Scarface, For that room I was originally looking at a front projection unit, but I just wasn't sure how feasible it was. I'm not extremely technology proficient and wish to buy the top of the line but keep it simple as well. I also had concerns over not being able to watch normal television because of the size of the front projection screen/picture. Also for the front projection, we saw a unit (Forgot the brand) and it was about $7,000, but then a reciever, screen, home furnishings, sound system and many other things are needed. You sound very knowledgable about this matter, how would you compare a rear projection DLP to the front projection to the plasma unit?
I want to spend no more than about $1000 on a new TV. What is better? The cheapest RCA, tube, round screen basic HD or a tube, flatscreen from Sony that is not HD. The cost is about the same. I thought the issue was simple, but I saw a non HD flat screen that was pretty impressive.
Well it all depends on a certain number of factors. 1.) If you can't controll the amount of light in the room then forget the Front Projection method all together. So basically if you have a room in mind that has a thousand windows and you live in Sweden where it doesn't get dark until 11:00PM then your out of luck. However if you can overcome the light obstacle then a FP set up is the best option. 2.) The next thing is what do you watch? If its going to be the Rockets all day long, p*rn, or other cable channels then a FP setup might not be what you want. The reason being as simple as "Crap in. Crap out" When you have a bad source to display the increase in size magnifies the flaws. However with that said HD is breathetaking and DVD's on a good player or HomeTheaterPC(HTPC) looks great and gives you that true sense of a theater. Just imagine a 140" screen(thats rather too big but you get the picture) 2.) If you don't have a light controlled room then a plasma or RP setup would do. A plasma has a LOT more wow affect then a Rear-PJ TV due to the fact that it is so slim and because it can be hanged on the wall much like a picture frame. Plasmas are very bright so even if you are out in Kandahar you can watch it with no problem, you also don't have to worry about changing any bulbs as you do in Projectors. However Plasmas are still pricey and only get to about 63". They also don't have the black levels that CRT's have yet and have a much greater burn-in rate. This means if you watch CNN a lot and thats the only channel you watch all day and never turn off the TV then in a week you will have that CNN logo permanently burnt into your TV panel, so if your checking out NBC's coverage of the NBA lottery because they just announced that we have the number one pick in the draft you will still see the outline of the CNN logo. Plasmas are relatively new and will most certainly advance a great deal over the next few years, they have come a LOOOOONG way in just the last 2 years and will eventually completely replace the CRT TV's we see today. A rear-PJ setup is very nice and easily the most convenient due to the fact that it already has speakers and what not. If you like to watch cable 24/7 then RP or Plasmas are the way to go. One thing people don't think of doing is getting the RP TV properly calibrated. You can find an ISF certified tech to do your HDTV for you relatively cheap and the difference sometimes can be night/day. The TV you got was the very first DLP RP TV released to the market (Panasonic came out with one right after). The great thing about Mitsubishi is that they have the "Promise" program where they will upgrade and install firewire ports to their older TV's for a fee. I don't know if yours has firewire but most of the new products will be utillizing it as the main input and output for HD. Front projection systems can get rather costly but there are some great setups that can be done for the price of a RP TV. Dell has sales everyonce in a while where they blow stuff out below anyone elses costs. A couple of months ago people on the AVSforum mentioned the NEC LT-150 dlp pj going for $1200 thats an awesome price. Throw in a Home Theater PC(HTPC) with all the proper hardware and software and a set of good surround sound speakers, a reciever, an amp and the proper wiring, and lets not forget the screen and then get someone to install the stuff and properly calibrate it and I would be surprised to see your bill under $10k. **BUT BEWARE** the home-theater stores are looking to make home-runs and add to that the fact that people aren't throwing their money around as freely as they were only 2 years ago and you will have some hungry sales people. My suggestion to anyone who wants to buy anything is to research it and then research it and then finally research it some more. I made the mistake of going into a hometheater store last year with absolutely zero knowledge on any hometheater product and they tried to absolutely kill me. I started to look for some info and found that website and learned everything I know from them. I found a guy who is absolutely the best hes saving me $24,000 on my projector ALONE. So if you do your homework you will be shocked at what you can do for $2-3k. Glynch If you want a direct-view (19-40") then the best ones are the Japanese brands the Sony's, Panasonics, Toshibas and whatever elses. I don't know how cheap the direct-view HDTV's are, but you can try to bargain at certain places. Demo's are a good source for a cheap deal. I haven't really been looking in a while so I'm kind of out of the loop I guess. Just read on the internet what are the best TV's and what not. **BUT MAKE SURE YOU GET THE EXTENDED WARRANTY** Most places they are less than $400 and include calibration anytime you want. Most places include the TUBES on the extended warranty. I have asked at the GOOD GUYS and at FRY's and they both said yes. Don't know if they have those in your areas. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask (I don't know that much but I'll be happy to help if I can) or just go to that link I posted earlier.
Hey Scarface, you know any way to make my system better? You seem to know way way more about this then I do. I have the following: Mistu 73905 HDTV Tosh 5109-Sd Progressive Scan Elite VSX-39TX Reciever Energy Encore Speakers Also is adding two more Energy speakers to the current 5.1 setup worth it? Is there a way to make the HD even better? I currently have the RCA HDTV reciever through Directv. Does X-box really make good use of HD capabilities?
Check out the DVDO line scaler if you find one cheap you can always resell it for the same price that you got it for as people are always looking to make their picture look better. I think you can find them as low as $200. Some people say they notice a big difference and some say they don't notice any. I guess you have to see if it works with your TV. Also pick up a copy of AVIA or Video Esentials DVD's they teach you how to set up your system properly. Those are two DVD's that any home theater lover can't live without. I learned a LOT from them and they are real easy to use. As far as the speakers are concerned if your room is pretty big and your reciever can handle 7.1 then go for it but if you have a small room then what you have is fine.
I think I might check out the line scaler tomorrow. I had the system setup by a professional, so I dont think I have to worry about that aspect. My room is not that big, but I like the idea of 7.1. And the Elite reciver can handle just about anything I think. Thanks.
