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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.
I agree with an earlier comment; rear projo DLP is an excellent choice for this - and is MUCH brighter and sharper than any two piece unit, and the costs can be much less $$‘s per inch. Also, compare the lamp replacement in almost any front projector - are any of them $99.00 like the rear projo’s? With the electrical usage of most flat panels vs the rear projo’s - the lamp pays for itself with electricity saved. I do also agree that with the costs of panels coming down that this could be a technology that may go away someday - I just wonder when 65”, 73” and 82” panels will be the same price, use as little electricity, be as “fast” as DLP vs LCD and also make the claim of 3-D ready right now??? You want to watch Avitar 3-D in front of 55” panel or 82” set??
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”?
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
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The problem with advice from “experts” these days is that they seem to be basing it all on old technology. With 15-20 feet and a 1080p projector which has better contrasts than the past 100” is a minimum screen size, try 120” if 16:9 if going scope a little more again. The idea of 100” goes back to low brightness 720p projectors.