"Commercial" plasma screens the real deal for HT?

I have the "Commercial" version of a 42" Panasonic plasma. It is identical to the "residential" model, except for some bells and whistles that an audiophile would not use. You save money not only because some stuff is omitted, but also because the commercial distribution chain has lower markup.

Even though it has no speakers, it does have two ten watt audio amps, with volume control on the remote. They don't play very loud with low efficiency speakers, but if you used high efficiency single drivers they might do the job for you.

Beheme,

I own the consumer version of the current Panasonic 42" EDTV Plasma. I really like it. The commercial version has the same picture quality, but loses the table stand, speakers, hi-def tuner and cable tv tuner. If you don't need those features, the Pansonic is a great monitor (42" EDTV monitor <$2000). Heck, I saw the 37' consumer version at Circuit City last week for $1795. Surely the 37 commercial version would be under $1700.

I really like the Panny EDTVs for the price. I'm enjoying it even more than I expected. The picture is really good at 8' viewing distance. Yes, I would like HDTV, but the EDTV picture quality is so good that I'm glad I didn't spend the extra $1500-2000 for the HDTV version.

Enjoy,

TIC

Commercial version has higher radiation due to spec requirement, but probably close to consumer version since it's not cost effective to use 2 different types of internal organs for different models.

However, consumer version usually has the benefit of extra features like screen refresh or screen saver when still image is displayed after prolong period of time. NEC model in particular allow you to change your BNC input to component and double your component inputs instantly. There are numerous features that are not available on consumer version, but most of them are not really useful for HT use.

So to save money, commercial version is definitely the way to go.

As for resolution, 480P display is adequate when you sit 6'+ away from the PDP and SDE will not be visible.

Digital front projectors are the REAL DEAL of HT. YOu can get a nice one with a screen and a ceiling mount for $1500. No rinky dink 42" here. We're talking 92" of vibrant colors and jaw dropping clarity. The screen width is 1.85 times the seating distance. :-)

All you need is a little light control. ..and since you aren't watching 'teevee' .... ;-)

EDTV resolution is fine if you are stilling at least a distance from the screen of 2x the screen's width. E.g., if the screen is 36 inches wide (horizontal) than you should sit about 72 inches away from it (perpenticular). That way you don't notice "the pixels" or see the "screen door effect" (SDE). EDTV or SVGA (widescreen SVGA) resolutions are fine, if you are only watching non-high-definition content, like DVDs, NTSC satellite TV, laserdisc, non-HD gaming consoles, etc.

EDTV or SVGA is also a OK compromise if you can't make the extra $$$ commitment for the 720p, 1080i, or 1080p resolutions either because the value proposition for HD isn't there, or your don't _use_ your HT all that much, or maybe you'd rather put the extra $1-2k for something else in your life, like audio, the cars, or the missus. Seriously every time I fire up my lowly SVGA front projector, I forget that it is "only" SVGA. I don't feel that I'm missing out on all that much.

Enjoy.

Aaron