re-doing home theatre--plasma advice

[NEWKILLA]

hello all

the old consists of a 52" pioneer elite--dennon components
5-inwall speakers and 12" sub, the room is about 20x20 and always
on the dark side(no-glare issues) im going to stay with the same audio
pieces for the time being but the rear projection has paid her dues,
im looking in the $1800.00 mark so another pioneer is a little out of
my range, any help would be appreciated


KILLLLLLAAAA

 

[Chapbass]

How about a 54" Panasonic G10?

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-VIER...0725014&sr=8-9


And heres a 58", but I'm not positive on the differences between the two sets (not exactly researching plasmas atm).

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-VIE...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1260725106&sr=1-23

 

[sivart]

58" Samsung Plasma, too.
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-PN58B5...0725153&sr=8-4

If you look for deals, just about every plasma will be in your range. With that large of a room that is dark, I would go with front projection and about a 120" screen. You could buy a decent setup for just a little more than your price range.

You don't mention what you use as a video source, but if it cable / satellite you already have a tuner and already have your audio so it would be projector and screen and go.

 

[Chapbass]

Agreed Sivart, if hes open to a projector, do it!

 

[NEWKILLA]

hey guys,

projector is not out of the question,
i have cable but this is going to be used a lot more by my little
ones(kids) and im thinking with the amount of usage i would be going
through quite a bit of bulbs, can t remeber the brand of my co-workers
granted it is gourgeous, but overall cost has been off the chart,
i definately have the wall space but with the couches and seats in
place your looking at or about 12 ft viewing, im guessing that @ 50" to 60"
would do the trick---LG,samsung,panny are the choices? or am i leaving something out
thanks for the input
KILLAAAA

 

[Blazer]

if panny look at the G10 or G15 series and the V.

 

[NEWKILLA]

Im also finding out about the buzzing out of plasmas , is this inherent to
the technology or problems with older models? dropping 2 grand on
something that buzzes might piss me off a little bit, I really can t imagine an audible noise over the 2-front and center speakers
KILLLLAAAA

 

[Blazer]

i think the buz was from older sets and has been corrected, i havent noticed a buz from my G15 panny plasma, havent read any concerns with the newer G10,15 and V series panny plasma's over here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=167

 

[sivart]

I sit 13 feet from a 100" screen and it is just the right size.

As for Plasma buzzing, my 42" Vizio has a slight buzz that you can -- okay, I can -- hear when the audio is set to Mute. Then I don't watch much TV that way anyway. It is playing football now at a normal listening level (I.e. so you can talk to someone next to you) and I can't hear the buzz even if I try. The TV is 3 years old so things may have improved.

Also, I have crazy good hearing...I can walk into a room and tell you if a CRT TV / Monitor is turned on. It makes a distinct high pitch sound

 

[CubanlB]

Buzzing generally isn't really an issue as it is a function of how hard the power supply on the TV is working. If you use a plasma as a monitor for a PC and are working on a text document with no other sound sources you will most likely hear a buzz, as white uses the most power.

I've had 3 plasmas and the only one I that ever buzzed to the point of being irritating was a 5 or 6 year old Zenith (LG) 480p set.

Other TVs have more noticeable, in my opinion, noise issues. Many of the Samsung LED edge lit TV have hiss over the speakers in the TV even while muted. Again, usually not enough to be noticeable, but many TVs have little quirks like this but in general usage you'd never notice this.

Anyway, I have loved both of my pannys but Samsung and LG make good sets as well. There have been some crazy deals on some of the LG 60" sets being around 1200-1400$ if you are looking for them on some of the deal websites.

 

[kalrith]

I sit 13 feet from a 100" screen and it is just the right size.

If you think that 12 feet from a 50-60" is OK, then sivart's statement might seem way out of line, but it's spot on. I use the following three links for comparing screen sizes and determining viewing distance:

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

http://www.carltonbale.com/wp-content/uploads/resolution_chart.png

http://tvcalculator.com/
​

The first one provides the most information. To take advantage of 1080p content, you have to sit about 8 feet from a 60" screen or 13 feet from a 100" screen. Unless you can move your seating closer to the screen, I would be considering two options. One is the biggest decent rptv you can get. The other would be a fp setup. I'd definitely lean toward the latter.

 

[manimal]

None of my plasmas in sig ever buzzed. I have a 120 inch screen in the Media Room and seating is only 9 feet away. The Pixel density is about perfect at that and the second row of seats at 9 feet or 12 feet as I used to have the room. By the time you get a mount, screen, cable runs your budget may be a bit to small to get a quality screen.

If your looking at for a good deal Best Buy is clearancing out the projector I have in my sig for 720 ish. The Sanyo 3 chip projos are great bang for the buck but have been eclipsed in IQ by this years Optomas and other sub 2k FPs..

 

[jtvang125]

From what I gathered the S1 and G10 series share the same panels but the G10 gives you more control over picture settings. It also gives you a THX mode and from some reviews this mode gives you the most accurate colors.

As for buzzing I've noticed no buzzing at all on my G10. I've watched it many times late at night with no audio, just subtitles with almost dead silence and have heard no buzzing at all.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

Putting a projector in a room with heavy kid use is questionable. Kids are going to want ambient light. Unless they like watching spongebob in complete darkness. You can forget about decent picture quality when you turn on that desk lamp. I guess kids aren't going to care that much about picture quality anyway, so maybe that's not a concern to you.

As you mentioned though you might be eating bulbs pretty often. Especially since kids are going to want to turn the projector on/off frequently which destroys their lifespan.

 

[richardycc]

a 20x20 room? you should get a projector. the Epson 8100 + a ~100" or so da lite screen can be had for under $1800.

 

[slag]

my dad always used to make us sit 10-15 ft away from the tv so we wouldn't hurt our eyes. Our tv was a 12 inch black and white job that had a problem with the vertical hold. We had to smack it so it wouldnt scroll up or down.

Anyway, now all the experts say to sit very close to the tv. I just dont get it. I can see the TV just fine 10 ft away as I can 20 feet away, give or take and its a 62 inch dlp.

so, 12-13 ft from a 100 inch screen just seems crazy. It will be like front row at the theater, always having to pan across the screen to see anything and, to me, would be very tiring.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I'm about 9 feet away from a 102" screen and it's about equivalent to sitting in the middle of most movie theaters I've been in (about a 40 degree horizontal viewing area).

I definitely do not enjoy the "front row of the theater" feeling, but that is definitely not the effect with a ~100" screen sitting ~10 feet back.

 

[Noubourne]

What about DLP?

Mitsu still makes great ones, and you can get last year's set for 73" on that budget (with a couple hundred to spare). Bulb life issues have long been resolved - my Toshiba is well over 8,000 and still looks great - and they do fairly well in lit rooms - better than a projector anyway.

In the dark, my 62" looks absolutely STUNNING. I still get "wow"s from friends when I pop in an HD-DVD (yeah, I know).

More kid-friendly than a FP. Bulbs are cheaper and last longer. Best size-per-dollar behind a FP. Something to think about maybe...

 

[Bonesdad]

another vote for the Panasonic G10, G15 or V10 series. Just an excellent TV.

 

[NEWKILLA]

hey there
all i can say is WoW talk about input, im leaning towards the panny
or might even go for the bigger pioneer(plasma), i really would like to go with
FP but knowing my lil ones with footballs and the like it just seems like a bad
call at this time, i actually picked up a new 14" sub today so the ball is rolling and there is no turning back once again, the wife is freaking aint it great, LoL
thanks guys i ll post pics of the old and new setup once i can
D

 

[sivart]

Seems like kids throwing things in the room would be more likely to damage a plasma than a projector hanging on the ceiling. ...ah, to each their own...either way enjoy.