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

[terrellk11]

I am looking into getting my first big screen TV and have pretty much settled on a Sharp 46" LCD (LC46D62U at a nice 1080p with 1920x1080 resolution).

My next problem is trying to figure out what to put it on. We currently rent so a wall-mount is really not practical. The other important consideration is that we have a 17-month old running loose in the house.

Anyone know of a reasonably priced piece of furniture that will hold a 46" TV and keep the components safe from the grasping hands of a toddler?

[Scotty_12]

I bought this tv on a whim today, what is the threads consensus on it?

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail...amp;catid=24558

[TheWorstPlayer]

My place is finally set up. Will post pics as soon as I get back there (in about a week). Bottom line - looks and sounds awesome. Thanks, guys.

[James282]

just went with the panasonic 58thpx600u 58 inch plasma. The picture pops off of the screen, the glare problems I've heard about are non-existant unless in very bright light, and it even has great sound until I get my system set up. Not gonna post pics until i get the final set up and the HD box from Direct TV comes. If anyone else gets a plasma from panasonic, the settings right out of the box are dreadful and I highly highly suggest looking on the AVSforums for advice on how to set it. Makes an absolute world of difference. Also, wait for 100 viewing hours before jacking up the brightness and picture settings to virtually eliminate any worry of burn-in.

James

[James282]

[ QUOTE ]
I bought this tv on a whim today, what is the threads consensus on it?

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail...amp;catid=24558

[/ QUOTE ]

Looks fine but I suspect you could do better for the same money elsewhere.

james

[econophile]

got a 42PX75U on saturday. so far i am very happy with it. looks a lot better than it did in showrooms, possibly because the showrooms had crappy sources. haven't tried it out with DVDs yet.

[gusmahler]

[ QUOTE ]
got a 42PX75U on saturday. so far i am very happy with it. looks a lot better than it did in showrooms, possibly because the showrooms had crappy sources. haven't tried it out with DVDs yet.

[/ QUOTE ]

Lots of showrooms also don't have "ideal" settings for brightness, color, etc. (bright TVs are thought to sell better than less bright TVs, so some store boost the brightness of certain models. Plus, your average Best Buy is much brighter than your house, so you won't need it as bright as they put it.

Be sure to search AVS forum to find ideal settings for your set.

[Scotty_12]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I bought this tv on a whim today, what is the threads consensus on it?

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail...amp;catid=24558

[/ QUOTE ]

Looks fine but I suspect you could do better for the same money elsewhere.

james

[/ QUOTE ]

James,

Just clicked the link and saw it is listed for $1599 on the website. I got it for $1365 (not including the $369 4 year warranty I also purchased)

One other question I have for you guys: I bought an HDMI cable which was $200, when the rogers HD guy came to install and set up my programming, he provided me with cables (red, green, blue I think as well as white/red.) He said that the store s elling the cables for that much is a scam, and the HDMI cable performs 'at best 5% better than the 5 cable combo.' Who is telling it like it is? The best buy salesman, or the rogers employee?

Thanks!

[gusmahler]

[ QUOTE ]
One other question I have for you guys: I bought an HDMI cable which was $200, when the rogers HD guy came to install and set up my programming, he provided me with cables (red, green, blue I think as well as white/red.) He said that the store s elling the cables for that much is a scam, and the HDMI cable performs 'at best 5% better than the 5 cable combo.' Who is telling it like it is? The best buy salesman, or the rogers employee?

[/ QUOTE ]

$200 for an HDMI cable is insane. Take it back ASAP and buy the same cable for $21 (US): http://monoprice.com/products/product.as...=1&format=2

As for the other question, it depends on what you're plugging your cable box into.

The 5 cable deal is two parts: red, green, and blue for component video and Red and white cables for audio.

Component versus HDMI is a touchy subject. Some people see a difference. Some don't. Since you actually have both, might as well do the comparison yourself. If you think HDMI is better, return the $200 cable and get the $21 cable. If you don't see a difference, return the $200 cable and use the cable that Rogers gave you.

As for audio, it depends on your setup. If you're using a receiver, you need some way to transmit Dolby Digital signals from the cable box to the receiver. HDMI does this, but the red and white cables don't. If you decide to forego HDMI, you'll need to get an optical digital cable to go from the cable box to the receiver. (If you're just hooking the sound up to your TV, the red and white cables will be fine).

[Josem]

there is a heap of discussion on the interweb about hdmi vs component but this page seemed to be a convincing analysis of the issues involved.