I wish we'd see a larger selection of affordable LARGE TVs

[boe]

Go back 5 or 10 years, compare the prices, then tell us they aren't affordable.

$1,000 would buy you a 25" console TV back in the 70's. $9,000 would buy you a 50" Plasma at the turn of the century.
You can buy a 46" DLP RPTV for less than $1,000. How much cheaper do you want to go?

Can you tell me the price of these affordable 80" TV's? Did you read the first post?

 

[videobruce]

1. You never stated your viewing distance, nor the size of the room.
2. IF you really need that large of a screen size, why haven't you considered front projection?

You don't seem to realize between the manufacturing cost of that large of a cabinet alone with the shipping costs, coupled to the fact there aren't that many homes something that size will fit into without some type of remodeling, of course it will be 'expensive'.

 

[boe]

The reason I never stated my viewing distance is because that is irrelevant as an 80" screen would be ideal for my viewing. If sat 8 or 28' from the screen, if 80" would be ideal for my peripheral vision that is what I'd want. Truth is I sit about 12' from my screen - I've never bothered to measure but I can tell that 65" is not large enough that I don't take in a nice view of my audio equipment and speakers on both sides of my screen- I'd prefer to be seeing mostly screen.

The second question is a very good question. I won't use a projector as I do not own my own place, I just rent. If I did a projector, I would want one well seperated as I've yet to test one that is BRIGHT enough for good viewing without being in a cave that isn't pretty loud. I'm in the process of moving to another state so I don't want to invest in redesigning a place I rent.

As for costs - I know what it costs Sony to make their SXRD units - even the new 70" so when I say affordable 80" I'm talking about them selling it to the public for well under 10G. Some would not consider that affordable some would. Some wouldn't care as they'd only want plasma or lcd. Myself, I have no issue with rear projection as long as it isn't too deep and looks VERY good.

 

[boe]

I want to be clear that I don't want just any old 80" TV. I'd like one with a very high picture quality. I have seen some pretty good DLP as well as LCOS units lately so I'm not hung up on it being a LCD, PLasma, LCOS, or DLP unit. Sure I'd like a great looking OLED or SED unit but I think we are at least 5 years from seeing an 80" unit of those technologies.

 

[boe]

I know Sony was actually working on an 80" TV for this year but it fell through. There were some posts about it on the web and Sony's own web page mentioned 80" TVs. Pity.

 

[highfihoney]

Im a big fan of things that are big,speakers,amps,motorcycles,tv's you name it,ive been contemplating buying a new large screen tv for over a year now,what ive found out that is no manufacturer offers a stock warrenty that makes me feel comfortabale about buying a product that has a short term track record.

I dont have a problem spending a large amount on a tv but for the kinda figures that the OP quoted i would think a 10 year warrenty is in order,especially for technology that has not proven over time that it will last & pay for itself from many years useage.

 

[Warpdrv]

Well, I can't justify buying any 80" tv, I am with boe... bigger is better, and my next plasma will be in the 65" or 70" range, when the prices start coming down, or something better hits the market.

If I was looking to go bigger then that, I would jump into a projector, because anything larger then 70" IMO would be just too big of a box.... But with my current setup, I can't implement a projector and screen period.

 

[allargon]

65" plasmas actually aren't that bad in price. 65" LCD's will still cost more than a subcompact car.

73" Mitsubishi DLP's were on sale back in May for $2500 at Fry's. You missed the sweetness. I believe they had some on sale a few months ago. Football season is the worst time to look for a TV. After the Super Bowl prices tend to drop.