Help with a LCD tv...

[::: DARK PSI :::]

I am looking into getting a 70"+ LCD tv but with the enormous selection out there and the fact I have NO clue what the hell to buy.. I need a little help from people who have already looked into this kind of thing.

I have found the Sony XBR 70" Grand Wega to look pretty damn cool.. but is it everything it is cracked up to be..

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?CategoryName=xbr_projection&Dept=tvvideo&ProductSKU=KDF70XBR950

Any help guys and gals would be much appreciated!!

[Pure_Evil]

I HATE YOU!!!!!!!!!


:bawling:

[Slice]

Have you seen a LCD rear projectors up close? You can get a 50" plasma for around $3400. I personally do not like the lcd rear projectors because the screens are hard to see during the day. I have an lcd flatscreen in my bedroom which is completely different but no where near as nice as my plasma. I wouldn't spend that kind of money on a rear projection.

[::: DARK PSI :::]

The only issue is I wanna go big. I can get that tv for around 5 grand though. I am also worried about wash out.. but in the Sony store it seemed fine. The only comparable plasma would be 20 grand.. and that is just a ridiculous price to pay for a tv.

70" compared to 50" is a huge difference. (no gay jokes please)

The tv will be in my great room the opposite wall from a set of french doors leading outside. The distance is about 40-50 ft from doors to the opposite wall. I don't think the light will affect too much?

[::: DARK PSI :::]

Man that post above sounded UBER GAY!!

[Slice]

Get a 60" plasma for about $6400. :P I just really hate rear projection tvs, their picture is not that of a plasma. Everyone always says to me, yeah but your plasma has a life expectancy of only 10 to 15 years. Well in 10 to 15 years it will be time for a new one anyways. LOL

[BobtheCkroach]

Get a 60" plasma for about $6400. :P I just really hate rear projection tvs, their picture is not that of a plasma. Everyone always says to me, yeah but your plasma has a life expectancy of only 10 to 15 years. Well in 10 to 15 years it will be time for a new one anyways. LOL

Good Lord! Does anyone keep a TV that long? I mean, sure we *have* the old tv...it's up in my bro's room as a backup, but geez, we replace the family TV every 5 years, at least!

[OUTLAWS Tip]

The only tv I use is a 1989 27" RCA and the only way I will buy another is if this one breaks. I will buy the best on the market for about $300 though. LOL

:P :D

[Slice]

The only tv I use is a 1989 27" RCA and the only way I will buy another is if this one breaks. I will buy the best on the market for about $300 though. LOL

:P :D
I am coming over with a baseball bat to beat that sucker to a pulp. :P It's time for a new tv... Damn does that thing even have a remote or is it a dial? LOL

[noldhor]

My Tv is a 53" , paid 3000$

[Mr Clean]

The only tv I use is a 1989 27" RCA and the only way I will buy another is if this one breaks. I will buy the best on the market for about $300 though. LOL

:P :D

:funny: Aye me too...

[Alexis SC430]

Ditto what Pure said... I don't even have cable... :(

[Die Hard]

Ditto what Pure said... I don't even have cable... :(Ah, but you have your wit and charm....

[ME BIGGD01]

no way should you get a plasma and i am speaking from experience. first rear projection is by far superior over any plasma display. i suggest getting lcd all the way. the quality of the picture will blow away any plasma on the market and will last longer then the 3-6 years (not 10-15). as far as picture goes against sunlight, you have to measure the nits regardless of lcd's, and plasma's. having designed the displays for the world finacial center in manhattan using plasma displays, i have learned quite a great deal with qualities of these things.

i will have to get back to this topic so i can list the major differences between lcd and plasma displays.

[Slice]

OMG whatever. Plasma is way better then LCD. I have both and My plasma is far superior to my lcd. When I researched on buying my tv's I not only went on line but went in person to see all of the tvs available. LCD screens can't refresh fast enough and their picture looks like crap on every day cable or sattelite service.

[ME BIGGD01]

slice, this is not just my opinion but based on pixel technology, there is no way a plasma is better then lcd technology. you did say something though that has me wondering if you are basing your opinion on. you mentioned cable and sattelite which may be the problem. for what ever reason anyone would not have the signal coming in digital instead of ntsc is beyond my imagination. i am not sure what you are comparing to or what you are using with as your inputs but if it's not a digital connection, you can not expect to get good quality from a 4:3 ratio. if the screen you are using is using a 4:3 ntsc and it is being stretched to a 16:9 and then judging from that, it would make sense based on your comments. just let me know how big jay leno's chin looks:) .

also slice, let me know what plasma you have and what lcd display you have. i would like to research the specs of each to see why you are getting better quality from your plasma.

[::: DARK PSI :::]

Good discussion guys... keep it coming!

[Slice]

The ADVANTAGES of Plasma over LCD are:

1. Larger screen size availability.

2. Better contrast ratio and ability to render deeper blacks.

3. Better color accuracy and saturation.

4. Better motion tracking (little or no motion lag in fast moving images).

The DISADVANTAGES of Plasma vs LCD include:

1. Plasma TVs are more susceptible to burn-in of static images.

2. Plasma TVs generate more heat than LCDs, due to the need to light of phosphors to create the images.

3. Does not perform as well at higher altitudes.

4. Shorter display life span (about 30,000 hours or 8 hrs of viewing a day for 9 years) than LCD. This can vary according to other environmental and use factors.

LCD television ADVANTAGES over Plasma include:

1. No burn-in of static images.

2. Cooler running temperature.

3. No high altitude use issues.

4. Increased image brightness over Plasma.

5. Longer display life (about 60,000 hours - at which time all you may need to do is replace the light source, not the entire set). This can vary according other environmental and use factors.

DISADVANTAGES of LCD vs Plasma televisions include:

1. Lower contrast ratio, not as good rendering deep blacks.

2. Not as good at tracking motion (fast moving objects may exhibit lag artifacts).

3. Not as available in large screen sizes above 37-inches

4. Although LCD televisions do not suffer from burn-in susceptibility, it is possible that individual pixels on an LCD televisions can burn out, causing small, visible, black or white dots to appear on the screen. Individual pixels cannot be repaired, the whole screen would need to be replaced at that point, if the individual pixel burnout becomes annoying to you.

5. LCD televisions are much more expensive than equivalent-sized Plasma televisions.

[Slice]

slice, this is not just my opinion but based on pixel technology, there is no way a plasma is better then lcd technology. you did say something though that has me wondering if you are basing your opinion on. you mentioned cable and sattelite which may be the problem. for what ever reason anyone would not have the signal coming in digital instead of ntsc is beyond my imagination. i am not sure what you are comparing to or what you are using with as your inputs but if it's not a digital connection, you can not expect to get good quality from a 4:3 ratio. if the screen you are using is using a 4:3 ntsc and it is being stretched to a 16:9 and then judging from that, it would make sense based on your comments. just let me know how big jay leno's chin looks:) .

also slice, let me know what plasma you have and what lcd display you have. i would like to research the specs of each to see why you are getting better quality from your plasma.Bigg, I have had a plasma for over 2 years now. I have everything set up correctly and do not appreciate you talking down to me like I am some ****ing idiot. There is no need for you to research my tv's as I have already done the research before I bought them. Lcd screens may be fine for viewing pictures on, but for watching movies on there is significant image loss and ghosting that occurs during action scenes. Also they have lower contrast ratios and the picture is not as good visually as plasma. Native resolution plays a big factor as well. For instance My Sony Wega Plasma has a native resolution of 1024x1024. If I were to put both screens side by side and put in the Matrix on dvd using component (r,b,g) connections for each, your eyes would go crazy trying to keep up with it on the lcd screen because of the amount of ghosting you would see. I am not saying that LCD sucks, but from my experience of having both and watching both every day plasma is better.

[ME BIGGD01]

The ADVANTAGES of Plasma over LCD are:

1. Larger screen size availability. -----not by much

2. Better contrast ratio and ability to render deeper blacks. --maybe on last years models-

3. Better color accuracy and saturation.--this has changed

4. Better motion tracking (little or no motion lag in fast moving images).--again only on older lcd's---the technology has been highly advanced

The DISADVANTAGES of Plasma vs LCD include:

1. Plasma TVs are more susceptible to burn-in of static images.

2. Plasma TVs generate more heat than LCDs, due to the need to light of phosphors to create the images. -----not only does is get hot (especially with the newer plasma's built today but they use more electric and with that combo, many people will shorten the life of their plasma

3. Does not perform as well at higher altitudes.

4. Shorter display life span (about 30,000 hours or 8 hrs of viewing a day for 9 years) than LCD. This can vary according to other environmental and use factors. ----depends but the majority of the plasma's will last at most 5 years or something else burning out.

LCD television ADVANTAGES over Plasma include:

1. No burn-in of static images.

2. Cooler running temperature.

3. No high altitude use issues.

4. Increased image brightness over Plasma.

5. Longer display life (about 60,000 hours - at which time all you may need to do is replace the light source, not the entire set). This can vary according other environmental and use factors.

DISADVANTAGES of LCD vs Plasma televisions include:

1. Lower contrast ratio, not as good rendering deep blacks.---this issue has been addressed. contrast ratio is manipulated even with lcd and plasma displays. should not be the selling point of either unless all other specs are investigated.

2. Not as good at tracking motion (fast moving objects may exhibit lag artifacts). --again, this has be resolved and has gotten much better.

3. Not as available in large screen sizes above 37-inches---wrong!!!! there are larger sizes available from sony and sharp etc.

4. Although LCD televisions do not suffer from burn-in susceptibility, it is possible that individual pixels on an LCD televisions can burn out, causing small, visible, black or white dots to appear on the screen. Individual pixels cannot be repaired, the whole screen would need to be replaced at that point, if the individual pixel burnout becomes annoying to you.-------plasma displays can have burnt out pixels also.

5. LCD televisions are much more expensive than equivalent-sized Plasma televisions.----you get what you pay for. when pricing the 42" plasma displays for the world financial a few years ago, they also were very expensive. this is to be expected.


as far as i am concerned, both are not worth the price considering the advancements in technology in such little time. unless you absolutely need either, i would consider holding off until the hd standard is enabled and they release the newest screen that will have faster timing and little cost to build which will offer more then a 50% improvement and 50% decreased price. this will all be ready by 2006. samsungs technology will help the market and soon it will be flooded with hd ready tv's.



p.s. i also forgot to mention that plasma's are also loud. your will hear\ the fans going blowing which can be annoying. this was a major problem that the company has had after 9/11 and the towers came down and took down the bridges and they had to redo the design (minus one full bridge that was connected to trade center).

when i get home i will have find the pictures from this project.

[SALvation]

What do you guys think of DLPs compared to both LCDs and Plasmas? I know that the cost is lower and the picture is bright as hell, but the bulbs burn out ever 3 years and picture quality suffers when not eye-level.

[::: DARK PSI :::]

The 70" LCD tv Grand Wega I am looking at suffers no image issues or ghosting. It even looks great from the side.

[Slice]

LCD projection is a different technology then lcd flat screen. Rather then each pixel represented by a lcd crystal it uses a small lcd image which is then gathered by optics, then bounces off a mirror and then on to the screen. What it really boils down to is your wallet. If you want a high quality tv, Plasma is still the best picture on the market. If you are going for size without huge costs then LCD projection is the way to go. As far as Sony goes well I am biased because I have a Sony Plasma 42", a 23" Sony flatscreen monitor and a 17" Sony flatscreen monitor. If I was going to get a rear projection (which I would never do) it would be the one that Dark is looking at.

To Bigg, my plasma has one fan for cooling and I can't hear a damn thing when my tv is muted. So either you were using some of the older plasmas on the market when you did that setup or they were not very good ones.

[OUTLAWS high ping camper]

Hey Dark, if Slice has swayed you at all, you might want to pick up the June issue of Computer Shopper. They rated Plasma TV's from 13 different manufactures/vendors.

[ME BIGGD01]

To Bigg, my plasma has one fan for cooling and I can't hear a damn thing when my tv is muted. So either you were using some of the older plasmas on the market when you did that setup or they were not very good ones.[/QUOTE]

I have tested many different plasma displays and the one's that were used for the first setup were quiter then the new ones. the fans will go on when needed and since they are running 15 hours a day the fans would be on due to the heat. i imagine since you live in florida, you have the ac on which most likely keeps things pretty cool in your house which probably helps but i can guarantee your plasma has more then one fan in it keeping things cool inside. i am not sure what your setup is or the model you have but if you have it against the wall you will more than likely hear the fans kick in or on when the unit gets hot.

when i designed this job, at this time there was no lcd panels available. after testing several units i decided to go with the fujitsu 42 inch. my design consisted of 22 plasma's which would run digital signage through out the worlf financial and trade center. this project to weeks to design. i needed to get vga digital signal which would run to all the plasma's from 2 media servers that would be running the signage. 11 to each pc. what i did was mange to design the plasma's to be get the signal through a cat-5 which would be networked with the longest distance of 1300 ft. this was not easy but mange to get it done using black box units which would consist of the servers vga to be transmitted through a hub into a receiver that would convert it to the cat 5 back to digital. i was happy it worked and the design worked flawless. since life of the plasma was an issue along with incase the computers crashed there would not be a burn in the screen, i also used one of the cat 5 lines that was ran and i split the cables and made the com cables to connect to the plasmas com port so i would be able to create strings to send commands to the plasma. using a program called ongoer made my life alot easier because it was built for us just for this project. i was able to run a schedule with the ongoer program which would shut the plasma's off at 9 pm and back on at 7 am. it would also send strings to the plasma's to diagnose the unit which i could see if their was a problem remotely. upon the shut down command of the plasma, i would have it also scheduled to run an all white screen for 60 seconds to burnout anything on the screen which is always a good thing to do when dealing with a plasma. this design was destroyed when the towers came down and the company i was consulting for at the time screwed me big time so i did not offer the know how and design during the reconstruction. this company recently lost the contract because although they still had most of my ideas, they did not know how to implement them which caused so many problems. yes i am happy to hear that:) .

anyway, i know that plasma displays have come along way but in know way can you say it offers better quality over lcd technology. i am sure there are some older versions out there (lcd) but once research is done, it would be quick to determine what offers the best. i will also warn to all to make sure you are running the right signal/cables because it will make a big difference. for an example, running a vcr video tape on your plasma will look like crap. also for people that use a dvd player should be sure to be using a digital signal and not the red/yellow/white cables known as composite because this is an anologue signal which may look ok but will not produce the video either unit is capable of displaying.

[ME BIGGD01]

What do you guys think of DLPs compared to both LCDs and Plasmas? I know that the cost is lower and the picture is bright as hell, but the bulbs burn out ever 3 years and picture quality suffers when not eye-level.
i think you answered your own question;) . anything that suffers should not be invested in. i am waiting to 2006 before i invest in a tv.

[SALvation]

i think you answered your own question;) . anything that suffers should not be invested in. i am waiting to 2006 before i invest in a tv.
Any reason until 2006? I know that was the original date when the digital TV cutoff was going to happen but its almost a sure thing to be moved back by Congress this year.

[Slice]

To Bigg, my plasma has one fan for cooling and I can't hear a damn thing when my tv is muted. So either you were using some of the older plasmas on the market when you did that setup or they were not very good ones.

I have tested many different plasma displays and the one's that were used for the first setup were quiter then the new ones. the fans will go on when needed and since they are running 15 hours a day the fans would be on due to the heat. i imagine since you live in florida, you have the ac on which most likely keeps things pretty cool in your house which probably helps but i can guarantee your plasma has more then one fan in it keeping things cool inside. i am not sure what your setup is or the model you have but if you have it against the wall you will more than likely hear the fans kick in or on when the unit gets hot.

when i designed this job, at this time there was no lcd panels available. after testing several units i decided to go with the fujitsu 42 inch. my design consisted of 22 plasma's which would run digital signage through out the worlf financial and trade center. this project to weeks to design. i needed to get vga digital signal which would run to all the plasma's from 2 media servers that would be running the signage. 11 to each pc. what i did was mange to design the plasma's to be get the signal through a cat-5 which would be networked with the longest distance of 1300 ft. this was not easy but mange to get it done using black box units which would consist of the servers vga to be transmitted through a hub into a receiver that would convert it to the cat 5 back to digital. i was happy it worked and the design worked flawless. since life of the plasma was an issue along with incase the computers crashed there would not be a burn in the screen, i also used one of the cat 5 lines that was ran and i split the cables and made the com cables to connect to the plasmas com port so i would be able to create strings to send commands to the plasma. using a program called ongoer made my life alot easier because it was built for us just for this project. i was able to run a schedule with the ongoer program which would shut the plasma's off at 9 pm and back on at 7 am. it would also send strings to the plasma's to diagnose the unit which i could see if their was a problem remotely. upon the shut down command of the plasma, i would have it also scheduled to run an all white screen for 60 seconds to burnout anything on the screen which is always a good thing to do when dealing with a plasma. this design was destroyed when the towers came down and the company i was consulting for at the time screwed me big time so i did not offer the know how and design during the reconstruction. this company recently lost the contract because although they still had most of my ideas, they did not know how to implement them which caused so many problems. yes i am happy to hear that:) .

anyway, i know that plasma displays have come along way but in know way can you say it offers better quality over lcd technology. i am sure there are some older versions out there (lcd) but once research is done, it would be quick to determine what offers the best. i will also warn to all to make sure you are running the right signal/cables because it will make a big difference. for an example, running a vcr video tape on your plasma will look like crap. also for people that use a dvd player should be sure to be using a digital signal and not the red/yellow/white cables known as composite because this is an anologue signal which may look ok but will not produce the video either unit is capable of displaying.


Actually component cables are the best for DVD which are the direct R,G,B cables that take advantage of whats known as progressive scan. Most newer players have this and by splitting the signal up in to its purest form to R,G,B is the best quality. The sound is your standard RCA cables of Red and White. Again I hate to repeat myself my Plasma has only one fan which when running can't be heard. I will disagree with you to the end about your concept of LCD's being better, because they are not. Like I said, I have them both I have no reason to pick a side. They really are not comparable as far as picture quality goes. Life span, yes lcd will last 20 years. Horay, I could care less about a tv lasting 20 years. These are all expensive toys to have and if you are a penny pincher then you should stay away from both technologies. However, if you live for today and can't wait for tomorrow Plasma is better!

[::: DARK PSI :::]

Do you guys think I should wait? There is no rush.. it is just a toy. :D


I love the picture of a plasma but they only go up to 65" and the price tag for a 65" is over 20g. A little TOO steep for a television. I just don't watch enough tv or movies to justify that kind of expense. I don't think big gov. is going to let me write that off either. My business is a tad different than owning a hotel. ;)

I still like the 70" Sony Grand Wega LCD Projection Tv. I just don't want to buy it and find out 4 months from now, it is obsolete and will not work well with the new HD standards. (and yes I am talking out of my ass right now cause I have no idea what is happening in the world of HD)

Plus I guess I still need to ask the wife if she wants something as huge as that in our great room. It is a bit excessive.. BUT I WANT IT! :o

[ME BIGGD01]

Any reason until 2006? I know that was the original date when the digital TV cutoff was going to happen but its almost a sure thing to be moved back by Congress this year.

2006 is the cut off and by then you will be able to get the latest and greatest with a standard along with prices being 50% less for the product that will be far superiorer to what is out now. for instance lcd screens a year ago at timings of 25ms now they can be bought with 8ms. there has been a technology break through and they will come to the market with better everything which will make your purchase a year early look like a bad investment. i look at the timing compared to the length of time i plan on things working for me when i make a purchase which is why i am going to wait until 2006.

i also want to mention that by 2006, multimedia in the home will finally start moving. for instance people will start having a multimedia center which will not be just for television. look at the new xbox which will be media center ready. we are talking all digital for your entertainment centyer. i have been looking into this now for over ayear and although it still is early, i will say that the common tv room will be very cool and entertaining almost as much when the first television. too many people already think because they have a large television or widescreen plasma that they ar hd ready but the fact is if you do the math, many of these components can not and will not be able to handle hd technology. people are mistaken if they do. for an example, even for the people that have a hd converter or now, many are not getting the true hd visuality.

slice, composite and component are two different connection/cables. one is digital and one is anologue. i will really have to take more time next time to post the real differences between a plasma and lcd to make the point which technology is better. it has nothing to do with living for today or being cheap. it all has to fdo with what technology is better and more future proof. this is not to say your plasma sucks and is garbage because i do not feel that way.

now if you can tell me what mo0del plasma you have, i will compare specs to an lcd screen. please post the model number along with your lcd screen model number. i will then post back with the differences in specs along with specs to todays lcd and plamsa displays.

[::: DARK PSI :::]

Thx HPC I will check it out!:)





Hey Dark, if Slice has swayed you at all, you might want to pick up the June issue of Computer Shopper. They rated Plasma TV's from 13 different manufactures/vendors.

[ME BIGGD01]

after reading what i have posted in this thread, i think i should make it clearer. i know i have a problem making my points seem clear. i will do this and hopefully it will be clearer to understand.

what is it that i like about lcd over the plasma?

i am basing my opinions or choice over todays technology. as reported by slice the pro's and cons of both plasma and lcd seem to be a comparison of today's plasma and yesteryears lcd panels. in regards to the lower contrast ratio of lcd, lagg, and size (yes size does matter but don't expect your girl to be honest:) ), all these thing have been fixed and made better in lcd displays. also slice made a good point which i missed but when i added the noise problems of the plasma displays, they both were the reason. at higher altitudes, the plasma display will make a buzzing noise and or humming noise you will hear if you live 3000 ft above sea water. this is why slice does not have this problem (but i will be one of his millions that his plasma has more the one fan inside;) regardless if he see's it or not).

ok, lets move on.

what are the bad points of plasma (slice's posts may have covered this but i will try to go into more detail.

Burn-in
Plasma displays along with rear projection will suffer from this problem. there are many things that cause burn-ins to the screen like a ticker or some games from a game console. anything that leaves an image on the screen for a long period of time will cause a burn-in (do not fall asleep watching the news with a ticker or a network emblem in a corner of the screen).

can a burn-in be fixed?---on a plasma, the way to fix it is replacing it or some of the components inside succh as the panel itself which will cost as much as the panel when done. for rear projection lcd, it can be fixed for a few hundred bucks. the flat panel lcd displays will not get a burn-in so you are safe with that if you own one. i suggest prolonging this effect by running a comlete white screen for 30-60 seconds upon shutdown of the unit.

Power consumption
the power consumption for a plasma compared to lcd is a lot higher. this will also make the plasma consume more electricity which will prevent you from saving on the electric bill but worst create more heat which shortens life of all computer/electronic components. if you live in constant ac, you will prolong the life expectancy of your plasma.

lagg and contrast ratio
yesteryears lcd screens were no better then a plamsa display when they were first released. they were very expensive, they offered very low nits, and they lagged due to the components available for this technology. plasma's have come along way now but so has lcd. as far as contrast ratio goes, you can buy an lcd display with a 3000:1 contrast ration. you can also buy an lcd with a timing 4ms timing. you can buy a a plasma with a high contrast ratio also but depending on the circuitry, it will not display blacks that great either. with in a years time the diffence of each technolgy will advance but the lcd technology has already advanced in it's previos year beyond that of a plasma display. you can expect by next year there will definetly be no comparison as far as technolgy goes and advancements. i do want to make it clear that the lag and contrast ratio issues have been fixed or made better in the lcd technology and is available all around from your television to your computer screens. also make note with these newer technologies they have become cheaper to make which has brought the prices down much and will continue to decline in the television area.

life span
to me this is a very important issue and probably the major concern when spending thousands of dollars for anything. we want it to last. slice mentioned he is living for today but i disagree since he is using a plasma display over lcd;) but regardless he has the money to buy what ever he want when he wants. many of us do not have that luxury so we need to make sure our money is spent on a product that will not require to buy a new one with in a few years or lets say 5 considering how much you watch tv. one thing for sure regardless if your plasma display will last longer then it's life expectancy, it will decline on many of the features you bought it for such as brightness will decline over 50% which will suck if your watching in a well lit room or there are many windows with sunlight shining through ( i guess seattle may be the best place to own a plasma). as far as rear projection goes, the issues of the lamps burning out may scare you to think that it will cost you a fortune to replace. this is not the case as the cost of a lamp replacement should be around 150-200 bucks. that is not bad in my opinion since you do not have to chuck it away. also incase there is a bad pixel on your lcd, display, the panel can be replaced alot easier also. it is a pretty safe investment if you ask me.

WAIT, NO ONE IS LISTENING TO SALV'S QUESTION REGARDING DLP OVER PLASMA AND LCD, WTF?
first who is salv? we all know he is more concerned about size over anything:P dlp would be a choice over both considering you had the room to put in. i would suggest a dlp in a basement entertainment setup next to a pool table. they have newer product that will blow your mind.

SO WHAT ABOUR DARK PSI SINCE HE IS ITCHING TO BUY SOMETHING EXTREMELY LARGE BUT UNSURE WHAT TO GET.
to be honest i love sony and their 70 " wega. it offers superb quality along with it's propietary technology that will be released or liscenced to other vendors. now shortly they should have their 2nd geneartion chip/decoder available. it may be out now so don't quote me please. i think it's called drc2 v2 which is their built in decoder. they are the only ones with this until it is liscensed out. it is strictly sony technology. be sure to look for that name or i think it's called digital reality creation multi function version 2. it will offer timings of 4-6ms along with the ability to zoom an image on the screen a present it crystal clear. there will be other features you should consider looking into. sony uses 3 projectors which are good, because each projector is using one primary color. if a dead pixels occur, you can change one of the projectors that are causing the dead pixel. projectors are a lot less then a new unit.

SO DAN, WHAT WOULD YOU GET OR SUGGEST TO MR. DARK PSI?
if you are determined to buy now, i would go with the sony model and make sure it has the newer decoder. i am still waiting to invest myself and creat my ultimate entertainement center. there are nice plamsa's out there but imo, they do not offer as much as lcd or i could not see anything that makes a plasma more worthy over lcd. there are crappy units being sold no matter which way you go so make sure if you intend to buy, that the unit has the latest technology or you will be throwing your money away. i base my opinions on many things such as, quality, price, technology, and most of all longevity. we all know that technology changes too fast but if i spend thousands of dollars on anything, i am not planning on not using it. bottom line is if you can wait, then wait because they are changing things way too fast which can save you money and make your product more worthy of your investment. if i needed something right now then the wega would be my choice when the newer chip is available which may be out already.

again, i want to stress, that signal is as important as product. make sure you have the right components and cabling that will make your investment worthy of the hard work, money spent. do not expect ntsc to offer this. make it digital from all hardware.

[::: DARK PSI :::]

Dear God that is a lot of info!!! Thanks BIGG!

[Slice]

to me this is a very important issue and probably the major concern when spending thousands of dollars for anything. we want it to last. slice mentioned he is living for today but i disagree since he is using a plasma display over lcd

I guess you only like to selectively read my posts. I told you I have both a plasma tv and a lcd tv. Also you state that I am compairing old lcds to new plasmas but you make it sound as if you are comparing old plasmas to new lcd tvs. Let's put it this way, I bought my 30" lcd screen about a couple months ago. Am I unhappy with it? No I like it, what I am saying is I like my plasma better. No matter what, a tv comes down to personal preferance. I stood in the store for several hours watching each screen before I made my decision. All technology aside you need to like the picture for yourself and disregard everyone elses opinions.

[::: DARK PSI :::]

Maybe I will just buy that 102" plasma tv. It was only $100,000. :D

Seriously though, if size was not an issue, I would buy a plasma screen hands down. Personally, I agree with Slice, plasmas really have a crystal clear display and look sharper than LCDs.

However, size IS important and the 70" LCD projection screen IMO is extremely nice. Plasmas only go up to 60" which is nice but just not as big.. especially since they are way over the 15g mark, it makes them impractical. If I were to go buy a plasma I would go with Sony, since like Slice, I too am a Sony whore. However the equivelant plasma which is 61" is $19,999. This I am afraid is way too much money for ANY tv. For that cost I could begin building a gorgeous home theatre room with a projection system.

So what will I do.. who knows. It's only money. Truthfully, I think I will wait a few more months and do a bit more research. At least I have a good starting point now with some good info from your guys. I am just glad you did not tear each other apart TOO much during your debate! YIKES! :eek:

Thanks again for the help... everyone. :cool:

[Bingo]

Heck, if you want nice size and a good pic, just go for a Front Projector.

Save yourself a few grand and you can go up to usually around 96". In high def no less.

Bingo

[SALvation]

Now that MS and Sony have detailed their plans for their next gen consoles, I would definitely wait until next year to get a TV.

Psi I know you will probably end up getting a PS3 instead of Xbox, and Sony has announced that 1080p will be the standard HD resolution for the system. From what I have learned in only a couple days of research, is that 1080p is the top of the line resolution for HDTVs, and is just now starting to come out on new systems. The 70" Sony TV you are looking at only supports 1080i, 720p, 480p, and 480i resolutions, which are still all nice, but not as good. (FYI - "i" stands for interlaced and "p" stands for progressive scan).

1080p HDTVs are just now coming out and will be much more mainstream by the PS3 launch. I would definitely expect Sony themselves to come out with a kickass 1080p HDTV by the PS3 launch.

So the bottom line is wait until next year, or that Sony will already be a step behind for the PS3. The games will still look great, but from what I hear, the games in 1080p will absolutely own your soul.

I'll be buying my 1080p TV next year.

[::: DARK PSI :::]

Thanks Sal. I will wait.