TV for a small room

[John Bailey]

My wife says she wants a new TV. I've got a small (9X11) listening room that is also used for an office and an extra bedroom. It's crowded. We have a small (20") TV for an occasional movie. Our viewing position will be about 9 ft. from where a flat screen will be. At first I told my wife a 32" screen would be as big as the room would handle, but after researching, it would appear a 42" would be about right.

I'd like to hear from those in the know about such things. We don't watch TV, just an occasional movie, which we will probably watch more of when the TV is purchased.

Thanks,

John

 

[Hi Ho]

A 42" set should be perfect. I have a Panasonic TH-42PZ77u and I very highly recommend it. It is an excellent set! You can probably find it priced as low as $1,200. I got mine at Sears for that price. Some people say that 1080p doesn't matter in a 42" screen but I whole heartedly disagree. Maybe I'm an oddball but I can spot a 720p 42" plasma from 20 feet away and it bugs me. The picture on this Panasonic is smooth, sharp, and the black levels are great.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I prefer 73'' from 9-10 ft viewing distance.

Go as big as you can so you have no regrets. I would say 42 is bare min., 50'' would be about perfect.

 

[John Bailey]

Thanks guys,

I went to Best Buy and looked at screens. It seemed to me, remember I don't watch much, that the closer I got to the larger screens, the worse the picture was. That's my concern about a larger screen. Also, with the desk, bed and stereo equipment, I'm not sure I could center a 73" screen and be able to have a viewing position centered also.

All that being said, I'll get the measuring tape out and see what fits, but I'm leaning toward the 42".

Another question, can you get any of these TV's without speakers? We hook everything to the stereo, so wouldn't need them.

John

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Look at the Panasonic Pro models for no speakers.

The PQ is all about the source. You can get 1 foot from my display and still be amazed.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

I was going to start a new thread, but this one comes close to addressing my concerns. I am thinking of upgrading from my 34". My viewing distance is currently 5', and cannot be increased by much. How much bigger would I have to go for the improvement to be really spectacular (and not leave me thinking "I wish I had saved up for something even bigger.")? Conversely, at what size would my standard DVDs (I have too many to replace with HD) start to look bad from that distance?

 

[John Bailey]

Well, I just got back from my annual holiday 2 day tour of MI. Up North, down state a couple of times to see all the family. I've been in 4 Best Buys, 3 Circuit City's and a couple of Stereo/AV stores. In some stores the cheapest TV's seem to have the best picture, some, the best pictures were way out of my price range. My impression was the best picture, after looking at 100's of TV's, was the Pioneer, but at a cost I'm not willing to give. After that, I found, in general, I liked the plasma picture better than LCD. Sony had the best overall, on average, picture, while Panasonic had the best picture in plasma and Sharp had the best LCD. I thought the best deal was the Panasonic 4275UK(hope I've got the number right) at $1,099.

I've measured and I think the 42" is going to be the biggest I can do in my multi-purpose room. So, after all the help from this forum, and my marathon visits to the big boxes, I'm going to tell the little lady we need a Panasonic Plasma, a Sharp LCD or a Sony anything. (I really liked the SXRD models, but I'm not sure they'll fit in my room.) She'll make the selection.

Thanks to all.

John

 

[westcott]

Well, I just got back from my annual holiday 2 day tour of MI. Up North, down state a couple of times to see all the family. I've been in 4 Best Buys, 3 Circuit City's and a couple of Stereo/AV stores. In some stores the cheapest TV's seem to have the best picture, some, the best pictures were way out of my price range. My impression was the best picture, after looking at 100's of TV's, was the Pioneer, but at a cost I'm not willing to give. After that, I found, in general, I liked the plasma picture better than LCD. Sony had the best overall, on average, picture, while Panasonic had the best picture in plasma and Sharp had the best LCD. I thought the best deal was the Panasonic 4275UK(hope I've got the number right) at $1,099.

I've measured and I think the 42" is going to be the biggest I can do in my multi-purpose room. So, after all the help from this forum, and my marathon visits to the big boxes, I'm going to tell the little lady we need a Panasonic Plasma, a Sharp LCD or a Sony anything. (I really liked the SXRD models, but I'm not sure they'll fit in my room.) She'll make the selection.

Thanks to all.

John

Sounds like a good plan and you have done your homework. Pioneer makes a great plasma, and so does Panasonic. 42" should be fine for your space, especially if you watch standard definition material, as well. Panasonic is a very close second, IMO, and is the best bang for your buck. I picked up a left over "door buster" from Thanksgiving black friday for US$900 (TH-42PE7U)for the bedroom and could not be happier. It was at Best Buy and I had to ask the salesman to look for it. It was not avdertised and it was not on display in the store.

Good Luck and keep us posted!!!