2. home-theater
  3. 1163201188

which technology really has the best picture

I've read about all of the technologies, and I've gone to look at them at Tweeter and Circuit City. However, mostly they don't have the DLPs and rear-projection LCDs next to the plasmas and flat panel LCDs, and the lighting in the stores is terrible. I feel like the plasma picture is a little bit better than the rear projections, but I wonder if the stores use picture settings to make it look that way because the flat panels are more expensive. Consumer Reports just rated a Toshiba DLP as having really excellent picture compared to flat panel (both plasma and LCD).

If the plasma picture really is better, I'll probably wait the year until 1080p is affordable. If not, time to buy a DLP or LCD rear projection. Is there any real agreement on this? I welcome any thoughts. Thanks. -Dave
dbw1

Showing 2 responses by bruceomega

bruceomega
118 posts
 
Dbw1,

My $0.02 worth. The first thing I would do in your case is decide on screen size. If you are sitting 12' from the display, a 50" screen size is going to look like a postage stamp, especially in the context of a 21' long room.

I sit 9' - 10' from my screen. Currently have a 61" TV, but am planning on replacing that with a 71" TV- I'm a victim of the display size shrinks over time phenomenon!

IMO, if you want to try and recreate a theater experience, you need to size the screen accordingly. I suggest a screen size of 70" or larger.

Given you cannot control ambient lighting, I would avoid a front projector unless you want to get two displays, one for daytime and a FP for nighttime, but that ups the financial ante.

So I would look at RPTV versus flat panel. AFAIK, in this screen size, RPTV is notably less expensive. If you do go with RPTV, I would look at DLP versus LCOS (SXRD from Sony, DiLA from JVC), but not consider rear projection LCD or RP CRT. DLP and LCOS each have their own strengths and weaknesses. One is not better than the other, but individual preferences will lead people to prefer one over the other.

Good luck,
Bruce
bruceomega
118 posts
 
RW, I would suggest we have different opinions, not that either is right or wrong regarding screen size.

To the original poster, Dave, I suggest you spend some time viewing different screen sizes at the viewing distance you will have in your room, and do that over different times to get an idea of what screen size you would prefer.

You've already seen two different opinions here. If you go to www.avsforum.com, you will find a lot of helpful discussions on screen size.

Bruce
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