As far as tvs go, what's the best kind to get for watching movies? LCD? Plasma? Rear Projection? DLP?

I really like the Sony LCD rear projections. And it looks like the Mitts sets are rated high. And if were to get a Plasma, I probably would lean towards a Panny.

so is there any type of bulb replacement for LCD or Plasma?

A properly calibrated CRT rear projection will look the most like a film projected in a theater, I think.

I had a Toshiba 40H80 for about 5 years and I never got it calibrated by a pro, but tried to tweak it myself. I could never get the convergence or geometry corrected enough for my liking and it ended up being a source of frustration more than anything. I was never happy with the picture, so I sold it earlier this year and bought a Panasonic plasma.

All of these can look nice, all of these have faults. You are probably going to have to start looking at some of the benefits and foibles of each technology and see what you can/can't live with.

There is bulb replacement for LCD, DLP, LCOS projectors. Whether front or rear projectors. Nothing for CRT or plasma. After 10000 hours, you may want new CRT guns, but that's a long way off, and RPTVs usually get replaced by then for other reasons.

I agree with Oliver, CRT looks the best. But it also requires the most tweaking. For $400 pro calibration, you should be able to make any CRT look better than almost any other TV. Figure that into the price since CRTs often come out-of-the-box looking the WORST.

I just got back from Magnolia and the best they could give me was $100 under MSRP. I have a Mitsubishi Diamond Card, and with it I can get 12 months no payments and no interest. Once the TV comes in, if I don't like it, I can get my full money back with no restocking fee. Part of me is saying just put the money down, and the other part of me is saying skip it and go with the 52". I'm torn.

Don't go smaller. I think that is the biggest mistake that you could do when buying a TV (settling for a smaller TV).

I have a 51". I love it.

Of course, my living room may be much smaller than yours.

I'm just going to wait until after Christmas to see what kind of sales pricing I can get. Also, at that point I'll be in LA where there are more retailers so I can wheel and deal better. Who knows, I may be able to get a 57831 at a reasonable price at that point.

I used to think that way also, but once I finally saw a 65" in an actuall living room I said no way that would look right in my house. So I settled for a 56". Only have had it for 2 weeks now, and I still think it is to big.

I'm going to wait as well. I remember reading an article earlier this year to expect HDtv prices to drop after Christmas. And not just a couple hundred either. I think this Christmas is when retailers will really make their big push of HDtv.

Near the Super Bowl is also a great time to buy a tv. Best Buy and Circuit City seem to always have great deals a few weeks before.

I know there's probably a lot of these threads but I'd still like to get some opinions on my current situation.

I've been thinking about getting an HDTV around Christmas time. I'd LIKE to keep it around $2000 (but I can go higher) and I'd like to get at least a 42". I was thinking of making sure to get 1080p but it looks like the jump from 1080i to 1080p seems a bit high at the moment. So, the first question is.. is it worth the extra bling to future-proof oneself?

Also, when I get right down to it.. I'm not sure if I'd be taking too much advantage of an HDTV in the foreseeable future. I'm mostly a gamer.. and the only new system I'll be getting is a Wii. Yeah, it's not HDTV but all games are going to run 16x9 480p which I would like to take advantage of. I have no interest in an Xbox 360 at the moment (though there is one game that may turn the tables.. but it's not set in stone) and will probably only even consider the PS3 once I can get one for about $300. I've convinced the girlfriend to get an HD-DVD player if I drop for the TV. As far as the format war goes I know Sony seems like they've fallen flat on their face and they've got a beautiful track record for their proprietary formats.. but then I look at what's out there for HD-DVD and I'm not exactly seeing a vast array of movies yet (and even fewer that I'd be interested in buying). Finally, I don't watch TV and that probably isn't going to change, ever.

So, basically.. I'm thinking about buying an HDTV to take advantage of it being widescreen (I watch a lot of movies) and having stuff to play on it at 480p (PS2, Cube, Wii, standard DVDs). But, the inner geek in me wants one even if it's just for that.. and eventually whatever HD disc format starts putting out more movies. Should I jump in now or should I wait another year? If I buy now do I settle for 1080i or suck it up and take the hit for 1080p?

Can you get away with a Front Projection setup? If so, 2k will buy you a LOT of goodness. Even costco has a 720p projector WITH a 106" screen from optoma for 2k. The projector accepts 1080p inputs as well, so its pretty futureproof. Most people who've demo'd 1080p and 720p projectors back to back and demo'd to others cannot tell the difference. Only a true videophile is going to see the difference IMO, even tho im not upgrading till 1080p is cheaper. Im so happy with 480p projection that its got to be a gigantic step upgrade. Take that as you will.

If not, obviously avoid plasmas, burnin is a true concern. LCD and 1080p for 2k, i think you can swing a westinghouse for that price, but thats about it. Not sure if you want to go with a rear projection setup, i tend to stray away from those entirely.

I'm kind of in the same boat, but I've pretty much decided to hold off for now.

I want to future proof, and I just can't afford a decent 50+ inch set that accepts 1080p now. Projectors aren't an option for me.

As for types of TVs, LCD is probably best for gaming. My brother just got a 37" dell and we did some PS2 gaming on it last week (just with S-video) and it looked amazing. And that wasn't even in 480p much less 720p.

However, I watched a couple movies on it (Sin City and Ali) and wasn't impressed. LCDs can't make a true black, and even on the good Dell TV they just looked dark grey and bugged the hell out of me.

Plasma and DLP look the best to me for movies, but they aren't ideal for gaming (risk of burn in on plasmas, plus they are damn expensive, and DLP tend to have ghosting on games, though the newer ones are supposed to be better).

Given all that, I've just decide to wait another year or two with the hopes that prices will drop, technologies will improve, and I'll be making more money.

Well, I'm in an apartment.. here's a picture of my living room.



There's ample space on the wall but I'm not sure if there's enough distance for the projector (the couch and back speakers are at the back wall). Plus, as you can see, I get some killer sunlight in there (third floor). I'm not against a project per se, but I'd rather have a TV. It is something I've at least looked at but not really pursuing it at the moment.

Doesn't LCD stop at about 40"? I was looking at plasma myself.. but I'm not sure about burn-in.. I'm still reading that it's more paranoia than anything. I did note some Westinghouse sets, can't remember if they were plasma or LCD but I saw a 42" inch 1080p for $1800.. but at that price it makes me a bit suspicious.

On a side note, I can't stand how shitty these stores have their display TVs out. Fry's has everything connect via RF still! I even went to a theater specialty store this weekend and it was damn obvious their sets weren't calibrated or hooked up properly, they had no HD-DVD out, only a Blu-Ray player playing some Adam Sandler comedy.. which isn't really something to show off resolution.

I think the burn in issue is overblown nowadays. I think Samsung and Sony make 46" lcds, but the prices are high.

This Sony is the one I'm leaning towards, although the output is 720p. The display at my local Circuit City was very good. Displayed a nice clean picture.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1142298918228

Yeah. As long as you keep contrast at a reasonable level and don't get really ridiculous with static images, you should be okay. I bought a plasma last year and have a tendency to pause the DVR and walk away for 40 minutes at a time, and I haven't had any trouble. The only thing is that next-to-no plasmas display at 1080p -- the overwhelming majority are are 768p, if that (a bunch of 42" plasmas are 1024x720).

Oh, I know. I really made the rounds before buying my 50" plasma (a Panasonic TH-50PX50U, if you're curious) last year, and even seeing close to ten of that model in person, it looked God-awful at every store I hit. I took it on faith that the gearheads at AVS knew what they were talking about, and after extensive tweaking with Avia, it turns out they were right. When I first took it out of the box, though...yikes. Devastating.

I got a Westinghouse LVM-42w2 (42" 1080p HDCP LCD) in June from Best Buy. They had it on sale for $1499.99. I'm pretty sure this is what you're seeing at $1800 now.

I was in the same boat as you. I was in no rush for HDTV and wanted to wait until 2nd generation 1080p sets. However, when my buddy who was more actively looking saw this on SlickDeals, he called me up and asked what I thought. I thought so highly of the deal, I had to jump on it.

This thing is in my bedroom since the wife and I have the HD/DVR box in there as we only watch tv after the young ones go to bed. The bedroom is bright during the day, but I haven't had any problems with that. The thing works great on the HD channels, obviously. Digital cable looks great and even the analog is great. I've also moved my home PC in there and hooked it up via DVI for 1920x1080 resolution. We've watched a couple of the streaming Rockstar: Supernova webisodes blown up fullscreen and it looks damn good for a low-res, streaming movie. Obviously the Spider-Man 3 HD trailer is tits

Now, in the living room where the video game systems are in my nearly 10 year old, 27" CRT. That's also where my surround system is since it is too kickass for the bedroom. So my HT is literally split. The Wii (and possibly 360) will undoubtedly stay in the living room since I imagine late night gaming when the wife is trying to sleep.

Last month, I had the monthly poker night at my house to show off my set. Another buddy brings his 360 and it looked fantabulous at 1080i on it.

All in all, I do not regret my purchase in any way, shape, or form. I wasn't in the market, but I wouldn't go back. I even joked after I got it that we should have got 2 for that price and she agreed...

If you do a lot of daytime gaming, then yes, i wouldnt suggest a projector. But if its mostly at night, it shouldnt matter too much. In my entertainment room, which is only 10x12, i am projecting a 92" image. In the same space using a Panasonic AE900U (720p LCD Projector, 1500 at costco), i can do 106" at the same distance.

However, if its just not in the cards, do make sure to avoid plasmas. Ive had 2 plasmas now, both burned in. If you game, its innevitable. Theres a new post every single day with someone with new burnin on their plasma on AVS, just watch the forum carefully.

LCD doesnt have this issue, but blacks arent really black. For gaming, this means squat since they're mostly colorful and even if the blacks are gray, it wont matter in the game itself. You can get a 57" LCD i beleive, they're making them bigger all the time. And you're right, the westinghouse i was refering to was 42" and 47" however, just a quick browse at AVS shows a lot of issues with service work on the 42". Could be a hit or miss product. I also remember reading that the 42" wouldnt accept 1080p from the samsung through hdmi. Id definetly do a lot of research into the sets.

I truely advise you to consider a front projection system if its possible for you. It truely blows away everything else ive ever seen, and ive seen them all. I will take some pics today even tho they will suck, just so you get an idea.

I personally have a new Panasonic plasma and have not had any issues with burn in. Most people don't in fact, just don't be stupid. Meaning, don't leave your TV on a static image for 8 hours, and you would be fine. Of course you would have some image retention, but that would go away after a couple of days, and the same thing happens on LCDs. I did leave it on the 360 dashboard for an hour accidently, shortly after getting it, and only some small image retention that lasted for like 5 or so minutes.

I feel its a small price to pay to get the best possible picture next to a CRT, and at bigger sizes.

You can ask around over at the AVSForums and most people feel that with current day plasmas burnin isn't even an issue anymore, unless like I said above, you leave it on a static image for like 8 hours. Of course, RPTV's can have those same issues.

Granted I don't read the Plasma section every day, but I do read it occasionally, and I have not seen many posts, especially not "every single day" with people getting new burnin. I also don't know how old your 2 plasmas were, but they have definitely gotten better over the years.
I do specifically check the Panasonic plasma threads there all the time, and never once have I read someone complaining about getting burn in on it.

People seem to often confuse image retention with burn in.

One huge reason you should not go with a Plasma is if you plan on using your PC on the display. LCD's are much better for PC use, mainly because of the higher resolution (and they aren't at odd resolutions like a lot of Plasmas are), and also because PC usage usually has a lot of static images.

I have a beautiful rear projection 65" CRT that I've tweaked out quite nicely. I have no complaints and it gives me a great picture. Still, it doesn't get quite the sharpness of the newer technologies.

There seems to be a real tradeoff for that though. The screendoor effect of LCDs turns me off right away from them. DLP at first glance looks glorious, but I've noticed, especially on larger sets, that when there is fast action on the screen, the moving object gets pixelly. Notice how they usually have nearly static shots of nature and stuff for demo material.

Plasmas just don't look bright enough for me.

SXRD seems to be the winner. They have bright, crisp images without any artifacting.

I get itchy every couple of years for the biggest and best TV I can find. I'm still getting out of debt from the last time. But if I were to buy a new TV today, I'd get an SXRD.

What kind of service work do you recall? The only problem I'm aware of is an occasional lockup of the set when you try to power it on. A quick unplug fixes that. Annoying, at worst, and I'm still waiting on the service contractor to contact me for a fix. I guess they don't have a heavy presence in Nowhere, OK.

Damn, pinata, you may have sold me. When I saw "Westinghouse" and the price I was thinking Magnetbox or Sorny.

It looks like it's got some clean reviews behind it too.. I'll put some more time into checking out some other sources on it.

IF I game until bedtime that's maybe two or three hours worth of darkness, I have to go to sleep early for my job. I'd say when I really get into a game, most of my heavy play time comes from weekends during the day. But I'm interested always in some pics of this stuff.

First plasma to have a problem was a 3 year old 42" Hitatchi, 2nd plasma was a newly bought 50" Vizio. Its why i dropped plasma technology altogether. I was on the plasma/LCD forum for a insane amount of time everyday while still owning my plasmas, and i saw day after day in various threads (they dont start new ones, they post in existing ones) that people have burnin that they cant get rid of on their plasmas. When it happened to my vizio, i headed for costco, returned it, and thats when i discovered Front Projection at a cousins house. Thats what made the turn for me.

Pixy, i took a LOT of pics from all various genre's of game systems on the display, im sure they will look pretty crappy, but its just to give you an idea. Im trying to find my card reader right now, then ill post them up.

Pixy, i should have used a higher res lol, but whatever, the camera sucks anyway. Remember, all these images are on a 92" screen, keep that in mind when look at these. Also, not a single thing is calibrated in these pics, since optoma is swapping my projector with a new one, i didnt bother to calibrate anything else on there. Also, the pics abolutely do it no justice, but enough, take a gander for yourself.

Projector Pics