another suggestion would be (and dunno if it would work with your room setup) to put the couch in the middle of the room facing the tv, which would create a 'tv area' and a 'play area' behind that. 20 ft away is a lot for tv watching. But yes, a 55-60" DLP tv definitely sounds like your best bet. And instead of being worried about the USB ports, plug in a laptop or an old PC and use that for movie and/or picture viewing. You'll be happier with the results, and as I said, if you get a VGA cable to connect them with, it'll look exactly like a monitor for your computer...
The brand name TVs you listed are all very good. I just want to add that we have an Olevia 32" LCD in our bedroom, that's been operating for over two years now. I would estimate that it's on 6-8 hours a day, everyday. The picture is very clear. The colors are very vibrant. The blacks are decent. The only thing I dislike about the TV is the annoying bright blue LED, that turns on when the TV is turned to off/standby. At night it seemed like a floodlight was shining in my eyes. I ended up putting black tape over the thing.
So what kind of target price should I look for after Thanksgiving? For a 46"? 50"? 55"? 60"? Thanks..
Here is a quote from editors of Dealnews, they track sales and prices year round -- We spent a lot of time comparing current price trends on TVs this year with the trends that led up to Black Friday of last year. Our conclusion is, if you've been waiting to upgrade your TV, this holiday season is the time to do it. With the switch to digital broadcasting looming, retailers will be pulling out all of the stops for your HDTV dough. If you're on a budget, consider a plasma display instead of an LCD display — inch for inch, they tend to be cheaper. In fact, we predict a 42" 720p plasma HDTV for as little as $499. A $699 50" plasma HDTV is also quite likely, although we're not expecting huge discounts on larger plasma screens. LCD prices will remain higher than plasma, but they'll still dip considerably, with generic 42" 720p LCD HDTVs going for $599. Additionally, look for name-brand 46" or 47" 1080p LCD HDTVs to hit $799, and larger 52" 1080p HDTVs to drop to $1,199. Before you buy a TV on Black Friday, consider this: Last year, the best time to buy a good TV wasn't on Black Friday. It was three weeks before Christmas. At that time, Fry's and Amazon went to war on high-end LCD HDTVs (most notably Samsung 1080p 120Hz LCD TVs from 40" and up), slashing prices again and again. You know it's a big deal when dealnews' own cheapskate editors bring out their wallets and start buying TVs. The general rule is, Black Friday is the best time of the year to buy no-name TVs. December is the best time to buy high-end TVs. Summary: Black Friday Predictions for LCD & Plasma TVs 42" 720p plasma HDTV for $499 50" 720p plasma HDTV for $699 42" 720p LCD HDTVs for $599 46" or 47" brand-name 1080p LCD HDTVs for $799 52" 1080p HDTVs for $1,199
not really a target price point so much as what you want and can afford. As I've said, I think DLP is the best solution for your setup, so read reviews (avsforum.com is an excellent resource) and pick the model you think is the best, and the right size (really 55"-60" sounds right for your setup), and then check out the websites of the electronics companies in the area so you can get an idea of prices. When it goes lower (and agree that December is probably better than Thanksgiving), buy it.
So does anyone have any thoughts as to to timing (i.e. which day in December, before Christmas) should i look to buy? And where to buy? i am leaning to Best Buy, as I have a coupon & gift cards...are there any other thoughts? Some factors in mind....we spend a lot of time at work (or traveling back & forth) & have a child...so we don't have as much freedom timewise then in other situations. Thanks for your thoughts....
I hope you don't mind, Morpheus, if I pop in with a question of my own. Our TV has just died (we think; there's a possibility it might come back), but there isn't exactly a lot of money in the bank and we can't afford anything much more than CDN$500; $699 would probably be just pushing it. From the small amount of browsing online, that looks to mean a 720p set. Is it really such a crappy deal if we got one of those instead of a 1080? We aren't looking at a Blu-Ray player in the near future, so right now it would only be up-converting from a standard DVD player. ETA: Oh, and it would be a 30-35" screen. Don't really need bigger than that.
^ Honestly, 1080p on anything smaller then 40" is totally useless (unless you're gonna be watching it from like four feet away). So yeah, get a 720p set and don't worry about it.
When I was buying a new tv, a friend of mine told me to avoid the tv's that have a shiny frame because it reflects from the screen and is distracting.
hey I have a dumb question, is there any way to hook up speakers to a plasma/lcd without having to use one of those audio recievers? My grandparents just moved in with us & I will no longer be able to listen to music from the computer in the living room, I will have to go to my bedroom & use my dvd player(I use cds). I have a regular tube tv now but I might get a plasma later this year.