10-12 years?! I was thinking, from your comments, it would be 5 years or something. I'd probably have upsized by then, anyways.
Firestorm- Oh, I see, so if you leave a game or something sitting on, or if you pause a movie and forget about it, it'd burn on it? There's no problem if you turn things off right away though, is there?

Screen burn is an issue that I was warned of. That's why the better plasma's have their own programmable screen savers [img]smile.gif[/img] . All I really have to worry about is not leaving the pause button on a DVD and walking away for a few hours. I figure if I am silly enough to do that I deserve what I get.

I've got a 120" full hd projection system (720p). Projection is the ultimate for Home Theater configurations, but there are a couple important points to consider.

- The larger the screen you want, the larger the room you need to have. My screen is in my bar, it's a 35' x 40' space. If your room is small you can still go front proejection, just don't get too agressive with screen size. The rule of thumb is that seating distance should be 1.5x screen size... so with my 10' screen I have the front row of seats at about 15' from the screen.

- Projection systems work best in a dark ambient environtment. My Bar has HEAVY curtains on the windows, and is pretty darn dark even on a bright afternoon... if I open the curtains, ambient light will strike the screen and cause some loss of quality from washout.

- Bulbs have a limited lifespan... usually 2000 hours, replacement bulbs cost about $500.

If you can do it, there is nothing better than front projection. EVERYONE who's seen my system has been totally blown away, the experience is very close to going to a theater... big picture and better sound... without the annoyances of dealing with other people and expensive ticket prices. Including the projector, screen, mounting hardware, HTPC, and THX Stereo I've got maybe $15k invested... that's a whole lot cheaper than it would have cost just a few years ago. You can get a nice projector for $2k-$4k, decent screen for a thousand or so, cables another couple hundred... then just add a sound system of some sort and video source and you're in business.

You don't have to worry about that either. I think modern DVD players have a screensaver that kicks in after being paused for 5 minutes or so.

That sounds a nice set up Thoran. One of my friends has something like that. Rich like you wouldn't believe. The projector retracts from the ceiling, as does the screen, to cover the about 40" tv that they have behind it (I do not know why they have both ;) ) with a push of a button on the remote.

But then... the set up you named costs about 10 times what Sir G said he was looking into ;)

A minor hiccup, no more! :D

What has this world come too I thought this was the best Idea so far. Sir G at your age you needed to be out flashing your wad of cash at chicks. Not in your room watching porn on a good T.V. ;)

But if you need a good t.v I would just get a Flat screen t.v. I have a sony 32" trintron Wega and the thing is great. And the money you save you can still get a few chicks(aka girls). [img]smile.gif[/img]

I prefer plasma, because it's strength 7 and AP 2.

Not really, he's talking about 2k for the tube, you can get a decent projector for 2k and screen for another thousand. All the rest of the stuff you'll need in either case.

What has this world come too I thought this was the best Idea so far. Sir G at your age you needed to be out flashing your wad of cash at chicks. Not in your room watching porn on a good T.V. ;)

But if you need a good t.v I would just get a Flat screen t.v. I have a sony 32" trintron Wega and the thing is great. And the money you save you can still get a few chicks(aka girls). [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>[/QUOTE]Aren't free movies good enough in this day n' age? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Thoran- Yikes... $3K would take twice as long to save up from $1500 or so. I don't really mind if the quality is worse than normal tvs, and my dads making a great movie theater setup anyways. This tv I'm getting is more for just watching tv while I lay in bed (not that kind of tv, Macky. ;) ) or while I'm playing computor/doing homework. I only make $5.90 an hour, part time so I don't want to be saving for 10 months or something. ;)

I think quality is also very dependent on the manufacturer. Some plasmas look great, some look pretty average. Go to a TV store and see them all lined up on the wall so you can compare.

I've got a 37" Sharp LCD which is mega sharp - to me it looks better than the plasmas I have seen, but it is heaps more expensive for an equivalent size.

Dead pixels? Aren't they a plasma problem, not an LCD problem? I thought that was when the gas things stop working (highly technical, I know!).

The only slight problem I find with LCDs is that when there is loads of detail flashing past on screen, sometimes the pixels 'drag' a little, as though the TV can't get the data up on screen quick enough.