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Hello all, I am looking for some upgrade advice for my home theater system. I am currently using a 65" Mitsu CRT RPTV that is nearing 4 years old. It is a 1080i set and only has component inputs for HD signals. It has been professionally calibrated and overall I have been very pleased with it. However, I am considering getting a HD-DVD player and would like to be able to HDMI connections for the HD material (as well as upscaling of regular DVDs). Not to mention the display is a massive beast that weighs several hundred pounds Smile (I'm also getting a little influence from my fiance to free up some floor space in teh living room)Anyhow, I am really looking hard at some plasma displays now, since they seem to be reaching excellent price points for the quality recieved. I'd like to spend at most $5K on the display. But, I am intrigued by the Vizio 50" PDP that was in the most recent TPV issue. The price is amazing and the unit I spent some time with had impressive image quality, especially the blacks. I think that 50" is the minimum I could live with after becoming used to the 65" we have currently. I also saw that Vizio has a new model out now that has a built in tuner, but all the other specs seem to be the same. The built in tuner would be useless to me, so I'd likely just get the one I can find cheaper if all other factors were equal.
My question is, would I be happy with a product like this? Obviously this is a nearly impossible question to answer.... but I am basically asking if most people coming from a well calibrated CRT RPTV of large size are satisfied with the image offered on a smaller Plasma display?
Thanks for your time.
Follow Ups:
Go to AVS Forum and do some reading on plasma displays before you purchase any model. There are differences in commercial models and consumer models. The commercial models are usually a bit cheaper and give you more control over the Menu and Service Menu settings, as well as let you configure them based on your needs. If you're an "auto-mode" type of person, you're better off with the consumer models.If 50" is the size you're considering, look at the new Panasonic 9UK commercial model. It's $2850 from several online vendors (see AVS Forum sponsors). Depending on the number of sources you have, you may need to add a video input or two ($145) and, depending on where you are going to put it, a stand ($110) or wall mount ($99). Wall mounting frees up a lot of space and also removes the display from affecting your audio system's imaging.
If you'd rather have a larger plasma display, wait a few months. Panasonic is rolling out commercial and consumer 65" displays with 1920x1080 resolution and 1080p input capability. There will be a number of people who own the current 1366x768 65" models willing to part with them in order to move up to the newer models. The current (new) price for the 1366x768 model is $7990 and that number will be going down (probably to the $6k+ area) as well.Here's a thread you may want to read:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=685667and a link to the AVS plasma forum:
Since you mentioned $5k as your limit, I did see that Plasma Concepts has the Panasonic 58" consumer plasma for <$5k (1366x768, model TH-58PX60U -- there's a 600U, but I don't know what the differences are although I'm sure there's plenty of info at AVS Forum). It's size is right in the middle of your 50" vs 65" situation.Plasma Concepts:
http://www.plasmaconcepts.com/plasma-tv-store/Panasonic-TH-58PX60U/PD539.htmlPanasonic's web page:
You won't like a 50" coming from a 65". 60" plasmas are overpriced IMO, and right now are only 720p. You can look into some DLPs and see if you like them, and they do make them big. You may also with to look at the 60" Sony SXRDs, either the XBR1 (the XBR2 is coming this fall) or the KDS-60A2000. You need top stick with 60" or bigger. Shop around, and see what you like.
If you want to wait, HD DVD players will send the HD signal out via component (for now), but will not upscale via component.
good luck,
Jack
I have last years 50" and the pic is spectacular. This year they will accept a 1080p input (mine won't, no big deal for me) from an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray. As far as the players go, I would wait until the "war" is over and prices come down. There will probably be a player that does both formats on the market next year anyway. If that's the only reason you want to buy a new TV why not wait? If it's reducing floorspace the Sony is not very deep and weighs far less than 100lbs.
I've got the 60" SXRD. Love the set. I *think* the new 60A200 is basically the same set without the dumbo ears, and a lower price, possibly minus a few minor extras. I also have a HD DVD player-it was an impulse buy. Its a killer combination. Even if the format doesn't survive, and I suspect both new formats will just be niche products, its a very, very good upscaling DVD player-much better than my Oppo.
Jack
Not this year, not next year, not the year after that...
.
It's not because it can't be done, because it is possible (see the recent Ricoh announcement re: optics and a "player", but it's one thing to announce and another to actually sell -- a la Samsung and LG). You can call it a violation of anti-trust laws, collusion, back-door promises, stupidity, pride, etc, whatever pleases you.Don't you find it strange that neither Samsung nor LG have made good on their plans to sell a dual-format high definition player despite several announcements that they would? Hmmm... The EU is looking into this, but who knows what's really behind it:
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