Need HDTV and Sat advice!
 

I am in the market for a full video upgrade. A new TV for the bedroom (probably 32-37") and one for the entertainment/ living room (probably 42" -50") I have direct TV presently, but I will have to upgrade all equipment and so far it seems like they don't make any grand efforts to keep you as a client so a change may be the better route. Anyway I figured this is probably a good group to ask for some advice on flat panel tv's (no room for dlp, rear projection in my teeny city apartment anymore) and for comments pro's, cons on different services. By the way cable tv here is Time Warner and I didn't care much for them in the pre digital days. Your help is much appreciated.

Re: Need HDTV and Sat advice!
 

As for the big one, we got one of these (http://reviews.cnet.com/Pioneer_PDP_....html?tag=also) in December and are very happy with it.

[Note: we actually got the PDP-5071HD, which is the same thing only sold by Best Buy so that they do not have to price match the PDP-5070HD].

Re: Need HDTV and Sat advice!
 

Well, we have Directv HD throughout the house. In the living room, a 50" LG Plasma. Two years now, it's excellent. We have a 32" LCD in the bedroom, and a 21" LCD in my wife's sewing room.

The HD feeds are spectacular. I could never go back. I have to upgrade my receiver soon to one that switches HDMI when I get an HD bluray or HD DVD player.

My neighbor bought a new Plasma. It looked awful. I looked behind his set, and lo and behold, he had only used component cables instead of the HDMI cable. He bought the new cable, and his set looks amazing.

Re: Need HDTV and Sat advice!
 

I'll second that. Pioneer makes some damn fine plasmas.

Re: Need HDTV and Sat advice!
 

P, are you looking for a plasma specifically? We've had two, a 43 and a 50, and they're fine especially if you're going to mount it on the wall. If not, save the money, it's not worth it.

We just got a Sony Wega rear projection. We didn't want the DLP technology because I'd read where some people could actually "see" the mirrors.

Here's a link to the 50" version of what we have:
Sony 50" Rear Projection

BTW, it's supposed to be great for gaming and the pic is knock-out awesome.

We've had satellite before, but didn't like it. Service sucked and they wanted to charge me if they had to come out. With Cox Cable, we get a ton of HD channels including all the local ones, HBO, etc.

Re: Need HDTV and Sat advice!
 

Hawk, I was looking at that one (pioneer) right before I wrote this. That seems like a good one and the prices on it seem pretty good as well.
I'm a little confused that 1080p seems to be the big deal now and a lot of the plasma's that are priced well are not true 1080p. Does it matter much or is it overkill. I think I read that 1080p doesn't matter at that size screen.

Ken, yes I'd rather stay with lcd or plasma, I suppose in my size range I can get either, which only makes things tougher. Right now I have a Sony 36" wega crt, It was amazing several years ago, still is actually but it is taking up about 15sf of my appartment. :giggling: and I'd like to get the space back.

The best spot in my living room is above the fireplace (not used) but it wasn't possible to put crts or rear projections there, I am psyched about flat panel. ;)

Re: Need HDTV and Sat advice!
 

BKLYN, I don't know about the 1080p specs, but I bet someone else on here does.

One thing I got that I really like is one of the decent swing wall mounts so that you can move it out, in, up, down, or tilt it in any direction.

Re: Need HDTV and Sat advice!
 

I don't think 1080p vs 1080i is going to matter on that size. If you were pushing 60" it might.

We've got a Sony Wega crt in the den. It's fine for what it does, and you can watch HD on it too. The picture is just smaller when doing that, tho.

Re: Need HDTV and Sat advice!
 

Found some stuff for you:
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6361600-1.html

READ THIS:
http://www.hometheatermag.com/gearworks/1106gear/

Re: Need HDTV and Sat advice!
 

I've got this TV and it is great. Cable card just plugs right into the TV with no need for the set top box. Go with cable and this and you will not be dissapointed.

Samsung

LN-S4696D
46" Wide HDTV with Integrated DCR Tuner and 1080P

Samsung's sleek 46" LCD leads the industry in realistic home entertainment. With its 6000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, over two million pixel resolution, Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp. S-PVA Panel, and 10-bit processor with 12.8 billion colors, the LN-S4696D delivers a picture of startling clarity that rivals real life.

Attachment 38531

Re: Need HDTV and Sat advice!
 

If you can get ATT Uverse in your area i HIGHLY recomend it! As much as I dislike ATT this is by far the best looking and sounding HD programming I have had. I had Direct TV, Cable and lastly had Dishnetworks HD premium - but this Uverse blows it away. The quality of picture on non-HD is night and day better where as the HD picture is the same - BUT - the sound quality is way far beyond what I have gotten out of any other providers.

Now as for TVs, I love Pioneed Elite(s) they are pricey but well worth it if you want the best picture AND a long life.

I opted for a Hitachi Ultra Vision 55" plasma on the wall above the fireplace which is a nice touch. And a JVC 42" plasma for the bedroom. I have only had the Hitachi for 2 years but all is well with it. The JVC I have had for over 5 years and still going strong.

You can get the Hitachi 55" for the same coin as most high end 50" plasmas too. I would put the Hitachi on your "to view" list.

Re: Need HDTV and Sat advice!
 

can't get uverse or fios here yet. i will check out the hittachi too. doing some looking tonight. :clapping:

Re: Need HDTV and Sat advice!
 

Ok saw a few at best buy last night and my head is spinning. I saw that Pioneer which was nice but the color was super saturated. Everyone looked like they had a bad sunburn. The floor guy said it was in vivid mode or something like that and he couldn't change it. He assured me that it was awesome. :( Don't really want to go by his assurance though. Hawk do you know about this vivid mode and do you leave it off or do you correct the color otherwise?
Other than that I was left a little unsure about plasmas as they said that glare can be a problem and I'm not sure if the lighting in my place might be bad for that. I guess I could be safe and just get LCD they certainly come large enough now. I thought the sharp lcd's looked really good, even better than the Sonys. I saw a bluray movie too that was so clear and colorful it hurt my eyes after a while.

Re: Need HDTV and Sat advice!
 

I had the installer dude optimize the settings on ours. It looks way better than the one in the store did. You just have to have it set correctly.

I worried about the glare too, but it's not noticeable to us. To the extent that there is any glare, the aforementioned wall pivot mount has completely taken care of that. During the day, we just rotate it a little away form the windows to the right. At night, if we have some lights on behind us, we just rotate it a little the other way. The picture on HD is really unbelievable. I doubt we'll ever go to a theater again. (I always end up with a cross-eyed psycho with bad breath and a bladder control problem sitting next to me).

Re: Need HDTV and Sat advice!
 

For example, this article has the optimal settings for a Panasonic: http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatvreviews/panasonic-th50px60u-review.html

The Best Buy store here had most of the TVs running on default settings, which weren?t that good.

Here are some hopefully useful info sources:

http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatvreviews/plasma-vs-lcd.html

http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatvreviews/plasmatv-fireplace.html

http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatvreviews/whyplasmatv.html

http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatv/plasmatv-misconceptions.html

Re: Need HDTV and Sat advice!
 

That's common as most stores do that. Or so I read...

We've got BluRay and it's awesome.

Re: Need HDTV and Sat advice!
 

I have the Pioneer Plasma and Love it! Keep this in mind LCD technology is getting better and Plasma's will most likely be phased out by next year. The new Plasma's will last about 6 years where LCD's will basically last for the life of the TV. At this point if you want 37" or higher Plasma is better but for your smaller TV >37" go with LCD. Vizio LCD's are getting some real good marks.
FYI. I have the infared wall eye which enables me to keep the cable box, DVD player, Onkyo receiver and VCR all in the basement. Everything plugs into the Onkyo nad 1 HDMI cable from the Onkyo to the TV. It cuts way down on wireing and also keeps everything out of you way. I know you don't have a basemnet but you can relocate it to a closet or storage space. 1 remote controlls everything!:clapping:

Re: Need HDTV and Sat advice!
 

Thats some good info on the av receiver as i'd like to minimize the cables that run to the tv. Does that thing do the surround sound as well? It's good to here a lot of praise for the Pioneer it is definitely a top contender and the price is at 2 grand now, not too bad.

Re: Need HDTV and Sat advice!
 

Yes.

I got ours at Circuit City as an open box with full warranty. Saved hundreds.:shhh:

If you're interested in a new remote, I got this one at Best Buy. It's pretty new and we had to drive 30 minutes to get one. Super easy to set up. You install the software on your computer, go to the website, enter the make and models of your equipment, answer a series of yes/no questions and let it do it's thing.

If you have a problem when using it, like my cable box didn't come on, you tap the "help" button and it asks you a series of yes/no questions until it fixes the problem. Took about 10 seconds and no trouble since.

We were quoted $1200 for a remote that does the samething. I b!tched about it and they told me $300 for programming!!! Took me about 30 minutes. I'm still pissed about it!!:mad: Anyway, it's about $449.
Logitech Harmony 1000

Attachment 38586

Re: Need HDTV and Sat advice!
 

No, no, no! Vizio's are pieces of shit. Their picture sucks, if there is even the slightest bit of sunlight in the room you can't see it. The viewing angle sucks, you practically have to be directly in front of it. Lastly, the speakers on them are horrible.

After my first plasma died, I picked up a 42" Vizio LCD... I don't remember why. But I ended up taking it back and getting a 46" Sony Bravia LCD, it was 3x more expensive but you get what you pay for.

Yes, the Pioneer is the way to go... I'm picking another one up for the bedroom shortly. That a/v setup sounds cool, I want!