Robert Archer
Q. I am looking at purchasing a Samsung PN63B590 for my living room. I’m going plasma because of the size, and my viewing distance is 15-20 feet. Is there a better option that you know of for the same price range? - Steve, Indiana
A. Steve, my suggestion, considering your viewing distance, is to go with a two-piece projection system.
I searched around and found an Epson Home Cinema 8100 1080p Projector for $1,500. I also found an Elite Screen 100-inch EZ Frame CineGrey Screen for $385. This system gives you a much bigger screen for less than $2,000.
The 100-inch CineGrey from Elite helps color saturation, black levels and contrast in rooms with ambient light. The Epson projector is a highly-rated, affordable 1080p projector that should be bright enough to fill a 100-inch screen with some ambient light.
A plasma will do certain things better than a two-piece system. But with the combination of Epson’s 1080p resolution and the gray screen, you should get a good picture from it and an even better picture when the lights are off.
One thing both plasmas and projection systems need is control of a room’s ambient light. LCD TVs are brighter and custom installers tend to use them more in a bright room. Where you’re looking at a plasma, you’ll need some control of the light.
If you buy this system, look into Lutron’s Maestro IR dimmer. It’s $40 at Home Depot, installs in a few minutes, and controls your lights, saving you just as much money as a CFL bulb.
If this system is too complex, talk to a local custom installer. He may have some basic packages that he could install for you.
Steve, One other option to consider is a rear projection TV. It uses the same DLP technology as many front projectors do. Yes, it’s a technology that is slowly fading away as the price of flat panels become cheaper, but it does have it’s attributes. First is that they have become much slimmer in profile. An 82” for example is less than 2’ deep, and if you are like most of us that has some type of an A/V cabinet or credenza then you could place the display right on top! The cost of an 82” is under $5k & might not be considered a bad alternative when you consider that it’s larger than a flat panel, and that a 2-piece system (flim & projector) might not be the aesthetic that you want in your room… Again, it’s another option to consider.
Epson Ensemble HD 8100 Home Cinema System
done and done then get Control4 for lighting and control
what about the light source replacement costs that will
happen with projection setups, plus having to install
the screen and projector all for a bigger picture
thats not really needed in a room size mentioned
did you ask where they will be sitting? they may only be sitting 10 to 12ft from the screen, in that case the
plasma woulkd be fine, also the so called bright room
reference is total rubbish, I watch a 50 inch samsung
720p in a well lit room from 8 ft away with out any hassles
at all, not one of the multitude of visitors have ever expressed a comment about the image not being bright
enough, another furphy from the LCD camp
But the television comes with 2 speakers and when suggesting they look into a 2 piece projection system, it would be nice to at least mention the fact that an audio system will need to be purchased as well. You had a whole paragraph on lighting control?!?!? which was not asked about, yet I am almost positive they will be pretty disappointed if they set everything and realize they are getting no sound. A screen twice as big as the TV will definitely be a better solution, but having audio to go with this would be the best.
That and I would look into a 110” to 114” diagonal if I was sitting 15-20 feet away.
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I am mounting a 65” plasma on wall and want to install L, R and Center speakers with it. What do you think about the Pinnacle Quantum Plasma 3 and 5 AND proportionally, do you think I’d be making a mistake going with the PQP3 @ 16” vs. the 5 at 26”?