I want your Opinion

**bill7621** · 3 Nov 2006, 06:44 AM

If you want to be the first person on the block to have this stuff, then by all means pay out your a$$. But if you truely want the "best bang for the buck" as you state, then wait. There's no hurry and the longer you wait, the better and cheaper they get. And unless you have lots of money and no brains, you should almost never buy first generation equipment. Give them time to work the bugs out!

**RFBurns** · 3 Nov 2006, 07:13 AM

Indeed!

One must learn to walk before running.

Become educated with all the products out there. LEARN LEARN LEARN!!!

The biggest problem consumers have with all this new stuff is that they do not understand even the simplest function of an elaborate system. You can save yourself alot of headache and lost time by doing your homework. Ask alot of questions, and the most important thing to keep in mind is this....

...what are your needs vs wants. It makes no sense to purchase a ton of stuff when half of the features etc wont even be touched.

It is true that an elaborate system may overwhelm the average person when it comes to functionality. All those buttons, all those connections, and all those pages in the operation manuals. Unfortunately we have not arrived at the "one button wonder" that works everything.

If you take your time and do as much fact finding before even walking into a store, you will be better prepared to ask those important questions to the salesperson. Plus you may find that you might know a bit more than the salesperson to boot.

As suggested, wait a bit for the next generations of items. This will give you time to look around, ask around, read up on developments, changes and updates. Search consumer product forums, read what others are saying about their experiences. 5 minutes of research can save you hours of hair-pulling frustrations!

And the most important thing......NEVER BUY EXTENDED WARRANTY FROM A PLACE THAT HAS NO SERVICE DEPARTMENT!!!!!! If you do decide to buy extended warranty coverage, ask first if that store has a service department or if they contract out to a local service provider that honors the store's extended warranty.

Good hunting!

**Abuilder** · 3 Nov 2006, 08:20 AM

I was going to suggest what companies to avoid in your hunt for the high end stuff. But I am going to bite my tongue.

LOL

peace

**blutach** · 3 Nov 2006, 08:21 AM

More and more I see of your posts, RFBurns, I appreciate your views.

Regards

**RFBurns** · 3 Nov 2006, 08:38 AM

Originally Posted by blutach

More and more I see of your posts, RFBurns, I appreciate your views.

Regards

Thanks blutach! It is a pleasure to post information that folks can use. I always believed that knowledge shared is more valuable than it is when kept on a shelf.

**LT. Columbo** · 3 Nov 2006, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by RFBurns

I always believed that knowledge shared is more valuable than it is when kept on a shelf.

same goes for cigars!

i'm a little suprised by the votes actually, thought there might be a few takers. but seriously folks, how many times do we need to be taught? remember the beta trap? a dvd on a plasma tv is excellent, improvements on this is ridiculous!

**TNT** · 3 Nov 2006, 04:01 PM

Originally Posted by drunkin_donkey

There are so many different coices out there and different things to consider I was wanting to know what you guys thought was the best?(DLP/LCD/ect.)

General consensus is LCD.

Also was wondering if there was a certin brand or model you guys thought was better then the other.

SONY XBR

Only with the surround sound I was wanting the built in dvd player and was wanting to insure it would play my back up copies as well as the originals. I am also looking into the whole High Def / Blue Ray DVD but really don't know much about them yet.

These two are mutually exclusive for now as far as I know.

Sounds like it would be best for you to wait.

Although the PS3 isn't bad at $600 considering stand alones are about $1000.

**tonay** · 3 Nov 2006, 11:09 PM

One thing to remember to is who will win the HDDVD vs BluRay battle. Will one win or will a dual format player win? My bet is on the second option.

**tonay** · 3 Nov 2006, 11:13 PM

As far as TV's the Sony SXBR will probably be top rated. But for value (quality at price) my money would got with the JVC HDILA's. Mitsubushi is also marketing new technology w/ a 6 color chip vs. most w/ a 3-5 color. Is it better (?) - time will tell.

**Chizzmo** · 4 Nov 2006, 01:44 AM

In my opinion you should never jump on the new products right away. There are always bugs to be fixed out, and ofcourse the prices will drop drastically within a year or two. Also with all the different types of media now bidding for the top spot, I'd hate to go out and spend big bucks today on something that flopps a couple years down the road and your stuck with an expensive dust collector.

**drunkin_donkey** · 4 Nov 2006, 02:00 AM

You guys are very helpfull. Everything you say makes sence.

As far as the HD DVD or blue Ray I think i will wait.

Now the TV on the other hand. I would like to get a big screen now. I know there are only a handfull of High Def channels out there but I would like to be prepared by having a HD TV, but want good quaility on the regular digital picture as well. It doesn't have to a Flat Screen ex.Plasma. Thin would be nice but on the TV. I want Quality. Size I'm not sure on yet Probley about a 50 - 55 in Widescreen. So do you have any more thoughts on this? Also is there a free site for like consumer reports on electronics. I have looked but not really found anything dedicated to electronics. Just a Blog here and there.

Thank you
The Donkey

**toomanycats** · 4 Nov 2006, 09:06 AM

Take the leap. Get an LCD Projector. You'll have the real home theater viewing experience and it is the most bang for the buck period. The prices for HD compatible projectors rival (or can be less expensive) most LCD or PLASMA TV's. Take a look at the Sanyo ( I prefer Sanyo's 3 year parts and labor warranty)

TigerDirect Sunset

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1815636&CatId=23

or Panasonic

TigerDirect Sunset

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1696335&CatId=23

Shop around for price, www.projectorpeople.com is a good outfit also. I play them against each other for price. If you careful how you shop you could probably get a projector and TV for the price of some of the one the Plasma's on the market. I use my projector for Movies and my 36" Toshiba for everyday viewing. The experience can't be beat. Most of these projectors go down to 36" and up to 200"s, so viewing space isns't a problem, just choose your screen size. www.projectorpeople.com has a useful online calculator for figuring these things out. You'll never have to worry about viewing off center as this is not a issue with projectors. If you want to have a movie outdoors, you can project on the side of your house. I take mine with my when I go motor homing and place the screen on the side of the motorhome, the kids love it.

**blutach** · 4 Nov 2006, 09:15 AM

What a great idea "cats". Never thought of taking it with me/doing outdoor movies. But you'd need to take your sub-woofer too, eh?

Regards

**toomanycats** · 4 Nov 2006, 12:22 PM

It's tru Blu, you do sacrifice sound in the wilderness, but it is pretty cool and you get a lot of kids enjoying the fun. Some people tell me it's sacrilege to bring all the tech stuff camping but if you're in a motorhome you're not camping anyway!!

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