Must find HDTV that fits W.A.F. (1 Viewer)

[Paul^G]

I have recently succeeded in talking my wife into buying an HDTV. An achievement in which I'm very proud. However, there's always a catch.

She requires 2 things. All gear must be hidden from view (reciever, dvd..etc) and the T.V. must be a wall mount.

Hiding the gear is relatively simple. The problem I'm having is finding a nice DLP or LCD that is a wall mount and priced under $2500 (and even that is streching it).
I could easily buy a large DLP/LCD that sits on a stand for that price but I'm having trouble with the flat versions.

Any suggestions or comments? I've heard that plasma has a short screen life, which is why I'd like to go with DLP or LCD...any truth to this?

Thanks for your insight.


Paul^G

 

[StephenHa]

plasma has a half life (meaning the brightness is half of when new) of 15,000 hours that's a long time (and about the same as a crt based on service averages)check out rca's scenium line they have some dlp sets that are supposed to be able to wall hang

 

[Arthur S]

Paul

Steven is on track with screen life of plasmas. Probably not a big deal.

The Scenium is a premium priced DLP. If you must make your purchase now, plasma is the only game in town. The Sony ED-42M1 is a plasma that while it is officailly only an Enhanced Definition set, its picture quality is the equal of the top rated $5,000 Panasonic HD plasma. I have seen internet price of $2,800. Circuit City carries the ED-42M1 so you may be able to see it for yourself compared to other plasmas, DLP and LCD.

Some people are going for the Dell 42 inch plasma for $3,000. It is a rebadged LG (Samsung). There have been no formal tests of the Dell, but Samsung did not rate high compared to Sony.

Also, to my knowledge, none of the plasmas include the wall mount kit.

Artie

 

[Mort Corey]

WAF is going to drop to zero if you wall mount a display and have cables and wires hanging out the bottom. Generally speaking, the wall mount bracket alone is a $200-400 purchase and, unless you're pretty handy, a goodly additional sum to tear into drywall to route wires and perhaps relocate electrical sources.

I think it's Hooker that makes a AV cabinet with a lift for either DLP/LCD or PDP. That may meet WAF standards....and even if not, they sure look cool.

Mort

 

[Paul^G]

Thanks for the tips. It's safe to say I have my work cut out for me. Maybe by tax time I will have an easier time with the HDtv debate.
I've got a lot of info now that I can use to persuade her to a middle ground. Perhaps if I can find a nice wooden display case of something with nice trim to match her living room suit.
Anyway, the plasma thing was her concern & I told her I didn't think it was nothing to worry about. Maybe now I can ease her concerns.

Thanks much for supporting the cause....

HDtv for all men...(and some husbands).



Paul^G

 

[RoyGBiv]

There are a lot of myths about plasma and lifespan is one of them. First, current plasmas are rated between 30,000 hours and 60,000 hours to half brightness. In other words at 30,000 hours they might be half as bright, but they don't just die at that point. Watching 5 hours a day that translates to 16 years! I don't know about you, but I haven't kept a TV for 16 years my entire life.

Right now the only TV you can realistically hang on a wall is a plasma. I have heard rumors of new DLP sets that will be 8" deep and designed to be wall mounted, but I don't know when they will appear.

Mounting on the wall is also not so hard. I did it myself. The mount cost much less than the $200 mentioned above. The wires can easily be snaked through the wall (unless it is an outside insulated wall where the insulation might get in the way). It is also not a big deal to run an electric line to behind the mount to plug the plasma display into. If you are not a do-it-yourself guy, I am sure it would be less than $200 for a competent electrician to do all of this as it really should not be more than a few hours work. I am not an electrician, and that's all it took me.

My set up has the plasma TV on one wall and all my components in a cabinet on the wall at 90 degrees with the wires running through the wall into the basement to the cabinet wall and snaked up behind the cabinet. The runs are about 30 feet or so, and there are no image quality issues with runs that long.

I also think there is nothing cooler than hanging a TV on the wall, and everyone who sees it says the same thing.

There is a tremendous amount of info on just this type of thing at the plasma forum at www.avsforum.com which unfortunately is down right now.

SMK