So I've got 3 displays. I really only use two of them. I've got my LG 55" 55LH90 in the living room, which serves me very well for gaming and casual TV watching with its full-array, local-dimming LED backlight and wonderful matte (not stupid mirror-finish glossy) screen! Given that my living room is the brightest room in my apartment, I really appreciate that matte screen. And at night, the local-dimming really delivers the deep black levels.
In my theatre room (a converted 2nd bedroom), I basically don't use my old, old, old Sanyo PLV-Z2 projector and 92" Da-Lite High Power Model 'C' Pull-Down screen anymore. The Z2 has pretty much given up the ghost at this point. It's yellowed (them old organic LCD panels!), it shows banding, it's got some more-or-less permanent image retention from pillar-box bars from way back when almost everything was still 4:3. The poor thing's a bit of a mess
Plus the lamp is pretty dim now and I won't bother to replace it with a fresh lamp at this point.
So my theatre uses my 60" Pioneer Kuro KRP-600M Plasma Monitor. It is, of course, utterly gorgeous. But due to an early scare that involved Xbox gaming and the first hints of image retention, I use it strictly for movies and TV! While genuine "burn-in" is nearly impossible, I can't stomach the thought of even just non-permanent image retention on a display this beautiful.
But as almost-perfect as the image is, the Kuro has a few drawbacks:
1) It's "only" 60". At my nearly 10 foot viewing distance, I really would prefer the "ideal" 72" size, or at least 65".
2) It buzzes. Man-oh-man how this pains me. I've gone to some extent to make my theatre room quiet and free of noise. It hurts my heart that my beloved Kuro buzzes away (getting louder as the image on screen gets brighter). And while all plasmas buzz, most only do so out the back or the top. The Kuro though has no second layer of glass over the front panel. As a result, the buzz comes right out the front of the screen (as well as out the back and top), so I can plainly hear it if I listen for it at all. It sucks. Most other people don't even notice it. But I hear it. And I'm the one who really matters
3) That sucker gets hot as the dickens! Man can that Kuro put out some heat! After a 2 hour movie, I absolutely have to open the door to my theatre and get some fresh air blowing in.
4) A manageable drawback, but I really would like to be able to play videogames in my theatre. And I also wouldn't mind the capability to play and watch in 3D during the very few and far between instances where 3D actually seems like a fun idea.
So with all of those thoughts in mind, I've been preparing for my next TV purchase. I do plan on getting a new projector as well. What I like to do is set up a huge 40-42 degree 16:9 field of view. From 10 feet, that's a 106" screen. That gives me basically IMAX-like viewing. And for 2.40:1 content, I get the same image height as my preferred 32 degree field of view for standard 16:9 HDTV. In other words, it's a "poor man's" constant image height setup, but with the option to expand to IMAX-style viewing.
So my top candidate for a front projector is the Panasonic AE7000U. But, of course, the problem with any front projector is that the room needs to be dark (pitch black if possible) for the image to look its best! That's no problem for movies. But for games and TV, I really do prefer to have the lights on.
So my plan is to have a large flat panel with a motorized projection screen that can come down in front of it. But I've been having a heck of a time finding a flat panel to fit my desires!
The obvious choice is a Panasonic 65" plasma. My video-purist tendancies make me lean strongly towards the TC-P65VT30, but given what I want to use this display for (lights on, TV, gaming, occassional 3D) the VT30 really isn't necessary and the ST30 would probably make a lot more sense. It seems nuts to think of a $2000-$2500 TV as "disposable", but given my history with plasmas, I fully expect that if I game on this TV, I'll eventually get some image retention. It'd be a lot easier to stomach that flaw on an ST30 vs. a VT30.
One major advantage is that the Panny plasmas use the same 3D glasses as the AE7000U projector. Given how infrequently I expect to ever use 3D, it'd be nice to only have to buy a couple pairs of glasses and be able to use the same ones for either display.
But I still had reservations. 65" isn't really as big as I truly want. Plasmas still wash out a bit and the blacks still turn a bit grey under room lighting. I still fear image retention from gaming. And I'm still concerned about heat and potential audible buzzing.
So...finally...we get to the title of this hear thread!
Enter Sharp (of all brands) and their LC-70LE735U.
It's a 3D-capable, full-array (though NOT local-dimming) LED backlit 70(!!!) inch LCD with a MATTE screen!
OMG
I finally got a proper look at one and I have to say, I'm about ready to pull the trigger. No, the black levels are not as deep as a Panny plasma - certainly not my Kuro or even my local-dimming LH90 for that matter. No, the colour isn't 100% perfect, although it has quite extensive adjustment menus and I'm reasonably sure an ISF calibration could bring it pretty darn close. It would require its own 3D glasses. But I have to say, other than those 3 rather minor drawbacks, this might be my next TV!
I love, Love, LOVE that it has a matte screen. It's the first matte screen I've seen on a new LCD in a couple of years! The full-array LED backlight means pretty good screen uniformity - a MAJOR gripe of mine with almost all other LCDs. And honestly, the picture is pretty darn good. Good shadow detail, good colour, handles motion pretty well - and works really well in a lit room thanks to more than ample brightness and, again, that matte screen!
It's got the size. It runs cool and silent. It sips power. It's light weight. No worries about gaming on it. For TV and gaming? I think it might be just what the doctor ordered!
