Best Mixer for podcast?

- I basically need to record 4 hosts (ideally in 4 separate audio editing channels)
- Record sound FX/audio clips via iTunes in a separate editable channel.
- And Skype Calls - again ideally separately.
My budget is around $250 max. I'm fine with any of this being acheived with the help of software also.

The best place to ask about this would be in the GarageBand forum: there are a number of people there who can give you detailed advice.

Similar Messages

Best mic for Podcasting using Garageband

Hey
I was just wondering which mic would be best for podcasting with garageband. Plus will I need two mics for a two person podcast?
See ya
Bevan James Eyles

Is there really that much of a difference in
bandwidth speed between Firewire 400 and USB 2.0?
You'd have to do some web research to get solid numbers. I know what I've read, and experienced, and FireWire moves more data more easily. On paper, I believe USB 2.0 is speced to be faster (480mbs vs 400mbs), but with FireWire handling all it's own smarts in moving data, it just does a better job in the REal World.
guess I didn't think that with USB, bandwidth would
be something to consider, unless you are talking
Firewire 800 which most machines don't come with.
My opinion is that it really depends how far you are going to push the machine and GB. I'm working on a 52 or 53 track project, I need every bit and every cycle I can get (and it's playing fine via my FireWire drive)
I have to admit, I am kind of curious now ... maybe when I get a chance I'll try copying the project to a USB drive and see if it can still play it. If it can, perhaps the difference is small enough that it doesn't matter. Probably the REAL test, which I'm doubtful I'll tackle, would be pushing the project to just the point where it will play from the FW drive (iow, one more track and it can't), and then move that to the USB drive. Not perfectly scientific (fragmentation could be an issue, etc), but it would be interesting to try.
On the USB/Firewire using CPU issue, that I didn't
think about. I guess in some situations it might be
an issue, but again, for audio podcasting I just
didn't take that into consideration.
Yeah, for a PodCast, how many tracks are you REALLY going to create, half dozen tops? Maybe a few more for special-special effects, but they won't be playing through the entire cast, so, agreed, it's not likely to be an issue on a small project.
As far as one being better, or "cleaner" as an input
device, have there been any tests and results posted
on this? I would like to see that if there were.
The bus is not going to make a difference. All USB and FireWire are doing is moving the data, not changing it. Th quality comes from the Mic PREs and line-level preamps, the A/D converters, the mic you're using (the room...)
Thanks for your knowledge on all this.
Hope this helped --HangTime [Will Compute for Food] B-|>

Mixer for podcast ADVICE

Need a Mixer recommendation.
- I basically need to record 4 hosts (ideally in 4 separate audio editing channels)
- Record sound FX/audio clips via iTunes in a separate editable channel.
- And Skype Calls - again ideally separately.
My budget is around $250 max. I'm fine with any of this being acheived with the help of software also.

The best place to ask about this would be in the GarageBand forum: there are a number of people there who can give you detailed advice.

Best quality for podcasts???? which export mode??

I was wondering how to maintain the quality of the DV footage. It looks great in the viewer but then when I export it and upload it, the footage loses a ton of quality. I have been using the quicktime conversion and exporting the movie as a JPEG-4...ANY SUGGESTIONS??

You can try using Quick time movie with codec H.264, data rate at 2Mbit/s (or 1.8Mbit/s if you want to reduce the file size), choosing a video size that fits and keeps the aspect ratio you want for the web.
Regards,
Armando.

Best settings for a HD podcast

I am doing a instructional guitar series on Delta Blues.
I am using compressor to output as a .m4v file.
I see other HD videos on iTunes in the .mov format
and wonder if I am making a mistake by using m4v.
Thanks
Kevin

In my experience, the best production values of a podcast right now are seen in one called fxguidetv. It's shot on a combination of HVX200s and the Red One. They deliver in half-HD — 960x540 — in 24p encoded as H.264 at around 1.2 Mbps. That comes out to about 100 MB for a twelve-minute episode.
I know they use Compressor. I'd recommend creating a preset (or droplet, if you prefer) that downscales to 960x540 with frame controls on, using the "best" setting for resizing. It'll be slow, but the results are outstanding.
Also, make sure you're shooting in 24p, or a format like 24psf that can be converted to 24p in Final Cut. It'll look better when you deliver, and since it's only 24 frames per second, you'll be transmitting twenty percent less data to each viewer, for faster download times and lower bandwidth bills.

Best settings for mixed codec doco project

Hi
Please forgive me for asking what I am sure has been asked before, but having done a few searches I was still unsure as to what is the best approach for this project.
I have just come over to FCP from Avid (hence knowing very little about FCP), and have a documentary project that I want to cut in FCP.
It was mostly shot on XDcam EX 1080/25p 35mbps, but there is a fair amount of B camera footage that is DVCProHD 1080/25p 100mbps
The general concensus seems to be to open a project in the format that is most prevalent i.e XDcam EX.
As this project is only going to be offlined in this system, and then conformed elsewhere, and as I would like to be able to have all the media on one drive so I can cut on the workstation and on my laptop where necessary, it seems sensible to use a more compressed offline res as there is well over 100 hours of footage.
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated as I don't want to cut in a codec/format that is just going to give me headaches when it comes to doing the conform, or during the edit got that matter.
Cheers
Adam
Specs:
Workstation - 2 x 2.4GHZ quad core Xeon, 16GB ram, 1TB system, 2TB primary scratch, 4TB external media drive (shared with laptop)
Laptop - 2.8ghz core i7, 8GB ram, 500GB internal drive, 4TB external media drive (shared with workstation)
FCP 7.0.3 running on systems

>it seems sensible to use a more compressed offline res as there is well over 100 hours of footage.
Sorry Avid-man...going to have to let go of your "offline/online" workflow ideals. There is no offline in FCP. Well, it is best if there isn't. You will...SHOULD...be working with XDCAM and DVCPRO HD at full resolution. So your cut will then just be color corrected. 100 hours of XDCAM is 1.7TB. 100 hours of DVCPRO HD is well...5.4T TB...but you will have a mixture of the two. I had 80 hours of DVCPRO HD and all that fit on 2TB...but then again, that was at 720p. Still...unless you REALLY know what you are doing...unless you have an FCP expert on staff...do not offline/online.
ANYWAY...I don't know who this "General Consensus" is, but they are WRONG. They couldn't be wronger if they wanted to be wrong about being wrong. Well, they are wrong. NEVER edit ANYTHING that is not XDCAM in an XDCAM sequence...not unless you like crashing a lot...and then blaming FCP for sucking and not being as good as an Avid....because you will do that if you follow this General person's advice.
No...Use a ProRes sequence setting, and edit both on that. XDCAM is a GOP format...no real frames...just a group of pictures. So if you throw a real frame format onto that...crash city. But use ProRes...and you will be fine.
So use both formats natively...don't try to go offline/online. And edit both in a ProRes sequence.

Mic choice for podcasting in GB3

I'm assembling hardware to create a podcast and am having a heck of a time finding a microphone that will work with GarageBand 3 and a PowerBook G4. Regardless of whether I plug the mic directly into the input or into iMic and then FireWire, the levels produced barely register in System Preferences/Sound or in GB and are way too low. I'm able to boost the vocals somewhat in GB, but the resulting hiss is unacceptable.
I'm using an Audio-Technica Pro24 stereo mic rated at 600 ohms. Could the problem be that even with iMic, I need a mic with higher impedence?
Is the best solution to buy an amplifier?
-- Leigh
PowerBook Mac OS X (10.4.6)
iMac

Since your PowerBook has a Line-In I'd suggest a better solution than an iMic would be a small mixer like the Behringer UB502 Eurorack Mixer for about $30. It will give you a lot more control over the levels.
--HangTime [Will Compute for Food] B-|>
Note: I am an Amazon Associate, if you purchase this item via my link I will get a small commission)

Recording conversations for podcast

Hi everyone,
I want to record interviews using Skype and eventually put on my website as well as for podcasts. I have the latest version of Mac OS and Skype.
My priority is, ease of use (installation, changing any settings--apple and other apps).
What apps will I use (Garage Band, Quick Time) and which ones are easiest to use.
Does anyone know, if me and the other person have Skype, can the other person use the mic on their computer, or do they have to have a headset w/mic or use their phone?
Of course would perfer free apps, but if it's significantly easier to pay $20 or so than would rather do that.
Thanks so much and Happy New Year.

Your best bet is probably Skype Call Recorder - I've not tried it but it is designed to do what you want. When you've made your recording you can use GarageBand or an audio editor such as Audacity or Amadeus Light to edit it and make an mp3 file.
As to the actual recording, I get quite good quality off the internal mics on my Macs, but your would need to experiment. A decent mic would be better but good ones aren't cheap: remember that the audio input on Macs does not work with microphones directly - you need a preamplifier, a mixer, or to use a USB-connected mic.
Headset microphones tend to be poor quality, and you can get noise if the brush against clothing or the face. However both ends should definitely use headphones to hear each other, or you will get echoes.
If you want to make a podcast this page, which gives basic information, may be of help:
http://rfwilmut.net/pc

Best practices for ARM - please help!!!

Hi all,
Can you please help with any pointers / links to documents describing best practices for "who should be creating" the GRC request in below workflow of ARM in GRC 10.0??
Create GRC request -> role approver -> risk manager -> security team
options are : end user / Manager / Functional super users / security team.
End user and manager not possible- we can not train so many people. Functional team is refusing since its a lot of work. Please help me with pointers to any best practices documents.
Thanks!!!!

In this case, I recommend proposing that the department managers create GRC Access Requests. In order for the managers to comprehend the new process, you should create a separate "Role Catalog" that describes what abilities each role enables. This Role Catalog needs to be taught to the department Managers, and they need to fully understand what tcodes and abilities are inside of each role. From your workflow design, it looks like Role Owners should be brought into these workshops.
You might consider a Role Catalog that the manager could filter on and make selections from. For example, an AP manager could select "Accounts Payable" roles, and then choose from a smaller list of AP-related roles. You could map business functions or tasks to specific technical roles. The design flaw here, of course, is the way your technical roles have been designed.
The point being, GRC AC 10 is not business-user friendly, so using an intuitive "Role Catalog" really helps the managers understand which technical roles they should be selecting in GRC ARs. They can use this catalog to spit out a list of technical role names that they can then search for within the GRC Access Request.
At all costs, avoid having end-users create ARs. They usually select the wrong access, and the process then becomes very long and drawn out because the role owners or security stages need to mix and match the access after the fact. You should choose a Requestor who has the highest chance of requesting the correct access. This is usually the user's Manager, but you need to propose this solution in a way that won't scare off the manager - at the end of the day, they do NOT want to take on more work.
If you are using SAP HR, then you can attempt HR Triggers for New User Access Requests, which automatically fill out and submit the GRC AR upon a specific HR action (New Hire, or Termination). I do not recommend going down this path, however. It is very confusing, time consuming, and difficult to integrate properly.
Good luck!
-Ken

Best practices for setting up projects

We recently adopted using Captivate for our WBT modules.
As a former Flash and Director user, I can say it’s
fast and does some great things. Doesn’t play so nice with
others on different occasions, but I’m learning. This forum
has been a great source for search and read on specific topics.
I’m trying to understand best practices for using this
product. We’ve had some problems with file size and
incorporating audio and video into our projects. Fortunately, the
forum has helped a lot with that. What I haven’t found a lot
of information on is good or better ways to set up individual
files, use multiple files and publish projects. We’ve decided
to go the route of putting standalones on our Intranet. My gut says
yuck, but for our situation I have yet to find a better way.
My question for discussion, then is: what are some best
practices for setting up individual files, using multiple files and
publishing projects? Any references or input on this would be
appreciated.

Hi,
Here are some of my suggestions:
1) Set up a style guide for all your standard slides. Eg.
Title slide, Index slide, chapter slide, end slide, screen capture,
non-screen capture, quizzes etc. This makes life a lot easier.
2) Create your own buttons and captions. The standard ones
are pretty ordinary, and it's hard to get a slick looking style
happening with the standard captions. They are pretty easy to
create (search for add print button to learn how to create
buttons). There should instructions on how to customise captions
somewhere on this forum. Customising means that you can also use
words, symbols, colours unique to your organisation.
3) Google elearning providers. Most use captivate and will
allow you to open samples or temporarily view selected modules.
This will give you great insight on what not to do and some good
ideas on what works well.
4) Timings: Using the above research, I got others to
complete the sample modules to get a feel for timings. The results
were clear, 10 mins good, 15 mins okay, 20 mins kind of okay, 30
mins bad, bad, bad. It's truly better to have a learner complete
2-3 short modules in 30 mins than one big monster. The other
benefit is that shorter files equal smaller size.
5) Narration: It's best to narrate each slide individually
(particularly for screen capture slides). You are more likely to
get it right on the first take, it's easier to edit and you don't
have to re-record the whole thing if you need to update it in
future. To get a slicker effect, use at least two voices: one male,
one female and use slightly different accents.
6) Screen capture slides: If you are recording filling out
long window based databse pages where the compulsory fields are
marked (eg. with a red asterisk) - you don't need to show how to
fill out every field. It's much easier for the learner (and you) to
show how to fill out the first few fields, then fade the screen
capture out, fade the end of the form in with the instructions on
what to do next. This will reduce your file size. In one of my
forms, this meant the removal of about 18 slides!
7) Auto captions: they are verbose (eg. 'Click on Print
Button' instead of 'Click Print'; 'Select the Print Preview item'
instead of 'Select Print Preview'). You have to edit them.
8) PC training syntax: Buttons and hyperlinks should normally
be 'click'; selections from drop down boxes or file lists are
normally 'select': Captivate sometimes mixes them up. Instructions
should always be written in the correct order: eg. Good: Click
'File', Select 'Print Preview'; Bad: Select 'Print Preview' from
the 'File Menu'. Button names, hyperlinks, selections are normally
written in bold
9) Instruction syntax: should always be written in an active
voice: eg. 'Click Options to open the printer menu' instead of
'When the Options button is clicked on, the printer menu will open'
10) Break all modules into chapters. Frame each chapter with
a chapter slide. It's also a good idea to show the Index page
before each chapter slide with a progress indicator (I use an
animated arrow to flash next to the name of the next chapter), I
use a start button rather a 'next' button for the start of each
chapter. You should always have a module overview with the purpose
of the course and a summary slide which states what was covered and
they have complete the module.
11) Put a transparent click button somewhere on each slide.
Set the properties of the click box to take the learner back to the
start of the current chapter by pressing F2. This allows them to
jump back to the start of their chapter at any time. You can also
do a similar thing on the index pages which jumps them to another
chapter.
12) Recording video capture: best to do it at normal speed
and be concious of where your mouse is. Minimise your clicks. Most
people (until they start working with captivate) are sloppy with
their mouse and you end up with lots of unnecessarily slides that
you have to delete out. The speed will default to how you recorded
it and this will reduce the amount of time you spend on changing
timings.
13) Captions: My rule of thumb is minimum of 4 seconds - and
longer depending on the amount of words. Eg. Click 'Print Preview'
is 4 seconds, a paragraph is longer. If you creating knowledge
based modules, make the timing long (eg. 2-3 minutes) and put in a
next button so that the learner can click when they are ready.
Also, narration means the slides will normally be slightly longer.
14) Be creative: Capitvate is desk bound. There are some
learners that just don't respond no matter how interactive
Captivate can be. Incorporate non-captivate and desk free
activities. Eg. As part of our OHS module, there is an activity
where the learner has to print off the floor plan, and then wander
around the floor marking on th emap key items such as: fire exits;
first aid kit, broom and mop cupboard, stationary cupboard, etc.
Good luck!

Best practice for managing a Windows 7 deployment with both 32-bit and 64-bit?

What is the best practice for creating and organizing deployment shares in MDT for a Windows 7 deployment that has mostly 32-bit computers, but a few 64-bit computers as well? Is it better to create a single deployment share for Windows 7 and include both
versions, or is it better to create two separate deployment shares? And what about 32-bit and 64-bit versions of applications?
I'm currently leaning towards creating two separate deployment shares, just so that I don't have to keep typing (x86) and (x64) for every application I import, as well as making it easier when choosing applications in the Lite Touch installation. But I know
each deployment share has the option to create both an x86 and x64 boot image, so that's why I am confused.

Supporting two task sequences is way easier than supporting two shares. Two shares means two boot media, or maintaining a method of directing the user to one or the other. Everything needs to be imported or configured twice. Not to mention doubling storage
space. MDT is designed to have multiple task sequences, why wouldn't you use them?
Supporting multiple task sequences can be a pain, but not bad once you get a system. Supporting app installs intelligently is a large part of that. We have one folder per app install, with a wrapper vbscript that handles OS detection. If there are separate
binaries, they are placed in x86 and x64 subfolders. Everything runs from one folder via the same command, "cscript install.vbs". So, import once, assign once, and forget it. Its the same install package we use for Altiris, and we'll be using a Powershell
version of it when we fully migrate to SCCM.
Others handle x86 and x64 apps separately, and use the MDT app details to select what platform the app is meant for. I've done that, but we have a template for the vbscript wrapper and its a standard process, I believe its easier. YMMV.
Once you get your apps into MDT, create bundles. Core build bundle, core deploy bundle, Laptop deploy bundle, etcetera. Now you don't have to assign twenty apps to both task sequences, just one bundle. When you replace one app in the bundle, all TS'es are
updated automatically. Its kind of the same mentality as active directory. Users, groups and resources = apps, bundles and task sequences.
If you have separate build and deploy shares in your lab, great. If not, separate your apps into build and deploy folders in your lab MDT share. Use a selection profile to upload only your deploy side to production. In fact I separate everything (except
drivers) into Build and deploy folders on my lab server. Don't mix build and deploy, and don't mix Lab/QA and production. I also keep a "Retired" folder. When I replace an app, TS, OS, etcetera, I move it to the retired folder and append "RETIRED - " to the
front of it so I can instantly spot it if it happens to show up somewhere it shouldn't.
To me, the biggest "weakness" of MDT is its flexibility. There's literally a dozen different ways to do everything, and there's no fences to keep you on the path. If you don't create some sort of organization for yourself, its very easy to get lost as things
get complicated. Tossing everything into one giant bucket will have you pulling your hair out.

Best Practice for Conversion Workflow

Hello,
I'm converting video files from our "home grown" virtual media reserve to iTunes U. Some of the files are in RM format, some are already compressed .mov's (not H.264) and some I have the original DV files for.
Anyone out there have a best practice for converting these file types for posting to iTunes U? I have Final Cut Studio (Compressor), QT Pro and Squeeze available to me.
Any experience you have with this would be helpful.
Thanks,
Jeana

For converting old files to a podcast compatible video and based on the machine you have, consider elgato turbo.264. It is a fairly priced "co-processor" for video conversion. It is comprised of an application and a small USB device with a encoder chip in it. In my experience, it is the fastest way to create podcast video files. The amount of time that you will save will pay for the device quickly (about $100). Plus it does batch conversion of any video that your system currently plays through QuickTime. it has all the necessary presets and you can create your own. It has a few minor limitations such as not supporting (at this moment) enhanced podcasting features such as chapter markers and closed-captions but since you have old files for conversion, that won't matter.
For creating new content, the workflow varies a lot. Since you mention MP3s, I guess you are also interested in audio files. I would stick with GarageBand, especially if you are a beginner plus it supports enhanced podcasts.
In any case the most important goal is to have the simplest and fastest way to go from recording to publication. The less editing the better. To attain that, the best methods will require the largest investments. For example, for video production the best way is to produce the content live so when you finish recording it is only a matter of encoding and publishing. that will require the use of a video switcher that can ingest at least one video camera and a computer output to properly capture presentation material. That's the minimum. there are several devices that can do this for you. Some are disguised PCs and some connect to a PC for tapeless recording. You can check the Tricaster, which I like but wish it was a Mac and not a Windows Xp PC. Other routes may include video mixers from manufacturers like Edirol, Pansonic or Sony connected to a VTR or directly to a Mac for direct-ti-disc capture. I f you look at some of the content available in iTunes U, you will see what I explain here. This workflow requires preparation and sufficient live support but you will have your material ready for delivery almost immediately after the recorded event. No editing required. Finally, the most intensive workflow is to record everything separately and edit it later, which is extremely time consuming.

Best practice for keeping a mail session open in web application?

Hello,
We have a webmail like application where users login with their IMAP credentials, then are taken to an authenticated area of the site where they can manage different things about their email account.
Right now the application is opening and closing a mail store connection (via a new javax.mail.Session) for each page load based on the current logged in user credentials. To me this seems like it would be a bad practice to keep opening and closing a connection each page load.
Are there any best practices for this situation? It would be nice to be able to open the connection to the mail server on login, then keep that connection open until the person logs out, session expires, etc.
I can probably put the javax.mail.Session into the HTTP session, but that seems like it would break any clustering functionality of tomcat. This would be fine if the machine the user is on didn't fail, but id assume if they failed over to another the mail session would be gone. Maybe keeping the mail session in the http session, checking for a connection, then first attempting to reconnect with the logged in credentials before giving up would be a possiblity?
Any pointers would be appreciated

If you keep the connection open across pages, you're going to need to deal with
timeouts - from the http session and from the mail server.
If you don't keep the connection open, you're going to need to "resynchronize"
your view of the store/folder with each operation, in case the folder is modified
by another session.
The former is easier in the common cases, especially if you don't care how gracefully
you handle failures. The latter is more difficult in the common cases, but handles
failure better, and in particular handles clustering better. You'll need to measure it to
see if it meets your performance and scalability requirements. You may need to mix
the two approaches to get acceptable performance.

Query Best Practice for Reports

I am new to Apex and I am wondering what is the best practice for store your sql quries for reports. I am a believer of storing all sql behind pacakge functions or procedures. And it looks like the only options for report pages are to use a direct SQL query, or a function that returns a query as a string. Yes the function method counts as putting the code in Oracle but not really. It is still getting compiled and parsed on the Apex side. It would be nice if Apex could handle a cursor but I have read that it doesn't directly. You have to have a function that returns a cursor and then create a pipelined function that calls the cursor function. That is kind of silly. Is there some other way to do this?
Apex 4.2
Oracle 11.2.0.2
Thanks for any input.
Jeff

Hi Jeff,
I'm not necessarily a believer in packaging queries. I'm a little more pragmatic in that I believe it may make sense in environments where you have a client environment that just expects a result set that is then manipulated by the client for the purposes of presentation, pagination etc. Apex has a different architecture in that the client is purely an HTML presentation layer (browser) and the presentation, pagination etc is formulated in the database along with the data using the Oracle web toolkit, which is a set of internal packages that produce HTML. Note that handling and manipulating ref cursors inside PL/SQL is not a joy, they were mainly designed to be passed out to external clients. (Often to shield programmers who don't or won't even try to understand relational concepts)
This means that when you create a report based on a query, the Apex engine will manipulate that base query, depending on the display requirements and pagination requirements of your report, before it submits that query to the database for execution. To get an idea of how this manipulation occurs, you can run your report in debug mode and check the actual query that is submitted to the database. If the query is presented as an already executed ref cursor, then the Apex engine can't execute in the way that it does. As you have already found out, the only way of using packaged queries returning ref cursors is by the use of a pipelined function, so that the Apex engine can treat the result as a normal query.
This is the architecture of Apex, and I suspect that re-engineering the Apex engine to handle ref cursors natively, as opposed to using a pipelining trick, would be a considerable change. I hope this at least helps to explain why ref cursors and Apex don't mix. I personally don't see the purpose of having an abstraction layer of packaged queries below an abstraction layer of an API such as Apex. SQL is a perfectly good API.
Regards
Andre

Best Options for a 60" 3D television?

I don't want to go above the $1600 prictag. I've been researching TVs for the past week and I'm just getting overhwelmed with all the different TVs and the reviews. I was set on getting the Vizio M601d-A3R because it had great reviews and the price was great. I went into Best Buy to purchase it because I wanted to price match it with a store that had a lower cost. I instantly knew something was wrong when the employee said they didn't have any in stock and the factory didn't have it either, but he convinced me it was still active. So he sent me to the express lane to have it shipped to the store from another authorized seller. As we were finishing up the process of paying, that employee said she couldn't have shipped to the store or my house. It wasn't in stock anywhere. I asked her if it meant it was being discontinued and she said that it looked that way. I went home and looked it up and couldn't find a definite answer to it, but I did find that Vizio came out with a new line for 2014 and that was the older model, so it was being phased out. I read some reviews for different sizes on other sites where some people complained about the TV crashing, so I decided to not even attempt to buy it.
So now I'm stuck. I found a LG for a very cheap price on Best Buy's website. It has great reviews on Best Buy's site and other places, but there are only a few reviews on each and Best Buy has it listed as a special order item. Here's the link for it: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lg-60-class-59-7-8-diag--plasma-600hz-smart-3d-hdtv/5935095.p?id=1219174...
I'm a little unsure about it since I can't see it before I buy it. Plus, the low price and "special order" tells me it is possibly being discontinued also. So I'm not really sure.
I was also looking at this Samsung: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-60-class-60-diag--led-1080p-120hz-smart-3d-hdtv/4327014.p?id=121...
The reviews on Best Buy's site were great, but on other sites they are a little more mixed.
I was also looking at this Sharp:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/sharp-aquos-q-series-60-class-60-3-32-diag--led-1080p-240hz-smart-3d-hdt...
I really want the 3D feature, otherwise I would just get an HDTV or a Smart TV. I originally wanted passive 3D because I own a 32" Vizio that uses it and it's cheaper to buy the glasses, but at this point I don't mind if it's active 3D.
I'm open to any other suggestions for 3D TVs that you might know of and if they aren't available on Best Buy's site for immediate delivery, that's fine too.
As for the setup, I have a stand with a mount built in already. It holds up to 65" and 135 pounds. I currently have a 46" Zenith on it. I have plenty of room for the 60" and the distance from my TV is at least 10 feet.
Any suggestions for 60" 3D TVs around or under the $1600 price limit would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
Solved!
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KateMcK0023 wrote:
Unfortunately I can't afford the more expensive model, but it looks really nice. I'm favoring the Samsung I posted in my original message because for the price and the ratings, it seems to be the best fit for me. It comes with two pairs of glasses. The LG doesn't come with any, but with the cheaper price it wouldn;t be too bad to purchase some. However, the very minimal amount of reviews worries me. I do like the Sharp TV, but that is the most expensive of the three and doesn't include glasses either. So I think the Samsung is my best option. I've seen mixed reviews on their customer service, but the products seem to mostly receive positive reviews.
For the calibration disc, would it be easy for a novice to understand? I'm usually pretty good with technology, but I don't want to screw anything up. Is it one of those type of things where I can just put the disc in my Blu-ray player and let it kind of do its own thing? I just don't want to do any damage to the new TV.
I also read online that I should get a surge protector for the TV because of how high powered that, my Blu-ray player, and other systems will be all in one area.
And finally, do you have any suggestions for a good soundbar or any sound system options that are relatively cheap? No more than maybe $150-$200? I also wanted to have Best Buy install the TV for me, but the price of $200 is a little steep. Do you suggest having them install it? Thank you for all your help!
I'd take the ratings on the Best Buy website with a grain of salt. None of those reviews have been done by a professional that has the calibration equipment and the knowledge necesarry to do an in depth analysis of the TV.
David Katzmeier at Cnet does a great job of reviewing TV's and has listings of recommended models.
http://www.cnet.com/topics/tvs/
The Samung you listed is a VERY average LCD TV. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I actually don't recommend Samsung LCD TV's to anyone for a few reasons. Until you hit the higher end models, you play what's called "panel lottery", meaning you don't know who actually made the screen. Their customer service has had issues in the past as well.
I checked around and the Vizio TV's are in stock at other retailers, the latest models are getting very good reviews over at Cnet.
However, if you're deteremined to get a 60" TV and Best Buy is the only purchasing option you have, the Sony KDL60W850B is on sale right now for a hair under $1700.00.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-bravia-60-class-60-diag--led-1080p-120hz-smart-3d-hdtv/3419019.p?id...
If not, Drop down to 51" and get the Samsung 8500 series plasma for about $1800.00.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-51-class-50-3-4-diag--plasma-1080p-600hz-smart-3d-hdtv/8490071.p...
If you can skip 3D, the Samung 5300 series plasma is available in 60" for $800.00 and is very highly regarded.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-60-class-59-9-10-diag--plasma-1080p-600hz-hdtv/8182045.p?id=1218...
The Disney Calibration disc is very easy to use. It will help you set things like brightness, contrast, color, and tint, along with other settings to their appropriate levels.
You should use a surge protector for ALL your appliances, anything from Belkin is fine, don't get the cheapest surge protector, but there's also no need to buy the most expesive one. Surge protectors do wear out with time, replace them every few years.
I don't have much experience with sound bars, any name brand that has HDMI in/out should be fine and will be better than the speakers in any of the TV's. If you can budget it, get one with a seperate subwoofer.

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