4doorj

hey... this is for all the electronics junkies...

so my house is being built... and im doing my tv stuff...
which is better... plasma/ lcd/ or projection big screen (regular big screen)
i know plasma and lcd both are limited to life span .. but to how long?
is it worth it to get plasma, or lcd...
another thing is if i get plasma or lcd... im am getting the builder to build it into the wall... with those cool wall mount kits and get it custom wired in.... if its not worth it then i could go with a projection screen... its wider so it takes up more space... also custom building a lcd or plasma into the wall will save the space considering my house isnt as huge as the house i live in now...

or is the life span of a plasma or lcd even anything to worry about...
thanks for your help guys

xviper

Current gen plasma and LCD TVs have a typical lifespan rating of 60,000 hours.

Plasmas can still have a small degree of "burn in" for things like using as a computor monitor or playing video games. For either of these, an LCD is better. Of course a rear projector or a unit that mounts from the ceiling and projects onto a screen you hang on the wall, won't have this "burn in" issue, but the lifespan of the bulbs is not very impressive and those bulbs are expensive.
An LCD or DLP rear projector will be about 14" to 16" thick front to back. Although the new ones don't have a problem with viewing in a bright room (daytime) like the old ones did, a plasma or LCD flat panel will still be brighter for those situations.
If you go LCD flat panel, you are limited to about 40" unless you pay BIG money. Plasma pricing has come down considerably of late and you can get a 42" very inexpensively. Panasonic is the front runner in this class. Even going bigger in a plasma is still within a reasonable price.
Like you already indicated, the big problem with flat panel TVs that you hang on the wall or even place on a stand with the supplied pedestal is that all the wiring will be visible. It can be quite a rat's nest of wires.
If you build this thing into the wall, you still need the ability to get at the back of these things to make changes later or do trouble shooting.
I elected to go with the Samsung 40" LCD flat panel.

4doorj

oh yeah by projection big screen i mean one of these, not the pull down white screens... the projection from inside the actual tv:

4doorj

cool thanks dave... yeah for the wiring on hanging the tv on the wall.. i was wanting the mount to be able to swing out so i can get to the wiring... also i want to put wireing outlets so that i can put the dvd players and video games else where in the room... so that all the wiress will be accessible but hidden

xviper

The biggest thing I recall when setting up an entertainment room in a new build is to have enough power outlets. If I knew then what I know now, I would have doubled the number of electrical outlets in some rooms. My TV and stereo room is one of them. You seem to need more and more power outlets as the years go by.

The TV like you just posted will have some thickness to it. It would be easy to build that into a cabinet or false wall where you can have a small access door to get behind it. My brother in law has a really huge rear projection TV. He has a door on each side of the TV and can actually walk in and go behing his entertainment center.

4doorj

^yeah see.. my room where i will be putting in my tv isnt as big... thats why i was leaning towards a lcd or plasma and put it on the wall
but just scared of the life time of one of the lcd or plasma...
the big tv's i will resort to if i dont think a plasma or lcd wont do its job for a long time, i just want to save some room..... but 60,000 hours seems like a lot

really what im just trying to figure out is...
is the lifespan something i should really worry about?

xviper

60,000 hours is a LOT. Consider you watch TV, say 6 hours each and every day. This would translate into 27 years. If you double this and watch TV 12 hours a day, this would still be nearly 14 years. For me, in 14 years, I'd be ready for the next generation of 3D, hollographic TVs we'll be buying.
Now, consider that the bulbs for these rear projectors TVs can cost anywhere between $200.00 and $500.00 and may need changing every few years, I think a flat panel is worth the risk.
After having watched my LCD for the past over 1/2 year, I would never go back to anything that's thicker than 4". Can't beat a flat panel for space saving.

Look at this site. It's owned by Danny (Former) and there is a current thread going on about TVs:

http://www.myhomescape.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70

4doorj

^sweeeeeeeeeeet thanks dave!
u have definitly helped me make my choice... now to go shopping for a lcd tv

Woodson

I agree, unless it's going in a corner. I put mine in the corner in my loft, which is the only place it would go in that room. The screen sits in exactly the same position whether it's flat panel or rear projection.

koala

Since you're building your house, make sure that your plug-ins for the theatre room go on their own breaker.

Pick the tv that looks best to you. My personal favourite is flat planel LCD... but I believe in another year or two that plasma will finally "get there" in terms of what I'd want it to be.