[snowmoon]

I've been researching all of the options that I have in the >$5000 range for a 16:9 picture in the 35-45" diagonal range. Here is what I have come up with and it's just confusing. If anyone could add/remove/correct these pros/cons that I have at this point.


My current viewing situation is a non light controled room with a short 5-12' viewing distance. A wide viewing range would be nice. I have 4' of depth where the tv would be placed. Viewing would be probaby 50-50 4:3 and 16:9, but 16:9 480p would be the format that I'm giving prefrence to.


FPTV


These appear to be ruled out in my situation. The room is just too small to support a FPTV. The non light controled room is also a strike against it.


RPTV


Cheap for their size. These sets can be nice, but I am still aprehensive about them. Small CRT's combined with a restrictive viewing angle strike agains them. Convergance appears to have been mostly resolved in these with newer computer assisted convergance. "Flare", "Red Push" and other interesting terms also scare me away from these sets. Burn in still is a big concern for these sets.


Direct View.


Largest 16:9 picture availible is 38". Costly for the screen size. The most proven technology. Great viewing angles. Very good lifespans.


Plasma


Great stable picture. 848x480 resolution is almost a perfect match for 480p materal. Still a new technology. Needs an extenal tuner. Burn in is still an issue. Very costly.



HT is something that I am interested in, but I have to consiter cost and lifespan with each of these technologies. Currently I'm leaning twards direct view for lifespan and brightness, RPTV for size, and plasma as best for 480p ( at a price ). So I'm stuck. I just can't seem to resolve all of the possible issues.


If anyone can add thier own comments it would be most appreciated.

 

[AnthonyP]

Quote:

Originally posted by snowmoon My current viewing situation is a non light controlled room with a short 5-12' viewing distance.

what does 5-12' mean? if it means the wall is 12' away, then a projector can be used, and you will get a large enough picture. Or does that mean 5' 12", then I agree it is too small.


Quote:

Plasma Great stable picture. 848x480 resolution is almost a perfect match for 480p materal. Still a new technology. Needs an extenal tuner. Burn in is still an issue. Very costly.

Not all Plasmas need an external tuner. Some have it built in, others have it as an accessory, while others need something connected to an input (like a VCR)

 

[Huckster]

Just a weird thought, how about building your own RPTV using a digital FP, a first surface mirror and a RP screen?


Most (all?) digital projectors don't suffer from burn-in. Single lens = no convergence.


Ambient light is a problem for FP because the screen reflects this light. Using a RP screen, the screen lets the ambient through to be absorbed on the other side (inside the cabinet).


With 4' of depth to build into, you can get a pretty good throw distance (~5'-6') with a mirror. Depending on the optics, this can generate a pretty useful image size.


Like I said, just a weird thought.

 

[snowmoon]

AnthonyP


That's between 5 and 12 feet viewing ( mostly on the couch at 12' from the screen.


Huckster


Intersting idea, do you have any refrences to web sites?

 

[Huckster]

Take a look at the rear projection stuff at http://www.vutec.com/ or http://www.da-lite.com/


They both have single and double mirror systems and screens.

 

[Huckster]

By the way, if you are seriously considering RP with a FP, ask about it in the screens and theater construction forums on this site. There are people here who have done or built most types of configurations. I have not so I can't tell you the horror stories.

 

[AnthonyP]

snowmoon:

My background and major reason for coming here is Videoconferencing, once you get rid of the CODEC, the rest of the equipment is more or less the same. The basic setup (my preferred) uses a projector and a TV (you need two video outputs, one for the local and one for the remote). The conference rooms all range in sizes, but in most, if not all, the closest seats are at about 5', and that is dictated more from a camera point of view then a Projector. And the projector is almost always installed between 12 and 15 feet from the screen (it obviously depends on the projector, but this could give you an image that is 6" wide).


Lighting is the only problem, and that will depend more on the projector you buy then anything else, how much ambient light do you have, and where is the light. For VCs we need well light rooms, what we tell the people to do is get rid of any light near the screen, it makes a big difference.