I am in the process of finalizing plans for a secondary TV viewing room. I already have a room that will have a 70"+ screen, DVR, surround sound, DVD, etc. This room will ideally have nothing more than a fireplace mounted flat panel.

Because of the minimalistic approach and the fact that there is no place for a STB that will win the wife's approval, a flat panel with a cable card is the ideal solution. I live in a Philadelphia suburb (Comast market) and am willing to pay a little more for a Pioneer Kuro 42" or 50", but I'm nervous about the cable card's reliability, future upradeability and whether or not I'll be able to get it to work in the first place! The worst possible scenerio here is that I buy and mount the Pioneer and cannot get the cable card to work as advertised. At that point, I'm stuck with a great TV, but I may have otherwise gone with a cheaper alternative if not for the cable card slot, and I'm also stuck with limited digital channels or having to somehow try to accomodate a STB.

Am I putting all of my eggs into one, shaky basket? Am I guaranteed with companies like Pioneer and Comcast that even though it may not work on day 1, that this cable card 'thing' will eventually work out? When cable cards go two-way and hit the big time, which I believe they will eventually do, will the USB port on the Pioneer allow for upgrades? I don't want to wait for the new technologies that are being announced at CES now to become available, but am I making a mistake?

Cable cards are already, technically, two-way devices. It's the equipment that takes CableCards that's not two-way. Cablecards do currently limit you, but it appears that they are growing in popularity with media servers and it looks like Panasonic will be pushing cablecard technology, too. Supposedly, Panasonic is working on a TV with comcast that will allow Comcast software to be downloaded into the TV. Who knows when, or if, this TV will make it to market, but I'm of the belief that this is the possible future of TV. No boxes, just cable cards, then eventually no cable cards or boxes. Worse comes to worse, run a couple Cat6 cables to the TV with the Cable line that you will need. This will allow you to use the Cat6 cables to run any type of video you want to the TV and they are small enough to disguise and hide along with the cable line. If there's access above (attic) or access below (basement..unfinished or with a drop ceiling) you can run the lines there and always use a RF remote to control a STB later on, if the CableCard doesn't work. Don't forget, you're also going to need power to the TV.

I'm thinking the biggest mistake is forgetting what a literal pain in the neck looking up at the TV will be, with it mounted above a fireplace... ;)

That is true. Though some people don't seem to have a problem with that. Esepcially on a secondary TV that won't be watched for hours on end.

That is true. Though some people don't seem to have a problem with that. Esepcially on a secondary TV that won't be watched for hours on end.
Of course, the thing to consider is whether you're mounting an LCD or a plasma. A plasma will likely look the same whether you're standing up in front of it or sitting somewhat below it. An LCD, on the other hand, would need a pretty wide (or, I guess in this case, tall would be the term) viewing angle to avoid contrast differences in those situations.

True. Some LCDs have better viewing angles than others, but in general not as good as a Plasma. He was going to put a Pioneer Plasma up there so viewing angel shouldn't be a big deal. When mounting above a fireplace anybody should really use a Tilt mount of some sort, to get a better angle.

And... in my business, I almost NEVER tell anyone to get an LCD. In certain instances it makes sense, but not too often. LCDs have gotten better, but I think by the time they're good enough to compete with the best plasmas, there'll be something else that'll be even better (i.e. maybe OLED?)

And... in my business, I almost NEVER tell anyone to get an LCD. In certain instances it makes sense, but not too often. LCDs have gotten better, but I think by the time they're good enough to compete with the best plasmas, there'll be something else that'll be even better (i.e. maybe OLED?)
I'd take a second look. LCDs have gotten much better with contrast and refresh rates. In fact, they've gotten to the point where they are slowly pushing plasma out of the market. Like any display, you have to do some setup if you really want the best image quality.

LCDs are much better in normal room lighting, use less power and generate less heat. They often weigh less, too. Finally, LCDs are great for people that wish to hook up a computer to them since many are coming with RGB inputs on them. This can be helpful for those with home theater PCs. Gamers will appreciate the lack of burn-in.

Honestly, if you're that critical of a viewer that plasma really makes a difference over LCD, you're probably a candidate for a full scale FP system.

In my case, my LCD has wonderful image quality, upscales DVD extremely well and adjusts to resolution changes seamlessly. It has a more than wide enough angle for my seating arrangment.

It sounds like you are on the best available path with the cablecard. The current generation of cablecards will become outdated at some point, but best guess is that you have a few years. I don't know why some people had such problems setting them up, seemed easy to me -- once I eliminated the Comcast tech and did it myself. Mainly had to give the correct serial numbers to the agent via phone, but I'm sure it varies by TV manufacturer.

As for the 2-way cablecards, it is extremely, highly, doubtful that you will be able to upgrade the TV to get support. Not neccessarily impossible, but close enough unless Pioneer has done some extremely good engineering. A quick search shows that your set already has a TV Guide download capability, so with any luck you won't miss out on many of the features.

Best of luck...

I've had a 42" plasma over a fireplace for over 4 years now and don't think twice about it. As a matter of fact, I shelled out a few extra bucks to get a Chief tilting mount, but I have not tilted it once after the initial few weeks of having it installed. I may get another tilting mount for the room/tv we're discussing now, however it will be a 50" plasma viewed from 14 feet, so I'm thinking that there won't be any neck pain. HOWEVER.... we're a little off topic, aren't we?

The power line has already been run up through a crawl space in the basement. Cable will come up the same route; but the crawl space is no place for a STB.
Joe, I'm a little confused by your recommendation to make several Cat 6 runs if do decide to go with a STB. Won't additional runs have to be made with HDMI/component cables? What about the RF remote? I've only ever used an IR repeater.

And let's not forget that this thread is about CableCard and whether or not this is a technology that I should be considering now and basing my TV decisions on. Anyone want to weigh in? [Edit - thanks Amiga, you posted while I was typing this]

I do agree with you that LCDs have been getting better. I love the Samsung 71F. My favorite LCD i've seen thus far. There are a few advantages to LCDs as you have stated, such as less power consumption, less heat generation, and less chance of burn in. And the new 120hz sets are minimalizing motion blur. Yes, you are right that the dynamic contrast ratios have been going up. These are not true viewing contrast ratios, though. LCDs true (tested) contrast ratios are still lower than a good plasmas. The Panasonics and Pioneers still have some of the best true contrast ratios out there. Plasma burn in is also not that big of a deal. 97% of burn in is reversible and if you notice it and run a burn in program (built into some TVs and you can buy burn in dvds) it eliminates any issues. Plasma are heavier, use more power, and give off more heat, but I would rather have the best picture quality when spending $1000 + on a TV. Gamers are a mixed bag. Plenty of them use LCDs because of the perceived burn in problem, but from what I've been reading (not a gamer myself) those who have owned a LCD are moving to Plasmas or those who bought plasmas before, but now are trying LCDs are complaining because the gaming experience is better on a Plasma. Also, in this world of only partial HD... cable isn't up to par yet and not everyone wants to get DirectTV... SD cable channels and DVDs look MUCH better on a plasma than on an LCD. And plenty of plasmas have PC inputs that can bu used for computer usage, though, LCDs are generally better choices for computer usage.

sorry about the Off topic discussion ferky... sometimes its tough to contain an opinion. lol.

anyway. the Cat6 cables can be used with Video baluns to run HDMI, COMPONENT, DVI, AUDIO... or whatever else comes along. They can be run up to 300ft (generally speaking) for 1080P content depending on the video balun used. This may allow you to put a STB (if needed) or a DVD player somewhere else in the house, running it through the crawl space. If the cable line is already run up to where the TV will be located, then there is obviously no reason to do the extra work to run the Cat6 if it's not needed, but if you're going to have to run cable, you might as well run the Cat6 now, just in case, for future upgrades. You can purchase universal RF remotes that can control equipment that is up to 100ft away, or you can use IR senders (wireless or wired) to send an IR signal to where any equipment might be. I hope this all makes sense. If not, let me know and I'll try to explain further.

Bump, just looking for add'l responses, as I'm in a similar situation. I'm in the market for a 42" Plasma which will start out in my living room. I will have a DVR cablebox in that location. But my plan is that in another 2, 3, 4 years down the road I'll be able to upgrade to a bigger and better (hopefully cheaper!) TV for the living room, and move the 42 incher to the bedroom. I'd greatly prefer to not have a box of any kind in the bedroom.

So my version of the OP question is this: will I still be able to utilize the cablecard slot on a Pio 4280 4+ years from now?? I'd just be looking for simple cable TV viewing; nothing On-Demand or PPV; late nite TV or early morning F1 races live from Europe. If the changes in tech over the next few years are going to mean that tomorrow's cablecards are not really compatible with today's TV's, then I may just opt for the cheaper Panny TV for now.

From what I gather talking to the local cable people, they are not too hot on cable cards, too many problems they say. I believe that Sony has eliminated the cable card slots on their tv's now but not sure about that. Just my opinion, I don't think the future for cable cards is very good.

slbosse. the cable card slot should still be usable in 2-3 years. It won't have any new features that they may come out with by then, but the slot should still take the cable cards that will be used then. The only issue you may have is if they do away with cable cards, but that is unlikely, even if the local cable companies don't like them.