darkside

I currently have a 46" SONY KP-46WT520 CRT Rear Projection in my living room. It supports 1080i and I really like the set and I have had it for a couple of years now.

Today I got a tip about Target having an open box 52" Panasonic PT-52LCX66 LCD Rear Projection 720p set for $500. This deal was too tempting to pass on and I bought the set today.

Now my problem. Which set do I put in the living room to anchor my home theater? The Panasonic is 52", but the Sony supports 1080i and is CRT rear projected which usually means better black level.

I know I'm going to end up having to set both of them up and compare, but which do you guys think would be the better choice? Is screen size the most important or does 1080i give the Sony a better advantage due to the increased resolution.

Another issue is one of these will end up in my Bedroom. Do I really want a 52" TV in a smaller space?

Sdallnct

Typically bigger is always better when trying to go for the "overall movie experience". Your right, your CRT my actually have the better picture, so you will have to decide. And while 52" screen may be big for a bedroom, I bet the overall set is smaller then your CRT, right?

darkside

After calibrating and trying out both I ended up putting the 52" in the bedroom. Picture wise I did like the Sony a bit better especially with SD content. However, 52" is really nice. HD DVD looked pretty damn nice even in 720p.

However, you really nailed the best reason to put the 52" in the bedroom. It is a much lighter and thinner TV. Even though its a big screen I had a much easier time fitting it in the room. It is far enough away so I have a good viewing distance and it is kind of cool watching that big TV from bed. Best $500 I have spent.

Patman

I just moved my old 56" 4x3 HDTV RP CRT into my bedroom, and it's just a ridiculous sized TV in the bedroom, but I'm getting used to it.