Your opinion, Given no $ limit whats the Best large screen TV (1 Viewer)

[robertLkobal]

Ok heres the deal, I have been asked to get a theater system upgraded in a friends house. He currently has a mickeymoused setup of old/new and who knows, type equipment.

I have 58"x60" max to get a TV/Plamsa/projection screen in. The depth is about 32" so theres a Big variety of what I can fit. Its in a multi-million dollar home, and the viewing distance is about 13-15'. So I want larger screen of course.

I been looking at getting the pioneer PDP-6100HD, at its 57.8" width I think it would be the biggest screen with a still impresive picture? But that is where my concern is. I know they have the best processor but is it the same one for the 50 as it is for the 61"? If so will the picture quality be compramised and should I just get a 50" or???

I currently have the akai 50 and I know its a lower end but I have yet to have any complaints. Its been great, but since he has the funds I want to get him the best I can the first time.

If you could go buy today the best piece for this what would you get? Its in a semi bright family room so I think projectors are out.

Please help.

 

[RAF]

Based on your specifications and the environment there is no doubt in my mind that you should be looking at a 1080p unit that also accepts 1080p input. If you must acquire it now then your choice is limited to the HP DPL units (58" or 65"). If you can wait a few months then the Sony 1080p SXRD units (50" and 60") as well as some other models will also have 1080p capable inputs. There should also be some 1080p Plasmas available by then but you seem to indicate that the room is quite bright which might be a problem.

I personally own the HP MD5880n and I reviewed it here on the forum. In my opinion it offers the absolutely best picture and future capability out there right now in this picture size. The SONY units are also very good looking but are hampered (currently) by not accepting 1080p and Blu-ray with 1080p output is just a month or two away.

You can check out my impressions via my HT link in my signature or you can go directly to my review on the HTF here.

 

[Don Dino]

I saw the 65-inch Panasonic TH-65PHD8UK plasma at the recent NAB convention and I think it has the best picture that I've seen so far. Info on it is here:

http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp...el=TH-65PHD8UK

 

[Robert Crawford]

RAF,
The Samsung units also have 1080P inputs.




Crawdaddy

 

[ChrisWiggles]

I don't believe you. People say this but they don't mean it.

What's your budget range?

If you really are after the best large-screen display for that space, I'd be looking at custom RP install. I wouldn't be looking at consumer RPTVs or plasmas at all. But I don't think you actually mean that $ is not a limit...

 

[robertLkobal]

Ok well dont believe me thats cool. I wouldnt either. But I will still say it isnt an object here for this.

I searched and searched and found the new sharp 57" LCD with the 1080P inputs (only 14900$) and native 1080P res. But was talked in to the Vidikron 61" plasma. I cant tell exact $ I paid sa it was under retain and thats a No no, but I also bought it in a bundel with some intega gear (A/V and DVD), so it all was sold to me in a 'package" dollar amount.

As for consumer sets and such. I have never bought a monitor/TV from anything but a big store and didnt know what to look for. Thats why I had the post here. I am really surprised that no one here either knows about the Vidikron or recommended it? I am sure theres GOT TO BE other professional sets out there, but all I got in my replies were big name lower budget units?

In any case I did some research after being shown a 50" set by them and found some good info. I just hope it has the picture that its raved to have.

NOW if I could only find a walmart for a Toshiba HD-DVD player in all black! anyone know of any in so cali that has stock?

 

[ChrisWiggles]

It's not that I was being combative, it just needs to be clear that "no budget" really does mean "no budget" limits.

Yes, there are a lot of options out there, which is why I suggest if it is indeed the case that you have an exorbitantly large budget, that instead of finding a display for your needs, you find a custom designer who can do that for you, because chances are you will be looking at a custom installation, such as a RP setup that I mentioned.

Now, why you're looking in Walmart for DVD players but have an unlimited budget, that confuses me, and makes me think you're not serious about looking for a display on such a large budget.

Can you clarify the budget issue, the use issue, and the space it's going into?

 

[Shane Harg]

I didn't see Chris' post as combative at all. Everybody's got a budget. And most people who say they don't have a budget are very surprised when when they find out how much money electronics can consume. Having previously been in electronics sales myself, I have run into many people like this.

Given the viewing distance, I would definitely want front projection. 100" or more is ideal for 13-15.' I would take Chris' advice and go custom, and at those dimensions, I would also probably go for the biggest and best RPTV that I could get into that space and move the viewing distance up, if I could.

 

[Arthur S]

I don't expect we will be hearing any more from the OP. The question for him would be, why didn't you go around to high end shops in the beginning to find out what's out there for people with no limit on their expenditure? Most of the fun would be in getting to SEE what high end shops have on display. And I am very impressed that you got a discount on Vidikron by also purchasing Integra audio. Too bad you didn't ask about high end audio while you were posting. Integra is not very high on the list of most high-enders.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Shane I agree, though he did say it was a semi-bright family room, which is why RP would probably be the best bet, or a large plasma. There are some very large plasmas at that kind of size, but they are(or will be) more than 6-figures I believe, which again, fits in a real "no budget" category. Other than a very large plasma, for an ambient light situation I would recommend a custom RP installation, and depending on the projector used, the screen, etc etc that also could easily run 6-figures if you wanted it to...

 

[Rob FM]

.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Hmm, it must have gotten swept to the archive, you can click here if you'd like:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...89#post4969789

 

[robertLkobal]

I think I mentioned in the first post that the max size for this screen is 58"x60". so a 100" would not be very frendly in that space.

As for why didnt I go to a high end shop. Cause I didnt know there were any out there... I didnt anticipat there being anything more then the samsungs, pioneers,hitachis, ect...

As for why walmart HD-DVD. Cause like I mentioned its All Black to match the rest of the equipment in the case.

And for the Integra, well they are rated in sound quality very high and ease of use the highest. As well as never saying that my budget on the Audio portion was unlimited. All I wanted was the best picture and a very good sounding reciever. And as per 3 different mags, its rated higher in sound quality (under 4K$) then 90% of the recievers out there and it was well under the 4K$ mark.

For a house that is in the range of 15mil and the owner drives a 05 Vanquish and his 16yr old son got a M3 comp for his 16th, I meant $ was no object. My limits were the Size of the location. As I posted. And that is not something I am used to, being a measly 5 digit a yr worker, and not the 7digit a yr lawyer.

thanks again... I did find some good info in other portions of this site, also...

 

[Dave Moritz]

What is his goal for this home theater system?

How many sources is he looking to use and will he want this system to control other zones?

Is he looking to have the best of what is available now or is he looking for the absolute cutting edge system that is up to date audio and video wise?

If he is looking for a cutting edge HD system I would wait! He will want a 1080p display and depending on what display he buys I might suggest a Faroudja video processor. For a solid high end 5.1 system I would recomend McItosh for there Preamp, Power Amplifiers, CD Player and DVD Player. An option for the high end dvd player would be to get a Meridian DVD player. If he wants a cutting edge high end system. I would maybe wait and see what Denon does with there flagship reciever as far as 1080p hdmi upgrade and Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD and DTS-HD processing. I would then add a power amp like McIntosh, Krell or something comperable. I would get a Blu-ray HD player he could use it to upresolute his dvd's so it would not be necisary to have a seperate dvd player. Although Meridian makes a great high end dvd player if he wants to have a system that has multi room capablilty and can handle multi sources. The flagship Denon is a four zone reciever that has two seperate surround decoders to run two seperate home theater zones at the same time, you could allways treat the Denon as a pre/pro.

I would go to alot of high-end shops and see what they have to offer and see what his goals are. I would also suggest lighting control where he could have a plasma or rear projection. But a projection screen that drops down from the ceiling infront of the standard HD display when he wants a larger picture. There is so many more options when someone has the money to spend so if he really has no limit on what he can spend. The there are really no limits on what he can accomplish.

Not sure if this helps, but I hope it points you in the right direction?

 

[ChrisWiggles]

I would not necessarily suggest that. A few years ago Faroudja was at the top of their game, now they're kind of out-competed by the gennum and SO based products.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

It really does sound like you are embarking on a project that is beyond your abilities here. It's really difficult to discern the client's needs or desires or preferences via a 3rd party, but if $ is no object there are many many things besides pure components that should be (nay, NEED to) be taken into account in designing a system for this task. A huge priority for many high-end clients, besides performance, is integration. Hobbling together a bunch of components (even of high quality) does not make a very successful home theater in that kind of pricerange if usability an integration is not heavily taken into account.

In my interpretation here, choosing components based on magazine reviews, color, etc is not only totally ignoring the integration and system design aspects of the project, but is also bound to be the kind of system that many people have installed, which only needs to be torn apart and re-done from scratch later by a more competent and experienced system designer.

If this is a favor you are doing for a friend of yours, your friend may be better served by you recommending him to a competent A/V designer. If this is someone who is tentatively a client of yours, in my opinion based on the direction this is headed thus far, you may end up doing your client a disservice, and this may be a case where you should defer the job, and/or refer the client to someone who is more experienced in high-end installations. Why you would even be looking at receivers(instead of say something like the Anthem D2 which takes care of video processing duties as well) for a presumably cost-no-object installation is beyond me.

If you are indeed hell-bent on continuing in "helping" design this sytem, you would probably get the best direction by posting your questions in the High-end section of AVS, which is heavily frequented by high-end design guys who will have a great deal more experience and ideas for this kind of a project.