Is a 42" screen too small?

titan7

I lay on the carpet about 9 feet from the screen, wife usally on the sofa 12-13 feet from the screen. Will this not work?

BamaPanda

I think 42" would be ideal. That is my viewing distance and that is what I am going with.
You could go larger if you like - but - depending on the set - you might get screen door effect at the 9' distance.

Now the question ...LCD or PDP?

DGP123

10 feet is the distance where 50" screens at 720p are as good as (or better) than 42" screens. I bought a 42" plasma because my viewing distance is only 7 feet. I seriously considered reconfiguring my room setup so that I could be 10 feet away and buy the 50" but I couldn't make it work.

s2mikey

42" sounds about right. Believe i or not there IS such a thing as geting too big of a TV that just swallows up the viewers and looks very 'digital".

My farthest away seats for my new 42" AQUOS are about 11-12 feet and it seems perfect.

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leeoverstreet

Just for the record, I also like to lay on the carpet, with my head no more than about 8 feet from our 50" Panasonic plasma, and it looks just great, especially with HD, which is about all I ever watch on it.

titan7

I went with the Panny 42" plasma. I got it at CC for $1199-$100 for signing up for HD Cable. It's still on order, the 50" was $1999. For the last 11 yrs I have been watching a Panny 31" CRT. Man I hope I did not go too small...

ecat

Don't worry your new 42" will make your old tv look like a 27" tv.I just picked up the lns 4092 and my old 32"panny is now the new kid's ps2 tv.

kfederig

Personally I would say go with a 50" from that distance. For a chart on chosing the right size TV go to Circuitcitys website at
http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/gener...d=134730#step2

I currently have a 42" Panasonic Plasma and watch it from 6 ft away and it is just right. My Parents have a 51" TV and watch it from 13 ft away and they want to go to 60" next time. When it is a High Def TV you can sit closer than the Older Standard Def TV's. I think your better off going bigger than smaller. I had a 34" TV prior to this 42"
and it wasn't big enough, thats why I upgarded. I only had the 34" for 6 months.

iserum

i would say go with 46 or 50 inch, 46 will be ideal and 50 might be too big.

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Freak

I am planning a purchase for the bedroom because I can't stand to watch the old one anymore. Anyone have any thoughts or opinions about size (of the TV ) there? I am about 12' from the TV and consideringa 32 or 37".

anythingwt

At 12', i would go with at least a 50" if you are able to afford it.

SteveWolf

How much time do you spend watching in the bedroom? In ours we watch maybe 30 mins a night, if that much. So I got a real cheep LCD 27” for $550 hung it on the wall about 9’ away and looks great no STB just cable. Made a big difference getting the old CRT out of there.

mirwin

Depends what you're watching on it, IMO. I have very low opinions of what digital TVs do to SDTV signals. I too have a couple decisions to make early next year. Have 2 rooms that will need TVs. Both will have viewing distance of 11' or so.

I'm thinking the following:
-One room will have a fair amount of ambient light and will be used to watch standard def programming, as well as DVD/HDTV programming. From what I've heard, standard def looks much better in 4:3 on these digital sets. Less butchering. With the light and 4:3 viewing, plasma (burn-in) and rear projection are out. Was thinking 52" LCD here, but may go a little smaller due to cost and concern over how bad a standard def picture is going to look. At 11' and 4:3, I'm hoping a standard def picture looks ok. At 11' and 16:9 format showing a standard def signal, 52" is WAY too big. I've seen 46" sets at 15' look pretty marginal with this signal in that format.

-The other room will be mainly used for DVD watching, HDTV, and Xbox 360 gaming. It also is in a basement, so much less light. I'm toying with 60" RPTV here. 52" LCD would be great also, but without standard def watching and less ambient light, can cheat up in size I think and go RPTV.

coderguy

At 10' to 12', I would get a 60". At 8' to 10', a 56" would do. At 6' to 8', a 50". Anything smaller is too small for my eyes unless it's a kitchen TV or something. Even for a bedroom TV sitting 6' to 8', I'd go with a 50".

As someone previously pointed out eariler to me, the #1 regret in consumer reports for TV buying was that the buyer wished they had bought the larger TV

titan7

Thanks, well now it's between the Panny 42" HD Plasma and the SOny 50" SXRD RP. Oh this is taking a lot of time.