I've had a 46" Samsung DLP since I got into all of this in late 2004.... original bulb. Well, it's been shutting off here and there on it's own for the last couple of months and getting progressively worse. The "replace bulb" light comes on when this happens. This last week it's been staying off more than on and I've had it. I know bulbs aren't that expensive, but I hate to put ANY money into a TV that just isn't very impressive compared to the new models.

I've been liking the idea of going with a 55" for the last year or so. In my smallish room, it'll be like going to the drive in. I have a window directly behind my couch that I don't want to have to "black out", so an LCD (LED) without a high-gloss screen would do the trick. That left me primarily looking at Sony, Vizio and LG when I filtered to higher-ratings. The Vizios seem to have an outstanding picture, but some reliability issues. Sony didn't have the value of the other two.

I decided tonight (after maybe 40 hours of research over the last year at the expense of other tasks!) on an LG Infinia 55LW5600 . I don't really care about the 3D, but at least it's a passive system with lightweight, polarized, non-seizure-inducing technology. Beyond the 3D, it just has a great picture with local-dimming LEDs for nice blacks...something I never had on my DLP which bothered me.

I put the DLP on Freecycle this afternoon and it was gone in an hour.

Amazon has had VERY aggressive pricing on these models, and I was set to order it tonight (I got a Prime membership trial to get 2-day free shipping), when I saw an email that came in from Best Buy advertising all HD TVs on sale for two days. I had ignored BB previously because it's price was $600 higher than Amazon for this model!!! Anyway, Best Buy had it on sale for only $20 more than Amazon's price, but kickbacks from my BB Rewards membership will give me at least that much back in credits. So, tomorrow I'll put a new 55" LCD where that old DLP (The D stands for "Dim") has stood for the past 7 years.

It would have been a big step up if I went for a new technology TV of the same size, but who wants to get the same size when they can go bigger? Going with a 55" oughtta add awesomeness!

The only thing I regret is that if I had checked my email earlier today, I could have picked it up, and set it up where I put a 32" temp TV this afternoon... and watched the Pats beat the Jets on the big screen!

My next step will be to wall-mount this so I can lay a VP180 on the TV stand below it!

I'll post a photo soon, 'cuz I know many of you haven't seen a TV before!

Nice job on the new TV. I can't wait to see it and the VP180 in one of your beautiful photographs, Mark!

Yeah, I'm really psyched. I haven't bought anything new for the system in quite a long time!

Sweet! Sounds like an awesome TV. What is freecycle?

Freecycle.org is kind of a ListServ for free items only. It's a way of "recycling" stuff that you don't want to sell but might be too useful to someone else to just throw away.

My dad has been looking to "simplify" things lately and has given me stuff that he wants to get rid of. I've given away two TVs of mine, and (from him) an 8mm camcorder, Weatheralert radio, DVD player, etc.

I also get tons of shipping material...boxes, peanuts and bubble wrap... as almost all of my supplies come mail order, and I can give these away to people that can use them rather than have them end up in a landfill.

It helps people out, and you don't have to put stuff along the roadside waiting for it to get picked up randomly!

Awesome, Mark! Congrats on the new TV!!

America, America, God shed his grace on thee...

Yeah, now your talkin'.

Then you can add that 2nd and 3rd row of seating you've always wanted! Aweseome.

Seriously, Mark, have a blast with it.

Well, alright, then!

WTF does anti-seizure technology have to do with square room mitigation?

Yeah, I thought so.

I don't know about the LG pic - but I still have jaw dropping moments with my 52" LCD. Football is awesome - and on the size - I will go bigger on the next purchase....

46 to 55 is a nice jump. Let us know your thoughts after you give it a whirl.

Tom. I think Mark has a dastardly plan to un-square his room. There will be no stopping him then...

Fred, I wish!

I didn't have much time last night to do more than get it set up and try out some different sources. I've saved a couple of tabs in my browser with home-calibration info that I'll try sometime soon.

But so far, so great. Really, there wasn't much to compare it to. My old DLP had been getting dim and muddy for awhile, and never did have good blacks. My initial reaction is that movies are looking good in Cinema mode, standard TV fare looks good, sports look really good and a Blu Ray of Cars looked amazing.

I quickly got used to the extra size, as I thought I would. The new set can sit back about 12" - 18" closer to the wall than the old which offsets the extra size a bit.

I might skip the wall mounting and just build a quick little platform to sit it up a bit higher so the VP150 in front doesn't block a bit of the bottom of the screen as it does now.

Photos?

I figured I'd take some photos after I raise it up a few inches past the VP150!

Sure you will.

"Weatheralert Radio"
I can hear it now. "Warning! Warning! The public should be advised that there is a 100% chance of weather today."

But yes, we do want pics of your new TV and whatever you built to house, shelve, move, re-seat or tweak something-or-other. Don't pretend you didn't build something for it. Our Spybot Squarecam has picked up increased activity between its TV room and the basement shop.

I just hope the TV isn't so big that your VP180 won't fit.

I used to think LG was a low buck brand when considering all the stuff they make. Avoided LG products for years, then I bought an LG fridge. It's worked out great.

My TV is out for delivery today. The worst part about ordering online is having to wait for shipping...

I picked up The Lion King 3D while running errands today since I thought my wife would like the "regular" BD bundled with it anyway....

When the disc was inserted, I got a "It's detected that you don't have 3D capability"-type message. I'm not so sure my Denon 3808 has the latest HDMI protocol. I swapped HDMI cables to go from the player straight into the new TV and got the 3D picture, but of course by bypassing the receiver I only have the "TV sound".

For others with an "older" receiver, is there a preference between these scenarios:

a- Run HDMI from player straight to TV. Take the available optical "audio out" from the TV and run it back to the receiver...

~~or~~

b- Run HDMI from player straight to TV. Take the available optical "audio out" from the disc player and run it back to the receiver...

~~or~~

c- Run ALL of the video sources straight into the TV individually. Then take the available optical "audio out" from the TV and run it back to the receiver...

Of course, I'll need to see if the firmware on the 3808 would update the HDMI spec, but I doubt it.

On all 3 scenarios you will not be able to get lossless audio as Optical doesn't support it, you will only get the lossy cores. So in that case I would go with a or b.
Most people that have older receivers and want to take "advantage" of the 3D technology will usually buy a blu ray player with 2 HDMI out (1 goes directly to the TV for the video and one to the receiver for the sound). It is cheaper to replace a BD player than a receiver.

Mark, I've thought about the same problem with my 3808 when I buy my next TV. I think it is a hardware limitation and cannot ben resolved with a firmware upgrade.

I'm not really interested in 3D technology but i'm sure I will want to give it a whirl every once in a while...

Bruno: Good idea, though I can't say I've noted any BD players with dual HDMI outputs and Joyce won't love the idea of another BD player when I've got three standalone players now. Very interesting point regarding lossless audio and optical cables. To be frank, that's exactly the sort of thing that I haven't kept up with....! Thank you.

Anyone know offhand of BD players with two HDMI outs? It's not the sort of thing you come across in most comparison charts!

David: I too, assume the 3808 would not upgradeable in that respect. 3D is certainly not a priority for me. I didn't buy the TV for it, but figured what the heck...I might as well at least TRY it before knocking it! I wasn't really surprised when the receiver wasn't passing it.

I see Oppo has two players that are 3D capable and have dual HDMI outs. I can't see spending $500 or $1000 for a new player just to enjoy the "fun gimmick" of 3D on a couple of discs...

Mark,
http://www.blu-ray.com/players/search.php
Select Region A, Blu Ray 3D and HDMI connections = 2 and you'll get a list of 9 BD players (2 Samsung, 2 Pioneer, 2 Oppo and 3 Panasonic)

Something like this
http://www.monoprice.com/products/produc...=1&format=2
should also work although you might check with monoprice.

I strongly vote for a, b or c in no particular order.

YUP, the 3808 is stuck at HDMI 1.3, no 3D option forthcoming either. The only real option would have us owners take them in for a circuit upgrade and I suspect the cost would be prohibitive; might as well buy a new avr that already has it.

Alright, I'm going to buck the trend.

Joyce hadn't seen any 3D on this TV yet (I had only seen a few minutes to see if it worked) so after dinner I put on the Lion Ling in 3D for her.... one of her long-time favorite movies.

Because my receiver is not 3D-compatible, we watched it with a direct connection between the B-D player and the TV...so we only had the TV sound.

Still, we both really enjoyed it! I don't know how it would fare with a non-animated movie, but it was just plain fun!

The 3D glasses were not troublesome or tiring, and worked fine over my normal glasses.

I'd have to say, if you poo-poo'd 3D in the past with active systems, you may want to try a passive system like my LG.

I don't know that I would necessarily use it often, but it was fun to have as an option in viewing!

Now I have to finish setting up the TV....when I have a chance!!

Booooo, Hissssss, throw him out......No 3D fan boys here......wait he still has that square room right? I guess he can stay.

Its OK Jay, its only square 3D. Soon he'll be watching episodes of Spongebob in 3D...

Hey, no making fun of Spongebob !!!!

I have a similar situation and went with your "option B". That way you get the 3D picture and DD/DTS. If you do "option A", you will likely only get 2 channel sound from the optical out on your TV.

The splitter on Monoprice will work for 3D only up to 1080i.