60" TV or Projector for living room???

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MySongRanHills

Limp Gawd
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May 27, 2011
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First off I'm not sure if this should have been posted in the HTPC thread, but it seemed more display to me. If i was wrong apologies mods.

I'm fixing to put together an entertainment system for my living room and need to decide on a display. I'm trying to decide between a projector or a 60" TV. More specifically I'm looking at the Optoma HD20 projector and Sharp LC60LE632U. If anyone has any better choices I'd love to hear them. Max price of 1500$ . Room is dark and couch is about 10' from wall that will have screen.
 
Projectors aren't very convenient, especially as a main viewer. You'll find there are times where you'll wince because wifie wanted to glance at the nightly news for 15 minutes etc etc. Of course you can educate wifie/roomates/guests on projector usage recommendations but with an LCD you won't have to bother with all of that. I realize that projectors can be "adapted" for use almost anywhere as long as you are aware and work around their pitfalls, but you'll find an LCD to be less headache imho and not foster a dungeon-like environment.

Here's a recent thread that addressed the same question, the responses overwhelmingly were for LCD. Even projector fanboys begrudgingly admitted it.

Projectors are great though for dedicated theater rooms coupled with good light control.
 
I thought that might be the case. I am now leaning heavily toward a plasma. Seems to be a better overall tech then LCD or LED for the money. Can't seem to find many professional reviews of individual TVs. Anyone know a good 58-63" plasma around 1500?
 
MySongRanHills said:
I thought that might be the case. I am now leaning heavily toward a plasma. Seems to be a better overall tech then LCD or LED for the money. Can't seem to find many professional reviews of individual TVs. Anyone know a good 58-63" plasma around 1500?
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You're in luck, nearly all current 2011 42" to 65" 1080P plasmas are getting good reviews, especially Samsung and Panasonic, but also LG to a slightly lesser extent.

As for LCD/LED, Costco carries a similar Sharp model that's also getting great reviews, the LC-60LE633U for $1349 after checkout, and they offer an extra year of warranty. Edit: just noticed that Costco has the higher end LE832 series for $200 off, $1749 total, but the discount won't show till the very end of the checkout process.

But that Sharp you mentioned previously is also very popular, i wouldn't scratch it off your candidate list because there's a decent chance that's the TV you'll end up selecting.

Here's a few places to research:

- http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=9 <-- plug the model numbers into the search bar here, but remember to take all opinions with a grain of salt because these people are overly picky.

- http://www.televisioninfo.com/ review site.

- http://plasmatvbuyingguide.com/ review site.
 
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SJetski71 said:
You're in luck, nearly all current 2011 42" to 65" 1080P plasmas are getting good reviews, especially Samsung and Panasonic, but also LG to a slightly lesser extent.

As for LCD/LED, Costco carries a similar Sharp model that's also getting great reviews, the LC-60LE633U for $1349 after checkout, and they offer an extra year of warranty. Edit: just noticed that Costco has the higher end LE832 series for $200 off, $1749 total, but the discount won't show till the very end of the checkout process.

But that Sharp you mentioned previously is also very popular, i wouldn't scratch it off your candidate list because there's a decent chance that's the TV you'll end up selecting.

Here's a few places to research:

- http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=9 <-- plug the model numbers into the search bar here, but remember to take all opinions with a grain of salt because these people are overly picky.

- http://www.televisioninfo.com/ review site.

- http://plasmatvbuyingguide.com/ review site.
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Based on what I read on /www.televisioninfo.com/ I think I'm going to get the PN59D6500 would most agree tht to be better then the 60LE633U?
 
MySongRanHills said:
Based on what I read on /www.televisioninfo.com/ I think I'm going to get the PN59D6500 would most agree tht to be better then the 60LE633U?
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Honestly at this point we are talking personal preference. Those who prefer LCD would be all over a LE632U or LE633U, whereas those who prefer plasma would all over the PN59D6500 or another competitive model.

As long as you feel comfortable with your decision, then you can't go wrong with either of those models imho. That Samsung D6500 did score very well in that review though, MFR's really do put more "2D effort" into their 3D models, and the D6500 is an example of that.
 
I have an LG plasma and am very satisfied with it. At the time I bought it, I compared to LCD and plasma tv's from other brands, and it was also the cheaper option.
 
If you can wait a couple more months... I think prices will continue to drop. This holiday season sale wasn't very good and retailers will react by probably aggressively discounting further on the next holiday..
 
joeshmoe said:
If you can wait a couple more months... I think prices will continue to drop. This holiday season sale wasn't very good and retailers will react by probably aggressively discounting further on the next holiday..
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Between January and April is typically model clearance time for most manufacturers. This is a very general rule of thumb and it doesn't apply to all models necessarily.

I know if it were Panasonic, then right now is the time to buy, since the MFR + merchants have already started getting rid of their 2011 inventory. Even now some models are hard to find at the big box stores.

Not sure when and if Samsung has started though. The problem is they sell out so quick at clearance prices, within days or hours even. You almost never catch them and they rarely make it to the hot deal forums in time.
 
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Personally I use a projector in my living room with a 145" screen. It is NOT loud. I got it back in 2006 if I remember right. Haven't changed a bulb yet and it's the only tv in our house. I had a dalite 119" screen initially but later went with a DIY screen that I painted on the wall. I should have done that in the first place, it was much cheaper with better results.

I do not have it in a basement. The room backs right up to the kitchen that almost always has lights on. Kitchen has a door that is almost all window, a nook with windows and then the main window over the sink. Of course I have blinds for all the windows but they are not always down. The living room has two windows which have drapes and blinds on them. It's certainly watchable with lights on. Better of course when you turn the kitchen lights off. Sports are fine even with blinds up and kitchen lights on. We're happy with it. I can provide pictures if you went.

The recently launched Panasonic AR100U is made for living rooms without great light control. Bright and great contrast even with lights on. Something to look in to.
http://www.projectorcentral.com/panasonic_PT-AR100U_home_theater_projector_review.htm

Now if you are after a smaller size, say 73" or smaller i'd get LCD/Plasma/DLP but anything bigger i'd look at a projector.
 
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