Macmini Home Theater: Part 1 TV
Posted on onsdag, mars 16, 2011 @ kl. 21.13 by david
Central to my home theater system is a Macmini, along with a Samsung LED TV and Blu-ray DVD player. Part 1 is how I decided on a Flat Screen TV.
With setting up the Macmini Home Theater, there are other components to consider like Picture, Sound and how it all works together.
New TV? Buy LED, but not 3D
Besides the Macmini () , the TV is a very important part of the Home Theater.
It was time this summer (2010) to go to a Flat screen, so I did some research.
LCD, Plasma or LED?
The options when buying a Flat TV are: Plasma, LCD or LED.
| LED | LCD | Plasma | |
| POWER - low consumption | best | better | good |
| DESIGN - ultra thin design | best | better | good |
| Contrast Ratio - black/white | better | good | best |
| Connect to computer? | best | better | good |
| MOTION - movies | better | good | best |
| Viewing angle | better | better | best |
| LIFETIME | best | better | good |
Verdict: There are obviously tons of reasons why Plasma is still a better technology, but the best BANG FOR THE BUCK goes to LED.
Which brand of flat, LED TV's are best?
After talking with some friends, looking around in forums, and product reviews, I found that Samsung is the most popular brand and has the most features for the price.
Phillips was a close second here, because they are very innovative, but the price is a bit more.
Verdict:
SAMSUNG was the best (most popular, best features for the price) in 2010.
What size?
I was looking at the 37", 40" and 46" models. They varied in price, but do I really need the 46" TV?
After looking at them in the store, I did some thinking about how large our living room is. How far away are we sitting from the TV?
At about 7 feet away (2 m), I think the 40" TV will do just fine. It is worth the extra money for the 46"?
For our entertainment center, we bought a TV & media system from IKEA (Expedit). It says it supports only a 32" TV, well we measured and found the TV opening is a few millimeters taller and a few centimeters wider than a 40" TV from Samsung, with the stand attached.
Verdict: In a smaller living room like ours, the middle of the road 40" is the best size for the money.
Which 40" LED model from Samsung?
Samsung LED TVs come in models, seperated into series. At the time when I was looking for TVs, the Series 6, 7 and 8 were out.
Model numbers (UE40B6050) - what do they mean?
- LED Models start with UE / LCD Models start with LE
- Size is next: UE40 is the 40" LED
- Year comes after: B from 2009, C is from 2010.
- Series is next: 6050 is the 6 series, 7xxx is the 7 Series and so on.
Series
The Series 7, Series 8, and now Series 9 LED TVs from Samsung are all 3D.
There is also the 2009 "B" models and 2010 "C" models which are different by not only year but connectivity and Internet options.
The C models have the Medi@2.0 features like:
- Internet@TV
- Content Library (built in content)
- USB 2.0 Movie (music, photos, movies over USB)
- DNLA (Allshare - wireless sharing over local network)
These features with the "C" models are not important if I am using a Macmini for Internet and content.
| Series 6 | Series 7 | Series 8 | Series 9 | |
| Models available as of Dec. 2010. | UE40C6745 | UE40C7705 | UE40C8705 | UE40C9005 |
| 3D | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 100Hz/200Hz | 100Hz | 200Hz | 200Hz | 200Hz |
| DLNA (Allshare) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AnyNet+ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Skype | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Premium Remote | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Verdict: After looking at the Models, the 3D was really the only difference. It is worth it? Not in my opinion.
Why not 3D?
In the summer of 2010, Samsung launched their 7 & 8 series of LED/LCD TVs. The big deal for 2010 was 3D. :(
I was in our local Elkjøp (Verdal) and they had a Samsung 55" 3D LED TV on display.
With the 3D glasses on, I saw that you really need to have a dark room to take full advantage of the 3D effects. The flickering of the overhead lights in the store ruined the experience.
Why should I need the glasses? How many pairs do I need? What if I have 5 friends over and only 4 pairs of 3D glasses?
Crazy!
Verdict: 3D is not ready yet. It should work without glasses.
I bought the SAMSUNG UE40B6050
The B model was from 2009, and was on sale. This means I got the top of the line model from last year for cheap, because it doesn't have 3D. But since I wasn't interested in 3D, it was a perfect fit for my Home Theater.
