Best Media Center Display for Small Apartment

T

the Jones

Weaksauce
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Feb 7, 2003
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I'm moving to a new apartment in about a month, and I'm planning to upgrade my home theater setup. Currently, I use a Dell 2005FPW as my monitor and TV. Unfortunately, it isn't HDCP compliant. I'm planning to buy a Ceton Infinitv 4, and make the switch to cablecard. This means that I'll need an HDCP compliant monitor. Primarily, I'll be using the computer primarily as an HTPC, but I'll probably do some light web browsing.

My budget for the new display is probably max $900. I'm debating between buying a large computer monitor (like a refurb U3011) or buying an HDTV. What do you guys think?

Usage order:
HDTV
Netflix
Blu-ray
Web browsing
Gaming
 
Costco has the Panasonic 42" GT25 plasma on sale for $680+tax. If possible I'd keep the 2005fpw for browsing/etc and get a ~40" HDTV for everything else. You'll appreciate the size for movies/tv/gaming assuming you have the room.
 
rhansen5_99 said:
I would second the TV route if Movies and Games are a priority. If you have a Frys Locally there are some killer deals on lcds and plasmas week to week in the 499 range for 42 to 46 ". If you are more geared to work like stuff then maybe one of the HP 24" IPS monitors like: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824176104 for the 1920X1200 goodness :)
Click to expand...

Not sure if I would recommend him a 16:10 display for HDTV / Movies as his first thing. 16:9 so he gets more viewing space for his $ imo.
 
I'm definitely leaning towards plasma. I'm thinking about a Panasonic GT25....don't really need 3d right now, but I'll probably keep this TV for a long time. I might end up wanting it down the road.

Thanks for all the suggestions
 
A plasma at your budget would be a poor choice if you are doing any sort of gaming or web browsing on it. Even though modern plasmas are much less susceptiable to image burn, web browsing is still a bad idea. I've noticed even the higher end plasmas will show image retention after as little as 10 min of web browsing. It quickly fades of course, and there are things you can do to mitigate this, but it's still going to happen with all the static images and white space there is with web browsing. I'm not trying to scare you away from buying a plasma, I prefer them over LCD's for sure, but it's something that shoud be mentioned.
 
Go for the plasma. It's going to be the best image quality and size for the buck. Your primary usages are video content and games -- plasmas are great at these tasks. I've done plenty of browsing on my 50in Panasonic plasma (htpc) and have never had a problem. I have seen image retention from playing card games for hours on end with a stationary background, but as xFROSTx says, it's not permanent and quickly fades, so it's really nothing to worry about.

I should mention that I was able to pickup this 50in 1080p Panasonic for around $900 almost two years ago -- keep an eye out. I grabbed mine at Costco. Mine is hooked up to a htpc and consoles only, so I would assume our uses are very similar. I watch netflix, ota hd, ripped movies, browsing, and play games. I only wish it was larger.
 
Hi all,

I've been thinking more about this. Currently, I'm in grad school, so I'm not settled down by any means. Whatever display I buy, I'll probably have to move it several times over the next few years. I'm not sure if I want to buy something I can't move by myself. Would a 42" plasma fit in the back seat of a honda accord?

I'm leaning back towards a 30" monitor just because it would reduce the amount of stuff I have to move. Also, when/if I do get a "real" job, I might buy a TV then and keep the monitor for desktop use.

Still conflicted...
 
As you're using it primarily as an HTPC I would suggest an HDTV without question. More real estate for less money. Granted, you sacrifice resolution which is only an issue with really small text. I've used mine for light web browsing on my 40" HDTV and I've never had a problem reading text.
 
Yup. Even in a small apartment you can go pretty big on a TV - because the resolution is higher so it won't look pixelated.
 
the Jones said:
Hi all,

I've been thinking more about this. Currently, I'm in grad school, so I'm not settled down by any means. Whatever display I buy, I'll probably have to move it several times over the next few years. I'm not sure if I want to buy something I can't move by myself. Would a 42" plasma fit in the back seat of a honda accord?

I'm leaning back towards a 30" monitor just because it would reduce the amount of stuff I have to move. Also, when/if I do get a "real" job, I might buy a TV then and keep the monitor for desktop use.

Still conflicted...
Click to expand...


Go with a 37-42" plasma then. I crammed my 50" plasma in my 87 Honda Civic once, but I wouldn't reccommend doing that again. I had to fold the back seats down, move the front seats all the way forward and I couldn't use 5th gear it was so cramped. :p


A 42" TV, IMO, is the optimal size for an apartment TV for 2 main reasons.

1 - It won't look too small/too big in most apartment living rooms.

2 - When your living situation changes, or when you decided to upgrade to something bigger, the 42 can be moved to a bedroom or something. Anything bigger than a 42" looks awkward in small to medium sized bedrooms.


Panasonic's are good from what I've heard, but I'll also throw my 2 cents in for Samsung plasma's. I paid about $1000 a couple of years ago for my 50" (PN50B550T2FXZA) and I am quite pleased with it. Generally speaking though, unless you are a videophile, just about any name brand plasma TV is going to be a solid choice. It may just be me, but I have found that the difference in color reproduction between plasma brands is not nearly as noticable as it is with LCD's. Basically, what I'm saying here is that when it comes to plasma's, I would value features and size slightly more than the color/video quality I see in the store. The video quality difference between a med-high end plasma vs. a high end plasma is not as noticable as the difference between a med-high end LCD vs. a high end LCD. I would just stay away from Vizio, Dynex and Westinghouse. The reason being is that I've found these TV's typically lack features that the enthuasist crowd might need, like having the ability to turn off overscan (Important for the HTPC crowd) or the TV uses a non-standard ratio like 16:10.


I would definitely go with a plasma over an LCD due to the much better color reproduction. Not trying to scare you with the image burn/retention part, but like I said, it's worth noting if you plan on doing gaming/web browsing. I can notice it after as little at 10-15 min depending on how much white space is on the screen, but I wouldn't consider it a deal breaker for anyone who is technically savy. I've spent hours editing metadata and file/folder structures on my HTPC using my Samsung plasma without any problems. I could still see the outline of the text and folder windows for 15 min or so after I was done, but like it has been mentioned, it's not permenant. Unless were talking 8+ hours, like you forgot about it or someting, I wouldn't worry about it too much. If it becomes that much of an issue for you, do what I did and pick up a 32" Dynex or Vizio on sale for $300ish as a spare TV.:D 2 TV's for Sunday football = Winnar!
 
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I bought my parents a 40" Dynex 1080p plasma tv from Best Buy for $420, but you're looking for the best display for a small apartment not the cheapest. Although the picture is pretty damn good for a $420 tv.
You might want tocheck out Target they have some decent deals on 32 - 40" Vizio LED tv's.
 
Spooony said:
twin 18" Elemental Designs A7-900
Click to expand...

A7-900_ff_front_angle_main.jpg


= not a display.
 
I'd just toss out the idea of a 30" Dell completely. It's 16:10, and it's a higher resolution, so you won't be able to run any movies or tv shows at native resolution. If you're dead set on going for a small computer monitor, at least get a 27"-28" 1080p monitor and save yourself a couple hundred dollars. There are plenty of things that a 30" Dell monitor is great for, but what it doesn't do is outperform a 1080P plasma for viewing movies while sitting on a couch.
 
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