I ordered an Aquos!

[pjs97talon]

Ok. I have been working out of town lately and when I arrived back home- the TV was dead. I had been wanting to get a new TV anyways, so this made the perfect excuse. I ordered one of these. (http://www.sharp.ca/products/index.asp?cat=30&id=672) It's a Sharp Aquos 52" 1080P LCD TV. I have a small closet that is right behind the area where I plan on mounting the TV that will serve as the A/V closet.
Here are my questions-
1) Where is a good, CHEAP place online(or local) to get some HDMI cables and will it make a difference between the high dollar ones and the lower cost ones?

2) I am looking for a mount to put it over the fireplace in the living room. I don't think I will need it to tilt, but if it does- then that's ok. I want something that isn't going to let it fall off the wall either. Does anyone have a recomendation on where to get one?

3) Remote. Since the cable box, surround sound reciever, Xbox, PS3, etc will be housed in a closet- I will need some sort of RF type of remote/repeater. I don't need one that will let me surf the internet on it, but I would like ONE remote thta can control everything instead of having eleventy million remotes laying around everywhere.

Thanks for the help!

[pjs97talon]

I found bluejeanscable.com. Good? Bad? Anyone dealt with them at all?

[davidj]

6' HDMI for $21.50, hmm, I might've paid that much for the HDMI cable I bought at wal-mart. For digital stuff, I wouldn't worry about the high-dollar stuff because digital signals aren't as sensitive to outside interference as analog signals are.

I bought some cheapo 12' digital optical cable to play music from my PC on my stereo and that thing has been kicking butt for the past 2-3 years.

I'd say you should be safe buying an inexpensive HDMI cable and that may go for anything else that carries a digital signal.

edit: 2 meters (~6 feet) for $24:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5855137

[Stymie]

Ok. I have been working out of town lately and when I arrived back home- the TV was dead. I had been wanting to get a new TV anyways, so this made the perfect excuse. I ordered one of these. (http://www.sharp.ca/products/index.asp?cat=30&id=672) It's a Sharp Aquos 52" 1080P LCD TV. I have a small closet that is right behind the area where I plan on mounting the TV that will serve as the A/V closet.
Here are my questions-
1) Where is a good, CHEAP place online(or local) to get some HDMI cables and will it make a difference between the high dollar ones and the lower cost ones?

2) I am looking for a mount to put it over the fireplace in the living room. I don't think I will need it to tilt, but if it does- then that's ok. I want something that isn't going to let it fall off the wall either. Does anyone have a recomendation on where to get one?

3) Remote. Since the cable box, surround sound reciever, Xbox, PS3, etc will be housed in a closet- I will need some sort of RF type of remote/repeater. I don't need one that will let me surf the internet on it, but I would like ONE remote thta can control everything instead of having eleventy million remotes laying around everywhere.

Thanks for the help!

Sweet! I've been thinking about getting the same thing. :)

1. Monoprice - link to their HDMI cables -->. http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&style=
2. Check Costco, they also have a 52 Aquos and carry articulating and tilting flat panel wall mounts. Prices vary.
3. Look for Harmony remotes and RF wireless extenders. (One option.)

[formulanerd]

nice set! the aquos was my second choice behind the westinghouse.

as far as wall mounts and cables and ETC, i get everything from monoprice.com . they have excellent prices on everything

as far as a remote, there are lots of options, i'd get a nice universal (not the brand universal though :P) and an IR blaster. you can attach all the little blaster modules to the front of your components, and they'll run to one box that has a receiver for the remote. i dont have any specific recommendations, but have you looked at the AVS forums? (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=93) that 'll get you to the remote control section.

good luck and i hope you enjoy your set!

[pjs97talon]

Sweet! I've been thinking about getting the same thing. :)

1. Monoprice - link to their HDMI cables -->. http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&style=
2. Check Costco, they also have a 52 Aquos and carry articulating and tilting flat panel wall mounts. Prices vary.
3. Look for Harmony remotes and RF wireless extenders. (One option.)

I'll check at Costco on Monday if I have a chance to get by there.

nice set! the aquos was my second choice behind the westinghouse.

as far as wall mounts and cables and ETC, i get everything from monoprice.com . they have excellent prices on everything

as far as a remote, there are lots of options, i'd get a nice universal (not the brand universal though :P) and an IR blaster. you can attach all the little blaster modules to the front of your components, and they'll run to one box that has a receiver for the remote. i dont have any specific recommendations, but have you looked at the AVS forums? (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=93) that 'll get you to the remote control section.

good luck and i hope you enjoy your set!

:eek: It may be harder picking the remote than picking the TV!

[riceboyler]

Might I recommend the Logitech Harmony remote. A tad pricy, but I've never seen anybody complain about them.

[bowlcut]

yes harmony pwn's all remotes. but the Aquos pwn's the westinghouse for quality, but bang for buck the WH is nice. Im eyeing aquos's right now but im too broke :(

[formulanerd]

the Aquos pwn's the westinghouse for quality

you're insane, they're good monitors but i wasnt THAT impressed. my brother has an aquos and even he agree's that mine is better than his, and mine was more than 500 cheaper.

what experience do you have with westinghouse monitors? or the sharp for that matter? just wondering... cause i've compared them side by side, and the differences are pretty obvious.

honestly i wouldnt get another monitor for any amount of money, i've been very satisfied with my westy, even compared to my dads (much more expensive) samsung. the quality on his side is slightly better in certain situations with certain source materials, but at what cost? definitely not enough to warrant the price hike.

as far as 52" goes, i would go with the Aquos, the biggest current westinghouse is 47". Though if you can wait till the fall there will be a 52" in the TX series :). i think i may upgrade and put the 37 in the office or bedroom.

[BenS]

Crystal and I bought a Phillips 42" 1080p LCD from best buy about a month ago, and it kicks ass. It was around $1700, definitely the cheapest 1080p I've seen. I think the Best Buy circular in Sunday's paper had them around $1600 after a $100 price drop.

We tried out a Samsung LCD, but we could see ghosting. The Phillips has zero ghosting.

[Stymie]

as far as 52" goes, i would go with the Aquos, the biggest current westinghouse is 47". Though if you can wait till the fall there will be a 52" in the TX series :). i think i may upgrade and put the 37 in the office or bedroom.

Good to know about the 52" Westy coming this fall. I just picked up the 37" 1080P Westy from Costco for $800 on sale. Absolutely love it! :D I'm still trying to decide if I want to get an Oppo player now or wait until the HD players drop more. I'm leaning toward the latter at the moment.

[abailey362]

Crystal and I bought a Phillips 42" 1080p LCD from best buy about a month ago, and it kicks ass. It was around $1700, definitely the cheapest 1080p I've seen. I think the Best Buy circular in Sunday's paper had them around $1600 after a $100 price drop.

We tried out a Samsung LCD, but we could see ghosting. The Phillips has zero ghosting.

we have a 42" 1080P Tosh on the floor right now for 1699 and you get a free HDDVD player this week with tv purchase 999 and up......much better than the 100 off the phillips =)

good deal on the westi from costco, they're blowin em out since it's a non digi tuner (atsc only) and they musta got a good house cleaning deal since the manufacturer's couldn't ship any atsc only units after 2/1/07

[formulanerd]

Crystal and I bought a Phillips 42" 1080p LCD ... definitely the cheapest 1080p I've seen.

the phillips are pretty nice too, but the westinghouse 42" (1080p) can be found for 1100-1300 :)

Good to know about the 52" Westy coming this fall. I just picked up the 37" 1080P Westy from Costco for $800 on sale. Absolutely love it! :D I'm still trying to decide if I want to get an Oppo player now or wait until the HD players drop more. I'm leaning toward the latter at the moment.

doesnt the monitor kick so much ass? i got mine on black friday for 800 shipped and i've loved every day of owning it.

oh, and my oppo is for sale :) we just had a baby and i'm selling some unnecessary things, it's like new, had 3-4 discs through it, everything else i stream w/ the 360, so the oppo doesnt get much use.

good deal on the westi from costco, they're blowin em out since it's a non digi tuner (atsc only) and they musta got a good house cleaning deal since the manufacturer's couldn't ship any atsc only units after 2/1/07

wrong, the westy doesnt have a tuner, and it's marketed as a monitor, so none of the hdtv sales/tuner regs or anything like that apply :)

[BenS]

the phillips are pretty nice too, but the westinghouse 42" (1080p) can be found for 1100-1300 :)




Sorry, I'll pay a little more for a better reputation. Do you have a kraco home theatre too? :lol:

[abailey362]

wrong, the westy doesnt have a tuner, and it's marketed as a monitor, so none of the hdtv sales/tuner regs or anything like that apply :)

This television receiver has only an analog broadcast tuner and will require a converter box after February 17, 2009, to receive over-the-air broadcasts with an antenna because of the Nation’s transition to digital broadcasting. Analog-only TVs should continue to work as before with cable and satellite TV services, gaming consoles, VCRs, DVD players, and similar products. For more information, call the Federal Communications Commission at 1-888-225-5322 (TTY: 1-888-835-5322) or visit the Commission’s digital television website at: www.dtv.gov (http://www.dtv.gov).


They are using the FCC disclaimer that is intended for TV's with NTSC but no ATSC tuners - which is what lead me to think it did have an analog tuner. A lot of sets have been/ are marketed as HDTV Monitors, but had analog tuners in them, since it can be both. I am familiar with this model and took my info from their website, which has an un-needed disclaimer in the product description.

[formulanerd]

Sorry, I'll pay a little more for a better reputation. Do you have a kraco home theatre too? :lol:

i didnt know phillips had a reputation for TV's, they sure as hell arent the top selling 1080p brand in america (westinghouse is). check the reviews my friend ;)

and fyi, my home theater is denon and athena ;)

[bowlcut]

best selling != best quality

westinghouse has it for bang for buck. but best picture or even above average picture i wouldnt count them all in there. their 1080p line is pretty good, but does fall down on any sort of signal processing. they had to drop something to get the price down, and a processor is part of it.

and why is it with tech, you always have to have the last word and always be right?

[BenS]

Exactly what I was thinking. I'm sure Saturn sold more Ions than Ferrari sold F430s, so that makes the Ion MOAR BETTAR!!

I dug around this morning and found this:

TOP 10 LCD TVS
1 Sony KDL-46XBR2
2 Sony KDL-40S2010
3 Sharp LC-42D62U
4 Samsung LN-S5296D
5 Sharp LC-32D41U
6 Sharp LC-52D62U
7 Sony KDL-32S2400
8 Sony KDL-V32XBR2
9 Samsung LN-S4695D
10 Sony KDL-46S2010
Last Update: June 2007

:eyebrow:

[Stymie]

best selling != best quality

westinghouse has it for bang for buck. but best picture or even above average picture i wouldnt count them all in there. their 1080p line is pretty good, but does fall down on any sort of signal processing. they had to drop something to get the price down, and a processor is part of it.

and why is it with tech, you always have to have the last word and always be right?

PQ is a subjective thing to a certain extent, but after doing a great deal of research both in person and online, the 37" Westy LCD (LVM37W3) is one of the best LCDs that I've seen (IMO), regardless of price. Picking one up for $800 makes it all the sweeter. It has the added bonus of doubling as my PC Monitor if I choose do so. I'd have to upgrade my video card if I do though. Many people buy it specifically for this purpose. Check out hardforum.com as there is huge following there.

I too used to think that Westinghouse was a lowend brand, but based on what I've found, I'm now rethinking that stance.

My :2cents:

[Stymie]

Exactly what I was thinking. I'm sure Saturn sold more Ions than Ferrari sold F430s, so that makes the Ion MOAR BETTAR!!

I dug around this morning and found this:

TOP 10 LCD TVS
1 Sony KDL-46XBR2
2 Sony KDL-40S2010
3 Sharp LC-42D62U
4 Samsung LN-S5296D
5 Sharp LC-32D41U
6 Sharp LC-52D62U
7 Sony KDL-32S2400
8 Sony KDL-V32XBR2
9 Samsung LN-S4695D
10 Sony KDL-46S2010
Last Update: June 2007

:eyebrow:

One possibility as to the reason the Westy isn't listed, (at least the model that I own) is that it doesn't have a tuner. Meaning, since it's more of a monitor than a true TV, it may not fit requirements for that list.

[formulanerd]

exactly, the westinghouse isnt an lcd tv.

and as far as that list goes, i bet the XBR is at the top of the return list as well, i know people that went through 6 sets trying to find one that wasnt cloudy.

and why is it with tech, you always have to have the last word and always be right?

that simply isnt true, i dont have to have the last word, and i dont have to be right, but i am entitled to my opinion.


besides, when did this turn in to a westy VS. all discussion? what happened to the aquos?