I can finally watch DVD's the way they are meant to be.

Altalazar · Mar 31, 2004

Yeah - it is amazing how nice the sound is with surround - with DVDs.

There's no going back!

Krieg · Mar 31, 2004

KenM said:
Don't rear projection TV's need big rooms to work right? Will my XBOX work with it?

With ANY big screen sitting too close will make the picture quality look worse (the higher resolution of HDTV will alleviate this quite a bit).

The best thing to do is find out aproximately how far from the screen your viewing area is, go to a store that carries the type of TV you are thinking about purchasing & view it from the same distance.

LCDs aren't prone to burn in so using an Xbox (or PC) is fine.

You might also want to look into rear projection DLP units which do some things better and some worse than the LCDs (for example DLPs do a better with black put are slightly worse with colors).

BTW CNET has a pretty good introductory guide to the various HDTV techonologies out there right now.

Arnwyn · Mar 31, 2004

KenM said:
Don't rear projection TV's need big rooms to work right? Will my XBOX work with it?

Yes, you do need to be a "reasonable" distance away from the TV for an optimum viewing experience.

I sit 8' away (from front of screen to middle of couch cushion) from my 57" widescreen HDTV - and that's perfect for me. Any closer would make me sick when showing movies with lots of motion, and any further away would reduce the screen filling up my field of vision (which I like, as it gives a definite movie theatre feel).

If you can't sit around 6 - 8' away, smaller (40" or less) is probably better.

Newer projection TVs work just fine (in fact, great) with the Xbox. New projection/DLP TVs have a much reduced rate of burn-in, and the newer systems (Xbox, PS2, GCN) have games that also reduce the chances for this. As long as you don't leave the games on all the time (and turn off the TV when you pause), you will never ever get burn-in (a friend who's been playing loads of games, including the older Dreamcast, on his older projection TV for more than 6 years has no burn-in whatsoever).

In fact, the Xbox is designed for high-def TVs, since most of the games are progessive-scan compatible (usually 480p, but at least one game is 720p). Pretty darn cool.

KenM · Mar 31, 2004

Thanks for the info everyone.

KenM · Apr 3, 2004

I got a good deal on speaker mounts at Radio Shack today, $63.00 for a box of 5, beats paying $50.00 for two at Best Buy or Sears.

driver8 · Apr 3, 2004

KenM said:
I got a good deal on speaker mounts at Radio Shack today, $63.00 fro a box of 5, beats paying $50.00 for two at Best Buy or Sears.

Just curious what Sony sytem did you get? I originally got a mid range 400 watt Home theater in a box system a couple years. Its fine for my small apartment and works well with my Sony CRT TV.

Just interested in what ya got and what you think. Im such a tool when it comes to Sony stuff

KenM · Apr 3, 2004

Here is what I got last week: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...16587&type=product&productCategoryId=cat03010

Works great, If anyone is looking for a home theater system, make sure you shop around for speaker mounts, ect.. I love it, its in a small room and more then enough power. Lots of good DVD's due out soon, Matrix Revolutions, Kill Bill, Return of the King, Master and Commander, Last Samuri.

driver8 · Apr 3, 2004

KenM said:
Here is what I got last week: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...16587&type=product&productCategoryId=cat03010

Works great, If anyone is looking for a home theater system, make sure you shop around for speaker mounts, ect.. I love it, its in a small room and more then enough power. Lots of good DVD's due out soon, Matrix Revolutions, Kill Bill, Return of the King, Master and Commander, Last Samuri.

Cool.Congrats on the system. I got one similar for my brothers for Xmas. Since I got mine Ive been a DVD evangiliest. Im just looking forward to the day when I move when I can get some really premo stuff.