2. home-theater
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Help with a new TV please

Hi everyone,
This is pretty new territory for me, my current version of "home theatre" is a 27" Panasonic tv. That's about to change however, the girlfriend and I are about to close on a new condo, our first as homeowners, and we are downsizing, not unexpectedly. To maximize space we thought a thin, wall mountable tv would be just the ticket, plasma or lcd. Then a thought crossed my mind, what about a projector? So I ask the experts out there, what is our best bet? This is for everyday tv and occasional movie watching. We want hdtv and we want longterm reliability is such a thing exists. Our total budget is $2500 hopefully that buys us a nice tv. Since my current set cost a cool $300 I figure something nice is out there. Our budget should include either wall or ceiling mounting as well as calibration. I eagerly await your advice.
Thanks,
Jon
jond

Showing 2 responses by reubent

reubent
7,072 posts
 
Jon,

I don't think you are going to be able to do this considering your budget. However, if you can spend a bit more, you can do pretty well.

Personally, I had a similar space vs. picture quality dilemma and I chose the EDTV 42" Panasonic Plasma. I paid $2400 from a local B&M store and I consider it a bargain considering its excellent picture quality, SD tuner, HD tuner, digital cable tuner, cablecard tuner and built-in speakers.

If you can live with a 37" unit, you can save a couple of hundred over the 42" price.

BTW, if you shop hard, you can get a Sanus wall mount for a bit over $100 (I did). I have not sprung for calibration as the PQ is good enough for me out of the box and I don't want to invest another 16% (approx. $400) for calibration when I'm happy enough without it.

Enjoy,

TIC
reubent
7,072 posts
 
Swampwalker,

You are correct, a good input signal is critical. I recently traded my old Scientific Atlanta Digital CATV set top box for a new unit from PACE. The PACE box provides a much better picture for me. SD looks good. I stretch it via "just mode" and I've gotten used to the wide butts now! HDTV broadcast are outstanding and prog. DVD playback is also very good.

Overall, I'm very happy. I would reiterate what Aaron said too. You need light control for a front projector and it also helps for other technologies. For instance, my Panny has a significant issue with glare/reflections. If you can't control the room lighting, you may be annoyed by the room reflections you see on the screen during viewing. BTW, some plasmas are better than others at avoiding glare. It's not an issue for me because I can dim the room lighting to prevent the reflection of the the light source, but it might affect someone that is going to use the unit in a livingroom.

Enjoy,

TIC
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