How Far in Advance Is Too Far in Advance...

[dmw16]

We (wife and I) are moving into a new construction home and I've been given the OK to get a new TV. Trouble is, the house isn't going to be done till February (sucks, I know).

Would you guys wait until the last possible day to buy a TV or if you saw a good deal within a few months of my "need" date, would you make the purchase. Obviously, now is too soon.

Since it may make a difference, here are the specs I am thinking:

52"-60"
LCD
1080p

120hz (nice to have, not a requirement)

 

[s44]

Between Black Friday and the Super Bowl sales... Also, how big is the room going to be?

 

[dmw16]

It's an open floor plan from living room back to kitchen. Most watching will be from 11-15ft, but could be as far as 30ft (while cooking and such).

 

[blurredvision]

Personally, I would just wait to buy and have it delivered directly into the new house when it's ready to accept your furniture. Too much hassle and stress to move the bigger, more expensive items IMO. No way I'd want to be responsible for moving a possible 60" LCD in a few months.

 

[dmw16]

Yeah, probably true. But we do have a storage space (climate controlled) where our stuff is right now while we wait for the house to be built. So we could store it.

60" sounds huge...what size do I really need for the room?

 

[Wuzup101]

At 11-15 feet I can't say that you will regret a 60" but a 52" would probably surfice. I'm not sure what the current prices are on LCD's over 52" (seems like the 40, 46, and 52" sets are the sweet spots). Might want to seriously look at plasmas at 60" (might be more reasonable price wise - again I haven't checked for some time).

My rule of thumb is always buy 1 size bigger than you are "thinking" about. You are highly unlikely to believe that a TV set is too large (especially if you are hanging it from a wall where there is little to no footprint). If you plan to watch a lot of HD material... 60" would be a good size for that room. My parents have a 40" in their living room (open floor plan into the kitchen)... their seating distance is about 8' and I feel that the set is a bit too small (but they were limited by the size that would fit in their entertainment center/furnature - which was much more expensive than the samsung set that's in it). Heck... I'm thinking about getting a 50" to replace my 40" in the bedroom... and I'm only like 5' from it (yes I know I don't need it).

 

[s44]

At that distance, 52" is probably too small. I'd look at 58" (plasma) and up. Too bad Samsung stopped making the LED DLPs -- there aren't that many great choices over 60". Definitely consider the 63"/65" plasmas... The prices will probably drop by then.

edit -- check out 15' on this chart

 

[kalrith]

I would definitely wait. Also, does it have to be flat panel? You could get a 61-73" rear-projection TV for $2k or less. My in-laws sit about 15 feet from a 50" TV, and it's much too small for that distance. There's hardly a noticeable difference between DVD and BD. I sit 9 feet from a 50" TV, and it's a night-and-day difference between the two settings.

 

[dmw16]

There is a bay window that is a good depth for a small TV stand so a flat panel is ideal.

It doesn't have to be LCD, I think a plasma would be just fine for my needs.

 

[ZetaEpyon]

Unless you're planning to get something that likely won't be available later (e.g. Pioneer Kuro), I would think it makes more sense to wait for quite a while. You won't have to worry about having a costly TV in storage, newer models will likely be out, and there will undoubtedly be plenty of post-Christmas, pre-Super Bowl sales closer to when you're ready to move in.

 

[sdifox]

why would you buy something that depreciates like a rock in advance?

What you should be doing is layout and pre-wiring the place before the interior gets dry-walled.

 

[dmw16]

Originally posted by: sdifox
why woudl you buy something that depreciates like a rock in advance?

Well if there were killer deals on Black Friday or maybe right after Xmas/Before Superbowl it'd be worth it if I got a really good deal on something.

 

[kalrith]

Also, your warranty time would tick away while the TV sits in storage. If something goes wrong after using the TV for 10 months, it would still be under warranty if you wait to buy it, but it would be out of warranty if you buy it now.

 

[erwos]

Definitely not. Wait until you're _in_ your new house.

 

[dmw16]

Originally posted by: erwos
Definitely not. Wait until you're _in_ your new house.

AWWWW COME ON!

Let's say the week before we move in. Within hours of closing I want to be sitting in the dark with my speakers and huge TV playing video games

 

[s44]

Originally posted by: sdifox
What you should be doing is layout and pre-wiring the place before the interior gets dry-walled.

+1

What you should also be worrying about is how you're going to get a big enough sub to pressurize that big space with bass.

 

[kalrith]

Originally posted by: s44

Originally posted by: sdifox
What you should be doing is layout and pre-wiring the place before the interior gets dry-walled.

+1

What you should also be worrying about is which two subs you're going to get to pressurize that big space with bass.

fixed

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: Wuzup101
At 11-15 feet I can't say that you will regret a 60" but a 52" would probably surfice. I'm not sure what the current prices are on LCD's over 52" (seems like the 40, 46, and 52" sets are the sweet spots). Might want to seriously look at plasmas at 60" (might be more reasonable price wise - again I haven't checked for some time).

I have a 65" at 13 feet and my next set will be bigger. 52" is definitely too small.

 

[kalrith]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: Wuzup101
At 11-15 feet I can't say that you will regret a 60" but a 52" would probably surfice. I'm not sure what the current prices are on LCD's over 52" (seems like the 40, 46, and 52" sets are the sweet spots). Might want to seriously look at plasmas at 60" (might be more reasonable price wise - again I haven't checked for some time).

I have a 65" at 13 feet and my next set will be bigger. 52" is definitely too small.

I agree with you. People don't realize how much of a difference a few feet of viewing distance make. If you look at this viewing-distance calculator, you can input information to see your viewing angle along with the recommended TXH viewing distance, max viewing distance to fully resolve 1080p, etc. Sitting 9 feet from my 50" actually yields a higher viewing angle (basically how big the screen looks) than your 65" at 13 feet. I will definitely replace mine with a larger screen (probably a projector), but that's hopefully years away since it's not in the budget right now.

Edit: If anything were in the budget right now, it would be an audio upgrade rather than a video upgrade.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: s44

Originally posted by: sdifox
What you should be doing is layout and pre-wiring the place before the interior gets dry-walled.

+1

What you should also be worrying about is how you're going to get a big enough sub to pressurize that big space with bass.

I would never tire of posting this link

http://www.royaldevice.com/custom.htm


Someday

I think 2 15" driven by 500w class D should be enough for 300sq ft :laugh:


May I suggest the op to turn the basement into a IB sub? Just needs to build the port into the floor now, which is easy to do with the house still on paper stage.

 

[dmw16]

Thanks for the tips guys.

I think 13" is on the high end of viewing distance that we'll be watching from on a regular basis.

We can do some pre-wiring, but the space doesn't lend itself to 5.1 (or 6.1 or 7.1). For now my audio is just my RS-450's and 1 sub.

The budget isn't open ended for the TV. I think any more than $2000 would be veto'd. We want to also get a nice sectional sofa and need a dining room set and window treatments, a bed room set...ugh, it's gonna add up.

 

[s44]

Unless big plasma prices really drop, I think you should be looking at the 73" Mitsu DLP then.

 

[dmw16]

73" is too big and I don't like the picture that DLP produces. Also, I want a flat panel TV.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: dmw16
73" is too big and I don't like the picture that DLP produces. Also, I want a flat panel TV.

There ain't notin flatter than a projection screen


Think about it, how much time do you spend standing to the side of the tv and admire the profile thickness?

 

[kalrith]

Originally posted by: sdifox
Think about it, how much time do you spend standing to the side of the tv and admire the profile thickness?

This is a very good point. I really wanted a flat-panel TV, because I didn't like the look of projection; however, that opinion came from walking through Best Buy and seeing the sides and back of the projection TVs, which is something that I wouldn't do at home. Unless you're going to wall-mount your TV, I think the slimness is not very noticeable. However, the fact that a 73" screen is DOUBLE (well almost, 97.1% larger, to be exact) the size of a 52" screen will certainly be noticeable.

Don't say that 73" is too big without testing them out. I recommend finding a store that has a 73" hooked up to a nice feed like BD. Take your measuring tape with you to make sure you're 15 feet from the TV and watch the BD for 15 minutes. Then watch a BD on a 52" from 15 feet away. Once you do this, try to post on here that the 73" is too big (without lying)