Give me a crash course in audio/video technology

[Arkitech]

Well I finally closed on my dream house last week, the wife and I are currently in the midst of packing and getting ready to move in this weekend. (pics coming soon) Anyway the family room in the house is fairly big (25x30) which gives me the perfect excuse to go shopping for a nice big screen. I've been kind of casually looking at whats available and its bewildering to go through all of the different products thats out there in the big screen market. Basically I want to find a screen thats HD compatible, I don't need a built-in tuner because I'm currently using digital cable and I plan on upgrading to DirecTV in a few months. I don't need the very top of the line screen but I would like something thats very clear and realistic looking, (it seems like some of Sony's TVs are almost too bright and some other brands are a bit on the dark and drab with the colors) I'd like to get something with a accurate representation of colors if thats possible. (maybe a Loews)

I'm also considering looking into the plasma or lcd panels. I was recently talking to a salesmen and he mentioned that the current generation of LCD panels were much improved over the previous ones, in fact he claimed they were very close to the picture quality of the plasmas. So I've been meaning to do a little more reseach on the LCDs as they are very thin and cheaper than the plasmas. But my concerns are about burn in and if its possible to play video games on the LCDs and Plasmas. Anyone have insight into that area?


Finally my last question is about sound, whats the best standard for movie audio these days? It changes so often I don't know whats current anymore.

 

[Electric Amish]

The way I understand it, LCD's, unless they've upgraded them, supposedly will need to be replaced in 3-5 years because the "pixels" are actually gas-filled pockets and the gas eventually escapes.

I, personally, think that, for the price, Mitsubishi has the best picture out there. Proscan might be a little better, but they are pricier as well. Hitachi are also pretty good, but also usually more expensive.

amish

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: Electric Amish
The way I understand it, LCD's, unless they've upgraded them, supposedly will need to be replaced in 3-5 years because the "pixels" are actually gas-filled pockets and the gas eventually escapes.

I, personally, think that, for the price, Mitsubishi has the best picture out there. Proscan might be a little better, but they are pricier as well. Hitachi are also pretty good, but also usually more expensive.

amish

whoa the salesman must have forgotten to mention that part, he did say something about a bulb that needs to be replaced every couple of years or something. He said it costs around 200 bucks

do the lcd panels for pcs and laptops also contain the same type of gas

 

[Electric Amish]

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: Electric Amish
The way I understand it, LCD's, unless they've upgraded them, supposedly will need to be replaced in 3-5 years because the "pixels" are actually gas-filled pockets and the gas eventually escapes.

I, personally, think that, for the price, Mitsubishi has the best picture out there. Proscan might be a little better, but they are pricier as well. Hitachi are also pretty good, but also usually more expensive.

amish

whoa the salesman must have forgotten to mention that part, he did say something about a bulb that needs to be replaced every couple of years or something. He said it costs around 200 bucks

do the lcd panels for pcs and laptops also contain the same type of gas

I thought so, but I've never really studied this, just passing on advice I've received.

Oh, that lifetime is based on actual "ON" time...

A good plasma screen (which costs around £5,000) really only has a five-year lifespan, especially if it's on all the time.

- Tom Dunmore, editor, Stuff magazine

amish

 

[anomaly]

Do you watch alot of DVD's, play videogames, or mainly watch TV? What is your budget? Are you going to be doing a home audio setup as well? What is your budget? What kind of music do you listen to, how do you like music to sound?

 

[amnesiac]

If you want the best possible picture, get a Loewe Aconda. $3000+ for a tube TV is really hefty, but HOLYGOODGOD is that a nice picture.

I haven't heard of LCDs "losing gas" because they are NOT gas filled pockets. Amish is thinking of Plasma displays, which do NOT lose gas but lose up to 50% of their brightness after some 10,000 hours of use (approx 3-5 years).

I don't know what "bulb" the salesman was referring to -- the only sets that use a "Bulb" are front projection displays and DLP sets.

FWIW, I'd look into a DLP display over any of the others -- best picture quality overall.

Also, once you get a set you want to look into getting a certified techinician (IFS I think??) to tune it, especially if you get a RPTV. That ensures the best picture quality and longest life of your TV.

 

[Electric Amish]

Originally posted by: amnesiac
If you want the best possible picture, get a Loewe Aconda. $3000+ for a tube TV is really hefty, but HOLYGOODGOD is that a nice picture.

I haven't heard of LCDs "losing gas" because they are NOT gas filled pockets. Amish is thinking of Plasma displays, which do NOT lose gas but lose up to 50% of their brightness after some 10,000 hours of use (approx 3-5 years).

I don't know what "bulb" the salesman was referring to -- the only sets that use a "Bulb" are front projection displays and DLP sets.

FWIW, I'd look into a DLP display over any of the others -- best picture quality overall.

Also, once you get a set you want to look into getting a certified techinician (IFS I think??) to tune it, especially if you get a RPTV. That ensures the best picture quality and longest life of your TV.

Thanks for clearing that up for me. 🙂

amish

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: anomaly
Do you watch alot of DVD's, play videogames, or mainly watch TV? What is your budget? Are you going to be doing a home audio setup as well? What is your budget? What kind of music do you listen to, how do you like music to sound?

I watch a lot of movies and play video games like a 14 year old, also I'm looking to start making my own DVDs so I'll be watching them even more in the future. My budget is kind of flexible, maybe 10k or more but I would like to use that money to buy about 3 TV sets (tube, projection and maybe a plasma or lcd not sure yet). I'm definitely going to go the home theater route. As far as music I'm a junkie, I listen to classical, rock, hiphop, electronica, jazz and anything else that sounds good so I would definitely want a decent audio system.

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: amnesiac
If you want the best possible picture, get a Loewe Aconda. $3000+ for a tube TV is really hefty, but HOLYGOODGOD is that a nice picture.

I haven't heard of LCDs "losing gas" because they are NOT gas filled pockets. Amish is thinking of Plasma displays, which do NOT lose gas but lose up to 50% of their brightness after some 10,000 hours of use (approx 3-5 years).

I don't know what "bulb" the salesman was referring to -- the only sets that use a "Bulb" are front projection displays and DLP sets.

FWIW, I'd look into a DLP display over any of the others -- best picture quality overall.

Also, once you get a set you want to look into getting a certified techinician (IFS I think??) to tune it, especially if you get a RPTV. That ensures the best picture quality and longest life of your TV.

What does DLP and RPTV stand for? I guess a tech is probably a good investment, I keep hearing people recommend this on AV sites.

 

[Electric Amish]

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: anomaly
Do you watch alot of DVD's, play videogames, or mainly watch TV? What is your budget? Are you going to be doing a home audio setup as well? What is your budget? What kind of music do you listen to, how do you like music to sound?

I watch a lot of movies and play video games like a 14 year old, also I'm looking to start making my own DVDs so I'll be watching them even more in the future. My budget is kind of flexible, maybe 10k or more but I would like to use that money to buy about 3 TV sets (tube, projection and maybe a plasma or lcd not sure yet). I'm definitely going to go the home theater route. As far as music I'm a junkie, I listen to classical, rock, hiphop, electronica, jazz and anything else that sounds good so I would definitely want a decent audio system.

I don't think 10k will do a Plasma, projection, tube, and HT... (aren't the small Plasma's still like $4-5k?)

It would do a projection, tube, and HT very nicely though. 🙂

amish

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: Electric Amish

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: anomaly
Do you watch alot of DVD's, play videogames, or mainly watch TV? What is your budget? Are you going to be doing a home audio setup as well? What is your budget? What kind of music do you listen to, how do you like music to sound?

I watch a lot of movies and play video games like a 14 year old, also I'm looking to start making my own DVDs so I'll be watching them even more in the future. My budget is kind of flexible, maybe 10k or more but I would like to use that money to buy about 3 TV sets (tube, projection and maybe a plasma or lcd not sure yet). I'm definitely going to go the home theater route. As far as music I'm a junkie, I listen to classical, rock, hiphop, electronica, jazz and anything else that sounds good so I would definitely want a decent audio system.

I don't think 10k will do a Plasma, projection, tube, and HT... (aren't the small Plasma's still like $4-5k?)

It would do a projection, tube, and HT very nicely though. 🙂

amish

hmm good point, I may have to stick with a projection and 2 tubes. but you just can't beat the cool factor in having one of those lcds and plasmas

 

[Electric Amish]

hmm good point, I may have to stick with a projection and 2 tubes. but you just can't beat the cool factor in having one of those lcds and plasmas

Most definitely!!!

amish 😀

 

[Arkitech]

I forgot to add this in the initial post. I'm a big fan of the stuff that comes on the sci fi channel and cartoon network so I've been looking for the best way to record televised programs edit out the commercials and store it on DVD. Whats the best way to achieve something like that?

I've been kind of contemplating one of the new replaytvs in conjunction with a editing program called DV archive. The replaytvs can be modified to allow the data to be retrieved from a PC, then the video can be edited on the PC and then burned to a CD. Another option could be a set top DVD recorder with a built in hard drive, I could record a few programs edit the commericals out and burn the DVD with the same device. Anyone have some thoughts on DVD archiving and whats the best way to do it? (I need to start building my Dexter's Lab library.