Hey Joey, need to pick your brain....

[Carol]

any input on plasma or big screen TV's.....hubby's birthday is coming up in April and that's my goal.  It would be nice to actually see the hockey puk when watching the game   I know awhile back the plasmas had a very short life expectancy.  I also heard from somewhere that you want them wider than high....any other info. or brands you can give me would be great.
Went to Costco looking, but there wasn't anyone to give me info.  Hitting ABC warehouse and Sears this week....hubby is going to be sooooo surprised!!!

[Savage]

I don't know which is better, I just remember someone telling me that plasma was so knew..they had no clue how long they would last, nor what they would do when they stopped working. LOL!
 Kinda scarey...personally...I'll give it another 3 years before I get either. I'll stick with a Large Re-projection type if I get a large tv before then.

[Carol]

large reprojection what.....tell me more....what is this and is it a good picture??  Maybe this is what I need??

[Savage]

Sorry, meant Rear Projection TV, these are the ones that look like a huge box with a screen in the front, and there is a projector inside that sends the images thru the screen..ya know. Either that, or just a Projection tv that mounts on your ceiling..and you have a screen you can either have mounted to your wall, or pull down, works just like a theater, but these are really only good for watching movies, as the bulbs don't ussually last more then 800-1000 hours and run about 300-400 bucks for new bulbs.

[JoeF]

any input on plasma or big screen TV's.....hubby's birthday is coming up in April and that's my goal.  It would be nice to actually see the hockey puk when watching the game   I know awhile back the plasmas had a very short life expectancy.  I also heard from somewhere that you want them wider than high....any other info. or brands you can give me would be great.
Went to Costco looking, but there wasn't anyone to give me info.  Hitting ABC warehouse and Sears this week....hubby is going to be sooooo surprised!!!

Not like I got a lot of extra brain to be picked. I was a teenager in the 60's after all.

OK look at these sites
http://www.cnet.com.au/hometheatre/tvs/0,39026023,40036500,00.htm
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article.asp?section_id=2&article_id=779
http://www.choice.com.au/viewArticle.aspx?id=104839&catId=100170&tid=100008&p=1


Now you're really gonna hate me.

Am I correct in guessing that these will be used a High Def TVs  (HDTV) if so then depending on your Cable/Satellite vendor you will need a differnt converter.

Some things to know about HDTV  Best clarity uses 1080P. 1080i and 720P are similar in appearance.

as for the wide TV Regular ole TV use a ratio of 4:3 that is 4 units wide by 3 units high. the newer format is 16:9.   
  http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/hdtv1.htm

[JoeF]

Sorry, meant Rear Projection TV, these are the ones that look like a huge box with a screen in the front, and there is a projector inside that sends the images thru the screen..ya know. Either that, or just a Projection tv that mounts on your ceiling..and you have a screen you can either have mounted to your wall, or pull down, works just like a theater, but these are really only good for watching movies, as the bulbs don't ussually last more then 800-1000 hours and run about 300-400 bucks for new bulbs.

To expand on what Sav is telling you. LCD an Plasma are expensive tv's Rear projection HDTV is more resonable.

This is an electronics store by me that I buy from. Look at all the differnt types of TVs available.

 http://www.abtelectronics.com/category/90.html

[Carol]

now I don't know what I want........I have a 40 yr. old sports fanatic and 3 children who have followed suit.  On any given weekend, I have 10-15 teenagers chowing and watching movies with us (yes, I HAVE A FINISHED BASEMENT...so WHY are they upstairs with us? -beats me, but they're a fun and good group of kids) sooooo......what'd ya think Sav and Joe....I have a great room, but no hanging screens please..I'd have to dust that!!    Just a TV kinda thingy that's big enough to see the sports in a great room and has a great pic and sound for movies....

[patty]

any input on plasma or big screen TV's.....hubby's birthday is coming up in April and that's my goal.  It would be nice to actually see the hockey puk when watching the game   I know awhile back the plasmas had a very short life expectancy.  I also heard from somewhere that you want them wider than high....any other info. or brands you can give me would be great.
Went to Costco looking, but there wasn't anyone to give me info.  Hitting ABC warehouse and Sears this week....hubby is going to be sooooo surprised!!!

don`t buy plasma...they`re waaayyyyy overpriced and not as good as a quality LCD screen and their life is shorter. just my .02 cents from when hubby was comparing brands and he knows all the ins and outs from doing the big trade shows. i can ask him after he gets over hell week....he`s been doing 6 or 8 a.m. to midnight for awhile now. it ends tuesday night 

[patty]

Sorry, meant Rear Projection TV, these are the ones that look like a huge box with a screen in the front, and there is a projector inside that sends the images thru the screen..ya know. Either that, or just a Projection tv that mounts on your ceiling..and you have a screen you can either have mounted to your wall, or pull down, works just like a theater, but these are really only good for watching movies, as the bulbs don't ussually last more then 800-1000 hours and run about 300-400 bucks for new bulbs.

To expand on what Sav is telling you. LCD an Plasma are expensive tv's Rear projection HDTV is more resonable.
This is an electronics store by me that I buy from. Look at all the differnt types of TVs available.
 http://www.abtelectronics.com/category/90.html

my lcd screen is HD and it does nothing for us yet. there are only 2 stations that even do the hd format yet but in the future i believe it will all be hi definition. as far as the bulbs go they`re expensive but if you have an extended warranty it covers 100% of it every time. at least ours does. it bites to pay for an extended warranty every year but 1 bulb replacement and it pays for itself anyways. also some of the projections aren`t crisp  unless you`re 12 or so feet away.

[JoeF]

For the money and for a good sized room I would still buy a Rear projection 60" or so HD TV.
Probably a SONY. Though I have a 50" Toshiba (non-hd) that has been trouble free for over 6 years. 

[Savage]

For the money and for a good sized room I would still buy a Rear projection 60" or so HD TV.
Probably a SONY. Though I have a 50" Toshiba (non-hd) that has been trouble free for over 6 years. 

Umm, Beau...remember when you asked me what I want for valentines day?

hee hee J/K

[BEAU]

Oh suuuuuuuuuure
Ummmmmm
It's a little late for me to scrimp and save and pull a rear projection tv out of my posterior!
SHEESH
Though you know I'd do anything for you... 

[Carol]

home sick as a dog, so these sites are great research starts for my afternoon.  I appreciate all the help guys-you know how ANTI-TECHNICAL I am!!! 

[Savage]

Ok...I was looking around some sites recently (don't ask why..LOL)
and I found a TV projector by radioshack on sale for 999.00, this will project from 24" - 112" or something like that. The reviews say it's well worth the money.
 it has dolby output for surround, it even comes with it's own subwoofer.
check out radioshack.com and look it up...see what others are writting about it on their reviews...
now. I know everyone will say "It's reviews on their own site.." but, I've seen reviews on other items that say things "like Worst thing I ever bought..took it back" so..they obiously don't delete peoples comments. LOL!
but...I figured I'd share that find with you all.
(Honey...isn't my b-day coming up soon??)
LOL!

[BEAU]

I was wondering how this got bumped up again... LOL
Ummm no, its not your birthday coming up, you brat!

Carol, how is the tv shopping going anyway???