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10 September, 2006

The Search for 1080p 50"+ LCD or Plasma and saving a ceiling fan

I'm putting together a home theatre. A moderate one, but one with a decent size display. My friend, Jesse keeps trying to push me towards an overhead projection system. But I am resisting.

His reasons for the projection system:
1) bright
2) contrast
3) price
4) flexible picture size.

My reasons for not going with a projection system
1) Cut a hole in the ceiling to fit it.
2) I have to take down the ceiling fan I just installed
3) Noisy
4) There will be this big boxy thing on the ceiling.
5) Noisy.

So, I'm looking at Plasma and LCD.
I don't like the DLP and their various cousins because the box is too fat. I want something a lot thinner. Like a nice thin Plasma.

O.K., so why don't I like DLP and rear projection besides the width?
I see rainbows. Whenever I look at most (not all) DLP units and move my head from side to side (as I am want to do if I for some insane reason accidentally tune into Fox News or CNN) I see rainbows. I have nothing against rainbows... as long as they stay outside. It is just that I don't care for rainbows if they are in my media room.

Also, the idea of spending thousands of dollars for a consumer electronic device with a color wheel just isn't right. No high end manufacture of displays has a right to include something as primitive as a color wheel. Do these things squeak after a while? What happens in dusty environments? What if my daughter has a science project and discovers the tele has a color wheel? Didn't the first color TV broadcast use a color wheel? Color wheels are just too dangerous.


That leaves me with a Plasma or LCD.

Plasma has been around longer and supposedly the blacks are blacker and contrast higher. But, I have looked at both the Sony and Sharp LCD (46") and they look very nice. Both are 1080p boxes and I'm almost willing to lighten up on the size thing and go for one or the other. The Sharp LC-46D62U looks to be the first of Sharp's large LCD displays. Their website lists several others including a 52", 57" and 62" display. None of them are shipping just yet.

There are some 50" plasma displays out there that do 1080p. They are as hard to find as a large LCD display. Pioneer has one - the FHD1, but the cost is $10K. I suppose I could get a better deal on the web or off the back of some truck, but neither is going to be less then $5K. That is not until there is some competition from those LCD screens.

And thus I sit, waiting for the size to increase and the price to come down. It will. Hitachi, Sharp and a few others have hinted at larger screen 1080p devices. Possibly in time for the Holidays. If that is the case, then I'll just wait and protect my lovely ceiling fan.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Nice ceiling fan.