Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Another TV thread (a.k.a. spend my money)

To complete a dramatic rearrangement to our living room -- basically a 90-degree twist -- I now find myself in need of a 50" (maximum) television. This is a hard limitation due to a maximum width of 48" available in the spot designated for it.

Before my wife had the genius idea of flipping the room arrangement around, I was looking at wall-mounting a 42" (or so) LCD about 9' from the couch. Now, the couch-to-TV distance will be about 15'. I realize that at that distance a 50" screen isn't much, but for critical watching, I can always either move the couch forward or plop a couple chairs down closer to the screen.

My requirements:

• Any format other than plasma -- energy requirements are too much for available circuit
• Maximum cabinet width of 47.75" -- unmovable cabinets to either side
• Economical -- I don't need the latest greatest (~$1000 max budget), but I like semi-future proofed purchases

I have always liked the Samsung RP HD DLP sets and that's what I'm focusing most on at the moment.

Feel free to steer me in any direction you like.

Peter, if you go with a Samsung DLP, you'll want to keep it at least 3 or 4 inches from the wall behind the set so the fan can dissipate the heat adequately. The 50" Samsungs range in depth from 10.6" (HL-T5076), to 15.1" (HL-T5055). At 13.4" are the HL-T5089, HL-T5087, and HL-T5075. So you can figure that your screen will be roughly 18" to 24", give or take, closer to the seating than the wall. That would put your seating distance at about 13 feet. All the 50" Samsung DLP TVs are around 45" wide.

According to this HDTV Widescreen Seating Distance Chart, the optimum seating distance from a 50" 1080p set is around 6.5 feet, and from a 50" 720p it's around 9.8 feet. So, at 13 feet you wouldn't be able to realize all the resolution a 1080p set can offer. Thus, a 720p set would be just fine and would save you some dough.

You can find the 720p HL-T5075 at BestBuy, ON SALE right now, for $899 (regularly $1200), at at Circuit City for the same price. Interestingly that's the best price I can find with a cursory search. The next best I can find is $999 at Vann's.com. The 1080p Samsung DLPs (5076, 5087, 5089) are gonna cost more, of course. The best price I can find for the next step up, the 1080p 5076, is around $1200 to $1300. Of course a 1080p set is going to be more "future proof" than a 720p.

I've been really very happy with my 1080p Samsung HDTV. Yes, I spent an extra $450 to have it professionally calibrated, and I consider it money well spent. But, that doesn't mean you would have to do the same.

You might do some searches for 50" LCD sets. You might find one or two 50" models on sale near your budget.

Good luck and good hunting.

I love my Samsung HL-S5687. The 5087 is only 45.4” wide, 32.3” high and 15.6” deep so it should fit but I’m not sure you can find it for $1,000 USD without getting one that’s refurbished.

Just one thing to note about the Samsung DLPs is a problem that some models have with their light engine. I know that the “R” and “S” series suffer from this, other models may also. Mine’s been fine but it did happen to a friend.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=758625

I have a 50" lcd RP and I sit about 11.5 feet away. I would not want to sit any closer, or have a larger tv at my distance.

I sit 12' away from a 41" X 96" screen. I love it....

If I were to steer you at all, I'd suggest you find a display that will accept 1080P/24. There is a difference between a poorly scaled 1080P/60 image and native 1080P/24 off HD/BR disks. I’ve done too many back to back tests for anyone to ever convince me otherwise.

Thanks Jack. The 15' distance I measured was from eyeballs on the couch to the front of the shelf on which the TV will go, and I'll have plenty of clearance behind for heat dissipation.

I had already figured 1080p would be overkill for my distance so I'm primarily focusing on 720p sets -- unless I get a wild hair and up the budget at the last minute....

mdrew,
My sources are currently all SD, to be upgraded slowly, most likely one at a time. I sold my 32" CRT Sony in March or April and have been making do with a 13" TV/VCR (mostly for the kids) since then. Most of my watching has been on the laptop.

Any TV I buy will be a vast improvement over the current situation.

Ah...!!! I see....

Ya, you'll be happy with whatever you get. Just don't let them eat you and have fun shopping.

Anyone have any opinions on Sony Bravia LCD RPTVs? They were introduced earlier this year. Best Buy is having a two-day online-only sale starting tomorrow and I can get a 50" Sony Bravia (KDF-50E3000) 1080p (even accepts 1080p/24) RPTV for $1200 and pick it up at a store in town.

Hmmm. Amazon has it for $20 less with free shipping.

Peter, I don't have much experience with RPTVs, but I've owned a couple of Sony TVs and felt they offer very good pictures. Yes, they are the evil empire, and, yes, they are more expensive than other similar TVs, but they've always looked better to my eyes.

Seems like a lot of sales going on right now. Almost feel pressured to make a decision, huh?

Have you gone to the store to see the KDF-50E3000?


Just buy it and save the receipt.