# HDTV - Living Room



## lv2pitch (May 3, 2012)

I got some fantastic advice for my home theater system in the house we are currently building in the reccomendations thread on this site. So, I thought I would lean on the expertise one more time.

I am looking for a tv to mount on the wall of our new living room. The room is part of an open floor plan with the kitchen and a separated sun room. It has 15 foot cathedral ceilings and a couple skylights. So, it has to be a tv that will work well in fairl well lit room.

I want a tv somewhere between 46 & 60 inches. I need to stay below $1000 and the only feature besides a really good picture that I care about is wi-fi if possible. But I do not want to sacrifice picture quality for that feature. No need for 3D at all as we have that in our theater.

Any suggestions of models and vendors would be appreciated.


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

lv2pitch said:


> I got some fantastic advice for my home theater system in the house we are currently building in the reccomendations thread on this site. So, I thought I would lean on the expertise one more time.
> 
> I am looking for a tv to mount on the wall of our new living room. The room is part of an open floor plan with the kitchen and a separated sun room. It has 15 foot cathedral ceilings and a couple skylights. So, it has to be a tv that will work well in fairl well lit room.
> 
> ...


Hello,
Given the Ambient Light, I think an LCD Panel would definitely be the way to go. In addition, as LCD's do not use Glass Panels like Plasmas, they are also far lighter. As WiFi has become pretty much commonplace in quality Panels, you really will not have to look hard to find a model that is in your price range so equipped.

As for brands, I really am quite happy with my Sony LCD. Panasonic, Vizio, Samsung, and Sharp are also good choices. Personally, I would go for the largest one I could find On Sale when you are ready to pull the trigger. Costco offers some great deals if you happen to have one in your area. I personally have purchased most of my TV's at Best Buy as there are often some great deals in the Weekly Flier that comes out each Sunday. As 3D is not of major importance I am guessing, you should be able to find a 55-60 inch Panel with WiFi from one of the above listed brands for under $1000. I would also check out BB's Open Box offerings as Panels are one of the most reliable categories in Home Electronics and the savings can be huge.
Cheers,
JJ


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## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

I usually agree with JJ about most eery thing he has ever written on this forum, but in this case I think I may have to disagree. Plasma can have some unexpected advantages over LCD. For starters with an attached kitchen and sunroom you may find the off angle viewing on a plasma to be better then an LCD/LED. Also with respect to glossy vs. mat screens, you'll only get glare from certain locations with a glossy screen where as with a mat screen you will see defused light clouding the screen from all angles. We can also mitigate the reflection issues by mounting the screen around eye level on a tilting mount. This will send much of your potential reflections to the ground, or at least not to your eye. 

As for issues with luminance LED does have plasma beat hands down. I've calibrated LEDs in bright rooms that still had to have their brightness cranked to even see a pluge pattern and I've calibrated plasmas that looked bright and crisp at ~30 FL even with noon day sun. That's not to say that LED is bad. They are not at all bad, and you my indeed benefit from an LED in your case. Much of it comes down to viewing habits. Light at sunrise/set. Budget (you can get bigger with plasma usually). 

Conventional wisdom says LCD/LED for bright rooms and video games. Plasma for dark rooms and for the best black levels. I'm just saying its more complicated then this.


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Excellent points. For some reason I thought this TV was going to be setup in the kitchen. My GF has 2 Pit Bulls that are staying here and managed to wake me up at 7:00 when we were up until 4am. I truly become an idiot when I sleep this little as I recommend Plasmas almost exclusively for Living Rooms. Somehow, even with the Thread Title, the takeaway I got was the kitchen. Do bear in mind since I added HDTV's to my other Forums I Moderate, the number of Emails I receive with new Threads has gone up at least 25%. If anyone wishes to throw a Benefit Concert for me, I am down... 

All the same, I do think LCD's have come a long way in respect to Black Levels and depending on the Ambient Light levels still do think an LCD still might be the way to go. Especially if a Swivel Mount is going to be used due to the weight savings on an LCD Panel.


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## lv2pitch (May 3, 2012)

This Tv is in the living room, but JJ gets a pass on that goof considering all he has done for me.

Are there any particular brands or models you would suggest? Most of the viewing in that room will be in the morning with the kids or evening when we don't want to go down to the theater, but is definitely a secondary viewing area. I do not foresee any gaming on the screen, just satellite tv and movies. 

Also any online vendors I can get food prices from? I am a Costco member.


Not that it matters, but the audio will be provided by simple in-ceiling speakers.


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
Be it Plasma or LCD, I personally think it is better to get it locally due to years of seeing what FedEx/UPS can do to a delicate Panel. Especially if you choose a Plasma, the Glass Screen is both heavy and fragile. Bad recipe for an Online Purchase in my estimation. 

That being said, places like Value Electronics do an excellent job at packaging Panels to give you the best possible chance of it making it to you unscathed. I just personally abhor having to deal with the Seller and the Shipping Company when/if an item arrives damaged. There are droves of folks who have purchased their HDTV Online with no issues... 

Also, Costco has some excellent prices on Panels. Owing to their purchasing power, more often than not they have vendors make custom models which are almost identical to the mainstream model they are based off, but usually with a few features added or omitted. This is done to make cross shoping all but impossible mostly to protect smaller retailers who sell at much higher prices.
Cheers,
JJ


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## jacky99 (Jul 20, 2010)

Ordered my TV online & it made it to me in 1 piece...


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

So glad to hear it. I ended up getting another Panel last Thursday myself. New toys are fun.


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