Uh oh, a friend just bought a big screen tv :(

[RadioactiveGlow]

Originally posted by: cr4zymofo
for $400.00, the correct terminology would be "surround noise".

A-men. I still run a stereo setup. I cannot afford a proper 5.1 system, so I still run my Klipsch Reference setup with a Sunfire preamp/amp setup.

 

[radioouman]

One of the guys at work is getting a big screen this Christmas too. He is a movie/TV freak. He has a limit of $2000 for a TV. I think that he is going for the 56" or so Hitachi. He is replacing a 36" Toshiba! I just laughed.

My 27" JVC is still just great after 2 years of use. I signed up for cable over the summer for the first time in my life other than college, and I'm regretting it now. I am thinking about dropping it. Nothing is on TV that I want to watch.

I couldn't imagine dropping $2000 into a TV. My car cost me $3500, and I need that to get to work. A car helps me earn money. A TV doesn't.

 

[StageLeft]

Went into circuit city, and then best buy. Honestly the displays at bestbuy are screwed up. They are not at the correct angle (half the tvs are way up pointed at the ground), so they look like ass. Plus, well they just look like ass. The ones in circuit city were in fact not too bad. I still need to see one up close with regular satellite and what not and some xbox games, etc. However, 65" was deemed by mrsskoorb as too big and I nearly agree. I suppose 56" would probably suffice.

One major problem with most is that there is nowhere for stereo equipment. I think one of the hitachis had a space underneath the tv (not big, but adequate), and then the more expensive tvs, that have no built in speakers, have a bunch of room under the tv. We have no need for built in speakers, but we were not psyched about the extra room required if we have to get standalone stands for the stereo equipment. Mrsskoorb insisted we check out a dining room table and I'm fearful that one purchase can't occur without the other, which jacks up the price quite significantly indeed!

I couldn't imagine dropping $2000 into a TV. My car cost me $3500, and I need that to get to work. A car helps me earn money. A TV doesn't.

Well, my take is that I spend enough time in front of the tv that $2k spent on one is not overdoing it at all. the average new purchase price of a car in the US is in the mid to high 20's. People generally spend more time in front of the tv than in their car, but the average new tv sells for under $1k. My 93 sentra, worth $1200, gets me from point A to B just as well as a car costing 20X as much, so why not save a bit of money there (heck, if I keep the car for 6 months it will pay for a tv, vs. a new car) and put it into something sweet like a 56" tv compared to a 27"?

 

[Entity]

Damn. I'm going to drop $450 on a TV later this Winter (thread), and that seems like a lot to me. Good luck with your decision, Skoorb. 😉

Rob

 

[CrazyDe1]

Originally posted by: MrsSkoorb

Originally posted by: Skoorb
You people saying you love your BS purchases are really not helping my cause of not buying one in January for my bday. I mentioned to mrsskoorb tonight that my friend's having bought one was worrisome to me but she said she'd already anticipated such a take on the matter. It sure would make a nifty birthday gift 😀😀

Albeit; an expensive birthday gift...

Of course, I will need dining room furniture eventually remember....😀😛

Hey, I dont' have dining room or living room furniture....

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: CrazyDe1

Originally posted by: MrsSkoorb

Originally posted by: Skoorb
You people saying you love your BS purchases are really not helping my cause of not buying one in January for my bday. I mentioned to mrsskoorb tonight that my friend's having bought one was worrisome to me but she said she'd already anticipated such a take on the matter. It sure would make a nifty birthday gift 😀😀

Albeit; an expensive birthday gift...

Of course, I will need dining room furniture eventually remember....😀😛

Hey, I dont' have dining room or living room furniture....

That's because you're a guy. Similarly, I have little care for a new dining room table. Sure, I'd like one, but if it was entirely up to me it would probably be purchased around 2013 😀

 

[CrazyDe1]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: CrazyDe1

Originally posted by: MrsSkoorb

Originally posted by: Skoorb
You people saying you love your BS purchases are really not helping my cause of not buying one in January for my bday. I mentioned to mrsskoorb tonight that my friend's having bought one was worrisome to me but she said she'd already anticipated such a take on the matter. It sure would make a nifty birthday gift 😀😀

Albeit; an expensive birthday gift...

Of course, I will need dining room furniture eventually remember....😀😛

Hey, I dont' have dining room or living room furniture....

That's because you're a guy. Similarly, I have little care for a new dining room table. Sure, I'd like one, but if it was entirely up to me it would probably be purchased around 2013 😀

Yeah, who needs dining room sets when you can have HDTV's 🙂

Let's see...dining room set used once a year if that, HDTV daily...let me think for awhile...

 

[RedRooster]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Went into circuit city, and then best buy. Honestly the displays at bestbuy are screwed up. They are not at the correct angle (half the tvs are way up pointed at the ground), so they look like ass. Plus, well they just look like ass. The ones in circuit city were in fact not too bad. I still need to see one up close with regular satellite and what not and some xbox games, etc. However, 65" was deemed by mrsskoorb as too big and I nearly agree. I suppose 56" would probably suffice.

One major problem with most is that there is nowhere for stereo equipment. I think one of the hitachis had a space underneath the tv (not big, but adequate), and then the more expensive tvs, that have no built in speakers, have a bunch of room under the tv. We have no need for built in speakers, but we were not psyched about the extra room required if we have to get standalone stands for the stereo equipment. Mrsskoorb insisted we check out a dining room table and I'm fearful that one purchase can't occur without the other, which jacks up the price quite significantly indeed!

I couldn't imagine dropping $2000 into a TV. My car cost me $3500, and I need that to get to work. A car helps me earn money. A TV doesn't.

Well, my take is that I spend enough time in front of the tv that $2k spent on one is not overdoing it at all. the average new purchase price of a car in the US is in the mid to high 20's. People generally spend more time in front of the tv than in their car, but the average new tv sells for under $1k. My 93 sentra, worth $1200, gets me from point A to B just as well as a car costing 20X as much, so why not save a bit of money there (heck, if I keep the car for 6 months it will pay for a tv, vs. a new car) and put it into something sweet like a 56" tv compared to a 27"?

Sooooo, you're buying it tomorrow, right? 🙂 You NEED it man, just get it and forget about the financial value. Your entertainment and happiness is worth more!
You're like a guy I work with. Me and another guy always talk him into buying stuff. Last year it was a bigscreen, this past week was a laptop. This spring he'll be buying a motorcycle so he can ride with us. He doesn't know that yet, but he will. 😀

 

[OIKOS]

Originally posted by: Zorro
Best place for a good deal on a refurb BIG SCREEN

thx

 

[Storm]

Anyone know off the top of their head what are the advantages of DLP vs plasma vs regular HD monitor?

Edit
It seems to me a 5k Sony plasma looks better than a 4k toshiba dlp but I know Im missing something...

 

[Crucial]

I am in the same boat. My problem is that I can't stand anything but plasmas and they are just too expensive at the moment. We had a 42" plasma but sent it back because it wasn't quite what I wanted. The panasonic I originaly wanted is on major backorder so I am having to wait another couple months.

The drawbacks of crt, lcd, and dlp are too much for me to get over. The Sony Grand Wega III looks nice but it's nowhere near plasma quality. I would rather buy a 34" direct view that rptv but thats just not big enough.

 

[MaxFusion16]

Originally posted by: Storm
Anyone know off the top of their head what are the advantages of DLP vs plasma vs regular HD monitor?

Edit
It seems to me a 5k Sony plasma looks better than a 4k toshiba dlp but I know Im missing something...

dlp, digital light processing is a display technology developed by texas instrument, it's a grid of mirrors turning on and off reflecting light to a color wheel which would then produce an image, the resolution is the number of mirrors. It suffers no burn in, has good quality. However, it may cause disorientation due to the color wheel, the so called rainbow effect.

plasma is the new thin display technology. it looks cool but unfortunately can not display true black and has short lifespan, about 3 years before the colors degrade significantly.

the regular would be cathode ray tube, the good old crt. crt is the oldest so therefore the most mature technology. it has the best quality, but is heavy and bulky.

i would recommend getting a crt projector. Crt projector gives the best picture quality and the highest resolution. Currently only a 9 inch pj can fully resolve the 1080p hdtv standard. with the onset of digital projectors, they've gotten very cheap, a used one can be had for as little as $500, but for around $2k, u can score a nice 8 inch possibly 9 inch in good condition, compared to their original price of $30k+. with care they should last 10000 hours with minimal burn in.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: cr4zymofo

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: cr4zymofo for $400.00, the correct terminology would be "surround noise".

What are the specs of your home audio system bigshot?

Just my front speakers wires (L/R not counting the center speaker wire) are a little more than $400.00

Not the most impressive statistic you could mention, considering that a metal coat hanger can pass a digital signal from a coax output without an error. Speakers would be a nice start, followed by A/V transports, amps, processors...

 

[Trente]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: cr4zymofo

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: cr4zymofo for $400.00, the correct terminology would be "surround noise".

What are the specs of your home audio system bigshot?

Just my front speakers wires (L/R not counting the center speaker wire) are a little more than $400.00

Not the most impressive statistic you could mention, considering that a metal coat hanger can pass a digital signal from a coax output without an error...

The cables connected to his speakers are carrying ANALOGUE information, not DIGITAL (=coax/optic)

 

[ohtwell]

I'd rather have a mid sized TV. Big screens usually look like crap IMO!


: ) Amanda

 

[Koing]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
[
Q]I couldn't imagine dropping $2000 into a TV. My car cost me $3500, and I need that to get to work. A car helps me earn money. A TV doesn't.

Well, my take is that I spend enough time in front of the tv that $2k spent on one is not overdoing it at all. the average new purchase price of a car in the US is in the mid to high 20's. People generally spend more time in front of the tv than in their car, but the average new tv sells for under $1k. My 93 sentra, worth $1200, gets me from point A to B just as well as a car costing 20X as much, so why not save a bit of money there (heck, if I keep the car for 6 months it will pay for a tv, vs. a new car) and put it into something sweet like a 56" tv compared to a 27"?[/quote]

Yup that is the same reason why I got my 23" widescreen lcd 😀. I spend more time on the pc then on the tv. Also we have a 32" Sony Wega that is really nice. Could be bigger but I ain't complaining as it the pictures look stunning on it for me.

Spending $20k for a car is crazy, unless the image with a car is nice for your job if you need that. Or you have loads of $$$. I'll stick with cheap cars until I can buy outright or get really cheap finance on a 2-3yr old car. New car prices depreciate far too much for my liking.

Koing

 

[Koing]

Originally posted by: MaxFusion16

Originally posted by: Storm
Anyone know off the top of their head what are the advantages of DLP vs plasma vs regular HD monitor?

Edit
It seems to me a 5k Sony plasma looks better than a 4k toshiba dlp but I know Im missing something...

dlp, digital light processing is a display technology developed by texas instrument, it's a grid of mirrors turning on and off reflecting light to a color wheel which would then produce an image, the resolution is the number of mirrors. It suffers no burn in, has good quality. However, it may cause disorientation due to the color wheel, the so called rainbow effect.

plasma is the new thin display technology. it looks cool but unfortunately can not display true black and has short lifespan, about 3 years before the colors degrade significantly.

the regular would be cathode ray tube, the good old crt. crt is the oldest so therefore the most mature technology. it has the best quality, but is heavy and bulky.

i would recommend getting a crt projector. Crt projector gives the best picture quality and the highest resolution. Currently only a 9 inch pj can fully resolve the 1080p hdtv standard. with the onset of digital projectors, they've gotten very cheap, a used one can be had for as little as $500, but for around $2k, u can score a nice 8 inch possibly 9 inch in good condition, compared to their original price of $30k+. with care they should last 10000 hours with minimal burn in.

The plasma screens DO NOT HAVE A SHORT LIFESPAN. Please go read a decent Plasma tv FAQ. They will now last as long as your CRT will. 20k or so but definatley for a WHILE. Yes the colour de grades over time but do you notice your old crt degrade suddently also? No as it is gradual and you get use to it. CRT fades over time also but you barely notice them on old tv's.

Get a nice Panasonic, Pioneer or Fujitsu plasma in the $2.5k (you can get them, ignore gateway and other cheap models) range for a Panasonic 42" EDTV and you will be happy. REMEMBER crap signal = crap image as on ANY big tv it just maginfies the crap signal. Ignore CC or BB setups, as they are mostly all off whack.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=40

Koing

 

[Pocatello]

I wanted to buy a big screen tv pretty bad myself, until I purchased a laptop, which depleted my budget for a big screen tv. Perhaps next year! Keep the dream alive, I always say 🙂

 

[Dulanic]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Went into circuit city, and then best buy. Honestly the displays at bestbuy are screwed up. They are not at the correct angle (half the tvs are way up pointed at the ground), so they look like ass. Plus, well they just look like ass. The ones in circuit city were in fact not too bad. I still need to see one up close with regular satellite and what not and some xbox games, etc. However, 65" was deemed by mrsskoorb as too big and I nearly agree. I suppose 56" would probably suffice.

One major problem with most is that there is nowhere for stereo equipment. I think one of the hitachis had a space underneath the tv (not big, but adequate), and then the more expensive tvs, that have no built in speakers, have a bunch of room under the tv. We have no need for built in speakers, but we were not psyched about the extra room required if we have to get standalone stands for the stereo equipment. Mrsskoorb insisted we check out a dining room table and I'm fearful that one purchase can't occur without the other, which jacks up the price quite significantly indeed!

I couldn't imagine dropping $2000 into a TV. My car cost me $3500, and I need that to get to work. A car helps me earn money. A TV doesn't.

Well, my take is that I spend enough time in front of the tv that $2k spent on one is not overdoing it at all. the average new purchase price of a car in the US is in the mid to high 20's. People generally spend more time in front of the tv than in their car, but the average new tv sells for under $1k. My 93 sentra, worth $1200, gets me from point A to B just as well as a car costing 20X as much, so why not save a bit of money there (heck, if I keep the car for 6 months it will pay for a tv, vs. a new car) and put it into something sweet like a 56" tv compared to a 27"?

It was a panasonic that has the compartment underneath, and that panasonic is crap IMO, as are all panasonic RPTV's. There are 2 TVs I would ever get... Hitachi or Mitsubishi and that's just about it. Except for the LCD Rear Projection, Sony deff did the best job with that TV. Infact I'd take a Sony LCD Projection over a DLP myself, but everyone sees things differently. As for room for equipment... a nice component rack on the side works great IMO and looks great too. And man I still can't beleive thoose panasonic's sold so well... they truly look like grabage compared to like a Hitachi 57"... not a slight difference either, a HUGE difference in picture quality... and you only save a few hundred, if your going to spend $1500 you might as well spend the extra few hundred and get a GOOD TV.