Need a suggestion on a new LCD 1080p TV plus comments on room design

[MasterOfKtulu109]

I'd probably get Panasonic plasma if I was gonna spend 3 grand.

 

[TangoJuliet]

Originally posted by: MasterOfKtulu109
I'd probably get Panasonic plasma if I was gonna spend 3 grand.

are they 1080p?

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: alkohoLiK
looking at spending about 2000-3000 on the tv

61" SXRD/LCOS would fit your bill. Might want to extend your budget buy just a tad.

I am truly sorry for derailing your thread. But I feel I must say something to make sure you make the most of HD, specifically because you mention 1080p. The year is 2007 now.

You've already outlined a few things....most important is how far is your viewing distance? You say 10 feet. That is pretty far.

My next question is what do you really want? Ultimate video performance or ultimate sonic performance - what is more important? Or do just wanna watch TV? It's difficult to get good AV advice on this forum so I'm just trying to see what your goals are.

 

[TangoJuliet]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: alkohoLiK
looking at spending about 2000-3000 on the tv

61" SXRD/LCOS would fit your bill. Might want to extend your budget buy just a tad.

I am truly sorry for derailing your thread. But I feel I must say something to make sure you make the most of HD, specifically because you mention 1080p. The year is 2007 now.

You've already outlined a few things....most important is how far is your viewing distance? You say 10 feet. That is pretty far.

My next question is what do you really want? Ultimate video performance or ultimate sonic performance - what is more important? Or do just wanna watch TV? It's difficult to get good AV advice on this forum so I'm just trying to see what your goals are.

thanks for the reply spidey. not sure what you mean by ultimate video performance or ultimate sonic performance. can u clearify that a tad?

 

[mchammer]

Originally posted by: alkohoLiK

Originally posted by: MasterOfKtulu109
I'd probably get Panasonic plasma if I was gonna spend 3 grand.

are they 1080p?

Looks negatory. 1080p Plasma seem to be $$$$

 

[mchammer]

So the Sony 40" is about 2k and the 46" is about 3k? So that is your choice?

Then people on here have told you that you could get a larger size TV by going to DLP or LCoS for the same budget? But then the TV does not look cool?

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: alkohoLiK
thanks for the reply spidey. not sure what you mean by ultimate video performance or ultimate sonic performance. can u clearify that a tad?

Money dictates what you get. Pure and simple. At some point regardless of all the mumbo-jumbo the question remains....

What do i want? What is more important to me - audio or video? And how much do I want to spend total. I discount the "what are your viewing habits" because most people once they have HD, stick to watching HD.

In many ways this is why discussion boards are useless. I can't tell you what you like or prefer. Only thing I can do is tell you what is possible and possibly steer you into looking at other factors.

And "in general" what you want is strictly confined by your budget.

 

[Tom]

maybe it's just me, but I don't like the look of wall mounted tv if there's room to have it on a stand. Or maybe it's the height some people put them at, they look too high.

 

[TangoJuliet]

Originally posted by: mchammer
So the Sony 40" is about 2k and the 46" is about 3k? So that is your choice?

Then people on here have told you that you could get a larger size TV by going to DLP or LCoS for the same budget? But then the TV does not look cool?

Well I had done reasearch and was going to go with the Sony 40/46" but then found out on the AVS forums that those tv are having huge problems. Someone there had pointed me in the direction of a JVC 1080p LCD and it looked nice. I wanted some more opinions and that website lacks on the replies.

Every time I go to the store and check out the DLPs it seems like there is a huge glare on the screen. I have to bend over in every direction to get a good view. They are still kinda big (compared to the plasmas/LCDs) and I dont think they can be wall mounted. I am not sure what a LCos is.

 

[mchammer]

Originally posted by: Tom
maybe it's just me, but I don't like the look of wall mounted tv if there's room to have it on a stand. Or maybe it's the height some people put them at, they look too high.

TV over fireplace FTL.

 

[TangoJuliet]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: alkohoLiK
thanks for the reply spidey. not sure what you mean by ultimate video performance or ultimate sonic performance. can u clearify that a tad?

Money dictates what you get. Pure and simple. At some point regardless of all the mumbo-jumbo the question remains....

What do i want? What is more important to me - audio or video? And how much do I want to spend total. I discount the "what are your viewing habits" because most people once they have HD, stick to watching HD.

In many ways this is why discussion boards are useless. I can't tell you what you like or prefer. Only thing I can do is tell you what is possible and possibly steer you into looking at other factors.

And "in general" what you want is strictly confined by your budget.

I am not looking to get lost in the TV. I would just like to watch some really good HD content (especially the Super Bowl). Its really going to be for everyday use and I'm probably only going to watch the HD channels unless something I have to watch is only being broadcast on a SD channel.

I hope that answers your question. Thanks!

 

[Gunslinger08]

I sit 3 feet away from a 50" plasma in my bedroom and I'm starting to think it's too small. I like TV to fill my entire view.

 

[mchammer]

So then get the Sony 46" if you have the cash and are set on 1080p.

 

[mchammer]

Originally posted by: joshsquall
I sit 3 feet away from a 50" plasma in my bedroom and I'm starting to think it's too small. I like TV to fill my entire view.

You are breaking the 1:1.5 rule :|

 

[TangoJuliet]

Originally posted by: mchammer
So then get the Sony 46" if you have the cash and are set on 1080p.

well i would if there werent major "clouding" issues with the tv.

also, it sounds like you are opposed to 1080p....any reason for that?

 

[mercanucaribe]

The viewing angle of the right side seats sucks.

 

[mercanucaribe]

The previous owner had the TV in a terrible position. It's so high.. what is that stupid candelabra thing?

 

[Shawn]

Do me a favor and don't waste your money on a Westinghouse. All of those other TVs you listed would be a better choice.

 

[TangoJuliet]

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
The previous owner had the TV in a terrible position. It's so high.. what is that stupid candelabra thing?

I have no idea what that thing is/was. it was gone when I moved in

 

[TangoJuliet]

Originally posted by: Shawn
Do me a favor and don't waste your money on a Westinghouse. All of those other TVs you listed would be a better choice.

why dont you like the westinghouse? i have a 27" and a 37" and I really like both of them. is that model a POS or something?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: joshsquall
I sit 3 feet away from a 50" plasma in my bedroom and I'm starting to think it's too small. I like TV to fill my entire view.

http://www.myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html

62.4 degree viewing angle eh?

40 is enough for me :laugh:

 

[montypythizzle]

Originally posted by: Rufus12

Originally posted by: alkohoLiK
I posted this thread over at AVS forums and havent gotten a response yet. Was hoping the people of ATOT could help out

My wife and I just purchased a condo this past August and we have decided that with our tax return money we would purchase a new TV. I had been to many of my local electronics stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, etc) and narrowed my search down to these TVs.

Westinghouse 47" 1080p Flat-Panel LCD HD Monitor - Silver/Black
Model: LVM-47W1

Sony BRAVIA 46" 1080p Flat-Panel LCD HDTV
Model: KDL46XBR2

Sony BRAVIA XBR 40" 1080p Flat-Panel LCD HDTV
Model: KDL40XBR2

Samsung 40" 1080p LCD HDTV
Model: LN-S4095D

Sharp AQUOS 46" 1080p LCD HDTV
Model: LC46D62U


We came to the conclusion that the Sony Bravia KDL40XBR2 40" LCD TV had the best picture and the glass bezel really put it over the top compared to the other TVs. Not that it matters or anything but we already had a Sony Home Theater system (DAV-FR1) so atleast the TV will match the surround system.

From there we designed our living room with the TV in mind and picked out furniture that would best suited. We hired a home decorator to help us out as well.

This is the floor plan design

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l36/skyynet/LivingRoom.jpg

This is how it currently looks. Our furniture has arrived but our custom made area carpet is not. So we are just waiting on that before we have the furniture delivered. As you can see we have a 30" Sony CRT HDTV that does 720p/1080i, etc but it really takes up a lot of space. With the addition of the LCD we can wall mount it and free up some more space.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l36/skyynet/IMG_1922.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l36/skyynet/IMG_1926.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l36/skyynet/IMG_1925.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l36/skyynet/IMG_1923.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l36/skyynet/IMG_1924.jpg

Excuse the mess but we just moved the old stuff out and our electrician is coming on Wednesday. We need to move the cable outlet from the one wall to the larger wall. The people we had bought the condo from had a Samsung LCD (not sure on the size) wall mounted on the opposite wall. We decided to put it against the longer wall.

Here was their setup:

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l36/skyynet/IMG_0937.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l36/skyynet/IMG_0410.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l36/skyynet/IMG_0409.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l36/skyynet/IMG_0411.jpg

One of my concerns was the size of the wall and location of the love seat and sofa. I thought that maybe the 40" would look very tiny on such a large wall but did some research and people said with the glass bezel it actually made the TV look like it was 46" so that seems to be about the perfect size.

Now that you heard my background I stumpled upon the issues with the XBR2/XBR3 TVs - uneven backlighting and the cloudiness on the dark screens. Is there anything out there that is better then the Sony XBR series TVs? I listed a few earlier that I was interested in but I decided on the Sony instead. Is there anything coming out in the near future (next 2 months) that is wowing people?

When we purchase the TV we are also going to have it professionally installed as well. I had stopped by Magnolia and Circuit City's Firedog and got their quotes as well as doing it online with Crutchfield. It seems that it is going to cost about $800 to have the TV wall mounted, the 5.1 speaker system hooked up and all the wires hidden. Once the TV is wall mounted we wanted to have a little piece of furniture below the TV so that the Wii, cablebox and home theater system could be stored. Similar to what the previous owners had here:
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l36/skyynet/IMG_0409.jpg

and similar to this (from Magnolia's website...sorry it is so small but it was all I could find)
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l36/skyynet/MAG_installroom.jpg
Can anybody recommend a piece of furniture as well as a place to purchase it.

Sorry for all the questions but this is going to be a pretty big purchase and is the centerpiece to our living room. It is basically the first thing you will see when you come up the stairs and we would like for it to wow people.

Thanks!!

can i get your old sony? please i will pay shipping

 

[mchammer]

Originally posted by: alkohoLiK

Originally posted by: mchammer
So then get the Sony 46" if you have the cash and are set on 1080p.

well i would if there werent major "clouding" issues with the tv.

also, it sounds like you are opposed to 1080p....any reason for that?

I don't have any issue with it, just that the sets that have it seem to cost alot more.

As far as this clouding or the specifics of what TV is best, I don't know enough to say except that I have heard that plasma supposedly looks better than LCD unless it is a cheap brand.

As an aside, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are 1080p right?

Some questions:
Is over the air HD 720p or 1080p? Does it depend on the channel?
Is cable HD 720p or 1080p? Does it depend on the channel or cable provider?
Is sattelite HD 720p or 1080p? Does it depend on the channel or sat provider?

Other questions:
What percentage of channels today are in HD?
What percentage of these channels output a good HD signal? (Not too many artifacts, etc.)
Which of the three distribution methods (OTA, cable and sat) provides the best HD signal, which provides the worst?

I would want to know the answers to these questions before dropping the kind of $$$ you guys are talking about.

In a way I am kind of glad that I cannot afford any of this stuff. I have a 27" Sony FD Trinitron and a Tivo series 2. If I had a HDTV, then shows from the Tivo would look really bad.

 

[Journer]

i LOVE my sceptre 42" 1080p LCD...w000000000000000t

 

[TangoJuliet]

Originally posted by: mchammer

Originally posted by: alkohoLiK

Originally posted by: mchammer
So then get the Sony 46" if you have the cash and are set on 1080p.

well i would if there werent major "clouding" issues with the tv.

also, it sounds like you are opposed to 1080p....any reason for that?

I don't have any issue with it, just that the sets that have it seem to cost alot more.

As far as this clouding or the specifics of what TV is best, I don't know enough to say except that I have heard that plasma supposedly looks better than LCD unless it is a cheap brand.

As an aside, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are 1080p right?

Some questions:
Is over the air HD 720p or 1080p? Does it depend on the channel?
Is cable HD 720p or 1080p? Does it depend on the channel or cable provider?
Is sattelite HD 720p or 1080p? Does it depend on the channel or sat provider?

Other questions:
What percentage of channels today are in HD?
What percentage of these channels output a good HD signal? (Not too many artifacts, etc.)
Which of the three distribution methods (OTA, cable and sat) provides the best HD signal, which provides the worst?

I would want to know the answers to these questions before dropping the kind of $$$ you guys are talking about.

In a way I am kind of glad that I cannot afford any of this stuff. I have a 27" Sony FD Trinitron and a Tivo series 2. If I had a HDTV, then shows from the Tivo would look really bad.

Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are both 1080p. No broadcast HD TV channel is 1080p - they are all either 1080i or 720p. In the future I'm sure they will broadcast it in 1080p but there is no timetable on that.

Right now my cable provider only offers 22 HD channels. This will change as more and more stations move to HD (I'm assuming that they are taking their time because the camera equipment probably costs a ton).

As for which provide the best signal....I currently have a HDTV and my cable provider's signal is great. I have no need for OTA and I dont like satellite (aside from the NFL package).

As for the clouding....here is a photo (courtest of AVS Forum) showing the clouding on the Sony Bravia compared to another set.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l36/skyynet/sonymesson9te8.jpg