HD Home Theater Systems
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- tconn
Advice? Lessons learned? Insights? Product recs?
Anything...
- DRIFTMONKEY0
I got HD a few days ago, and I can barely stand to watch regalur TV now... it's a shame... I find myself watching shows now that I would never watch, because they are in HD... cough* Chronicles of Riddick*
- vwsung18t0
what do you want to know? i am going to be isf certified soon so maybe i can answer some of your questions.
- tconn0
Good wireless systems? That pump audio to speakers without wires? Is Plasma really all that?
Is it possible to do this and not go broke?
- RobotGunslinger0
I don't buy into HD all that much, bring back the oldschool tube tvs!
- vwsung18t0
there aren't really any good wireless systems. most of the ones out there seems to be RF and aren't really great sounding. sometime when you walk in between the transmitters, you'll hear a slight distortion. and they're too expensive for how they sound. no enthusiasts would go for wireless speakers.
so far no display technology is without its advantages and disadvantages over each other. plasma will have the best picture for a flat panel. they usually have the highest contrast ratios and their color levels are the best. they suffer from burn-in problems where the image that didn't move alot will stay on your screen from a bit. most older high-end and most newer plasmas have a technology that'll constantly move pixels around slightly to remedy this problem. cheapo plasmas usually don't have this feature. plasmas also has to be recharged so that the picture stays bright and colorful. it used to cost a lot, like $1k to get this done, but it's around $100 now. and the timeframe for this also has been getting longer. it used to be at least every 4-5 years, i think it's now every 10 years.
plasma technology has been getting better but newer, better display technology comes out all the time. so far it's been plasmas, LCD, DLP and some LCoS, which sony calls sxrd. but LED, SED, OLED, etc are around the corner by the end of this year.
anyway, i would say that deciding between current technology depends on if you want a flat panel display to save space, what size display, the environment the tv will go in, and how much money you got.
and "is it possible to do this and not go broke?"
define "broke"
- tconn0
4K max.
Yes, flat panel display. Will go above fire place. Speaker in book shelves and the ceiling.
Thanks. Your info is great.
- johndiggity0
aquos.
- vwsung18t0
4k for everything? or just the display?
- vwsung18t0
what size display are you looking for? are you going to install everything yourself?
- tconn0
For everything. Not going to install myself.
Size -- 45ish. If possible.
- tkmeister0
i like aquos too. i like it better than bravia. 4k isn't much to buy the system. i think u can buy a nice display with that, then wait till u save more to buy sound system.
- swollenelbow0
my parents just got a 50" pioneer plasma and it looks amazing on HD.
the pioneer was the best looking display in the store.
- vwsung18t0
for that size, it would much more cost-effective to get a plasma over lcd display.
45 is an odd size for a display, i have seen 46". the price difference between 42" and 46" models of the same brand and series seems really big. how far away is the seats from where the display is? here is a chart for calculating the appopriate size display:
places like bestbuy and circuitcity have sales all the time. it would be best to goto a place like that and check out the displays in person and decide which ones you like and which one you can afford.
things to look for when choosing a display are:
hdmi inputs. having more than one is good. hdmi is digital audio and video on one cable to reduce the amount of wires in your setup but most importantly, they can transfer copyrighted content. some blu-ray and hd-dvd discs will have copy-protection that you can't watch if you don't have a display with hdmi. most displays come with only one hdmi input and that's ok if you're going to get a receiver with multiple hdmi inputs and outputs.
if you want to future-proof your display, get one that can display 1080p. 1080p has been labelled tru-hd. it's the highest HD resolution for end-users. there are 2k line displays for commercial purposes and a 4k line projector that sony came out with that costs 100k but that's a whole other story.
as for brands,
i love sony bravia series,
samsungs and lgs are always good,
HP has some surprisingly nice displays.
pioneer makes excellent but expensive displays,when i used to work at circuitcity, i always told people that didn't know what they wanted to not buy the most expensive or the least expensive tv we had.
- ETM0
I would go with a 42" plasma on your budget. Prices for that size crashed last year and you can score a quality HD panel for $2500-3000. That will leave money for an okay 5.1 theatre in a box.
For the panel, I like Panasonic and after much deliberation bought the 42" HD Panasonic Viera. I am VERY pleased, with the only complaint being that the menu system could have a few more picture adjustment settings.
Samsung has some nice adjustment options, but their pictures look like crap. Yellows have a green hint you can't get rid of.
Pioneer makes nice plasma displays, but I think they are a little over priced compared to Panasonic.
The ONLY time I would say don't go for plasma is if you are in a room with a lot of direct lighting (window, bright lights) as the reflective nature of the plasma's glass will cause nasty reflections. LCDs are better for that kind of environment.
- mayo0
we have a Mitsubishi DLP. LOVE IT! Denon does great receivers. MrMayo is an A/V junkie so if you've got a question, i can prolly see what his opinion is.
- tconn0
thanks for the info!