Mac Mini driving Home Theater - LCD vs. DLP vs. Plasma... which display is best?

[dewser35]

I plan on getting a mac mini to drive my home theater system after the refresh that is coming hopefully soon! I recently purchased an Onkyo SR-706 receiver to replace my 15 year old kenwood receiver that is dying. I have an Xbox 360 (HDMI) and plan on using the mini with front row to run hulu and my itunes library through the receiver DVI (or whatever hookups are in the next one) to HDMI. My question is, I am going to bite the bullet and get a new TV also. I don't need ridiculous big... although bigger is always nice! I was looking between 42 & 52. Samsung has some nice ones that have a super high contrast ratio 50,000 as well as 1080p. However, there are some MONSTER sized DLP's out there that are in the same price range. I am not wild about plasma because obviously I want it to last awhile... just thought I would throw that in there for discussion. So what does everyone think? LCD, DLP or plasma for use with this setup? Thanks for the help!

 

[ant-macyourself]

If you're hooking up to a computer, LCD is the only way to go in my mind. I've had both plasma and LCD TVs hooked up to my MacBook Pro and the difference is ridiculous. I prefer plasma for watching TV alone but when other devices like computers and gaming systems are involved, LCD looks amazing.

 

[Migsy]

I vote the same way - LCD is the only way to go if you want proper pixel accuracy.

Make absolutely sure the screen you go for has a proper "full pixel" mode! This will switch off the overscan "features" and give you a nice crisp image. Different vendors call this different things, but for example my Sony calls it "Full Pixel", I've also seen "1:1 Pixel" etc etc. Without this option, you'll end up slightly zoomed in, making everything look rubbish.