"Commercial" plasma screens the real deal for HT?

Digital front projectors are the REAL DEAL of HT. YOu can get a nice one with a screen and a ceiling mount for $1500. No rinky dink 42" here. We're talking 92" of vibrant colors and jaw dropping clarity. The screen width is 1.85 times the seating distance. :-)

All you need is a little light control. ..and since you aren't watching 'teevee' .... ;-)

EDTV resolution is fine if you are stilling at least a distance from the screen of 2x the screen's width. E.g., if the screen is 36 inches wide (horizontal) than you should sit about 72 inches away from it (perpenticular). That way you don't notice "the pixels" or see the "screen door effect" (SDE). EDTV or SVGA (widescreen SVGA) resolutions are fine, if you are only watching non-high-definition content, like DVDs, NTSC satellite TV, laserdisc, non-HD gaming consoles, etc.

EDTV or SVGA is also a OK compromise if you can't make the extra $$$ commitment for the 720p, 1080i, or 1080p resolutions either because the value proposition for HD isn't there, or your don't _use_ your HT all that much, or maybe you'd rather put the extra $1-2k for something else in your life, like audio, the cars, or the missus. Seriously every time I fire up my lowly SVGA front projector, I forget that it is "only" SVGA. I don't feel that I'm missing out on all that much.

Enjoy.

Aaron

Front projection is teh biggest bang for the buck. However, if you want a flat pannel and are thinking about a Comercial version you may want to talk to an ISF guy. Some of the comercial displays are the same as Consumer without bells and whistles. Some others are intended to display still images (flight schedules, billboard type advertisements, talking heads, etc). These displays do not do well with fast movement and even a non-videophile would be sorely disapointed by these. An ISF guy could tell you much more than I can and probably get you a hell of a deal on an appropriate Comercial display. The Pioneer comercial displays should fit the bill.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/bsc/product/album/two/0,,2076_4183,00.html

The Commercial plasmas tend to have two main differences; Coating; FCC Class A so silver coating is OK. Consumer requires FCC Class B, so a different coating material is used to decrease emissions through the front glass.

Commercial plasmas tend to have BNC connections, a higher grade video true 75 OHM connection as opposed to the RCA connects which are audio actually if you go back to their origins.

There are only three manufacturers of plasma glass and the rest get from these three; the comment above about commercial plasmas being made for still images is incorrect; there is no "still image" glass factory.

And yes those bells and whistles are not present on commercial plasmas. EDTV plasmas are usually better than HD plasmas for 480p DVD source, as one- to one pixel mapping introduces less artifact than upconversion. Thats the big picture so to speak.

Finally an opinion; front projectors are great if you have room and certainly more cinemtaic; however, I really dont find the PQ to be as good as plasma and also moany of the FPs do not have enough lumens to generate the light needed for optimal PQ. Even at CES this year, some manufacturers aimed three FPs at a time to one spot same source just to get the lumens necessary.

The way a television deals with movement involves the scaler not the glass. If all of the rest of the specs on a set look impresive but the scaler is not up to par the image is going to look bad or atleast not as good as that of other displays with better scalers.

The Imaging Science Foundation (while not completely unaffiliated with manufacturers) is into R&D for measureing and calibrating video displays. Chances are there is a local dealer who has a resident geek who happens to be ISF certified. These guys can calibrate a display to output an even temerature throughout the reproduceable color spectrum. THey can show you what a displays performance is before and after calibration on a printed graph. Also the subjective aspect; you should see an improvement in the picture of any given set after calibration. At around $350 per input (usually only one input calibration is needed) it is a small investment in comparison to line conditioners, set-up discs, fancy cables, and any tweeks available. There are adjustments that are only available via the service menues of these displays. ISF guys are able to get into these, make changes to get the best performance out of a given set, and all without messing things up (as ambitious videophiles often do).

Check out the ISF website. It's not great but it can put you in touch with a guy in your area who knows how to explain the pros and cons of the different options.

http://www.imagingscience.com/about.htm

Hope this helps.