milo bloom

We're looking at upgrading our set, currently have a 16x9 Samsung 30", that's HD ready, but doesn't have a decoder. We got rid of our digital cable and we're putting up an antenna to get OTA HD, so we either need a new set, or a tuner for the old one.

From the main viewing location on the couch, I figured we needed about 46" to 50" diagonal, and we're looking at this one here:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=08-49936932-2

Sony Bravia KDL46W3000 LCD with 1080p. It's a fairly bright living room, and we'll also be playing the Wii and Gamecube games on it, (maybe other systems from time to time). We only have a regular SD DVD player, and upgrading to Blu would be at least another year off. We would also sometimes be watching from the floor, sitting much closer than we would be on the couch.

I know the Sony brand is hot and cold with some folks, we're a "hot" couple, so any comments on that are irrelevant, to be blunt.
(let me clarify that, if there's another brand that's a better deal, fine, but just don't bash Sony for bashing's sake )

Basically, is LCD right for OTA HD, SD DVD, some gaming, bright living room; can we go to 720p to save money? I hate the thought of "settling" for 720p now, and then wondering if we need to upgrade again if we go BluRay in the near future.

One more thing, our current set "locks in full" with progressive signals, so I can't zoom non-anamorphic widescreen discs unless I turn off progressive (which makes the image quality take another hit in addition to being non-16x9). Does anyone know if Sony's allow you to zoom progressive material like this?

thanks

SoSpacey

A lot of information here but you missed one of the most important pieces...how far exactly are you sitting from this set?

milo bloom

From the front of the screen we have now to about where are heads are on the couch is 14'. I used one of those calculators and came up with a range of 47" to 52". The 46" Sony above is close enough for horseshoes as far as size goes.

As I also mentioned above, we would sometimes be sitting in the floor watching, like while playing with the baby in the floor, and that would be 6', so I know I don't want too big of screen there.

shelland

I have a 64" at 10-12 feet, and it's nowhere near too big.

Sdallnct

Well, first off, my theater room has something like 11 feet and 14 feet seating for a 97" screen. LOVE IT. That to say, don't hesitate to go to a bigger set.

I had a similar situation. Wife wanted HD in the living room. I really wanted the 50" Panny 720p plasma. But because of the bright room, I went LCD (Samsung). While I'm not disappointed, I wish I had gone plasma. Sure the LCD is nice enough in full light, but when it gets dark it is a touch bright. Also, the black levels are not near dark as a plasma. And the plasma to me looks more natural. So while I don't think going LCD is "bad", I think something like the Panny Plasma offers a better picture at often less money.

hahn

I will second the suggestion to get a 50" Panasonic plasma. I got the 50px75u for $1329 at Sears. It's 720p, but if you're more than 3 ft away from the TV, you can't tell. I have a couple of friends with 1080p LCD sets and my set, and I say this completely without bias, without a doubt has the best picture quality. In spite of the lower resolution, the deeper blacks, the truer colors, and the much higher motion resolution create a far more natural looking image on-screen. The newer models of Panasonics have just been released. I saw the 42" at Best Buy. It has even better black levels and even higher contrast ratios as a result. It looks phenomenal. And the price has even come down.

And no, image burn-in is no longer an issue with plasmas.

WOWZY

You'll love the Sony 46w3000, but I think the 52w3000 would make you happier.

I spent alot of time comparing friends tvs before I decided on the type (i.e. plasma, lcd flat panel, lcd projection, ect.)

As bright as my livingroom is during the day, a plasma wasn't bright enough. The lcd flat panel was the way to go. I wanted a 52" and I narrowed it down to the kdl52xbr and the kdl52w3000. I got to compare both of them for about 2 hours at CC playing various blu-ray movies and the $700 additional price on the xbr wasn't worth it. Both had identical picture quality with the xbr motionflow feature turned off (didn't like the way it played movies with it on).

At 12-14ft. I would definitely go with the 52w3000.

Good luck with your purchase.