help picking 42" screen

Armand_Boivin · 06-07-2006, 06:54 PM

Good evening, It has been a very long time since I was last here.. loads of things have changed.. including entering the military at 31yrs old.. anyway we can save that for another time.. My wife has given me the green light so I am in the market for a 42" - 50" widescreen LCD, DLP, Plasma, or Lcos tv. The biggest thing it will be used for is DVD, television and xbox 360 games. Our room is about 11.5ft by 21ft. The sofa is about 11ft from the the wall that the tv will go on. The TV will go on the 11.5 side. We would like to get a tv with a really small footprint. right now the budget looks to be about $2000 +- ;-) Any information and recommendations will be a great help. Thanks in advance for all the help.

Joseph DeMartino · 06-07-2006, 11:39 PM

Check this thread, started by someone in the market for a new TV with requirements very similiar to yours.

Regards,

Joe

Craig · 06-08-2006, 12:51 PM

A 50" screen would be a better choice at your stated viewing distance. I used to sit about 11 feet from my 56" Toshiba widescreen in my den, and the screen was none too large. If you can wall mount a plasma or lcd flatscreen you'd save floorspace of course, however if you mount a plasma on a stand you're going to be eating up floorspace that's close to that of many RPTVs.

I've got a 42" plasma sitting on it's stand on top of a dresser in the bedroom. The feet on the small stand are about 16" long, front to back, so the plasma actually eats up most of the top of the dresser. In contrast the 42" Sony 3LCD RPTV (A10 model) is about 14 inches deep and the 50" Sony is only 16 inches deep, and I've seen some DLP models that are pretty slim also. You're essentially looking at bigscreen tabletop TVs that you can sit on a stand that will hold your components underneath. Since you're going to need a stand anyway to hold your DVD player, etc, you're not going to be loosing much floorspace with one of the slimmer RPTVs.

Armand_Boivin · 06-08-2006, 08:08 PM

right now it seems that we are looking at either the samsung or the sony KDS-R50XBR1 depending on the prices we can find.. i am not sure how ordering off the internet is for something like this but I would suspect that driving out to bestbuy or something might be the best bet. So you would recommend for sitting about 10-11 feet from the tv to get @ a 50" ?? Are there any other models or brands to look at??

Joseph DeMartino · 06-09-2006, 02:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Armand_Boivin

Are there any other models or brands to look at??

Yes.

As detailed in this post in the thread linked to above. Specifically, in your size and price range, and given that you shop at Best Buy, I'd suggest you take a look at this 52" JVC model. Over-all I prefer LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon) over DLP and LCD RP for microdisplays, and the 1080p Sony SXRD sets (Sony's name for their proprietary version of LCoS, JVC calls theirs HD-ILA) are just too pricey. The extra resloution at that size point and viewing distance simply isn't worth the extra money. Plus I'm sitting out the hi-def DVD format war and have essentially no access to native 1080p programming, so I figure by the time 1080p is really an issue for me I'll be looking for a new main HT set anyway and moving the JVC to another room. Naturally your mileage may vary.

Since I bought my set last year JVC has introduced some 1080p HD-ILA models, but they don't seem to be widely carried in stores yet. I gather that they're somewhat cheaper than the comparably-sized Sony's, but still substantially more than the 720p models. Again YMMV.

By all means make sure you sign up for the BB Reward Zone program if you buy there. Between upgrading stuff at home and buying gifts, I went on an HD tear between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Between my accumulated RZ $10 and $20 coupons from earlier in the year and 10% and 12% off member exclusive discounts I'd received in the mail for that week, I got the JVC 56" for under $2300 and a 32" Westinghouse LCD flat panel for $800 even, not to mention the $180 in RZ coupons that I got in the mail a couple of weeks later for all the stuff I bought that day.

Regards,

Joe

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Jack Heckler · 06-14-2006, 02:46 AM

The two best 42" models that I have seen are the Samsung HLS4266W DLP and the Sony KDFE42A10 LCD. They are both 720p/1080i and can be purchased from TV Authority for about $1500-1600 delivered...I think they are $1800-1900 at BB and CC plus tax and delivery. If you want to plan for the future, the 50" Samsung HLS5087W DLP is a true 1080p model that is $2295 delivered from TV Authority...not sure where BB or CC pricing is on this model.

Good hunting...Jack

Parker Clack · 06-14-2006, 06:56 AM

Armand:

Also check out TV Authority and Visual Apex. They are sponsors of the forum and will give you a great deal, warranty and have great return policies if you aren't happy. They both are class outfits to work with.

Parker

Armand_Boivin · 09-16-2006, 10:01 AM

my goodness it has been a long time since I have been able to visit here.. well.. the TV hasn't happened but it should happen within the next couple weeks. I have a nice check coming in with EXTRA money woohoo so.. now after moving from my last apt.. sitting distance has dropped to 5 - 6 ft. Would the 50/52 inch tv be too big for that area?? also what tv's would you recommend in this arena ... probably around 2k. Thanks in advance and nice to see you all again..

Joseph DeMartino · 09-16-2006, 11:20 AM

You can generally sit closer to an HD set of a given size than you could to an SD set of the same size because of the improved picture quality. Scan lines and other flaws in an SD image are more visible the closer you are. After my last move I ended up watching my 10 year old SD Toshiba 56" widescreen CRT RPTV from about 7 feet instead of the 15 to 20 to I'd watched from in my previous two residences. It looked like hell, and not just because it was getting old. I replaced it with the JVC HD-ILA described above, which is also 56" and to me it is certainly not too big. It looks great and is more "enveloping" when watching movies. (Spent the last two nights watching my new Star Wars DVDs. Return of the Jedi is on the menu for tonight.

) And the picture, especially with HD material, stands up to scrutiny from this distance. (He said, watching an HD football game as he types.

)

My set, the 720p 56" HD-ILA, is on sale now at Best Buy for under $1899.

Regards,

Joe