Front projection or not?

Depends if you use it everyday or for special events. Infocus X1 DLP projector, Da Lite 100" diagonal tripod, excellent picture. $1,500 total new. I have the projector 14' away, however. Great for sports and movies. It has max 800x600 resolution, however, so you may want to go up the food chain for true HDTV. Having said that, for everyday watching, I would either go for DLP or LCD RPTV within your budget. I have a friend with the 50" Panasonic LCD RPTV and it is spectacular with HDTV programming. Good luck and enjoy.

Just because you *can* control the light, doesn't mean you will always *want* to. My wife would never consign herself to always watching casual TV in a darkened room, and I wouldn't either. Yes, with the brighter digital projectors, you can have a fair amount of ambient light in the room, but you give up a lot of contrast - I cannot really enjoy it. YMMV

For reference as to where I'm coming from, I have a really good FP CRT, budget FP DLP, and older RP(CRT)TV. The first is head-and-shoulders better in a dark room, the latter in a bright room, and the DLP a compromise.

Again ... my $.02, YMMV

I've been mulling over the same question, and come to the conclusion that an ideal solution is certainly not in the $3K range: A flat panel display for regular TV viewing with a screen that can be lowed in front of that display for front projection of HDTV and DVD movie viewing.

I've also been concerned about achieving good depth imaging for stereo music. A large image lets you sit far enough from speakers located several feet in front of a wall uncluttered by TV or equipment cabinets.

db

Well Doc, you are right. That is what I did. I built a dedicated room with my old trusty Sony 46" built into the front wall. Then I pull down the screen for DVD's

If you watch lots of TV, get a plasma

If you watch lots of movies, get a projector