What Size Screen or Television Do I Need?

[D-Jingle]

To expand on what has already been said

I love the rule of 2 -- 50" screen ideal from 100" away.

I hope this image helps explain further

 

[supervij]

That rule of 2 works well if you're watching both high and standard definition. I used the rule of 2 when I purchased my set, and it's exactly that -- a 50" set at 100" distance. The SD material is just a wee soft and the HD material is just a wee small -- a good balance. If you're watching exclusively HD, you may want to opt for bigger.

cheers,
supervij

 

[stewtopia]

Nicely done

Nice D-Jingle

I was about to post the same thing!

 

[resolution]

The Problem with Too Big of a Display

There is such a thing as too large of a screen size, even if you don't consider cost. One can see display artifacts like pixels. So for a 50" TV where does one start to see pixels? That depends on your visual acuity. At my age (60) I can see about 25 cy/deg of human vision. My 21 year old daughter can see nearly 50 cy/deg. If you follow the rule of buying a TV with a diagonal that is 1/2 your viewing distance a 50" TV viewed from 100" would exhibit 38.4 cy/degee for 1920 x 1080 format, which means that I cannot possibly see pixels, but my daughter may be able to. I would have to get to 65 inches to see pixels.

So if we ever see QHDTV introduced you will be able to buy 2X the screen than you could buy today an still see no pixels.

 

[drdawg]

There is no TOO BIG

There is no such thing as too big!!! Actually I like this article alot and i did start with it as the basis but then we were at the store with the impression we should have gotten a 52-55 incher from the article but then we were there and saw a tv we loved. We asked how bit it was and were told it was 65 inches and then we had them measure from the tv to where we were standing and it was a foot less then we had in our place. We ended up buying it and if we bought the 55 incherr it would have been too small.

So my suggestion is use this article as a guide and then measure out the space in your room from the wall to the sitting area that you will most be using. Take into account also diagnols (you made need to measure distance from wall to couch area and then the height of where you are going to put the tv and then do the pythagoream theorem to find the diagnol length!)

if this blew your mind i am sorry to be a geek!

Come on we all remember this from geometry!!!!

Ketan

 

[audiohonic65]

Yes, bigger is better but it largely depends upon your room size.

 

[HDPCsound]

It depends, i always love to have a decent size Tv on my bedroom, but a bigger one on the living room. Is the one used for gaming, movies, etc.

 

[Big AV]

I have a 55" screen and I am about 12 feet away and that works a treeat

 

[shoryuken]

Great Rule

Thanks for the post. I am currently shopping for a new tv and that was the exact question i had in mind.

 

[Cratchit]

I bought a 50" VIZIO Plasma. It's awesome, I wouldn't go below 50" now. It's the perfect size.

 

[cmchen0]

Very helpful information.

 

[padurar2009]

Plasma isn t so good LCD it is the best. It is more friendly

 

[bandphan]

Plasma isn t so good LCD it is the best. It is more friendly

wait for it, wait for it..... fish on. Both of my displays are angry and in recovery, and generally dont make friends.

 

[mikehummel]

Agreed that its all about roomsize and seating locations...

 

[Capt.Ron]

Hmmm I'll be 16' away when I finish my new home......Might wanna start thinkin big.

 

[k_lewis]

Yep same here- I went with a 65" UN65C8000 Samsung LED. Previously had a Kuro Elite 151FD 60"

 

[ReU_VOoDOo]

I sit 8' away from a 58" plasma, so if it were me I might start looking at that 72" Sharp!!! lol I kinda scarred myself!

 

[laalvarezm]

Very interesting information, two years ago I though a 46" TV will be enough for my, well now I am looking to upgrade my TV to a 60"...

 

[Stogie]

Distance from screen

Useful articles for beginners! Thanks!

This "question" has a cut-and-dry solution for me: I will sit approximately 6 feet from the screen. It(screen) has to be a max of 32", as the space for it is 35".

In some tech advice forums I visit on this general topic of HDTV, this is deemed a satisfactory distance. Deemed or not - that's how it has to be! In the stores where I look at HDTVs the lighting is very different from that in my home. For example, Wal-Mart here is too brightly lit. And none of the units are hooked up for sound. Frustrating for me as I'm as big on sound as I am in sharp, clear video! If this is the case in your store, good luck with trying to find an answer for why that is.

Radio Shack has more subdued lighting, closer to daytime abient light in our living room. Office Max is somewhere in the middle. The only 3 retailers in this town where you just might nail a good deal on HDTVs!

I'm very far from expert on this but I sense that I can see a difference in resolution on the sets in W-M. (All 32" units are 720p.) I don't know if it's due to little or no adjustments; or manufacturing issues. Also, I'm aware resolution isn't everything. It's just one of the things.

Still, I'm here as a new guy seeking unbiased direction in the quest of a reliable and well-made set for under $350. There are several 8 to 10 year old peripherals I would like to connect to the unit - which cannot be updated at this time.
Any guidance will, of course, be appreciated.

 

[dnizly]

Plasma versus LCD

I am new to posting here, used the reviews for years though. I run all plasma in my house, the biggest reason is that I cannot stand the "fake" effect the LCD OEMs are doing to make their TV catch up in terms of motion. If you have a bright room however, LCD/LED are probably the right choice. Glare is always worse on Plasma, and Plasma will never really (in general) get there to match the brightness of LCDs.

Also, if you are going larger than 46" you will be hard pressed to find a better value than Plasma. Do your research - forums like this, Consumer Reports, etc, etc all have articles on Plasma/LCD. Be a skeptic though, there are a TON of LCD OEMs and only a few plasma. The result, many articles bias towards LCD.