Home audio & video forum: Poll: If you had one choice, what would you pick for an HDTV?

I already have two HDTV: 1 LCD and one old-school CRT RPTV. If I had to replace my old RPTV today, I'd by the Sony rear projection SXRD. I personally think the LCD images are too harsh. But that's my own preference. I could be wrong. I mostly am...just ask my wife

Now my wife is a different story - I know, when I question her judgement, look at who she married! But, until the programing that is available (we have DirecTV) improves dramatically, our 32" Sony WEGA works just fine. Sure the Phoenix Suns would look better in HDTV and then we could better judge the crappy calls that come from the refs who bet on the games, and I'm sure that one day, she will say "Guess what I bought today?" And we will have a flat screen, probably LCD about 40".

glenfotre,

You're quote: <OK, I said in my previous post that I don't need no stinkin' HDTV, but my wife will bring one home. She thinks that it should be mounted over the gas fireplace with the bottom at a mimimum of 52" from the floor. I say that is too high for viewing from a normal chair and I'm also concerned about the heat from the fireplace. What is the concensus of opinions on those two issues?>

My feeling, a TV should be placed at eye level when you watch TV. Sit where you will watch TV, and place it eye level. If eye level is 52", then that should be fine. Personally, I think placing TVs above a fireplace is a fad. It's a fad started by designers as it's something to put in that blank space. I worry about any heat and smoke affecting the TV.

Mounted our 50" HDTV over fireplace and viewing is great although it takes a little time to adjust to view "up". Just like in the movie theater. Also adds more heating to the room (500W device) That's good in the winter time - no need for fireplace heat.

Unfortunatelly you failed to mention the size of your room, the enclosure on your fire place and the thought on which unit migt end up there.
I had a 25ft long livingroom, 52" was definatelly not too high. Gass fireplace with glass propably won't generate enough heat to be too concerned, but to get around that, get a front projection 'DLP' (the best projection system - if not over all) now there are no components at risk of heat, and you can make the screen disappear - one problem though - hiding the wires to the unit.

Front projector advice - save money, don't use a home theater projector, a presentation projector, using your cable box / satelite box as tuner (which most of us do anyway) and you stereo for sound - cheaper and better.

Also, if you bother getting HDTV, at least get HD programming - I get so tired of all these people spending thousands so they can watch regular programming streched and destorted (shows short fat cheerleaders) on their WIDE screen

I actually agree with you. I own a 57" DLP that I am nuts about, but if I had been watching a 32" WEGA, I would still be watching the WEGA.

In my case, I was watching a 20" RCA and, while it was in good shape, my eyes just can't deal with the liliputian subtitles that I must have turned on because of my ears that don't seem to be able to extract words from the jumble of sounds in current movies.

What drove me over the top was a movie about the last days of the 3rd Reich which was completely spoken in German so I had to use the subtitled English. Well, I had to stand up and watch the movie right up close to the little 20" TV so I could read the subtitles and . . . .

Well, it just "sucked!" So, I began my quest for a new TV. I finally decided to buy a 1080p DLP.

Like you, I find the broadcast fare abysmal. We mostly watch movies -- including the aforementioned again and this time sitting down.

Reading your answer made me laugh because it was so close to what my answer would have been if my old TV had been just a wee bit better!

If you have a room that is suitable for it (ambient light control), front projection is the best value out there. I have a 720p projector with a 104" screen. While 1080p would be fantastic (I got in the game a little too early), I can't complain about my $2000 104" HDTV.

Your comment that RP's weigh more does not apply to RP LCD screns which can weigh quite a bit less than a flat panel (plasma or LCD).

Ive got an XGA NEC LT240K... We bought this about 5 years ago... hooked it up to a hd set top box... most amazing picture never had or will have a viewing angle problem... 105" screen amazing... never even had to change the bulb yet

After shopping around and doing research, I think I would still go for a mid to high end Direct View Flat Panel 36" monitor.
equipped with an analog to digital converter,enough
varied connectors to handle various peripheral
devices. On a Direct View Monitor, over 36"
causes edge loss.

I want to hedge my bets some, since the FCC is extending the analog TV signal until 2012.
This is just the first
extension. Put on your seat belts, its going to be a bumpy, or at least a 'trippy'ride. Good luck, Rangers.

I just took the plunge into HDTV this past summer. I opted for a 56" RP the set I purchased if 1080p and instead of the old lamp system it uses a LED DLP light engine. My feeling on RP was it has had 2 major flaws. The first is lamp life a problem it has in common with FP TVs. the second being size. Not screen size but height and depth. From my experience in shopping for my latest TV I've seen a marked decrease in both dimensions and the new LED light engine may have the longest expected life span of the new technologies. Off angle viewing quality has improved to a point that it really isn't a factor in mid to high end models. With these improvements and a significant price gap between this and other technologies I don't see RP dying off any time soon

When thinking of maintenance, it will always be less costly to replace a projector than an entire Plasma or LCD screen. So consider the increased warranty cost when buying a Plasma or LCD TV.

Look at the 50" Sony SXRD Projection TV - It is awesome - Clear and bright. It has the WEGA Engine, probably same as yours.

I just bought a Sony KDF 46E3000 Rear Projection TV, you can't get the quality of this HDTV in a flat panel until you spend over $ 3,000.

The Sony KDF 46E3000 only cost me $ 1,450.00 brand new.

If you don't plan to hang the HDTV on the wall and your not buying it as a fashion statement then it doesn't really matter what you buy.

Sure there are cheaper flat panel HDTV's from second tier manufactures like Vizio, but I don't feel that the overall quality and long term reliability is on the same level as Sony, Samsung or Panasonic.

Even the salesmen said that for overall picture quality on the cheap its hard to beat a rear projection HDTV.

The New Sony 46 inch Rear Projection HDTV weighs only 60 pounds and is less then a foot deep.

A 50 inch plasma HDTV weighs nearly a 100 pounds, and if something goes wrong out of warranty you better be prepared to spend some big money getting it fixed.

Of course the bulbs eventually burn out in rear projection TV's but you put a new bulb in it and you have a brand new TV, a new bulb costs
$ 200.00 and lasts for 8000 hours, and if you get the extended five year warranty that covers all bulb replacements for five years.

The brightness levels of all flat panels get dimmer over time, and there is no way to avoid it.

All current HDTV technologies have their own pros and cons.

Although LCDs and plasmas have made greate strides of late, the gold standard remains the 9" CRT...Sony g90, etc. Blacks are true black...with detail. LCDs including the lastest by Sony, Panasonic, etc. cannot achieve the black that you find in the front projection CRTs. You have to accept that the room must be practically dark, and the obnoxious size and noise of the CRT...but nothing compares to picture quality.