astroglide's home theater: what i own, what i would buy today

[astroglide]

osprey,
for those that don't know, "green blob" generally refers to a donut-shaped area that will apply a green tint for up to 10 minutes after the set is powered up. it's best detected with black and white content. the issue mostly affected the xbr1 models, and those are the only sets named in the class-action lawsuit. sony will apparently replace them with an a2000, the set i cited in my original post, if requested. my sister owns one, it's great and problem-free. i would buy an a2020, the new black bezel production, without reservation.

mmbt0ne,
lcos/sxrd does not have rainbows.

phresh,
this is kinda stretching the limits of the subject but divx is a video codec (compression/decompression). an avi is a type of video file, and it can use different codecs. divx is just one of them, so simply knowing it's an avi file isn't enough. think of it as like the avi being a book, and the codec being the language in which it's written. if you're asking about the oppo player i referenced, you can burn certain video files to disc and it will simply play them. divx and xvid, the most common stuff used for tv/dvd rips, are both supposed to be fairly supported but i've only barely tested the functionality.

ratholesoul,
it don't think $50 is a lot to pay for vendor support and out-of-the-box, non-hack functionality that won't get wiped out with system updates. as for the dvd player, i've never heard of xoro. i've used cheaper crap in the past for playing pc content on tvs: the legendary apex dvd player for svcds, the d-link dsm-320 wireless media player, etc. my experience has been that you'll get a thinly passing grade on supported types and can't hope for any kind of improvements in the future. ff/rw issues, visual artifacts, etc are very common. if you really want vlc, why not use a pc with vlc? once it's connected you won't have any unrequited expectations.

[Phresh]

Sorry to derail the thread. Thanks.

[phiphika1453]

Any noise about TVs with self contained hard-drives and internet access?

Seems like this would alleviate all the problems. Can this happen within the next 2-3 years?

I am sure they are spending most of their time trying to protect against piracy and such but damn it seems like these should already exist.

[gusmahler]

I just watched a couple of HD-DVD movies this weekend (Corpse Bride and Good Shephard). Man, going back to regular DVD after that is quite a shock. If I watch enough regular DVD, I almost fool myself into thinking it looks pretty good. Then I watch an HD-DVD and realize how good it can be.

The bad news is that I finally realize what people mean when they say that DirecTV is "HD-Lite". The quality of DirecTV HD just isn't as good as HD-DVD.

[nolanfan34]

[ QUOTE ]
I just watched a couple of HD-DVD movies this weekend (Corpse Bride and Good Shephard). Man, going back to regular DVD after that is quite a shock. If I watch enough regular DVD, I almost fool myself into thinking it looks pretty good. Then I watch an HD-DVD and realize how good it can be.

The bad news is that I finally realize what people mean when they say that DirecTV is "HD-Lite". The quality of DirecTV HD just isn't as good as HD-DVD.

[/ QUOTE ]

No kidding. I do some work which involves going to a studio, where they have a Pioneer Elite plasma playing HD-DVD movies in the lobby. Um, not fair at all. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

And Comcast HD sucks to begin with. Sigh.

[TheWorstPlayer]

Hey, Astro, sorry to bump this old thread (although it's a good one) but if you were going to Stars Concierge your entertainment system, what would you get? So basically you have a $3K budget. You could give like a $3K-$3.5K range because I might be willing to throw in a few hundred extra for the TV stand or whatever but basically I want to get the whole thing from the concierge if possible.

Room is 22x15 but couch/tv will be set up the short way so viewing distance will be something like 8-10 feet. So thinking 50" tv, but could be advised otherwise. Don't want to take up too much room, so want a flat panel TV - anything other than plasma/LCD is a non-starter, unfortunately.

Audio will be used to play music from CDs/iPod occasionally, but primarily for watching TV/movies.

Thanks!

[jws43yale]

WorstPlayer

Being 8-10 feet from the TV might justify a 1080P TV. I think 50" or 52" is a great choice. If the room is very bright, I would recommend looking at the new model Samsung LCD (LNT-5265). It has 1080p, good contrast ratio, and new glossy screen (little more glare, but more eye catching picture than standard matte LCD screen). If you are looking to spend even less than $3k you can get either 46" Samsung LCD (LNT04661 - matte screen, LNT-4665 - glossy screen) for under $2500).

If using primarily for movies and games and your room is not ridiculously bright, I would go with a Pioneer or Panasonic Plasma. The Pioneer PDP-5071 has gotten great reviews but is not 1080P. The Panasonic TH-50PZ700U is 1080p, but I don't know a ton about it. The new Samsung HPT-5054/5064 have also gotten good reviews but are not 1080p. If you were willing to spend about $1000 you get a top of the line Pioneer Pro 1080p 50" Plasma.

If you watch alot of sports and movies, picture on a Plasma will definitely be superior. If you have a very bright room or are an avid gamer, LCD may be better. Your viewing distance is right on the edge for 1080p to make a difference. I am in the same boat for a 40" television and have just now decided to go with a non-1080p Plasma. I have decided that this TV will hold me for two years until the new LCD tech I am interested in comes standard (LED Backlighting and 120hz refresh).

Let me know more about your usage habits, what your greatest concerns are, i.e. money, picture quality, future-proof, etc. and I can try to help more. Also, if you want to get some sort of sound sytem give me a budget and what its usage will be and I will try to help. My overall recommendation without knowing anything else though is to say you should get a 46" LCD or a 50" non 1080p Plasma and then spend at least the extra $800-$1000 all on audio if not more.

[JaBlue]

TWP not sure if you're aware of this but you aren't limited to 3-3.5k just because of the concierge thing on the list for VIP items. That is, if you have 310,000FPP you could spent it all - $5k - in one fell swoop should you so wish. I think you can get anything you want at 62,000VIP/$1000. Of course if 3-3.5k is all you want to spend that is understandable. Email scotty@pokerstars.com if you want to do some specific deal like I've mentioned and you won't have to go through the concierge. I've done this for a few things including a $1200 guitar.

[Rick Nebiolo]

[ QUOTE ]
PJ,

I've generally liked Vizio products. They sell for good prices at Costco, and when I've been in stores that have had them properly setup, they've looked fairly nice.

Similar price range, 42" Plasma:

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.asp...ec=&topnav=

Rob

[/ QUOTE ]

For a bargain priced plasma the Vizio's seem pretty decent (recently I read the AVS forums till my eyes bled).

I joined Costco this past weekend, living within about five miles of four different stores. The stores are so large and interesting I got several of my three mile daily walks indoors avoiding the heat wave (but fattening up on all the great food items for sale).

Anyway, the 42" Vizio plasma you linked to above was $999 just a few days ago. The price dropped to $899 on Tuesday and at least two local stores are now sold out. One "salesperson" said they are coming out with a replacement that does 1080P (this seems unlikely at this size/cost).

The 50" Vizio plasma model goes for $1400 at Costco and gets decent reviews on CNET. I think I can just barely squeeze it into my corner setup [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img].

~ Rick

[TheWorstPlayer]

jws: thanks a lot for the great post. I'll use it mostly to watch movies/sports. My fiancee and I are both big movie watchers and then we also watche shows like Las Vegas and Entourage and then of course I have to watch football, baseball and basketball games. So I'd like to get a TV where every time I watch it I go "Wow, this picture is unbelievable" (I'm used to a 6 year old CRT though so that prob wont be that hard) and a sound system which can make me feel like I'm at the movie theatre when I'm watching movies.

JaBlue: I didn't know that. I thought I was limited to 3K chunks. I even emailed the concierge and asked about the pricing at "186K+" and they didnt explain that to me. WTF. But thanks a lot. In that case, I'll probably have around 4K to spend. And, as I said, I dont mind chipping in 500-1K so maybe let's set the budget of the whole thing at 4-5K but that should include audio, TV stand (I love the Bush stand in the OP), cables, etc.