TV & Home Theater

[checkraise]

I have never bought an hdtv previously, but am going to be somewhat immobile for a while, and thought I would get one for the bedroom, where I will be recovering.

I have no interest in the "television" functions, but do have about a thousand hd movies on my various external and internal hard drives, and so want to download them to watch.  My drives are formatted in NTFS, and I think I have found a product to do the trick;

"IncrediSonic Ultra Play IMP150 - HD TV Digital Mini Media Player HDMI - 1080p - Play any file from USB HDDs/Flashdrives/Memory Cards"

I am unsure which would be the best method of transferring individual movies for the player; USB HDDs/Flashdrives/Memory Cards and how to go about it.  Supposedly, it can handle the NTFS, as well as FAT32; here is a feature list:

Features:
- USB host port
- LED light (Blue=On)
- IR Receiver
- SD/MMC/MS card slot
- Composite AV port
- HDMI port
- Power supply jack & Power supply
- Reads hard drives formatted in FAT32 and NTFS
- supports hard drives up to 1TB and SD/MS cards up to 64GB
- Also plays subtitle files as well as loop videos.

What's Included:
- IMP150
- Composite Cables
- Remote COntrol
- AC Adapter
- User Guide

I am thinking that an LCD 46 inch would do the trick for the size room it will be in.  Specifically, what features are absolutely required for me to use the TV as mentioned, and what accessories should be purchased with the set?

Also, any suggestion on which "budget" lcd hdtv is available at your online store, that is reliable and has a good track record, as well as a decent picture and sound; cost is a major consideration for me, rather than obtaining top-of-the-line.

Thanks!

[Dval]

All the television really needs is an HDMI and/or RCA/Composite connection which I believe every television created now will provide (LEDs tend to have an adapter for RCA/Component connections).  With pretty much all TVs being brand new models, it's hard to say any have a good track record, but I really like the new models from Sony.  Believe it's the 46BX450 model that is the LCD version.  Runs about $699 if I remember right.  Samsung models run at $799 (46E550).  Probably wouldn't recommend the RCA 46" although it is on sale for $499.  The new Insignia 46L240A13 is a pretty good television as well.  Starts out at only $499 and is on sale this week for $479.

Personally, I'd just tell you to have all of your files on an external hard drive and connect it to the player.  Lot easier than having to shuffle through memory cards and flash drives.

[NoNoBadDog]

Many TVs, such as the LG 55 inch that I own, will play movies directly from a USB external source connected to one of the USB ports on the TV.  It plays most of the formats natively.  For those that don't, I use Nero MediaHome 4, which will allow me to send movies from my computer either wirelessly or via Ethernet to my TV, and in this instance the computer does the decoding so as long as the file will play on the computer, it will stream to your TV. 

[checkraise]

Thanks for the suggestions!  I like the look of the Insignia for the price, but unfortunately it is not available online at the moment, and the nearest box store is far too distant for me.

As for external drives, my movies are on 4 different drives, so that would be quite a hassle. I guess I'm wondering if there is an advantage in quality in the difference between sd cards and usb flash, if I go that route, for movies specifically.  I have not found anything that specifies that one handles video better than the other.  The other advantage I see in using one of these, is that my PC is in a completely different area of the house, and although I may be able to wirelessly transmit, I can't see how I would go about making selections from that other room.

[checkraise]

Intriguing!

I will be checking out Nero.  I am wired right now, but my modem/router is capable of wireless.  I'm just not sure what I might need to get to make the Nero software functional, and how I would access the program from the room where the tv will be, rather than from the pc.

[NoNoBadDog]

The LG came with Nero, and it works flawlessly.  It saves me the hassle of having to recode a movie, and it lets my computer do all the heavy lifting. 

[NoNoBadDog]

Sorry, forgot to mention that Nero will work either wired or wireless, whichever your TV supports.  You could look into ehternet over powerline, if the rooms are on the same circuit.

[pinkzroxor]

Look into LG. Since this is your first HDTV you're purchasing and plus your disabled, I don't want you have a bad experience with something like TV.. I'm not saying other brands are guaranteed to give you a bad experience but LG has been by far the best for me and many of my friends. Check out their LM series, specifically the LM9600. And for the file transfer, just use whichever memory holder you have that supports the player. For me, I use a USB HDD because I tend to lose flashdrives and memory cards easily.. good luck and I pray for your health.