Panasonic Plasma EDTV TH-42PD50U Video
Panasonic DMR-EH50 Video
Denon AVR-3805 Surround Pre
Denon DVD-2900 Video
Denon POA-2800 Amplifier
JM Labs Chorus 707 S Monitor
Definitive Technology Mythos 7 Center channel Monitor
Velodyne DLS-4000 #1 Subwoofer
Velodyne DLS-4000 #2 Subwoofer
Audioquest G-snake Interconnect 2m Interconnect
Audioquest G-snake Subwoofer kit Interconnect
AudioQuest Type 6 Speaker Cable Speaker cable
AudioQuest Copperhead .5m Interconnect
Synergistic Research (x2) ???? Interconnect
Synergistic Research (x1) ??? Interconnect
Dayton Audio Black Chrome Isolation Cones Tweak
NRCHY DIY Power cord

Surrounds are infinitys. Not sure what model, they are small satellites and ran about 100 each.

oh yah, and i got an xbox360 in there too now.

 

300 now, but when i bought my panny 2 years ago the difference was 800.

I bought it at ultimate electronics, it was one of those purchases you make when yer girl dumps you. I knew i wanted plasma and was willing to pay more for something that hangs on the wall. living room real estate is a premium.
Anyways, the ED ($2,500) was sitting right next to the HD version ($3,300). Both being fed the same HD signal with the same channel.

Standing 7 feet back i couldnt tell the difference between the ED and HD on a 42in tv.

My buddy arrives with his pathfinder, i tell him im trying to decide between the two TV's and asked him if he could tell which was HD.

He looked for a little while, and pointed at the EDTV and said "That one is the HD!"

I figure if i cant tell the difference at 7 feet on a 42 inch tv and neither could my friend, that it wasnt worth spending the extra 800 bucks.

With the roomates moving out, and girl and her kid moving in and having my boy on the way, i finally have the basement back. Im probably going to move some of my more heavy duty gear down in the basement and pick up a 56IN+ HDTV for movies down there, and get a lighter more caual system for the upstairs.

Then eventually once the HD Plasma's made by RESPECABLE BRANDS (not that no-name knockoff stuff) gets under 1k for a 50in HD plasma ill go ahead and upgrade the livingroom TV and move the current plasma to my bedroom.

One of my FAVORITE movie-checks to show people how the system and TV perform is the opening space battle sequence on Star Wars Episode 3. The visuals are sick and the audio is amazing, the dual subs really kill your kidneys lol, but people are usually extremly suprised to learn that it is an ED after watching that, people dont give ED the credit it deserves.

The ACTUAL REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE difference between HD and ED is very minimal. Whats on paper is one thing, what you can percieve is totally different. HD (720p at least) only slightly outperforms ED (480p)....... i dont know about 1080p though, havent seen a 1080p pic yet.

 

I love the commerical on your TV in that pic. the dude with the mouth cracks me up.

Anyways, to your question... Nope.


I shut off the cable box and DVD recorder so all i got are small dim red lights for the standby on those.
As for the DVD player and reciever I use them with the direct modes. In fact, my Reciever does absolutly ZERO processing for movies.

For movies, My DVD player is the main brain. That reciever cost me 1,300, the DVD player cost me 1,200. That DVD player is chalk full of some excellent DAC's and decoding capabilitys, better than what i have in that reciever. So rather than use COAX or FIBER out from the DVD, i actually use the 6 Pre-Outs for the l/r/c/srl/srr/sub and plue those to the PRE-In's on the reciever.

So, at that point the reciever is basically just a volume ****, so i have it shut down all the video and sudio processing circuitry which also shuts off the display. And when the DVD player is in Direct it shuts off the display as well. (the displays and unused circutry are shut off to prevent any electrical interferance to the active circutry)

So when i watch a movie, all i see are the 2 LED's near the floor on my Amplifier, a red standby light on the cable box, and a red standby light on my DVD burner.

Basically it looks like everything has been shut off. lol

Wow... was that a bit more than you wanted to know? i have a hard time shutting up about this stuff.

What mattJ is to car audio, i am to home audio stuff. and i get long winded.

 

[QUOTE=WaterDR;248877]I have a 55" rear projection HD. I have got to tell you guys with the flat panels. I just don't get it. They don't save space because you still need a place for you components, speakers, blah, blah, blah. Mine just rolls right under a shelf system....shelves I need anyways.
QUOTE]

well yeah, unless you are a handyman like ol jack here then you just sink the stuff in the wall cause yer a straight up drywall slinging gangsta!

A rack for audio stuff normally has no more than 22inx22in footprint.
A Floorstanding TV has what, a 24in x 50in footprint minimal?

a floor standing TV would force me to use at least TWICE the amount of space.

A lot of it has to do with the floorplan and furniture layout.

Here was my previous setup before i got the plasma, exact same spot.


The speakers are further out to the sides, the right speaker was way too close to the stairs for comfort. That stand stuck out about 30 inches into my livingroom. now, DIRECTLY to the LEFT of the TV is the front door, so if somone came to the door and i was in the kitchen i would even have to lean out further to see who was there cause the TV was in the way.

By hanging the plasma and sinking my equipment in the wall the entire system sits about 8 inches further back than it used to, the speakers are both several inches further in, and with having a plasma that doesent suffer from hot spots with off-axis viewing and having the screen 2 feet further back it makes a more comfortable viewing from any location in the living room.

now rather than being a Dominant part of the livingroom it has now moved a bit more out of the way and overall is a bit more "polite" in appearance.

Not all floorplans and such would have the same issue, but with the way my livingroom is setup, the plasma definatly makes the place seem more open and the entertainment system is less intrusive as a whole.

 

Plasma and LCD have the best pictures. mostly because the technology is far more flexable for placement.

My parents just bought a 42in Toshiba HDTV, when standing about 4-5 feet from the TV the image looks dull, dark, and washed out. When you sit on the couch and get that on-axis viewing it looks just as good as any plasma or LCD.
However, move over might to the right, or move much to the left and you suffer from the "hot spots" and the vertical off-axis is absolutly HORRIBLE.

The plasma i have you can view from any angle, veritical or horizontal to an angle of close to 75 degrees and not experience any Hotspotting or loss of vividness from offaxis viewing, in fact, past 75 you see almost a ghost image behind the picture, but who watches at 75% off axis?

the point is i can be working around the house cleaning and such, walk past my TV and the entire time the picture looks exactly the same the entire time i walk past.

Cant do that with DLP, CRT, LCDprojection

That is my BIGGEST beef with the big rear projection TV's, in order to get the best image you cant be more than what, 30 degrees off horizontal viewing axis? and no more than 15% off vertical axis? That means the TV has to sit relativly far back to accommodate several couches and allow everyone an optimal viewing experience.

Those big ****ers are GREAT for movie watching, but in order to enjoy them you really have to sit your *** down and stay put.

 

Ok there moneybags, not all of us can afford the mansion in the hills! LOL!

Can be, sometimes it might acually be the best setup for the place. I rememver looking for houses before i bought mine and a lot of them had a TV nook shoved way in the corner, no good room for surround. that was definatly an issue for me.

As far as undoing the work of sinking it in the wall, i dont see how it could take me more than 4 hours to have everything removed, the cut stud replaced, drywalled and textured and possible painted, the only reason it woudl take that long is waiting the texture to dry before painting. lol.

You do have a point, a lot of people simply want a plasma or an LCD cause of the "WoW' factor. And i cant say that the sleek look of a plasma is not a part of why i got one, the main reason was it fit the bill for what i needed in all aspects. viewability, versitility, and for size too. While my livingroom is not too small for a bigscreen, it is the wrong layout to pull it off without it being in the way. Plus i just feel the massive floorstanders are just too overbearing. I feel the home entertainment center should fit in and compliment the room, but not be the main focal point.

PLASMA FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I guess i should have been a bit more specific.

For "BIG SCREEN" TV's Plasma and LCD by far have the best picture, while not directly better in optimal viewing conditions as Lcos, DLP, or LCD projection, they do not suffer from all the HOT SPOTS which drive me up the wall, they have the best viewing angle as well. direct view LCD and Plasma also do a lot better than any of the projection formats on standard definition signal as well.

The CRT Direct View's do look freakin amazing, but the screen sizes are just way too small for anything much more than a bedroom. And yeah, they weight about the same as my mustang.

 

Also, note what i stated in bold....