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$1500 for a tv. What do you get?

slag

Lifer
The environment: Finished basement setting, no windows. artificial lighting, soon to be recessed. Seating is approximately 8 feet to 15 feet away. 45 degree viewing angle from edge to edge max. Will watch dvd and blu-ray movies, play Xbox360, and watch a mix of SD and HD TV via uverse.

What do you get?
 

However that doesn't include the extra $500-1000 for a screen....

As for why I didn't recommend a 55/58 is that in your price range, you will get a much lower end panel, while if you go for a 46/50" LCD/Plasma you will be able to get a higher end unit with much better picture quality. For instance the panel I linked to has 240Hz picture processing, and LED backlights with local dimming (meaning it can dim and turn off LEDs behind parts of the LCD which are showing dark scenes or black objects, resulting in true black since no light is being emitted). You will not see these features on a similar priced 55" LCD.
 
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IMO size > colors > other features. Without enough size you have nada, and 46" is just too small for the distance.

Costco had a local dimming 55" set for $1700, but it's back up to $1900 for the moment...

But yeah, for a windowless dedicated room, front projection makes sense (with Monoprice screens!). Or a big Mitsu RP, since viewing angle isn't an issue.
 
I would say BIG DLP, but you might be sitting close enough that any off-angle viewing could result in a bad experience. That being said, pretty much any 54" Panasonic or Samsung 58" plasma would knock your socks off. The law of diminishing returns really applies here, too. The difference in picture quality between a $1500 plasma and a $2500 plasma is not going to be much. In fact, unless you pay to get it professionally calibrated, it will be virtually unnoticed. You'll pay for widgets and features.
 
Seriously, for a windowless basement this needs to include a projector. Even if you dont get a screen right away, it will be a much more gratifying experience than any 50" screen IMO.
 
OP, I recommend measuring your viewing distance, and if there are multiple rows of seating, decide which one will be used most. The difference in recommendations for 8' viewing distance and 15' viewing distance are huge! At 8' a 73" DLP would be really nice. At 15' there's really no other option than a projector (and ~140" screen).
 
I just remeasured. My chair, which is 11 feet away exactly, is the furthest seat. At that distance, the current tv, an old 62 inch dlp, is almost too big and can give us headaches. It nearly fills our field of vision. A 73 might be too big for that area, but I'm not sure.
 
Basement with no windows? 1500 to spend? Why are you even asking what you should do? lol. Get a projector!

This Optoma HD20 1920 x 1080 DLP 1080P Home Theater Projector is only $999. You can get a 92" pull down projector screen for $99. If you want to mount the projector to the ceiling, you can get a ceiling mount for $70. Of course, you're also going to need a speaker system for it.. If you don't have one, you might have to go with a 720p projector and a smaller screen to come in under your budget.

If you are sitting 11 feet away, according to this chart, about 92" is the perfect size for 1080p to be fully visible. If you were to go with 720p, you would probably want to get no bigger than a 84" projector screen.

resolution_chart.jpg
 
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I just remeasured. My chair, which is 11 feet away exactly, is the furthest seat. At that distance, the current tv, an old 62 inch dlp, is almost too big and can give us headaches. It nearly fills our field of vision. A 73 might be too big for that area, but I'm not sure.
How old is your DLP? Do you see the rainbow effect when watching it?


VIEWING DISTANCE CALCULATOR
 
I just remeasured. My chair, which is 11 feet away exactly, is the furthest seat. At that distance, the current tv, an old 62 inch dlp, is almost too big and can give us headaches. It nearly fills our field of vision. A 73 might be too big for that area, but I'm not sure.

Yeah, thats a 23 degree angle, not close to full FoV... I can't imagine why that would be hurting your eyes. For reference I have a 57 degree viewing angle to my DLP and it doesn't hurt my eyes one bit

Ideally you should be 4' closer to tha 62, 7' is recommended.
 
probably 2005 or 2006. No rainbow, but i can see the individual pixels if I look hard enough. I'm guessing thats the millions of tiny mirrors...

I run it at 1080i. Was at 720p for awhile, but like the look of 1080i better.

Well then I suppose it's not 1080p (if you're running 720p/1080i, unless you're referring to cable broadcasting)? That may be why it hurts your eyes, I know I dislike 1080i (though I rarely watch it)
 
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