RPTV too big to get in the room: solution? (1 Viewer)

[khang]

I'm ready to fulfill my "life-long dream!!" of buying a 55-65" RPTV. Unfortunately the access to my home theater room is too narrow. Any solution??
a) settle for a smaller RPTV
b)cut the TV in two with a special saw (an eager salesman told me it's possible with the Pioneer Elite)... is it safe?
c) buy a bigger house
d) anything else??

 

[Geordy]

unless you have a porch with sliding doors nearby, you may have to look elsewhere.
Samsung has the 50" Tantus that is 18" deep
------------------

 

[tommy_esq]

i've noticed the toshibas are often slimmer than other brands if this helps.

 

[Craig]

I think the Mitsubishi 65" can be separated into the top/bottom sections (without a saw).

 

[Glenn Overholt]

You didn't say how short it was. Sometimes just removing the hinges will do it, or taking the doorframe out.

 

[Terisha]

Or, you can put aside additional dollars and ultimately buy a Panasonic 50" plasma display over the web from Paul at ProjectionOne for around $10K plus shipping. That's more than an Elite, but what a display! You'll have a dazzling picture from 1080i HDTV, as well as on DVD. No nasty relfections from a RPTV screen and you can watch a plasma in a normally-lit room. I watch mine in a room with a wall of windows and a skylight to boot. No problem. The Panny handles black just fine. The set weighs just under 100 pounds and can be either placed on a stand (as I do) or hung on the wall. As a female, I can testify to a high WAF (wife acceptance factor).
Granted it's not cheap, but prices are falling. I originally wouldn't consider one, but when the price dropped one-half, I started looking. The Panny 42" is also gorgeous, but it cannot resolve 1080i.
Terisha

 

[Joseph Bolus]

DO what a lot of us are doing: get a Personal LCD and/or DLP Projector in lieu of a RPTV.
These kinds of projectors are very light and portable and the picture quality is now starting to approach the level of a RPTV. In addition, most projectors will give you true 4:3 when you need it and true 16:9 when you need it with very little in the way of compromises. (The native 4:3 panel projectors will lose a little resolution when displaying 16:9 material, but with XGA resolution projectors this loss of resolution is really moot.)
Add a portable screen and you can haul the whole system upstairs when you need to host a Super Bowl party!
Affordable projectors like the Infocus LP340 and/or the NEC LT-150 will not provide quite the black level that a RPTV would, but you may find that the resulting picture on a 80" to 96" screen (or wall) is "more than good enough".
Joseph

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Well Joseph beat me to the punch but I'll post this anyway.
Khang - how big is your HT?
You might want to look at going with a front projection system. Some of the digital projectors are priced lower than a 56' RPTV especially if you're thinking of HDTV.
There are issues - light control, bulb life, etc but having recently picked up a NEC LT150 DLP projector I'm very happy.
I was going to move from a 50" RPTV up to a 56-61" HDTV but realized the price of projectors were in the same ballpark.
Now I'm getting a 100" diagonal picture that is beautiful.
I truly feel like I have HT now.
Check avsforums for good info.
Good luck with your decision!
------------------
Every man is my superior, in that I may learn from him.

 

[MannyE]

You did not say how much more narrow the door is. I removed my front door to squeeeze the Toshiba through. (After having to hire a CRANE to hoist it to the second floor)
Most Toshibas are 24'' thick and should fit if you have a 24 inch wide door.
I agree with the above advice, however. Take a good long look at a projector/screen combo as when my Tosh gives up the ghost, I will not be replacing it with another huge piece of equipment. A projector/rolldown screen combo allows the use of the room for other things when you aren't watching TV or a movie. It allows for many more decorating options and can make a room truly dual purpose. An added bonus is when you have parties, you don't have to worry about anyone bumping into your screen!
Add a smaller TV set behind the screen and you can watch the news without burning up your big screen phosphors (or bulbs or whatever) and add years of life to the main part of your HT!

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Well Joseph beat me to the punch but I'll post this anyway.
Khang - how big is your HT?
You might want to look at going with a front projection system. Some of the digital projectors are priced lower than a 56' RPTV especially if you're thinking of HDTV.
There are issues - light control, bulb life, etc but having recently picked up a NEC LT150 DLP projector I'm very happy.
I was going to move from a 50" RPTV up to a 56-61" HDTV but realized the price of projectors were in the same ballpark.
Now I'm getting a 100" diagonal picture that is beautiful.
I truly feel like I have HT now.
Check avsforums for good info.
Good luck with your decision!
------------------
Every man is my superior, in that I may learn from him.

 

[khang]

Thanks for all the advice.
You guys are starting to intrigue me. I never considered a front-projector, always assumed that RPTV was the way to go. The room's lighting is not a problem for us. But even if we watch DVD a lot, we still watch cable TV also a lot. Is it going to burn the bulb too fast(lifetime?) and how expansive is it to replace it. Having another TV for normal watching is not an option for us.

 

[Joseph Bolus]

Most of today's projectors have bulb lifes in the area of 2000 hours, and the bulbs cost from $200 to $400 to replace.
The hope here is that as digital projectors become more and more popular, the price of the replacement bulbs will go down. There is no guarantee that that will happen, however.
Look at it this way: It will cost you, on average, about $20/month to pay for the price of a replacement bulb. That's really a very small price to pay for the versatility and enjoyment that the digital projector will provide you during the course of its life. Believe me, just one look at how those 2.35:1 DVD transfers look on your wall and/or screen and you'll be totally hooked.
Here, check out this article that compares todays' digital projectors with HDTV RPTV's :
http://www.projectorcentral.com/cons...big_screen_tvs
Joseph

 

[Tim Markley]

The 65" Mitsubishi breaks down into 2 pieces allowing it to be moved easier.