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"Commercial" plasma screens the real deal for HT?

Following my other thread where I was asking for advices on $1500 screens for my small 10*11 audio-video room to be used solely for DVDs (no TV cable input), many have amswered that the best deal remain traditional CRT TVs, wide-screen (Sony Wega or XBR).
I stumbled onto a forum that advocates the purchase of commercial plasma screens (about $1500 for 42": Matrix, Hyundai or other NEC) with none of the consummer gadgets, no speaker, just component input. That would do the job for me as I have no HDMI output on my McCormack UDP-1.
What is the catch, if any? resolution (800*400 and change) too low? reliability? this seems to be a good deal to me and will not create a big mass between my audio-first speakers.

Any opinions?
Thanks
beheme

Showing 2 responses by bignerd100

bignerd100
515 posts
 
Front projection is teh biggest bang for the buck. However, if you want a flat pannel and are thinking about a Comercial version you may want to talk to an ISF guy. Some of the comercial displays are the same as Consumer without bells and whistles. Some others are intended to display still images (flight schedules, billboard type advertisements, talking heads, etc). These displays do not do well with fast movement and even a non-videophile would be sorely disapointed by these. An ISF guy could tell you much more than I can and probably get you a hell of a deal on an appropriate Comercial display. The Pioneer comercial displays should fit the bill.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/bsc/product/album/two/0,,2076_4183,00.html
bignerd100
515 posts
 
The way a television deals with movement involves the scaler not the glass. If all of the rest of the specs on a set look impresive but the scaler is not up to par the image is going to look bad or atleast not as good as that of other displays with better scalers.

The Imaging Science Foundation (while not completely unaffiliated with manufacturers) is into R&D for measureing and calibrating video displays. Chances are there is a local dealer who has a resident geek who happens to be ISF certified. These guys can calibrate a display to output an even temerature throughout the reproduceable color spectrum. THey can show you what a displays performance is before and after calibration on a printed graph. Also the subjective aspect; you should see an improvement in the picture of any given set after calibration. At around $350 per input (usually only one input calibration is needed) it is a small investment in comparison to line conditioners, set-up discs, fancy cables, and any tweeks available. There are adjustments that are only available via the service menues of these displays. ISF guys are able to get into these, make changes to get the best performance out of a given set, and all without messing things up (as ambitious videophiles often do).

Check out the ISF website. It's not great but it can put you in touch with a guy in your area who knows how to explain the pros and cons of the different options.

http://www.imagingscience.com/about.htm

Hope this helps.
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