Media Center Upgrade

Well, it's been nearly 10(!) years since I bought a new TV, and over 6 since I bought my last piece of A/V gear...needless to say it's gotten dated.

So I have been spending sleepless nights researching the crap out of the crop of technology - DLP, LCD, Plasma screens, HDTV 1080i/p, HDMI, DVI/HDCP etc. The net effect is that I think right now we are at a stage where the choices are bewildering and confusing, and even a hardcore tech junkie like me is overloaded.

Summary

I still don't think the technology or price points are mature enough that the ordinary consumer should think about buying into this stuff. You absolutely must have an external impetus for doing so, such as -
a) I am a google employee and don't know what else to spend my money on
b) I need to get rid of the 200lb monster in my living room, flat panels are the way to go
c) I need to make my Xbox 360 picture look better and it sure would be cool to hook up my laptop in the living room to a 42" hi-res screen.

If you don't fall into one of the above categories (I happen to fall in two of them, but not the third, guess which two - duh), I suggest you come back next year and see if the industry has gotten it's collective act together.

My choice(s)

I finally decided to buy the Westinghouse 42" LCD TV.


I bought it from Crutchfield because no store carries this set in house and I am going to have to buy it based on extensive research online (using the link above, read the AVS Forum - I highly recommend it). That said, there may be a reason to return it, and Crutchfield offers this ability. If there is something wrong with it in 30 days, the return is free, otherwise if I just decide I want the Sharp 45" LCD then I am going to have to pay return shipping - all in all not a bad deal (oh and normally CF prices are MSRP but this set is not really going for less than MSRP online yet, so at the moment their price is extremely competitive when you consider no tax and no shipping)

I also decided to go for the XBox 360.

Part of this decision rested on it's gaming abilities, part on it's DVD playing abilities (for a small time, it will be the only component in my setup that can actually output anything higher than Standard Definition TV) and part on it's networking capabilities. (Considering that Yahoo! Music Engine just released Version 1.1 which can export it's music as a UPnP source, I am about 99% positive that the Xbox will be able to pick it up and play it -- coolness factor x 10)

If you are thinking to buy this, I recommend not buying the core bundle - it's a bad deal. For $100 more the Live bundle or whatever it is gives you a lot more. Research carefully the options online, many of the online bundles are crap. If you want to track it's availability, BensBargains XBox 360 Tracker rocks.

My Research

In general, I used del.icio.us to track my home theater research.

In particular, I looked at hdtv screens, stands, and a few htpc style options. One of my criteria was to get a 1080p television. This is not only harder than it sounds, it also is frought with peril, and probably deserves a blog post all it's own.