[MoreCowbell]

Here's what happened, the short version:

My cordless phone is old and the victim of my dogs puppyhood years and teething stage. It looks awful and has been giving off a lot of static. It has been on my list to go out and byy new a cordless phone for my apartment. Last night, I was on the phone. I became angry with the conversation and it's general direction...(The Topic is unimportant and not related in anyway to this post, so please do not ask)

...As my blood boiled, I took the phone and decided tonight was the night the phone would die. Standing ten feet from my exposed brick wall, I launched the phone directly at the mason's finest work.

Unfortunately, much like Rick Ankeil in the 2000 NLCS, I had some control issues last night. The phone was thrown a foot low, and instead of smashing into the brick wall, proceeded to crash through the screen of my 57 Inch Hitachi Wide-Screen Projection HDTV.

:mad:



It was stupid. I was immature and I have absolutely nobody to blame but myself.

The timing of this incident is poor. We are in the heart of the NFL Season and Baseball playoffs are upon us. I need to replace the TV and fast. I need some recommendations of what to buy and where to buy it.

The Facts:

-The old tv was 57 inches. I'd want to go about the same size, a couple of inches bigger or very slightly smaller.
-The now-crippled TV was projection, wide-screen, HDTV. Old school.
-I watch a lot of sports.
-The TV will likely move with me to a new house in the next 3-4 years.
-I have a TON of wires behind the TV from Direct TV and Home threatre. My wife HATES seeing visable wires, so I need a way to hide them.
-The Old TV had it's back to a brick wall. I had shelves built over the TV to hold the components.

I want a good TV. LCD, Plasma, projection...I have no clue what to get. I'd like it to be cost effective, but excellent technology as well.

Advice???

Thanks in advance.

[Crimson92]

Id say go wil dlp for large tvs for less money(costco has a lot of them)

if not go lcd..

plasma looks great but pricey, and expensive if they break

[UncleWede]

In that size range I'd be definitely going DLP. Mitsubishi has always had my vote
Plasmas will eventually need to be recharged, but as long as the control issue remains, that might be a non-issue

[Scottz71]

go with a DLP...smaller than your projection...good to great picture depending on brand...and definitely rebundle and hide the wires...

good luck with the anger management...

[killjohnnyforan]

samsung DLP or LCD

[txusa03]

Originally Posted by MoreCowbell

(The Topic is unimportant and not related in anyway to this post, so please do not ask)

...I have no clue what to get. I'd like it to be cost effective

Advice???

Thanks in advance.

ok, I wont ask what topic it is.

What should you get that is cost effective? My advice is to get some anger management consultation first. This will pay off in the long run as you will less likely to throw another foreign object against a brickwall. It should have bounced back and hit you in the head and hopefully leave a long lasting impression to remind you to stay calm.

glad no one got hurt

[MoreCowbell]

Originally Posted by txusa03

ok, I wont ask what topic it is.

What should you get that is cost effective? My advice is to get some anger management consultation first. This will pay off in the long run as you will less likely to throw another foreign object against a brickwall. It should have bounced back and hit you in the head and hopefully leave a long lasting impression to remind you to stay calm.

glad no one got hurt

I do not have an "anger management" issue, but thanks for the thoughts.

Who has anger management issues:

-Those who verbally abuse others
-Those who physically abuse others

I've never had anything but respect for those around me, both loved ones and aquaintances. I've never been in physical fight. I've never, ever, raised my voice to a stranger.

What I did, though immature, was take my anger out on object. There are few people out there who have done similar things once or twice in their lives.

My blame should not be out on "Anger Management"...it should be put on a rare outburst and some awful aim.

[MadDog]

We just bought a Sony 46" DLP HDTV at Circuit City. Great prices - we checked everywhere, and they were a couple of hundred dollars lower on almost every model.

Good Luck.

MD

Edit: Did your wife kick your ass for destroying the TV ??

[MoreCowbell]

Originally Posted by MadDog

Edit: Did your wife kick your ass for destroying the TV ??

No...she actually found it amusing and laughed that right after it happened I stared at the TV for about 10-15 seconds, nodded a couple of times, and walked over to the computer and brought up BestBuy.com.

[Scarecrows25]

Okay, so no anger management classes... but maybe take Ankiel's path and take to hitting the object in question with a stick rather than throwing it

In all seriousness to the question though, I would agree w/ the thoughts about DLP as a good bang for the buck, but make sure you go see them in the store -- the diminished picture when you're viewing off-angle is really big, in my opinion.

After much debate, I went with a Samsung LCD. I was afraid I would have some buyer's remorse (should I have gone bigger? Gotten plasma? Not sprung for 1080p?), but once I had the TV home and tweaked the color, I've been nothing but happy. That's the biggest thing -- in the store, you're really overwhelmed with choices. Do a little research first, narrow it down to what looks good to you, then take it home. Don't spend 2.5 hours staring at the damn things like I did...

Good luck, and have fun shopping!

[MoreCowbell]

Much appreciated. I think the wife and I will likely go and look at a bunch this weekend.

I'd love Plasma, but they are pricey...and not sure if they are worth it.

[Neurorad]

I've been researching A/V equipment thoroughly the last 2 months. I'm buying an LCD that will fit the built-in cabinet, that came with my new house.

Based on my experience, you should hire a reputable custom installer, to help with decision, wiring, and installation.

I'm getting a Sony LCD 40" 40W3000.

Pick a size. Then go to SonyStyle.com, and compare differently priced models. You can see in the spreadsheet comparison display the differences between the models. Then you can decide which features are important to you.

If you want to splurge, go with the XBR line of LCD's. Sony doesn't make rear-projection TVs anymore. Plasmas seem to be on the way out.

You should pay about 80-90% of MSRP eventually, plus delivery and installation.

Most consumer electronics stores have custom installers on staff. They should be certified by CEDIA (a custom installers group). You can search the CEDIA website for local custom installers, but it's not a guarantee that they'll be good.

AVSforum.com forums and reviews are a great resource, as are CNET reviews. My AVS username is Neurorad. You can ask questions of custom installers on remotecentral.com custom installer forum, for professional advice, if you ask nicely. AVS.com is a gigantic forum, with several hundred members actively online at any given time. It's astoundingly large. Use the search tool to find 'official' threads discussing specific models.

If you have any specific questions, PM me.

Edit - sorry about your TV. Look on the bright side - new TV. Maybe the CI can hide those wires/cords.

[MoreCowbell]

Originally Posted by Neurorad

I've been researching A/V equipment thoroughly the last 2 months. I'm buying an LCD that will fit the built-in cabinet, that came with my new house.

Based on my experience, you should hire a reputable custom installer, to help with decision, wiring, and installation.

I'm getting a Sony LCD 40" 40W3000.

Pick a size. Then go to SonyStyle.com, and compare differently priced models. You can see in the spreadsheet comparison display the differences between the models. Then you can decide which features are important to you.

If you want to splurge, go with the XBR line of LCD's. Sony doesn't make rear-projection TVs anymore. Plasmas seem to be on the way out.

You should pay about 80-90% of MSRP eventually, plus delivery and installation.

Most consumer electronics stores have custom installers on staff. They should be certified by CEDIA (a custom installers group). You can search the CEDIA website for local custom installers, but it's not a guarantee that they'll be good.

AVSforum.com forums and reviews are a great resource, as are CNET reviews. My AVS username is Neurorad. You can ask questions of custom installers on remotecentral.com custom installer forum, for professional advice, if you ask nicely. AVS.com is a gigantic forum, with several hundred members actively online at any given time. It's astoundingly large. Use the search tool to find 'official' threads discussing specific models.

If you have any specific questions, PM me.

Edit - sorry about your TV. Look on the bright side - new TV. Maybe the CI can hide those wires/cords.

Great post!!! Thank you very much!!! I will use these resources!!!

[MoreCowbell]

Originally Posted by Scarecrows25

Okay, so no anger management classes... but maybe take Ankiel's path and take to hitting the object in question with a stick rather than throwing it

My wife seems to think that using HGH would be a good idea as well!!!

[magmd]

KILLER!!!!!!!!

[Dmitriy@AUTOcouture]

Matt - I hate to do this to ya but

I really want to see this hole that you put thru the TV, also a picture of the phone would be nice.

-Dmitriy

[MadDog]

Originally Posted by Neurorad

...Sony doesn't make rear-projection TVs anymore....

Here's a link to the TV we bought (still for sale):

Sony 46" LCD Rear projection

Edit: Sony's MSRP is $1,199 and Circuit City was selling them for $999. Best Buy was selling them for $1,149.

[Bimmer335i07]

Originally Posted by shpuntik

Matt - I hate to do this to ya but

I really want to see this hole that you put thru the TV, also a picture of the phone would be nice.

-Dmitriy

lol! You beat me to it. I was just about to post it. Just 2 post too late. lol!

[MadDog]

Originally Posted by shpuntik

Matt - I hate to do this to ya but

I really want to see this hole that you put thru the TV, also a picture of the phone would be nice.

-Dmitriy

+1. Yep. Let's see the damage...

[schneid4323]

Get a DLP tv.... btw, Owned.

[TurboFan]

I'm running a 58" Panny plasma. Had a 62" Mits DLP.

DLP is nice, but for sports, you can't beat a plasma. They are significantly brighter, and the off-angle viewing is better, simply because it is a direct view, not a projection screen.

Skip the LCD if you watch many movies. They simply can not produce the deep blacks accurately. They've gotten better, but not as good as plasma.

The issues with dimming plasmas have been solved in anything you'd buy new from a good mfg (panny or pioneer are the best at this point), and they are smart enough to pixel shift to avoid burn-in for any images that are stagnant on the screen. If you really try hard you can burn them in, but you gotta try, and it takes time. No worse than a good tube TV used to be. They will dim noticably after something like 10,000 hours, but your LCD will have dead pixels at this point, and you'll have put 5 lamps into your DLP.

[schneid4323]

Originally Posted by TurboFan

DLP is nice, but for sports, you can't beat a plasma. They are significantly brighter, and the off-angle viewing is better, simply because it is a direct view, not a projection screen.

I have 5 different plasmas in my house, and 2 lcd's the black on plasmas BLOW, to the point where it is annoying. Im telling you right now to get a DLP, my buddy runs the DLP division at TI and that stuff is incredible, the new laser DLP that they are coming out with is ridiculous, and the response time is incredible.