Thoughts on Plasma, LCD, DLP and which way to go

Dont bother with regular TVs and RPTVs. Go and buy a HDTV (no, not HDTV Ready, or EDTV). I recently bought a Pioneer Elite 50" PRO-1130HD Model. In my opinion, there are only three plasmas worth getting. On the top of my list was the Pioneer 6G (6th generation plasma), followed by Fujitsu and then a less expensive Panasonic. The best blacks that I have seen were on the Panny. But the Pioneer Elites and Fujitsus offered a better, detailed picture and superior color rendition so I was willing to live with the trade-offs. The Pioneer also came with a tuner and removable speakers. The theoretical life of most plasmas today is between 30,000 to 60,000 hours. This is comparable to the theoretical tubelife of the regular CRT tvs. This is theoretical life but the technology is so new that there isn't enough statistical data to back it up. As far absolute quality goes CRT is still king, followed by LCD flat screen, then Plasma. CRTs are huge, LCD is more delicate though and limited in size. LCDs also require bulb replacement which can be expensive. I investigated plasmas for years before taking the plunge and am very happy with the purchase. IMHO

My $0.02 worth.

There are pros and cons to each technology- no universal best choice.

Front projection is best, but its not for everyone; e.g., need to control ambient lighting.

For flat screen, you should weigh screen size, viewing distance, and cost to decide between flat panel and rear projection.

For rear projection, which is what I own, microdisplay sets are much better than CRT based sets IMHO, YMMV. For microdisplay, I would consider DLP or LCOS/SXRD over LCD RP. I would opt for the new generation of 1080p native resolution sets- picture quality is better independent of the resolution of the source material.

One observation from my own personal experience: I sit about 10' from the TV in my HT and I have a 61" screen. I do not consider this too large. I would not want a smaller screen size. I would like to upgrade to a 65" - 70" 1080p set!

Hope this helps,
Bruce

I really don't have the setup although I suppose I could do it for LCD screen projection. I am just looking for the best picture size dollar value that won't be a maintenance nightmare. Some TV's have more problems than others. So, I was looking into the 42-50 inch range which I think would probably for me be the best fit.

Bruceomega said it well. Movies were first made to be projected and a really nice front projector is my slam-dunk favorite. There are many analog units out there on the used market that can handle HD quite well for pennies-on-the dollar.

Sony 50 inch KDS-R50XBR1 (SXRD)

Bob Wood
http://www.GreatHomeTheater.com