Plasma v LED? 55" v 60"? Help appreciated

[bigalroden]

Hi.
I'm planning to move house soon and aim to convert a room approx 14ft x 8ft (not including furniture) into a cinema room.

First question is, should I go for 60" in that room, or stick to 55"?

Secondly, and more importantly, plasma or LED?
I plan to use the TV as follows:
a) Live TV (sport, dramas, news etc) approx 40% of the time, via a Virgin Media set-top box
b) Movies via DVD player approx 15% of the time
c) Movies via PC blu-ray player approx 10% of the time
d) Movies via PC online streaming approx 25% of the time
e) PC games approx 10% of the time

It would primarily be used for movies at nighttime, but TV (mainly sport) during the day.

I've heard all the scare stories about using plasma for a PC, but if I disabled the taskbar and icons, is it still a problem?

I'm looking around the £1,300 mark ideally, and would probably prefer Samsung because I have a Samsung smartphone and Tab, so could use Allshare.

A few options I've shortlisted:

55" LED: http://www.directtvs.co.uk/Samsung_UE55ES6300_55_Inch_Smart_3D_LED_TV_UE55ES6300UXXU/version.asp

60" Plasma:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-PS6...4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1344961825&sr=1-4

Or here is the 60" LED, but it's maybe a bit too expensive:
http://www.directtvs.co.uk/Samsung_UE60ES6300_60_Inch_Smart_3D_LED_TV_UE60ES6300UXXU/version.asp


Any help appreciated,

Alan.

 

[sdifox]

what is the lighting condition in the room during the day?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/LG-60PA650T...?s=home-theater&ie=UTF8&qid=1345053138&sr=1-1

60" plasma, 900 quibs.


or if you can control the light source

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Optoma-HD20...s=home-theater&ie=UTF8&qid=1345053384&sr=1-13

690 quibs and build a 100" screen and call it a day :biggrin:


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Optoma-HD230X-1080p-Cinema-Projector/dp/B006ZIVKLY/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

580 quibs


cheap screen, I don't have a clue how good it is

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Duronic-EPS106-169-Projector-Screen/dp/B005199TSE/ref=pd_sim_ce_6

80 quibs

 

[bigalroden]

There's one double window. Will probably get black curtains so that it's nice and dark in the evening, but wouldn't want to be to anti-social during the day if people are around to watch the football. I believe the room is lit with several spotlights.

 

[sdifox]

There's one double window. Will probably get black curtains so that it's nice and dark in the evening, but wouldn't want to be to anti-social during the day if people are around to watch the football. I believe the room is lit with several spotlights.

where is the window in relation to where the display will be? football is meant to be watched on wall size display

 

[bigalroden]

It'll be directly behind it - ie behind the sofa

 

[jtvang125]

I had my panasonic g10 plasma for almost 4 years now and never had an issue with burn-in. Its usage is about 80% htpc and 20% cable. My nephew was over for two weeks and played the xbox for hours everyday and still had no issues. I do have the pixel shifting feature turned on though.

 

[sdifox]

It'll be directly behind it - ie behind the sofa

whut? The window is directly behind the display and behind the sofa????

or do you mean the window is behind the sofa and the display is at the opposite wall?

 

[bigalroden]

whut? The window is directly behind the display and behind the sofa????

or do you mean the window is behind the sofa and the display is at the opposite wall?

Sorry, yeah, window is behind the sofa and the display is at the opposite wall.

 

[sdifox]

Sorry, yeah, window is behind the sofa and the display is at the opposite wall.

humm, black out curtains will still let in a bit of side light, is there any other window?

It won't be pitch black even with the curtains so I think that is what you should work on first. Get the black out curtains, check the ambient light level then determine if you can go projector.

watching footie is best done on front projection. Even if you throw your pint glass at it, you won't cry.

 

[bigalroden]

I had thought about a projector, but the idea of linking all the wires required for a PC, a digital TV box and a DVD player to the projector, plus the need for a soundbar or speakers... it all seemed very complicated and potentially expensive in hiring an electrician! But if I'm being paranoid, let me know!

 

[sdifox]

I had thought about a projector, but the idea of linking all the wires required for a PC, a digital TV box and a DVD player to the projector, plus the need for a soundbar or speakers... it all seemed very complicated and potentially expensive in hiring an electrician! But if I'm being paranoid, let me know!

err, projector would be ideal in your case. all the hardware would be behind you or beside you. The only wiring you need to get to the front would be speaker cables. The projector is over head. You probably want to get some bt keyboard/trackpad.

the cabling are easy. You know how to connect all the cables for a computer no? This is no different.

Why would you need an electrician?

Sound system don't have to be very expensive.

what is a good UK etailer site I can check out price range?


lulz I don't know how they sound, but £/Lb ratio is hard to beat on these

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beng-Channe...ceiver-speakers&ie=UTF8&qid=1345056473&sr=1-4

149 quibs

 

[sdifox]

as an example

http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/cambridge-audio/s-av-pack/camb-s70-pack

400 quibs.

again, no idea how it sounds, but Cambridge makes decent gear.


I like this one

http://www.richersounds.com/product...tor-audio/bronze-bx5-5.1/moni-audi-bx5-oak-pk

1200

 

[bigalroden]

Ok, thanks. Was thinking I'd want to conceal the cables in walls if I got a projector, but hadn't really looked into it and could just use cord covers I guess.

Only concern is the lighting - are projectors completely useless if you just want to watch something without sitting in complete darkness or play a game with the lights on?

 

[sdifox]

Ok, thanks. Was thinking I'd want to conceal the cables in walls if I got a projector, but hadn't really looked into it and could just use cord covers I guess.

Only concern is the lighting - are projectors completely useless if you just want to watch something without sitting in complete darkness or play a game with the lights on?

not completely useless, but ambient light does put a damper on it. going with higher gain screen helps somewhat, but that leads to hot spotting.

During the day, if you cover your window with black out curtains, that is good enough for projector use, as long as whatever light is let in is not shining on the screen.

Cable conduits would be the way to go, especially the ones that open.