Q. I'm looking for a 46" or 50" big screen TV. My budget is around $900 - $1100. I'm not to concerned with the type of TV, wether it's LCD, Plasma or Projection. Although, this new TVs main purpose is for gaming, so it must have HDMI and at least 720p. I'm also worried about latency as I've read that some newer televisions can be a little slow to display the image due to the image processing that takes place. Does anyone have any good recomendations as to a tv brand or type that fills all these criteria and is within my budget? I'm not opposed to purchasing online although I still want to stay within my budget after tax and shipping fees.
A. I do in fact have a recomendation and it's one shared by most experts in the audio/visual field. At this point in time the Hitachi f59 series is the absolute best bang for the buck available on the market, bar none. LCD? Plasma? DLP? Nope, it's got every set below $3000 covered hands down in every relevant category, be it picture quality, gaming performance or maintenance cost. The fact is that CRT is still the benchmark all others are judged by and at this point in time a High Def rear projection set such as the Hitachi offers the savvy buyer all the goodies without the hassles.
The F59 series is available in 51, 57 and 65 inch screen sizes, and as to price, well lets just say that on a good sale day you can pick up the 65 for between $1000-$1200 and the 57 for $999. Personally, I'd wait for the annual 'After the Super Bowl' sales as most retailers really offer some blowout pricing at this time, many close to those of 'Black Friday'. It was 'Black Friday' which put the 51 inch version on my doorstep at $699 shipped and I couldn't be happier with this set, heck I'd have paid full price and still considered it a steal. Yes, it really IS that good! But don't just take my word for it, take a look for youself at some of the factors which lead me to this purchase.
For instance lets look at the bulbs, or should I say lack of. ALL of the others technologies require an arc lamp bulb to provide the light source and it does a wonderful job...for about two years. 18-24 months is the average life expectancy of these bulbs under normal viewing conditions, then its time for replacement at a cost of $200. Average that out over the ten plus years you'll watch your typical CRT rear projection set like the Hitachi with ZERO bulbs and you'll see just what the latest 'High Tech' is really worth.
As you're a gamer this is the best choice once again due to a few things, the foremost being response time. CRT doesn't have to measure pixel response in milliseconds because there are none, thus instant and true image representaion is there 24/7/365. This is critical when playing first person shooters such as Halo on Xbox Live as the lag associated with the other technologies allows the slightest bit of lag. Sure, a 10ms lag doesn't seem like much but it is the difference in that hitting and missing those vital split second shots, the difference between tea bagging an downed opponent or cursing yourself blue over why your 'dead on' head shot failed to take out the bad guy. Of course the fact you require an HDMI port tells me you're of the PS3 persuasion but this set does indeed have and support HDMI so that's another base covered. Oh, and screen 'Burn In' isn't really an issue either anymore so than any other set, in fact less if proper caution such as not leaving ANYTHING paused for extended periods of time are taken.
Now as far as movie watching goes I certainly hope you have access to a lot of DVDs because viewing them on this set is more addictive than heroin or internet porn. My personal collection grows by the week now, even movies I've seen a million times gain new life on this set. And as for cable, well I have digital cable and see NO reason to upgrade to HD because the Standard def stations would remain the same and the combo of digital and this TV make you swear you were watching true High Def when tuned to any of the Discovery Network channels.
I'll not even go into the realm of picture quality, suffice to say 1080i with the true blacks and true color representation only CRT can deliver is still king of the hill despite every attempt to knock it off. So go ahead and pull the trigger on one of these bad boys, I promise, you'll not be dissapointed in any way, shape or form. Good luck and happy viewing
Putting a home entertainment system in my basement - what should I use for a TV?
Q. I was planning on buying a 50 inch LCD, but have been hearing that the projectors are catching on. I would imagine it would be a larger image, but don't think it lasts as long. What are the advantages/disadvantages?
A. Personally I'd go with a projector if you have the room for a large screen and flanking speakers ... it will give the most immersive, cinema-like experience (particularly for more than 2 people)
The disadvantage -- as you already noted -- is that lamps typically last 3000 hrs (3-4 years at 2-3 hrs/day) and cost ~$350 to replace. In addition, most projectors need to have air filters checked and cleaned every few months (a 5 minute job).
My wife and I have a HT setup (HD satellite and HD DVD and DVD program sources) with a 110" screen (home made for <$100), 7.1 sound system, and a back-wall mounted projector ... and we wouldn't go back to a small (e.g. 40-60") screen willingly. We like to invite neighbours and friends to come for "dinner and a movie" ... and the home theatre setup enhances the experience immensely. We wouldn't do it if we had an LCD or plasma TV. That said, we have a 32" HDTV in a smaller room that we use for routine TV watching.
But to answer your question re pros and cons ...
Let's set the scene first. Assume a 50" LCD vs a 100" projection setup. Ideal viewing location will be about 7-8' from the LCD and 13-15' from the projection screen. The image will be, perceptually, equivalent (since it subtends the same visual angle). But, most people will sit further from a 50 LCD than ideal (simply to allow more than 2 p[eople to get into the "sweet spot" in front of the screen, rather than off at an angle), so in reality the picture seems bigger for the projector watcher. See viewing distance calulator (2nd link).
Prices for an HT projector: from <$1000 for 720p models and from $3000 for 1080p models (2 years ago this would have been $10K+). See Projector Central's "highly Rated" list (1st link).
A projection setup has more parts than an LCD -- projector and separate screen. Screens can cost more than $3000, but a reasonable screen can be purchased for $500 - $700, or you can make one from Blackout Cloth on a wood frame or paint your own on drywall for <$100. See AVS DIY Screen forum.
Projectors work best in dark rooms (think movie theatre), so light control is important. As with LCD panels competition from room lights or windows washes out the picture, but probably more on a projector screen than a smaller flat panel. This is not to say you can't watch a projector with the lights on, but unless you have a 2000+ lumen projector the picture will be significantly washed out.
Contrast ratio used to be inferior on projectors relative to flatpanel displays, but in the last year CR's of > 10,000 are increasingly common (but note this is compromised in anything but a dark room).
Multiple digital or component connections to projectors tend to be less common than on flatpanel displays (although a suite of composite, s-video, component and DVI or HDMI and VGA are normal), meaning you will probably do switching through an A/V receiver.
A projector throws the image from across the room (unless you have the capacity, and want to use the space to rear project from behind the screen), so sight lines must be kept clear. However, projectors are designed to be ceiling or shelf mounted so this does not have to limit seating. LCDs are easier to position and hide. On the other hand A/V equipment for a projection HT can be unobtrusively mounted at the back of the room and controlled by bouncing the remote signal off the screen.
Projectors turn out heat and have cooling fans that can be noticeable to a viewer sitting beside or under the projector, although recent HT designs have fans that are so quiet you would have to sit within a few feet to even notice them. LCDs are quieter.
So ... there are significant differences. Some can be considered advantages or disadvantages, but I'd suggest they are simply factors to consider. There are work arounds for most of the "disadvantages".
The bottom line to me -- since cost considerations are not major issues in my view -- is do you have the space and wish to view movies or HDTV in a close approximation of the movie theatre experience for 2-6+ people (minus the sticky floors, noisy strangers, and having to travel to the theatre and back), or do you prefer a big picture in a smaller, cosier setting for one or two viewers (or a small screen in a big room for more people) -- i.e. the LCD flatscreen.
I'd suggest you find a projector demo at a local high end A/V retailer and see what both types of diplays are like "live" before making a decision. Also read up on the subject at the links provided.
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