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what is the best. Smart tv or Projector for home theater (1 Viewer)

Mutlow

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I am building a new house. And putting in a theater room. Its 6m long by 4m wide. I am looking for advice on the screen and audio. I am confused on either to go with a projector or just a smart tv.
 

schan1269

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How big an image do you want...???You choose that by seating distance.Sitting at 3 or 4 meters?(any farther back...messing up sound placement)
 

Sam Posten

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The smart apps built into most TVs generally are pretty weak. Don't judge a TV by its apps, consider them a bonus and buy a Roku or game system to get the best apps.
 

Mutlow

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schan1269 said:
How big an image do you want...???You choose that by seating distance.Sitting at 3 or 4 meters?(any farther back...messing up sound placement)

Around 80 inches, 4 wall for the tv and 6m space
 

Dave Moritz

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The apps are what makes a smart tv a smart tv and if you have a roku box, apple tv box or stream netflix to a bluray player or x box one then I wouldn't worry about a smart tv. One thing that you will want to know is that the LG smart tv spys on its owners and collects data on the shows you watch even if it is off a usb flash drive. And it continues to do so even when the feature is turned off! Some have know about this for some time know but LG is just admitting to it recently.

How big of an image are you looking for? One of the nice things with projection is once you get a screen you can always upgrade to a higher resolution later, meaning 4K if you are going for a 1080p projector. The down side is that you will have to accept the idea of light control in your viewing area if you want to get the best picture out of your projector. Distance from the screen and the size of the room will dictate how big of a screen you can use. How ever you can always get a flat panel but you are limited on screen size.
 

schan1269

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This "your TV spies on you" is grand overstatement. By the way, if you...1. Have a DVR.2. Have cable/Fios or satellite.3. Anything that streams.Powers that be, know what you watch. And wasn't LG the first one, in their commercials no less, that said..."The LG smart set can find programs you might be interested in"...
 

Dave Moritz

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But at least the DVR and cable box are not reporting what files you are watching from a usb stick, well at least not yet. :rolleyes:
 

schan1269

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Wanna bet?I connected my DVR to the internet. Same internet as the Xbox 360 and three laptops. I watched the DVD of Afternoon of a Faun on the new laptop.Directv and the Xbox both queued up documentaries.
 

schan1269

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Real scary...Load Shazam and/or SoundHound to your phone.Watch tv with the phone in the room. Download a coupon app(ibotta/groupon) and start tracking your offers.
 

DaveF

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Mutlow said:
I am building a new house. And putting in a theater room. Its 6m long by 4m wide. I am looking for advice on the screen and audio. I am confused on either to go with a projector or just a smart tv.
I built a new house two years ago. Here's what I'd do now, based on what I've learned since then: Plan for both.

Choose a likely location for receiver, blu-ray, and other electronics that will work with both options. From their pre-wire for 5.1 minimally. Have the front L/R speaker outputs far enough apart to allow for a screen on the wall. Position the front Center lower, also to allow for a screen. Run empty conduit from the electronic junction to the ceiling, with a fish string. Install an electrical outlet there as well. That gives you the easy option to install a project and run video cord as needed.

Now...here's the bits I didn't do: Considering also running conduit to the viewing wall. If you choose to go with a TV and not a projector, you can run video cord there for the TV. And you're ready to do both: TV for most uses, and a drop-down screen for projector use.

Finally: I pre-wired for 5.1. Two years later, everyone's talking about Atmos. To be safe, pre-wire four ceiling locations. Maybe even add two more rear locations. And if you think you'd go gonzo with this theater room, run a second subwoofer pre-wire. All this would give you a 7.2.4 pre-wire setup. That should be safe for the next six months :)

But even if, like me, you only run 5.1 with conduit to the ceiling, you should be able to pull speaker wire from the conduit, run it discreetly along the ceiling, and support two to four ceiling locations: a 5.1.4 setup.

Also: don't forget to run ethernet to the electronics junction! Add a $40 switch when you're buying your electronics you can hardwire every internet capable device you've got and improve the robustness of video streaming.
 

JohnRice

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Sam Posten said:
The smart apps built into most TVs generally are pretty weak. Don't judge a TV by its apps, consider them a bonus and buy a Roku or game system to get the best apps.
I second that. I'm a big fan of the AppleTV, but I have Macs, iPads and tons of stuff loaded into iTunes. That's loaded, not downloaded, so no content protection. It all integrates beautifully.
 

Dave Moritz

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I would stay away from Goldstar, oops I mean LG because of the issues with display panels and power supplies!

I do agree that Panasonic and Samsung are good! I know Sony makes a good HDTV and 4K UHD TV but can not say about the apps on a Sony.
 

Dave Moritz

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Have not heard about those issues with Samsung. How ever I know sales people even that will not sale LG and avoid that brand like the plague.
 

Dave Moritz

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Very interesting hopefully I have no issues with my UHD TV that I purchased. I would still pick that over the LG's and I can not ever see myself buying LG.
 

schan1269

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I hope you bought it with a warranty doubling credit card, or bought a 1 year extension.Samsung changed (finally) the caps for 2013, supposedly. I talked to a Samsung talking head at Worst Buy over the summer after I was informed by a UK forum member(forget who) of the cap change. The talking head confirmed it.We'll see.With the loss of Mits, Pioneer, Hitachi and Panasonic (plasma) and Toshiba, Sony and Sharp shells of their former selves...All that is left is total shit and garbage.
 

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