Viper Daimao's Journal: Entertainment center choices

OK, I'll hopefully be able to find an apartment available to move into some time in Nov. I've got some money saved up and want to buy a big screen HD tv and set up a nice entertainment center. I'm not really looking at plasma tv's, but more towards DLP, LCD, or some other technology. I'll have about $5,000 saved up by the time I'm ready to start buying, so keep in mind my budget will be somewhere below that. So what kind of tv should I get? From where? What about speakers and stereo system? And how about the all important DVR? Do I get one from the cable or sat company? Buy a tivo? Build one myself?

So for anyone reading this, please leave me some comments about what you would recommend I buy.

DLP, please!

[Apotekaren]

This may be a total waste of your time, but I prefer DLP over LCD TVs any time. I'm not into the market right now, but just walking into a electronics store, and comparing DLP to LCD, side by side, the DLP will look less grainy, and smoother. I do not know how common/uncommon it is for DLPs to have VGA/DVI-in, but that might be a weak point compared to LCD-TVs which almost always come with those, which are great for alot of reasons. Gaming on your new TV will in most cases impress your friends, and become a

Re:DLP, please!

[Viper Daimao]

I am strongly leaning toward a DLP tv. Im not expert, but as far as I know, 3 chip DLPs are front projectors that cost $20-40,000. Im looking for a rear projection DLP tv in the $2-3,000 range. So what I'm looking for are suggestions of where to buy? what model? Samsung? HP? Toshiba? What are the tradeoffs between 720p and 1080p?

Sanyo Z3...

[da5idnetlimit.com]

My advice would be to completly bypass the "TV" part and directly get a nice, 16/9, silentious projector.

The one my friends bought on my advice is the Sanyo Z3, which gets you a very nice, large picture with minimal setting-up.

That way, you can benefit from every technology you want (sat, cable, HD, etc...) as long as they connect to your media hub (mine is a Xbox, all my stuff on the fileserver, reads dvds with progressive scan, plays Soulcalibur2 with large as life characters, and Burnout Revenge is just

Why not plasma?

[plover]

I'm just curious why you are avoiding the plasma displays? I just bought a Panasonic 50" last week and am very pleased with it. The picture is as bright as a CRT, and it had the sharpest display we saw, except for a 42" Sony LCD (apart from the fact that I'm no longer buying Sony anything, it was both smaller than we wanted and on perpetual backorder.) I was leery about the longevity of plasma, but I've learned that they have a 40,000 hour projected lifespan. (LG models have an estimated 60,000 hour lif

Re:Why not plasma?

[Viper Daimao]

I guess my only problem with plasma is the fragility of it and its lifespan. when a dlp bulb goes out, its maybe $100 to replace and the tv is as good as new. I have heard that plasma lasts only 20-40,000 hours and fades as it gets older and is no good after the 40,000 viewing hours. The ability to hang it on the wall is very attractive, but basically I'm worried about how it will fade after so many hours.

Re:Why not plasma?

[plover]

As far as fragility goes, we were simply careful when we hauled the box into the house and up the stairs. Definitely a two-healthy-person job, with a third to hold the doors. I removed the top of the box, and left the TV standing in the foam base while I attached the rail system to the back, and hung the wall bracket. Overall it took a couple hours to get it hanging, but I was being extremely careful and thorough. Once it's mounted, I see no reason to worry about the fragility, (unless you're the type w

Re:Why not plasma?

[Viper Daimao]

do you have an estimate of how heavy it was? I see these dlp tv's at like 88-110lbs or so. I dont think it will be a problem getting it up to my apt because I can just have it delivered or something, but if I ever move out, it might be a problem. Also, 30 hours a week seems a little light to me. I figure, on the week days it will mostly be off cause I'll be at work, so I come home and have it on from maybe 6-11pm, around 5 hours. Then on the weekend though, Im talking all day off football, or gaming and mov

Re:Why not plasma?

[plover]

I was told by the store guy it was 85 pounds, but in retrospect that seems light. That might be the weight of the TV, not including the packaging or included stand buried in the package. It was a bit awkward climbing stairs with it because the handles in the box were set more into the middle, so it was a long stretch of the arms just to hold it. We uncrated it right in front of the destination wall, and assembled the rails right there. Once it was time to lift it from the box and hang it on the wall, it