New LCD TV Search

[pete_c]

OLD:

Family room (multimedia room basement project has not been started yet)
Pioneer rear projection wide screen TV. (it looks like it somewhere between a 4:3 and 16:9 display) SVideo and Analogue Audio
Reciever: JVC dual zone 5.1 box with optical/analogue audio and SVideo - second zone is the house (via speakers in every room - HA-Homeseer)
Video sources - cable, broadcast, DVDs, HTPC and satellite (plus two TIVOs) - I don't watch TV - wife does and is addicted to "her" Tivo. I just watch movies.
Audio Sources - same (except also have two media servers - one for video and one for audio)

NEW: (very much of a newbee) - Family room upgrade
Replacing TV - looking for an LCD or Plasma with a similar footprint - Don't want DLP. Looking around a 55" LCD although someone suggested a 70 plus inch Plasma at a "deal price" of $3500 to me a couple of weeks ago.
Replacing Reciever - not started to look yet

Family room is currently set up with Dolby 5.1 with center, two side, two rear and sub woofer - easy to upgrade to 7.1 in that my ceiling has about 2 feet of empty space in it.

Any comments or suggestions?

TV Budget - less than $3k - any suggestions?

 

[TLCNORM]

Lots of information here and a ton at the avsforum.

I have a Panasonic plasma and think its great. My neighbor has the Samsung LCD and he loves it. I know thats kinda general, but I think you are in good shape at that price point.

 

[pete_c]

Interesting because I have a peer that swears by his Panasonic Plasma and another one regarding his Samsung LCD.

 

[pete_c]

Looking at the Olevia 55" LCD or Samsung 47" LCD. Specifications look good. Haven't heard any complaints.

Good deal right now BUT I read that the parent company has filed for bankruptcy.

 

[Rupp]

I have 3 Panasonic plasmas and love them. The oldest is a EDTV but most people that see it said it looks like a hi-def TV. Ambient light is the biggest problem with plasma TV's.

 

[pkoslow]

If you're interested in LCD, I'd suggest looking at Samsung too but be aware they have LOTS of different models and performance levels.

I install quite a few and have been very pleased with the 6 & 7 Series which are 120hz. I would caution you against any of the lower-end models if you're concerned with performance. The LN52A630 is a good screen and the LN52A750 is the same but adding better internal amp/speakers with sub and "infolink" which is internet connectivity for stuff like weather & stock information. The LN52A750 makes a nice TV if you're interested in using the built-in speakers for casual listening and only firing up the surround sound for movies.

Samsung also has the new 9 Series 55" LN55A950 which should be a great screen because it adds the variable back light for better contrast ratio. I haven't installed one yet and don';t even think they're shipping yet, but may be something to keep an eye out for. I think retail is $4199, but on-line pricing may place it within your budget?

Cheers,
Paul

 

[sic0048]

I guess I'll through my 2cents in. I have a Sharp LC47D63U (47") that we really love. But those Sharps are known for banding problems (areas of darker backlighting usually in narrow columns vertically on screen).

I think the best advice is to buy from somewhere with a very good return policy. You really need to get the device home and in your own environment before you can be 100% sure you like it IMHO.

That usually means buying from a brick and morter store rather than the internet, but it depends on shipping costs and return policies (since you usually have to eat the shipping cost to return a large item like that).

If you can wait, some of the best deals of the year for TVs are found on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). Of course there is no telling if the TV you really want will be on sale that day. Not until we get closer to the day. There are plenty of sites that have most of the Black Friday deals posted about a week before the sale.

 

[upstatemike]

I would go with a 70 inch Sony Bravia XB3 LCD. A little higher than you are budgeting for but I think they are closing them out so you should be able to find a good discount.

 

[Sacedog]

What are people doing with integration into HA? Are most using IR, or are your trying to buy a TV that includes an RS-232 port like the LGs?

 

[sic0048]

What are people doing with integration into HA? Are most using IR, or are your trying to buy a TV that includes an RS-232 port like the LGs?

If you are serious about HA and plan to tie your TV into the system, definitely get serial controllable hardware. That is one reason why I went with the Sharp. It has serial control. It made tieing into the CQC system much easier.

 

[Rupp]

I control my Pany's using IR using the Ocelot interface and it works perfectly.

 

[pete_c]

What would an RS-232 interface give me different than an IR blaster?

 

[Steve]

RS232 gives you a direct 100% reliable link with ability to fully control all functions via their protocol. IR you have to have all the codes and a transmitter over the TV's window (or a area blaster). They both work but serial is best if possible. Kinda sorta like hardwire lighting vs PLC. If you go with IR make sure the TV has discrete codes for on/off, etc. While I would 'prefer' a TV with direct serial control, I would weigh picture quality and other stuff higher. Serial control would be a bonus assuming there were several comparable tv's.

 

[sic0048]

Many times IR control won't give you discrete control of all settings. For example, it might just toggle between sources rather than allowing you to select "Input 2." Or perhaps you need to change the aspect ratio of the display for certain sources - most displays don't give discrete commands over IR to do that. So it can be rather difficult to control the system properly via IR.

RS-232 many times will also give you two way feedback. So you know when the TV is on, or what volume it is set at, or if it is currently muted or not, etc, etc. This might all sound trivial, but when you start trying to program things that are more automation related, knowing the current TV settings can be very helpful.

My TV for example has a long "boot" time when it is turned on (about 10 seconds). So I need to pause that length of time before sending subsequent commands immediately after turning the TV on. If I was using IR, I wouldn't know if the TV is already on or not. At best I would have a discrete power on command, but I would have to issue that command and wait the 10 seconds everytime the system changed something automatically.

For example, if I press the DVD button, the system turns on the TV, DVD changer, and receiver and changes all the settings to watch the movie I selected and starts playing it. If I was using a IR command, I would have to wait the 10 seconds before continuing on. But since I am using a serial connection, I know when the TV is already on, and can continue issuing commands without pausing the 10 seconds. I might also have trouble getting the input set correctly if I only had a source toggle IR command rather than a discrete source selection.

Or perhaps you want to lower the TV volume when a certain event occurs, it would be nice to know what the volume was so you can reset it to the same volume when the event is done. There is no way of doing this without having a two way serial connection.

Maybe you want your TV and stereo to come on when the alarm goes off. You want it really loud to attract attention and discourage the would-be robbers, but you don't want it too loud where you damage your equipment. Having the ability to set the volume to a specific level is important in that case. Your best option doing this with IR would be to issue 10 or 20 "vol up" commands, but since you don't know the original volume level, it might be too soft to do any good, or too loud and damage some equipment.

Anyway, those are a couple of scenerios where having a two way serial connection is a real benefit, but there are many more scenerios where it becomes critical to have.

 

[pete_c]

Looked at the Samsung LCD's and Panasonic Plasma's yesterday a CC. Impressed with both.

I was going to purchase a Blue Ray DVD to make my comparisons (don't have a player yet).

Peer said something about waiting for Blue Ray version 2 which is coming out soon.

Other than the larger screen size (52 to 55) want to see what else is worth getting in features.

Looks like all of the new ones have 120hz technology:

Regarding "120Hz Technology" - this technology doubles the frame rate from 60 to 120 frames per second without repeating the same image to make more frames. Instead, the TV intelligently calculates the 'middle' image between frame A and frame B and inserts it in between, making a fluid transition from one frame to the next.

Guess I am looking for 10ms or less refresh rates. (which most of them have now).