Audio / Video Systems... AND CIV!

[Sir Og]

How much this setup costs Theseus?

[FrostyBoy]

Originally posted by Donegeal
I managed to find a 42" Plasma HDTV for $1,500 from Best Buy. Its a knockoff brand, but who CARES!?!? I HAVE A 42" PLASMA HDTV ABOVE MY FIREPLACE!!!!!

(Now maybe I should watch TV....)

Wouldn't that eventually melt?

[Ecthy]

Nice installation.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Lul Thyme
Althought the excerpt doesnt make sense.
estimated life of 60K hours and half life of 30K are two different things, and the author looks confused.

How so? The except appears to make perfect sense...

[Lul Thyme]

Anything that has a half life has exponential decay.
So if the half life is 30K hours, after 60 K hours there would be one fourth of the material life.
He even contradicts himself directly, first saying the estimated life is 60K, then saying that after half the material is gone, after 30 K hours, this should be considered the end of the life...

[Imran Siddiqui]

[q=Lul Thyme]He even contradicts himself directly, first saying the estimated life is 60K, then saying that after half the material is gone, after 30 K hours, this should be considered the end of the life...[/q]

I don't know many people who like their TV's to have half the brightness as it started out with, do you? In such case, it basically is the practical end of its life.

[DanS]

Nice setup. Maybe I'll post a pic of mine sometime.

[Provost Harrison]

Me, Snotty, Dauphin and Gibsie had a hotseat on this 40" HDTV LCD TV

[Provost Harrison]

Sorry, forgot the picture

[Theseus]

To answer some questions:

* The monitor is a Panasonic 50PHDUK. That is a commerical model, 50" plasma, 1080i at 1366x768. It is bare bones compared to consumer models, but 1) I knew I'd be setting it up with my audio system and 2) it has more flexibility in configuration. I have it set up for video using component cables; I have an HDMI board but haven't installed it yet.

[I spent waaaay too much time on the AVS Forum and elsewhere learning about plasmas, DLPs, LCDs, etc., before trying to pick out a monitor.]

Dimming is really a non-issue. People are much more concerned about burn-in, but I don't think it's a big deal. Especially in the first 100 hours of use, just avoid any continuous screen image (e.g., sidebars, station logos). One way to do that is to stretch a 4:3 image to the 16:9 screen aspect ratio, typically in JUST mode (stretches the edges) or FULL mode (stretches evenly... look closely at Civ4 on the screen).

* The components include a Marantz 7400 receiver and a Rotel power amp (I am experimenting using the amp for music). Component sources are all Sony, and a Scientific Atlanta cable box.

* Speakers are older ADS 1590s for fronts, Definitive Techs for center and surrounds, and a Sunfire sub. I've had the ADS speakers for a long time; they were THE hot recording studio speaker in the 1980s. It is because they are different from the rest of the speakers that I am experimenting with amping them separately. Oh, and there are also two Acoustic Research bookshelf speakers behind the monitor that we use when just watching TV.

* The whole set up cost, errr, hard to say... various pieces bought over a long time. The newest stuff are the monitor at ~$3200, the Marantz receiver at ~$500 (factory recon), and cables/connectors at ~$200 (all from monoprice.com). Also, I got a Harmony 880 universal remote for ~$150, which is GREAT to have (wife factor). Add in today's pricing for the second amp and the other components, and all the speakers, and that's probably an additional ~4000 or maybe more.

In the end, I am highly please. DVDs are absolutely great, and HD content over cable is STUNNING... the shuttle launch on 7/4 was a blast to watch.

And Civ4 at this size and in full surround is... somewhat ridiculous.

[Harovan]

I didn't know you're such a media nut, T. Nice setup.

[BlackCat]

Originally posted by nostromo




http://www.dlptvreview.com/dlptv/plasmatelevision.html

That guy should be taken out in the backyard and shot at daylight - those rare gases doesn't have a lifetime nor fades over time, and certainly not by oxygen atoms dissipating - guess that he slept well in the chemistry classes.

It's the phosphorous layer outside the cells that dacay.

[Lul Thyme]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
[q=Lul Thyme]He even contradicts himself directly, first saying the estimated life is 60K, then saying that after half the material is gone, after 30 K hours, this should be considered the end of the life...[/q]

I don't know many people who like their TV's to have half the brightness as it started out with, do you? In such case, it basically is the practical end of its life.

Then this contradicts the estimated life of 60K doesn't it?


The point is not how you like your TV.
the point is he both says estimated life is 60K and that 30K is the end of the life.

[-Jrabbit]

Beautiful setup, Theseus.

BTW, this fall is when the industry is pushing to drop the street price of base HD plasmas under the $1000 mark. Caveat emptor.

[Theseus]

Lul Thyme, the reviewer means that the "total life" of the phosphors of a given display should be appr. 60k hours, and thus the "useful life" of the display itself should be half that, or 30k hours.

At which point, btw, I;d be willing to sell my particular display to you for half off.