Looking to start my home theatre-HDTV (1 Viewer)

[Pellaeon]

First of all high everyone, I am new here and I am afraid I am probably be going to be asking the #1 newbie question. What HDTV is the best for the $$$$

To give you all an idea of what I want, I have been shopping "looking/dreamting) for HDTV's for the past year and have been amazed at the continued decline on prices. My wife and I would like to start the new year off with a big screen HDTV.

ROOM:

Basement. My wall consists of 'fake' wood paneling, and carpet. The couch is about 14ft away from where I would like to put the TV. I do have a walk out basement with sliding glass doors, but can easily block the light, so light from the outside isnt really a concern.

PRIMARY USE:

I would primarily use it to watch DVDs and of course sports (NFL). I will not get HDTV service through DSS till probably about March/April. The only components I have to connect to the HDTV would be the DSS receiver, VCR, DVD, PS2, and an old surround sound Receiver.

BUDGET:

I am looking to spend somewhere between $2000-$2600 on the TV.

WHAT I HAVE LIKED:

So far from shopping around I have really liked the 65" Mitsubishi at Best Buy, is this a good TV? Is there one that is clearly better that falls into the same general price range? Off hand, does anyone know the difference between the PLUS, GOLD, and DIAMOND versions? I have seen those on Ebay.

ALSO LOOKING FOR:

I also need to find a new receiver and speakers. Any suggestions here? I would imagine 6.1 is what I want. The room isnt really all that large. Maybe 20 ft from front to back, and about 25 ft from left to right (mid point of basement is wider than the front or back part of the basement (doorway to the laundry room).

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[JustinS]

Also consider projectors. I have a Toshiba 40H80 16x9 TV but now that I am working on a basement HT room where I have less walk-through traffic and a little more light control, I am definitely going the projector route. There are some very good FPs in your price range.

Of course, I also have the advantage of having the 40H80 to leave upstairs for the wife to watch her damn Trading Spaces on and I can run HDTV through that as well.

I have no comment on Mitsus. I assume you have visited your local Big Screen TV Store or whatever it is called. Last I checked, they only sell Mitsus. If you do go the RPTV route, check out the prices at Belmont TV. There is one in Wheaton and they sell Sony, Toshiba and at least one other brand. The prices are quite good and the service is above average.

www.belmonttv.com if memory serves.

I have Paradigm speakers and love them.

Hsu research makes great subs at very good prices, shipped to your door. The VTF-2 is a lot of sub for a very good price.

I own a Marantz SR-7200 receiver than I am also very fond of.

Mixture of Monster and Tributaries cables.

As for DVD players, I am on my third one since my Toshiba 9200 was stolen some time ago and they had already stopped making it. I have a Denon now and still don't like it half as much as my older Toshiba.

Best of luck.

 

[Pellaeon]

Of course, I also have the advantage of having the 40H80 to leave upstairs for the wife to watch her damn Trading Spaces on and I can run HDTV through that as well.

LOL..that and Russian TV is all my wife watches I really appreciate your help. I will definately check out projectors, the walk through traffic could be high at times, that was my major concern regarding a projector. The other was level of difficulty.

I have not heard of Belmont TV, I will definately check them out. I really appreciate the replies and will be checking out your recommended equipment.

 

[Scott Dautel]

Pellaeon:

With all respect to Dean above & though I too have an X1 FP myself, I think in your case I would probably still be looking at conventional, 1080i, 3-gun CRT-based RPTV. Also, with a 14' seating distance, you do need to go large, 65" diag at least at 16:9 AR, of course. Moving it is a PIA, but you do have a walk out basement. Reasons ...

1) Cost - they are generally in your price range
2) ambient light - sounds like you have door/window(s) in your basement.
3) DSS HDTV - most of this is 1080i, most FPJ's max out at 720 vertical pixels. Most HDTV NFL is 1080i native & of course looks best on a matching display.
4) convenience - RPTV's are simply TV's, FP's are more complicated for family members. FP hookups are also more complicated

I can't really make a specific make/model reco. You might want to look at Costco, though ... I saw a very nice Pioneer 60"+ 16:9 there the other day and Pioneers have always been highly respected CRT-FPTV's.

Scott

 

[Pellaeon]

Thanks for the feedback. Are projectors, in that price range still able to produce the same quality a TV set would? I do like the idea of having a huge screen on an other wise empty wall.

 

[Matthew Todd]

I don't know enough about all the Pj's in that range but truth is, FP & RPTV CRT's probably have the edge.

A front projection CRT is not for everyone, but if it fits your needs, you can get a used or refurbished CRT front projector for the same or less than you'd pay for an RPTV (which is basically the same technology, just rear projected) that has a much better build quality. CRT front projectors were generally built to a high commercial standard, which explains why they cost $10,000-$20,000+ new. You can get that projector used now for a fraction of the cost.

As a quick example, I have an Ampro 3600 8" CRT projector. I paid less than $1000 for it, and it sold new for more than $20,000 only a few years ago. There is a high end CRT company (Elite Video - www.elitevision.com) that sells these same projectors (EV-3600) new for quite a bit more. The point is that there is a lot of value still left in these used CRT projectors.

Matt