My wonderful wife had been setting money aside for my TV purchase and gave it to me this morning

I now have $2500 for my TV purchase, which sequence would you do?

Smaller TV 46", mid size 50-52" and Large would be 55" and up

Seating position will be about 14 ft give or take a couple feet(thanks for pointing that necessary point out Peter)

Any other ideas?

How far will you sit from the TV?

About 14' give or take a couple feet depending on seating position within the room.

How big is the wall surrounding the TV?

AFA the TV goes, bigger eez better imo(52"+) but it depends on the room obviously.

There is no substitute for "big".

I haven’t voted yet but based on the info you’ve provided I’d go “large w/ BD player” based on your seating distance.

A few other questions:

Do need the multi-format capability of the Oppo?

Do you need something that can stream Netflix?

Is the ability to play 3D Blu-ray content important to you?

How long do you need each component to satisfy you before upgrading especially the screen?

I'm with Tom. I sit 8-9 feet from my 50" and think 65" at that distance would be better.

If you are going to be sitting 14' from the screen, go with a pj.

I sit 7' from my 50" and wish it was bigger. 14' away, you're going to need opera glasses.

Our 46" Panny Plasma at 12ft works just fine in our upstairs living room, don't need anything bigger. Oh yeah, and the m22's and 350 sound great and are iceing on the cake.

Get something like this if you like plasma:

http://www.hhgregg.com/ProductDetail.asp?SID=n&ProductID=22769&BrandStore=All

and still have tons of money left over for the PS3.

If you want LED, I'd go with as big as you swing and get them to throw in a BR player. I just bought a SOny BR player a couple of weeks ago for $119 on sale, so they aoe really coming down in price now.

I'm 12' away from a 96 X 46 screen. I'd say go at least 55". Or better yet, a projector. But if you want / need to stick with a TV, I installed one of the new Samsung LED LCD's for a freind. That TV has a very impressive picture, and it's only about an inch wide.

I'm with the bigger is better crowd, we're 12' away from a 73" screen and for watching TV it's fine *most* of the time but we're going to add a projector in the near future for watching movies ... whenever we first got the 73" TV we thought it seemed huge and would suffice forever but that idea soon changed.

Anybody remember whenever we thought a 32 or a 35" TV was huge?

Is say get the biggest baddest tv possible

I hardly ever hear anyone say 'I really wish I went with a smaller screen', especially at the distance you sit.

Oppo is nice due to the multi-format, and if you like jazz and classical music as there is a good selection of SACDs out there.

I was at my Sister-in-Law's house this evening and they have a Samsung 46" in a room similar to our future room. It really wasn't that bad watching TV on it, but I know I will be wanting more than that for movie watching. I hope to grab a 55" LED. The LG LH90 is still at the top of my list for PQ/Price. Costco has the Vizio 55" which has the same panel as the LH90 for a couple hundred less and Costco offers a 2 year Warranty standard, I may go this route. My niece just picked up a Sony 52" XBR9 and they love it, I have seen it in the 42(?) size and it was very good, The 52" is the same price as the LG, decisions, decisions

Streaming on the TV not required and as I am looking at the Oppo, streaming for the BR player not really required.Any way, I am in Canada and we get very little of the free streaming abilities up here, basically just Youtube, or so I have been told.

I almost picked up a LG LH90 a couple weeks ago when I was looking for a backup display. May still do it if I see a great deal or wait until I absolutely need it in hopes of getting a better deal or something better down the road.

Get the biggest screen you can. I still use my 56” DLP for some mundane computer stuff and even at 6’ away it’s to small now. Like watching a TV vs being at a movie. So if there’s any way you can swing it get a projector and screen if not get a big TV.

Just been checking out online pricing and a retailer here has the Panosonic 58" S1 Plasma for $1999, this may be too good to pass up, providing I can get one, as it is a limited number sale.

Good luck.

I love my 50" lcd rp, but my next tv will definitely be in the 58-60" range. Probably plasma, but not sure.

According to amazon, 6ave has that tv on sale for $1643 with free shipping... I don't think they ship to Canada though

I have the 37 inch version of the Samsung, 58 inch suggested earlier, the LN58B550, and it has a problem with too narrow of a viewing angle for optimum PQ. I would suggest going plasma even if it cost a little extra more.

Jay,

+1 - you really can't get a TV that's too big. I am sitting 13' from a 58" Panny plasma and it works great.

As far as your BluRay solution, the Oppo or PS3 will work well. I love the PS3 and you might be able to score some savings. SonyStyle usually has some type of promotion going on (Sign up for their Sony Visa and get $$$ in credit on your account after your first qualifying purchase).

Instant approval, buy the PS3 on their site, your next (or second) charge bill shows up with a credit on it. Works great.

Currently, the credit is $50 on a $249 (or more) purchase. I got $100 2 years ago and I've seen $150. It varies. Plus free shipping.

Just a thought.

Just got back and managed to get the Panny 58" S1 for $1998 also picked up a Samsung BDP1600 for $98 including a 3' HDMI cable(monster brand!!!) I tried to get them to keep the cable and give me an extra $10 off, all well at least I know it will work. Now I just have to get my truck back to pick up the TV!!

Now just to save up for the Oppo.....The BDP1600 will end up in the bedroom with the 40" Sammy I already have.

Thanks for all the help.

Excellent display. I didn't speak up too much during the thread, because of my plasma bias--but how could not not be bias toward a better technology?

I've always wanted/liked Plasma's more than LCD and in this store I wasn't able to do side by side comparing which actually made it easier to decide. I couldn't pick apart each displays shortcomings to each other.

Showrooms are really lousy for side by side comparison. I didn't notice the problems with mine until after I got it home. But it isn't so bad that I wanted to take the time to take it back.

I honestly canot stand LCDs for TV viewing, and much prefer Plasmas and DLPs. As far as showroom viewing, just make sure everything is set to defaults across the board to level the playing field. You would be surprised to see how they jack up brightness and color on sets they want to move.

Excellent choice on the TV. Where did you get it?

Even the defaults are not how one would want to judge a set. Manufacturers jack up the brightness and color temp out of the box. Bright and blue looks good under glaring florescents, but not in a living room. If you do want to try to compare sets on a showroom floor, the your best bet is to set them to "Movie" and "Warm", but even that isn't going to have the black and white levels set correctly.

Really, side-by-side compares on the fly can't be done to gather enough info to reliably pick one set over another in a showroom. It's best to read up on actual benchmarks tests online (preferably done by the same reviewer/site), and pick out the display which meets most of your wants, and has the least misses on things which you think will bug you (because no set is perfect).

I remember my next to last visit to a BB Magnolia showroom. The panasonic V10 plasma was adjusted to look just horrible, but the panasonic Z1 plasma looked like the best one there. At about double or triple the price of the V10. Interresting.

I remember being excited about our first 19" B&, um, er, why no I'm not that old.

Nice score Jay. I would have killed for a 58" 2 years ago, but they were just too much back then.

That was why I never bought one 2 years ago.

Lorenzo, I bought it at Soundsaround here in town, they have the best prices in town but the worst policies, no returns after 7 days and only for exchanges NO REFUNDS, but with a purchase like this I am not concerned about returning it, only getting it home!! I might be able to con a friend tomorrow into helping me out or maybe my sister's boyfriend.

Awesome deal Jay, congrats on your boxing day deal.

I really enjoy my 60"LG plasma... although I do have to put up with some glare...but for the price the picture is large and sharp. I love how much the price has come down for large plasmas!!!

Sounds like a great combo!