I guess the main reason I'm steering away from 3d, is two reasons. First the price is almost 2x as much as a compareable non-3d model, and 3d gives me migraines so bad that make me want to check out early. Surely there are great 65" plasma displays I can get that don't do 3d, no? I'm not opposed to having a display that does 3-D, just the sticker price on the front of it.
Listen, I am just like you in that I don't care about 3D. I think it looks terrible and contrived, for what I've seen. I think 2D Avatar in my HT annihilates the 3D version for example.
That said, BMX has likened 3D to many other types of features with our stuff; it will be an included feature no matter what. For example, I would say 99% of us here don't care for video processing in a receiver, yet 99% have this no matter what; it's simply included.
SO, some of the other reasons to get a VT25? Well, the biggest for me is that it's the only Pana plasma that can properly display 24p. Since I watch 99% bluray, this is huge. It will also have THX mode, and this mode will always be the most color accurate mode on a display, and thus will always be the starting point for any pro calibrator. Even without pro calibration and SM offsets, the VT25 will offer more consumer level pic controls. I cannot recall, but if I had to blindly bet, I bet the glass/panel is probably superior to the S2 maybe with a better AR filter, but I'm not sure as I forget these things (I've never bought a flat panel).
What you guys have said about the package they are recommending confirms my suspicions that they are trying to bone me bad on this thing.. I've also talked with some people who've had work done by this outfit and they weren't at all happy with either the quality of installation, the calibration/optimization or how knowledgeable the technicians were about their products.
This is either the funny or sad part, they might not even know they are ripping you off. Many CI guys (and I'm NOT talking about people here like BMX or highfigh who give you high value in order that the customer have great satisfaction) just look at the dollars, look at it as a job, and are not so passionate about it.
At this point, I'm going to go hear as much different stuff as possible from as many manufacturers as possible to try and get a better idea of what I am going to be happy with. And of course, before I give you guys an aneurism trying to figure out what to put in a mystery room
, I will buy a house so I can fill in some more of the unknowns here.
W/ or W/o medical conditions, the room is BY FAR the most important thing. It decides the allocation of budget, the flexibility and/or limitations of said expenditures, and will have THE greatest impact on both video and audio. After the room, the most important purchases respectively are the display and speakers (after all they are what *finally* convert electrical signals into the visible light and sound that you can finally detect with your human senses; this is where the greatest distortions and/or errors will lie).
Bmxtrix, could you give me an example of a 11k installed setup you have put together for a customer?
If it was me, I'd get a JVC HD250 for 2.5k, built a Seymour CenterStage XD screen for about $300 total, build three speakers for less than $1000 that compare to (high value) $6000 speakers having them hidden behind the screen. BTW, the ideal center speaker is vertically arrayed, identical to main speakers, on the same plane. Best match, best horiz dispersion, even height means best panning possible. Of course, that's easier said than done, and I myself have just got my feet wet last year.
Anyways, we need to know about the room. Also, since 11k is not unlimited, it depends on what the customer wants. Some want the best video, some want the best speakers, some want ridiculous bass, some want high level automation (I would say that's what is most important to most well-off consumers, the automation, but they're not so passionate nor knowledgeable about AV).
