe the 50 inch model is in the 3500-4000 range.

Griz · 11-17-05, 02:29

Have you considered buying a projector and drop-down screen option.

The simple fact is that people can give you general leads on the quality televisions, but you're not going to get the best TV unless you spend a great deal of time going out and looking at them yourself.

A few things to consider:
Do you notice the "screen door effect" on many lcd's
How does the TV perform with action sequences
Will you need a higher contrast ratio due to brightness of the room (sunlight)

CarWeenie · 11-17-05, 06:21

I disagree there.
The only consideration is that whether you can get it oked by your better half.
Possible responses from her:

1. What tv? Did you see our credit card bill last month! You busted our budget
on stupid things like PC, steamer, extractor, latest lines of products from Zaino,
Wolfgang, Chemical guys, Pinnacle, 4 stars, Optimum.
You are sleeping in the doghouse, buster!

2. What tv? Are you telling me that you would be watching tv all day Saturday and
Sunday!
You are sleeping in the doghouse, weenie!

3. What tv? You are not getting that black/silver monstrosity into our house, are you?
You are sleeping in the doghouse, loser!

LightngSVT · 11-18-05, 02:44

My "better half" is on board with the purchase. Neither of really wanted to spend the $$ with what we are spending on our new house soon, but thanks to the builder we have to or A) Buy new furniture, B) Get rid of our 5' 100 gallon tropical fish tank, neither of which is going to happen. The builder gave us a roughly $4000 credit today due to their mistakes.

I havent considered the projector yet, I always thought to get a decent one they were very expensive? Arent they very sensitive to lighting in the room? Our TV will be "in front" of about 8' of windows so we will have back lighting, not glare to worry about. I think we ruled out LCD due to the cost and most only come up to 40", we want 42" or 50".