Home Theater Mega Thread

[Thor]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

Thinking about going from a 50" plasma to a projector. Anyone used/checked out a 3D one yet? I believe BenQ has one out now. It's 720p, but I doubt I need 1080p. I do mostly gaming and little movies.

Wait on 3D projectors, waste of money right now.

[Thor]

I'm moving to Iceland so beside the projector I'm selling all my home theater stuff, I'll have a post up soon.

[BlackArcher101]

Selling the coffee table?

[3 Justin 3]

How do 1080p projectors look compared to a 1080p tv? I have always doubted a projected could get such a crisp image with the screen 8-10 feet long and the projector showing the image from a few feet away. Does it actually work?

[Pastiche]

Has anyone heard these speakers?

http://www.orbaudio.com/

Wondering if they're overpriced and if I'm getting sucked into the really nice looking form factor.

[fundmark19]

Well with my 720p projector I think the picture quality is equal if not a little more crisp than my 720p Panasonic Plasma. I was shocked when I actually set it up I did not think it was going to look as good as it did for watching tv. I honestly think if you have the space you should go with a projector. You will not regret it

[photon]

Space and light control, projectors aren't very bright compared to massive LCD or Plasmas.

[fundmark19]

That is the only knock on them. It won't be as bright but I find the detail to be equal if not better. Plus its 50 inchs bigger so the little bit of brightness you lose you gain in awesomeness

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Thor

Wait on 3D projectors, waste of money right now.

Why's that? Content should be available soon...

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

Why's that? Content should be available soon...

Because there will be like 5 movies in the next year that use 3D (Avatar on 3D blu-ray won't be out until 2011 for instance), and by then prices will be down $1000 if not more.

[IntenseFan]

Ok, I'll play too.

All costs are at the time they were purchased.

TV: Samsung HPT5064 (50" plasma, 1080i - 2007 model, perhaps time to upgrade?) cost $1150 - got a great open box deal on this a few years ago, still looks great

Receiver: Sony STRDH800 7.1, 100 W x 8 channels (2009 model) $269 - great midrange receiver with 4 HDMI inputs and more than enough power for my little entertainment room in the basement

Cable: Shaw Motorola HD Terminal DCT-6416, $395 - standard from Shaw when I bought it in 2007

Game console: PS3 60GB (recently upgraded to 500GB) $400 - we've played so much Rockband 2 on it that the disk has begun to become translucent

Blu-Ray: Sony BDPS560 (2009 model) $199 (open box deal) - at first I was on the fence about having a stand alone BDP when I already have a PS3, but the sound quality takes a step up when you do from the PS3

Speakers: 5 Pioneer bookshelves from old 5.1 system (cc 2001), 2 new Polk Audio bookshelves to fill out the back channels (cc 2009)

Subwoofer: 8 inch 100w Soundstage subwoofer (cc 2008), $300

Serves me very well.

As above, looking possibly to upgrade my TV to 1080p. I want to go above 50", because even in a small room such as in my basement, I'm sitting at the max viewing distance of 12'. Think I would like to stick with plasma. Any suggestions?

Also, has anyone here taken the plunge and opted for one of the new Samsung or Panasonic 3D HDTVs?

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by IntenseFan

Think I would like to stick with plasma. Any suggestions?

If I were to buy again I'd still go with the Panasonic Viera series. Extremely happy with it.

[Thor]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

Selling the coffee table?

Actually yes.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

If I were to buy again I'd still go with the Panasonic Viera series. Extremely happy with it.

From what I've read for a bigger screen, I'd go with the Panasonic Plasma for 3D. It has better off angle viewing and you can lie on the couch and the 3D glasses still work.

I'm maybe looking at getting a 42" but so far only Samsung has 3D in that size. I'm waiting till at least other manufacturers like LG, Sony, and Sharp come out with all their offerings and we get some competition.

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

From what I've read for a bigger screen, I'd go with the Panasonic Plasma for 3D. It has better off angle viewing and you can lie on the couch and the 3D glasses still work.

I'm maybe looking at getting a 42" but so far only Samsung has 3D in that size. I'm waiting till at least other manufacturers like LG, Sony, and Sharp come out with all their offerings and we get some competition.

Competition will also hopefully drive down the price to something more reasonable.

[IntenseFan]

^No kidding.

I looked at the 55" Samsung 3D HDTV last week just to see what it was all about. It was a full $4k to walk away with the TV, BDP and a pair of glasses. Not to mention I would need a new Receiver with HDMI 1.4 or 1.4a.

Ouch.

Needless to say, I think I'll wait a few years on 3D tech.

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by IntenseFan

^No kidding.

I looked at the 55" Samsung 3D HDTV last week just to see what it was all about. It was a full $4k to walk away with the TV, BDP and a pair of glasses. Not to mention I would need a new Receiver with HDMI 1.4 or 1.4a.

Ouch.

Needless to say, I think I'll wait a few years on 3D tech.

I have a PS3 and luckily with a firmware update it will be able to handle 3D playback. But I am not spending $3500+ on a tv just to get 3D.

So no receivers be able to decode HDMI 1.4 now?

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

I have a PS3 and luckily with a firmware update it will be able to handle 3D playback. But I am not spending $3500+ on a tv just to get 3D.

So no receivers be able to decode HDMI 1.4 now?

Companies are now coming out with 3D capable receivers. Here's some Pioneer ones and the prices look reasonable in US dollars. They will be the models ending in 20-K.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU...oneerReceivers

[Mr. Ski]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

How do 1080p projectors look compared to a 1080p tv? I have always doubted a projected could get such a crisp image with the screen 8-10 feet long and the projector showing the image from a few feet away. Does it actually work?

Different, but both are great.

I have a 37" Sharp Aquos in the bedroom that is 1080P, and the aforementioned BenQ W5000 1080P projector.

The Aquos looks like a very big LCD computer monitor - crisp, clear and bright. Great 'little' TV.

The projector is not as bright, working best in a light controlled room; as such I've set it up so that I can have my theater room pitch black at high-noon, and have all my lights in the room on 3 selectable dimmers for whatever increased light level I desire above that. In that environment, nothing beats watching hockey, football, xbox or movies at 10'3" diagonal from only 10 feet back. It's like having a widescreen IMAX-like experience at home. Blu-ray movies shown in 24P look by far the best of any media (with xbox and ps3 games a close second). Shaw HD is also good, but you can see that the signal isn't as clean or uncompressed.

Watching in 1080/24P is very, very smooth and 'film-like', which considering everything from the disk through to the projector is fully digital is quite a feat. The focus is tack sharp too. Further, you don't see any screen door effect until you're within about 5-6 feet of the screen (which is way too close to see the whole thing at once anyhow).

I debated a long time getting a 60" LCD or Plasma before finally deciding on a projector. Now, no regrets at all.

[calumniate]

I love it photon!

I just have tv going in through my computer, so my monitor is my home theatre haha. It makes things fairly convenient and i have no gaming system. Just surround sound on a soundblaster.. not bad really.

I'd like to get a projector though I think it would work for me!