I always tell people to describe the image they have in their head for how they see the completed project. If you can't describe what you want, it's damn tough to try to help you get it.

Fair question.



The goal (leaving aside cost) would be to keep the speakers, game systems and other video and audio sources, and to update the following:



TV: from 50" 720p connected with component to 60"-70" 1080p via HDMI wherever possible

Receiver: from 5.1 DD/DTS via mixed copper and optical with S-Video switching to 5.1 DD/DTS/etc. with HDMI switching via all optical or HDMI



And here's where, as I said, "new and shiny and expensive" is the enemy of "probably good enough". There's nothing intrinsically terrible about what I've got - it works very well, and nothing seems to be in danger of imminent failure. It's just that there's new stuff that's even better, and the price has come down to the point where I'm tempted. Really, the only significant upgrade here is the display; I'm finding it hard to think that I really need the receiver update if the display has enough HDMI and component connections for everything. (I use a Harmony remote to run the system, so the ease of configuration isn't an issue.) One thing I will need is more optical connections- so is there such a thing as an optical-audio switch box that can be controlled via the Harmony?



The philosophical question is just as interesting to me here as the technical one, and it's a question that comes into play with PC upgrades as well: when do you just lay off and wait, and when do you go ahead and spring for the new and nifty? I've never made a fixed set of rules for myself, and I suspect that everyone else's rules would be different from mine; I'm curious to hear how people approach these questions, whether it's a $400 video card, or a $2000 display, or (to use another example) an expensive piece of sports or exercise gear.

I own one of the Samsung LCD RPTVs HLT-5689S and I'm very happy with it, but I don't know just how much of a difference you're going to see between it and what you already have (except size).



One thing I'd definitely do is factor in how much a professional calibration (ISF) would cost into your budget for a new display. I've had it done two times (on different TVs) and it's always made a huge difference in the quality of picture the display is capable of showing.



Also, don't discount HDMI inputs on the newer receivers even if you get a display with tons of inputs; some newer recievers that can decode the "HD" sound output from Blu-Ray players can only get that from HDMI (1.3) inputs AFAIK.

Thanks - that's good information on the HDMI.

How much did you end up paying for calibration? I've done rough calibrations myself (with test patterns and a color filter), and I've been pleased with the results, but I expect that an ISF pro could do much, much better.

Prices can vary based on what you want, but $400 looks to be typical. Two calibration outfits I've worked with in the past and have been VERY pleased with are [url]www.avical.com[/url] and [url]www.lionav.com[/url]. Avical handled my Samsung referenced above, and LionAV did my Pioneer RPTV.



The calibrators go out on multi-state "tours" so you have to set up an appointment for them to come by and do the calibration (which takes several hours) if you're not local (which I wasn't, either time).