what sites should I hit up for reviews and the like?

also is there any upcoming 10-20% off coupons i should wait for?

thanks!

Here's a good place to start for reviews: http://www.hometheaterspot.com/html/index.php

Also try:
www.audioreview.com

Go to the bottom part of the screen where it says 'community highlights'. This is where you will find end user reviews. Some are better than others but due to the fact that there are 5,000 different brands, models, sizes, etc - some equipment has more reviews than others. So YMMV.

Good luck!!

buy a projector.

Well this really depends. If you don't have a light controled room I would advise agains it. Trying to watch a football game at noon may bad.

For under $30 you could have a 55" to 150" TV!
http://www.yourownbigscreen.com/index_wb.html









of course the quality is most likely not what you are looking for

thanks everyone so far

salesman today at sears said he recommended mitsubishi and hitachi for big screens.... he seemed to be knowledgable... anyone agree or disagree with him??

i'm a little leary because he then mentioned a $200 off deal they were having on the mitsu's this week?

Mitsubishi all the way. Nothing can compare for the price. Everything else looks like crap next to it, though others in the Hardware forum will say JVC Elite is pretty close to it. Don't get Hitachi, the colors aren't nearly as sharp. Stick with the Mitsu and you can't go wrong. BTW, I own a 55" mitsu and couldn't be happier.

"Everything else looks like crap next to it"?

What's a JVC Elite? I've heard of a Pioneer Elite.

And I think others would more likely say that if you get the Mitsubishi ISF calibrated the Mitsubishi might be close to the Pioneer Elite out of the box.

Say what huh?

Information overload can be achieved at this site.
AVS Forum

Ugh, lack of sleep confuses the brain...

I meant Pioneer Elite. Thanks for correcting it (sort of).

Anyway, the Pioneer Elite looks poopy when I see it next to a Mitsu, but that is just my personal opinion. Both sets had the same HD feed on them and the colors just didn't look as sharp on the Elite as they did on the Mitsu. Also could have been a setup problem, but you would think an upper-end audio/video store would have them set up correctly.

I love my Hitachi 65", but unfortunately
I can't dis the other brands as it's the only one I
own, and I wouldn't judge something that I don't own. Just
remember that as you look at them at the stores, the tv's usually
aren't set up right, so it's not a good thing to compare picture.

Jason

My advice is to buy at Sears for the best price. Here is what I did.

(1) I bought 10% Sears coupon from EBay.
(2) Sears run a 10% off promotion when using their credit card almost every month.
(3) Find the lowest advertised price on the tv you want or get a receipt from somewhere to do price-match.

I ended up doing all three and got the Panasonic 50LC13 for about $2,200 tax included when it first came out in September. I don't think that BB or CC would fall for this kind of stunt.

may watn to check this out. i think this is a pioneer elite

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...A3996%3A107530

53 inch for < $1700

It's not the Elite model, but it has most of the guts from the previous year's Elite.

A strong contender that should be considered and is considered a real bargain at that price.

I highly recommend Mitsubishi too. They're great values. Definitely check out http://www.hometheaterspot.com for lots of great info about all brands. There's even a tweaks section for paid members. I used a few of the Mitsubishi service menu tweaks and now my TV is right up there with the Pioneer Elites, without needing an ISF calibrator. But I'm sure a calibrator couldn't hurt.

Mitsubishi and Hitachi are both excellent RPTV's. These two manufacturers, along with Pioneer, became my final 3 candidates after months of research on RPTV's.

I finally settled on a non-Elite series Pioneer 53". My reasons:

*Pioneer is the one everyone else is chasing when it comes to RPTV. They have excellent picture quality, excellent build quality, make a great looking set.

* Pioneer still has the best stretch mode in the industry. Stretch mode is what you'll use to make a normal aspect-ratio (4:3) broadcast TV image fit your 16:9 (widescreen) screen. Many RPTV's are not good at this--they make the image look squashed and unnatural.

* Value for the dollar. The Pioneer SD-533HD5 can be had from Walmart.com for $1686.00 + $92 in-home delivery (they place it where you want it, and take the packaging away with them), which is a fraction of what most people paid for it originally. If you want a bigger one, look for Pioneer's SD-643HD5 at a local Costco for $1999.

As I said, I have the 53", and couldn't be happier. The picture is nothing short of stunning. These models are owned by many happy home theater enthusiasts, and for good reason.

-JB

Damm that is a good deal. And it will fit in the entertainment center my wife is looking at. Yes, my wife wants an entertainment center with doors that will cover even on a RPTV. Yes, that will cost as much if not more then the TV, but at least I get a good sized TV AND keep the wife happy.

Going to go look at our house in February, may have to check that TV out. I thought the biggest TV I could get would be 51", so couple more inches would be nice.

Here is the Pioneer link for that TV with specifics.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pn...etailComponent

I did notice this TV does not have a DVI input which seems to be hot item right now. But don't know enough about it to tell if not having it is a big deal. If I understand it DVI allows the signal to stay digital all the way thru.

X (or anyone)- care to comment on the benifits of having DVI and if having DVI is a "must have item"?

Some people will say that DVI is a big deal, because of new standards being imposed on copy protection. These standards, though, are going to take a long time to ratify (if it ever happens at all). Very few digital service providers are even using DVI at this point.

I have Dish Network's latest HDTV set-top box, and am using the Component inputs on my Pioneer. These are digital inputs as well, and there's no difference in the image quality. The installer never even asked about a DVI input.

By the time DVI ever becomes the defacto standard, I suspect it will be a moot point because of further technological advancement.

I did my research on this--wasn't a deal killer for me. I have absolutely no buyer's remorse whatsoever over this Pioneer. It's a fantastic TV, and unbeatable at this price.

Niether the 533 or 643 is part of the Elite series, btw. They also don't have the streaking problems last year's Elites had. For the Elite, you'll pay a lot more money for a piano style (highly polished gloss black) cabinet, a slightly better line doubler, and bragging rights (plus the streaking problem). Image quality has been directly compared by many a shopper, and all claim to see about a 2 or 3% better image on the Elite. Not worth it, IMO. I'd rather keep that money and use it towards good cables and/or an extended warranty.

Thanks for the info. Do the new DVD players have DVI or is this really for HD receivers, Dish receivers, etc?

You also mentioned that the "stretch" mode for 4:3 TV works well. Is there an "automatic" setting for this? In other word, I travel a lot and would be great if my wife, kids or whatever, could just turn the TV on and have it select that appropiate aspect ratio for a particular input. Or can I maybe program this in advance? TV signal = strect mode, DVD = 16:9, etc.

While I want DVD to be as high a quality as possible, realistically this TV will probably be 70% regular TV and 30% DVD.

I think that consumers are better safe than sorry at this point. Most new HDTV sets now have DVI/HDCP connection. If Hollywood decides to implement copy protection for HD-DVD, DVI/HDCP will be the most prevalent secure connection type consumers already have and non DVI display will be out of luck. Besides, DVI is very important for fixed pixel displays (plasma, LCD, DLP, and LCOS). DVI connection offers superior pq in that type of display.

There are DVD players in the market now with DVI output. Examples are Bravo D1, Samsung 931, and Denon 5900. DVI will allow digital signal to be passed through directly to your TV without analog/digital conversion that the player must do over component connection. Moreover, the upconversion chips (to 720p or 1080i) in DVI dvd players are usually better than those inside the HDTV displays. Fixed pixel displays benefit most from DVI connection.

I don't think DVI is really going to give you a better picture than the VGA input the Pioneer has. It has CRTs which are analog so it's not purely a digital device and 1:1 pixel mapping isn't necessary as it is with LCD/DLP/LCOS type devices.

I use the VGA input on my non-streaking Elite (two generations back, before they had the problems) and primarily use it with an HTPC. Even though the HTPC has DVI I've had no desire that the set had DVI as well. However, as mentioned previously, it does help "future-proof" you.

Given that you watch so much TV you probably do want to go Pioneer due to its superior stretch modes. I've heard that Mitsubishi really improved theirs this year but I haven't heard anyone say it's as good as Pioneer's yet.

You just might want to take a look at other non-widescreen brands given so much TV viewing though. I wouldn't personally (I hardly every watch TV on it), but I thought I'd throw that in.

And the thing I've learned to appreciate about the Elite over the non-Elite Pioneers is the fine lens/dot pitch (.52mm) which allows me to sit very close to the set without seeing the individual dots. If you're sitting more than 7-8 feet away though you don't have to worry. And the solid case and piano finish of the Elite is far superior any other set if that matters to you. It does to me.

Yes, it will go into "Natural Wide" mode automatically with an SD source. It will also stay in Cinema Wide mode if the input is from the Component jack(s). It's only a matter of hitting the "mode" button on the remote to switch them, anyway. Very easy.

This is an ideal TV for that environment.

As for the DVI thing-- hoyalawya's info is correct as to the benefits of a DVI input. Bear in mind, though, that this is not a fixed pixel display. If you're in the market for Plasma, LCD, LCOS, etc, then you'll certainly want to make sure of a DVI connector.

Given that we're talking about RPTV (in a post that was originally in the Hot Deals Forum), though, I again state that it wasn't a deal killer for me. There are DVD players with DVI output as stated as well, but the upconversion in the Pioneers is excellent, and it was not a concern for me.

"X", don't think I was dissing the Elites, because I wasn't by any means. They are gorgeous sets, and they really are the standard by which RPTV has been judged for a very long time. The Elites are really a Professional grade television, and if you can afford one, get it. Rumor has it that Pioneer may finally have the streaking issue worked out (no confirmation on this, though). For my own budget (and busy household with young kids running around ), the benefits of the Elite didn't outweigh the savings.

The bottom line is: you're doing the right thing by asking these questions rather than going out and making an impulse buy. My recommendation would be to visit stores, check out the various models, their image quality, features, and prices. Make a short list of your candidates, do some research on those models on the Web and see where your gut takes you.

There is no ideal big screen TV--every manufacturer has their shortcomings, new features hit with every year's new lineup, this week's prize always becomes yesterday's news. RPTV is mature tech, but has it's limitations. Plasma, LCD, and their ilk are very young tech, and you'll definitely pay more. There are still bugs to be worked out.

For what I wanted to spend, the features offered by the 533 and general "bang for the buck" turned out to be optimal. They may not be for you, but you're on the right track.

-JB