My new plasma set

[RandyC]

My home theater is not all that. I do it pretty cheaply, but I like to think I have set up a workable lower priced system. No expensive things in here, but good quality. Not an Elite laserdisc, but a CLD-D703. Not a high end DVD player, but a CP-72 progressive scan. Not a $10k Fujitsu plasma, but an Akai from Costco. :)

So what do I think about the Akai? Here are some shots of it in my house. The house is still being remodelled, and on-going project. Little by little, we are attempting to update all the 1950 stuff from when it was built, but keep the classic elements of an older home.

http://www.cpdserver.com/pic/randy/plasma/plasma.html

[DVD Polizei]

Looks like a nice set, Randy. Thanks for the photos. I only have one peeve. The location of your nice set. It doesn't do it justice. :D

Eventually when I get my own, you can critique me as well.

Any chance of re-locating that fireplace? Yeah, I know....

[RandyC]

It was a tough call. We debated and thought a lot about this. There is no really good spot. The mantel is very high, over 50" off the ground, so we would be looking up a relatively severe angle. I thought about designing a complicated articulating mount that would swing down when you wanted to watch TV.... but that was nuts.

I thought about putting to the left of where it is now, in the new area that will be built. But... the speakers would then be all messed up and it would not be centered. Where it is, will be centered for the room. Just that it's not on a wall. :)

[lordzeppelin]

Randy...very nice. bastard. :D

seriously though...the house, from the pics, looks like it is quite nice too.

[SpaceBoy]

Nice tv, that picture on that thing looks pretty sweet..

[Josh Z]

:thumbsup:

Looks nice, Randy. I agree that the placement is probably not ideal, but I'm sure you'll make due somehow!

[woofman]

Very nice, someday I too shall upgrade to something similar, thank for sharing your experience.

[bfrank]

Explain your speaker placement? I see the center but where are your left and right speakers?

[BigDave]

Nice!

My wife told me that we should consider getting a bigger TV sometime once we get settled into our new house. She wants one that doesn't take up much depth, so plasmas and DLPs are the way to go.

I was like that guy in the Circuit City commercial where his wife says "we can go bigger." :D

[RandyC]

Originally posted by bfrank
Explain your speaker placement? I see the center but where are your left and right speakers?

They are equally spaced apart from the center channel. The left one is behind/under the metal cat thing. The right one is to the right of some books which are to the right of the canoe thing. I am not really pleased with how offset they are to the right.

The plan is that the entire left wall (next to the metal cat) will be gone soon as the room is expanding 8 feet to the left. I will replace the left channel with the center, move the right to where the center is, and place the left channel in it's new home.

http://www.cpdserver.com/pic/randy/plasma/fireplace.JPG

[Wolf Husky]

Hey hey. I hope you don't take offense to my post... different strokes for different folks.

I don't have the money for a plasma. I bought a 61" Sony RP a few years ago for $2400. But...

There's something everyone (that doesn't already know) needs to learn. There's about 50% profit for a company to sell electronics. When I did buy my Sony HighScan HDTV, I found the lowest price ($2400 + $300 freight), and called a semi-local (2 hrs away) high-end store, asked to speak to the sales manager, and explained that I was buying a TV, wanted to know it they'd match the price, as I'd prefer to keep business somewhat local. He worked the numbers, and gave it to me for $2600 after tax. I rented an F-150 to drive down and get it ($70) and in the long run, I saved $30 over the lowest-priced internet company. (The TVs avg selling price was about $3400)

I bet that if you called the locals in your area and asked them if they'd "deal" to get your business, you could probably buy a Sony PFM-42B2 for about the same price you paid for an "Akai."

You might even pay a tad bit more, but IMO, a Sony over an Akai is worth spending an extra $1500 !!!! You only want to buy a plasma once, right?

Anyway, just my opinion. The lowest price I can find for a Sony 42" is $4000 + $200ish freight + $150 wall mount.

I would be just about anything that you could get a local "high-end" electronics shop to get closer to your target. I invite you to give it a try. If you can get within $600, go for it. Costco will accept the return.

[Copenhagen]

Randy, very nice setup you have there :up:

[RandyC]

Thanks Copenhagen.

[DVD Polizei]

RandyC,

One thing you have that I do not and envy: You have a home. I'm still in an apartment. :D

[RandyC]

Update. The plasma set died. Quietly. Just shut off in the middle of The Simpsons and no more video. It's powered, but that is it.

I am thinking of taking it back to Costco and looking for something smaller as a temp unit. One of the ideas of the plasma set was to give me something to take to trade shows, but I didn't grasp how big/heavy a 42" plasma is, specially when boxed. If I could find a 25-30" LCD/Plasma, that would be perfect.

What sucks, is that I can't find a 25-30" LCD or Plasma for less than I paid for the 42" plasma.

[X]

Sounds like projector time.

[BigDave]

Originally posted by RandyC
Update. The plasma set died. Quietly. Just shut off in the middle of The Simpsons and no more video. It's powered, but that is it.

That stinks! :(

At least Costco has a good return policy.

[audrey]

The Samsung HLM437 DLP is close to the same price point. While it's rear projection and lacks the plasma's cool factor, it only weighs 70lbs, is less than 16 inches deep, and would likely fit in the built in cabinet where you have the Akai.

[RandyC]

Yeah, kind of depressing. Not sure what I am going to do.

Having the set die does not give me a warm fuzzy feeling about replacing it with another Akai. There is a "perfect" plasma for me, but it won't be here until July. That is a long time to not have any TV set.

My idea about getting a 25-30" LCD/Plasma as a temporary main set and for use at trade shows seems to be a good one. Then in July, I can buy the next generation Panasonic plasma and put the smaller 25-30" set on the wall in the bedroom. But, 25-30" LCDs are more expensive than the 42" plasma, which is nuts.

[RandyC]

Originally posted by audrey
The Samsung HLM437 DLP is close to the same price point. While it's rear projection and lacks the plasma's cool factor, it only weighs 70lbs, is less than 16 inches deep, and would likely fit in the built in cabinet where you have the Akai.

That does look great for my application, but it's just a little too tall at 29.75". My opening is 28.5" high.

The cool factor of a plasma is not much of an issue, specially since it's not obvious that it's a plasma. What the plasma gave me was a wide viewing angle and high light level because we have quite a bit of ambient light during the day.

[RandyC]

Originally posted by X
Sounds like projector time.

I read some more about possible projectors, but I am having trouble conceptualizing how I would use this. The present room does not seem well suited for it, and even the trade show booth seems odd, you would need the room to project the image.

[X]

I've taken a projector to a trade show. Just a regular 10' x 10' booth had plenty of room for the projector on a table and a screen. It was very visible in regular lighting too. Probably because it was so close.

The convenience of just carrying around a projector when I was used to dealing with CRTs was wonderful!

But to project in the area you have setup, you'd probably have the projector close to the floor. A pulldown screen would give you more versatility.

What's behind where you have the plasma now? Can you put the projector in the room behind it and project from behind?

[RandyC]

The idea of a small projector and screen for the trade show is tempting. I have not paid a lot of attention, but I do recall seeing vendors using projectors with success at previous trade shows.

If I only wanted something for the trade shows, that is pretty simple I think. The problem is that the trade shows are a small use of it for now, though it could very well be that I will be spending more time at trade shows in the future. Right now, I am looking at 3 days this year. So for the other 362 days, I would like to be able to get some value from this item.

It looks like I have 2 projector options.

1. Give up on a dual use and just buy a projector for the trade shows. Maybe use the projector as a temporary solution until July**.

2. Find a projector that will work as a permanent solution in the family room.


Maybe there is an option 3 where I can use the projector as a TV replacement in the bedroom, but that does not make sense to me.

The plasma is sitting in a built in box thatis about 30" deep with a subwoofer living behind it. The back of the box is solid with a door. Behind that is the garage. I think most projectors require a min distance, so that would not work. The area is too low I think for a ceiling mount projector and there is no place I can think of near the floor to place the projector as a permanent solution.


**If I can find a solution until July, that is when the new Panasonic with DVI/HDCP, built in speakers, built in tuner....arrives. It will be 42" and 3000:1 contrast. A very good choice for me. That will fit the opening perfectly. Retail list is $5k. I should be able to get it for $4k.

One other thought, maybe give up on the idea for trade shows and just rent a projector for them. I wonder if that makes more sense.

[Wolf Husky]

Well, my firm belief to buy brand name has once again been affirmed, for the 100,000th time.

Thanks for posting this thread, Randy. I hope we have all learned from that.

There really is a reason why Sony, Panasonic, and every other name brand sells a comparable unit for $3000+ more.

[RandyC]

Originally posted by RandyC
One other thought, maybe give up on the idea for trade shows and just rent a projector for them. I wonder if that makes more sense.

Just researched that and it does not make sense. It costs about $900 to rent the projector for a week. At that price, I would buy one for $2500.

[RandyC]

Originally posted by Wolf Husky
Well, my firm belief to buy brand name has once again been affirmed, for the 100,000th time.

Thanks for posting this thread, Randy. I hope we have all learned from that.

There really is a reason why Sony, Panasonic, and every other name brand sells a comparable unit for $3000+ more.

It was a brand name really, just rebadged. And for what it's worth, the plasma forum at AVS mentions people having problems with every brand of plasma. Now mine may have been a fluke, or maybe not. And from my research, I do think that the Panny *may* have an edge in quality. It's not $3000 more, the Panny is $600 more.


What this affirmed for me, is the value in dealing with Costco. I can just drive down and give it back to them.

[X]

Originally posted by RandyC
Just researched that and it does not make sense. It costs about $900 to rent the projector for a week. At that price, I would buy one for $2500. I know it's expensive. Luckily I can just borrow one when I need it.

There's a lot of dead dot-com equipment out there if you know where to look. Decent projectors, not necessarily ones I'd want to use for home theater, can be bought fairly inexpensively.

[RandyC]

Good idea X. I think it makes more sense now to buy a used projector for business and forget about trying to use somethin at home.

P.S. I went and bought another Akai.

[X]

Yeah, so Costco gave you another plasma.

But can you really ever get back that missed Simpsons time?

[RandyC]

Tivo... it's all in the Tivo.

The next question, how does Costco handle the rebate I already submitted for $200 for the first set?

[Wolf Husky]

You are right about dealing with Costco! Here, here!

Good luck to you, Randy. I'm crossing my fingers for you this time. Hey. Where are you anyway? I'd love to have a friend with a plasma. :)

[mljones99]

very nice randy. i think it would look better hanging on the wall above the fireplace though ;)

[LasVegasMichael]

I know I'm dredging this up from a 10 month hiatus, but I wanted to see, nearly one year later, how that plasma Akai is holding up.

We are buying a house at the end of this year, and a plasma tv within a week fo close of escrow, so I want to be ready.

So, Randy, any updates on the re-bought set?

--LVM

[steebo777]

No kidding this thread is old, but I'm interested (not to buy but to know) how the Akai is holding up.

[gotapex]

Anyone else pick up the new Akai plasma from Costco? The $400 off coupon just expired tonight (which brought the price down to $2499). This new one even includes the stand, the speakers, dual built in tuners, and DVI. It's a clone of the Samsung SPN4235 (MSRP: $3999):

Samsung SPN4235 (http://www.samsungusa.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_detail.jsp?eUser=&prod_id=SPN4235X%2fXAA)

Overall, not too shabby, especially considering Costco's excellent return policy.

[RandyC]

Wow. Holy Thread Ressurection!!

Update. The Plasma is working perfectly. I have been thrilled with it. I took it to the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show where it pumped out the audio and video of the DVD Rendezvous on continuous loop...thousands of times. That killed one Panasonic DVD player that I quickly replaced. But the Plasma never showed any strain of 12 days from morning till night.

Pic of plasma at show-
http://www.cpdserver.com/chasecam/pic/show/showbooth-med.jpg

I was surprised at how much sound the internal amplifier could pump out, I expected to have to get an amplifier when the crowds were there, but it was fine. Deafening almost right in front of my speakers.


I sold the same DVD to another vendor across the hall that wanted to play it to attract crowds (we often had 20-30 people in our booth watching the DVD)...and his picture quality looked horrible. Maybe he was using S-Video or something. I used progressive scan out to the component inputs.

Anyway... still happy. No regrets. Feel like I am getting my money worth.

[gotapex]

Hey, you're that RandyC. You're everywhere. Haha. I think I count 3 forums so far that I'm on.

[RandyC]

Originally posted by gotapex
Hey, you're that RandyC. You're everywhere. Haha. I think I count 3 forums so far that I'm on.

:)

http://www.elisetalk.com/

Which other one?

[gotapex]

AVS Forum. You're everywhere.

[LasVegasMichael]

RandyC: Thanks for posting and updating us! I am glad to hear it is still going strong.

My choices are being narrowed rather quickly, and I'm thinking the Akai might be the way to go.

Thanks again!

--LVM