What size HDTV should I get?

[drfsupercenter]

Hi,

I'm posting here more from frustration because my dad and I want one size TV and my mom thinks it's too big and wants a smaller one.

Here are the facts:

The couch is 12 feet from the wall (assuming we mount the TV to the wall).
The horizontal space on the wall we have to use is at least 50"... big enough for at least a 50" TV.

A salesman at Best Buy told us that you measure the distance from the couch to where you're putting the TV, then the smallest you'd want is 3 times that, and the biggest is 5 times that. The ideal size would be right in the middle.
Doing the math, the ideal size equates to 48". The 50" TV my dad and I want is only 2" larger, where the 46" one we saw is 2" smaller. Based on that math, the 42" one my mom wants is way too small... and even then she thinks 42" is huge.

Money aside, what size would you guys recommend given the size of the room? My mom thought that the salesman was only trying to get us to buy a larger TV... but I think those numbers make sense. Assuming we're not limited by the cost of the TV (The difference is only $600 or so from the 42" to the 50" anyway), what makes the most sense? Is 46" a good "happy medium" size?

[ed klein]

History has almost ALWAYS dictated LARGER is better, especially when it comes to fixed objects.

You will be sorry in the future if you get a TOO SMALL of HDTV but most likely not be sorry if you get a tiny bit TOO BIG HDTV now.

Be more concerned about:

1. How many HDMI CONNECTIONS minimum of 3 for the future. A MUST
2. Does the HDTV output 1080P? A MUST
3. Digital tuner and over the air (OTA) tuner built in? A MUST

Samsung and Sharp has proven to be the best choice for me.


Assuming they all have the above three MUST HAVES, 48 or 50 looks good to me.

Ten years down the road, your eyes will appreciate you getting a larger viewing screen.

[locoeng]

I agree with Ed. I bought a 47" and in the store thought it would be too big in our living room (14' from couch to TV) and we could have gone much bigger IMHO and still not break our necks to watch TV. It replaced a 32" CRT and is only 1" taller, but much wider.

[drfsupercenter]

The brand is already decided - Panasonic plasma. But thanks for the insight about sizes... I've pretty much known that bigger is better but at least now some people agree with me!

[BR7]

Panasonic plasma

Excellent choice

[copyless]

From where I sit, it is 12' to 13' to my TV,depending on whether I recline or not. I had a 57" and about two months ago changed it to a 65" TV. So if a 50" will fit I say get a 50" TV. Believe me it will be in no way too large at that distance. Sitting in my chair the center of the TV is about 18" higher than my eye level so I am looking almost directly at it, and when reclined, I am looking directly at it. I think one of the main things is how high you mount it on the wall. I believe if you can mount it to where the bottom is about eye level or only a few inches above, (when sitting to watch it) is the optimum position, this makes it to where you are only raising your eyes slightly to see the picture, but this is not always possible. Panasonic makes a very fine Plasma.

[doctorhardware]

I like Panasonic Plasma. When the wife and I were looking at LCD screens, and the Sony wega had a real bad picture. The picture was dull and washed out looking. I was not impressed with the quality of the Sony picture, I thought it sucked. We actually bought the Hitachi 42" projection TV. The piture was far superior to the Sony Wega.

[BR7]

I am having problems with my second Olevia TV and I had enough of it's BS.I am taking it back next week to get my money back. I am getting the Panasonic TC-32LX85 to replace it.It may not be 1080p,but that's not by choice, my budget is telling me I cant. I don't want to end up in to much dept

[atifsh]

46 sounds good but in 2 months time max ull be sorry why didnt u get 50 cause ur eyes will be trained to see 46 and ull be needing more.

in my opinion its get big when say u need to move ur head or eyes too much to see from left to right.

[admin]

There is this good chart of viewing distances based on resolution and screen size here:

http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?showtopic=16453

[drfsupercenter]

in my opinion its get big when say u need to move ur head or eyes too much to see from left to right.

That's my opinion too... and we could get far bigger than 50" and still not need to move around. I could see even 60"+ without even moving my head... there's a difference between a 10-foot theater screen and a TV!

@admin, wow... Looking at that chart it says the ideal viewing distance for 127cm (50") is 2.2 meters (7.2 feet)
According to that, we'd need a much bigger size for a viewing distance of 10-12 feet!

[copyless]

I used a THX certified calculator when I set up my system, I can not get to the link provided by admin, but from the numbers you mention they fall within THX's range.

All THX certified theaters are required to have a minimum of a 26 degree viewing angle (a 36 degree angle is recommended) at the farthest seat. A 50" screen would have a distance of 5.6'-7.9' giving you a 36-26 degree angle. But for regular viewing the SMPTE recommends a distance of 8'-10' for 1080.

I really needed a 73" screen but could not fit it into the area it was to be placed, so I settled for the 65". At 65" for THX you would need a distance of 7.3'-10.3' giving you the 36-26 degree angle. I am about 12 feet away from the screen, which is great for regular viewing.

I will say if you go smaller than 50" it will definitely be regretted later, viewing from that distance, but larger would be even better.

[admin]

I view my 50" from about 2m, and at first it seems too big, but it's about the same size as sitting at the best seats in a cinema and you get used to it very very quickly. I would also mention that if you are getting a 1080p screen, then 50" is really the minimum size that you would be able to appreciate the difference between it and a 720p screen. The pixel density can get too high in that you won't be able to tell the difference without sitting very close to the screen. (but in this situation, you would still get the 1080p screen over the 720p screen due to support for 24p input and better downscaling)

[doctorhardware]

Take a look at sears they have panasonic on sale,

[copyless]

Admin, that is a great home theater distance for the size screen you have, I bet it is wonderful. At that distance you have about a 31 degree viewing angle, which I would say is close to perfect, unfortunately, due to the distance to my screen, I only get about a 23 degree angle. For me to achieve that it would take a 92" screen, and I can't fit a 73" there.

What kind of sound do you have in that area, 7.1, 5.1. I really hope one day to have a true home theater set up.