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Too Big? (1 Viewer)

Christopher B

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
May 3, 2004
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84
Hello,
I am on the verge of a LCD Projection TV purchase and I am already getting a lot of help from you guys, but I have another question.
The distance from the TV to the couch is about 8-9 feet. I have looked at all the calculations for suggested TV size, but they all basically come down to personal preference. Here is the question.

Does anyone here with a short distance between seating and the TV have a really large TV, like a 60"? If so, do you find it too big or do you get used to it. I want to create a theater experience, but I don't want to feel overwhelmed by the TV.

Any personal experience would be appreciated.

Thanks

Christopher B
 

CalvinCarr

Supporting Actor
Joined
Dec 4, 2003
Messages
512
I would think a 50" would be good at that distance. I sit about 12 feet and have decided against the 70" for a 60". I then have 1500 for other stuff too.
 

Christopher B

Stunt Coordinator
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May 3, 2004
Messages
84
Calvin,
The money I would save getting the 50" would definately make the SVS purchase easier. I always thought I would just get as big as I could when I made this purchase, but when I am in the store looking at the 60" and being a bit overwhelmed, it made me wonder if 50" is better or am I just not used to the huge screen?

I guess bigger isn't always better!
 

Mark Murphy

Supporting Actor
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Nov 20, 2002
Messages
626
In my experience, looking at TVs in a store doesn't compare to seeing them in your home environment when it comes to the actual size of the TV. If a 60" overwhelms you at the store, it will probably overwhelm you even more at home. I sit about 8.5'-9' away from my TV (42") and its plenty big for me. The same TV in the store looks like a 25" version of my TV compared to the way it looks at home. I also have an SVS. I say go for the smaller TV and get the SVS. You won't be disapointed.
 

Jonty Rees

Stunt Coordinator
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Nov 13, 2003
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....isn't that like being too rich?:D My only concern on too big would be whether there's room to accomodate the box, and if the picture quality is good enough from that viewing distance. I honestly don't think you would regret a big picture when you're sitting there watching a very sweeping, panoramic movie, say Lawrence of Arabia or similar.
 

LaMarcus

Screenwriter
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I don't feel you'll be too big at that distance. I sat 10' away and it was just fine for me. For my father he couldn't stand being that close, but for my friends they thought it was cool.

Personally If I were you I get a front projector and not get the RPTV. If I had it to do all over again, that would be my choice. For the price of a RPTV you could get a 36" tv and a projector and screen. Then for all your regular tv watching you'll have the 36" (which is nice for reg. tv watching), then at night pull down the screen and boom!! Your good to go!!
 

Jon_Gregory

Stunt Coordinator
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Jan 10, 2004
Messages
224
I sit 8 feet away from my 53" and It is not too big. It took some getting used to the size, but now I love it.
 

Eric Hahn

Agent
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Jan 12, 2004
Messages
49
I sit 10-11 ft from a 48, big at first, then shrunk, I now hang a 82" fp screen and watch it from the same distance, only limitation is the pj, any closer than 2x the screen width, and I see the screen door, and sd cable look bad, but sd ota, is a different story;)

If you are set on rp go big, they may sem big at first, but will shrink quickly over time.
 

Jonty Rees

Stunt Coordinator
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Nov 13, 2003
Messages
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LaMarcus - that is exactly the set up I have just gone with. Large 96x72" pull down screen in front of my trusty old 35" Sony for cable.
 

Gabriel_Lam

Screenwriter
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Mar 7, 2002
Messages
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I'm a bit farther (11') and use a 100" screen. I'd go slightly bigger too, but there's no room. :frowning:
 

Christopher B

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
May 3, 2004
Messages
84
LaMarcus & Jonty,
Can you guys recommend a decent FP? I figure I at least need to check it out. What is the picture like with the FP? How does the picture compare to a regular TV and a RP? Can you recommend a good website?

I was always under the impression that a nice quality FP would cost a little too much for me. I know that the technolgy is getting better with the LCDs. I will probably do a search here for FPs and see if I can find stuff.

Thanks
Christopher

P.S. I just joined the forum yesterday and I am wondering why I waited so long!
 

Cam McFarland

Supporting Actor
Joined
Feb 6, 2004
Messages
699
I have re-arranged the furniture in my Tv room, & have
had the sofa anywhere from 8-10ft to probably 16ft
from my 65" & never felt overwheled......you do get
used to it.
 

Ron-P

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My front row is 9' from my 85" diagonal screen. It's perfect.

It may seem big now but it shrinks over time. Before I went front projection I had a 46" Mits and my front row way 6' from that. It seemed perfect at the time but about 6 months later I wanted bigger. Thus, I sold the Mits and bought a Panny 200u LCD FP. I'll never go back to a TV again. If you can, save yourself some money and go FP.
 

Aaron Gilbert

Second Unit
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Sep 17, 2003
Messages
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I recently got an LCD front projector, and think I can fairly easily say that 60" would not be too big for that viewing distance (assuming it's a good LCD set). First off, that's 60" diagonal, which for a widescreen set would be only 52" wide. That puts you at 1.85 times the screen width away for your 8' seating figure. Granted, the farther away you are, potentially the better the picture gets, but in terms of viewing angle, here are the recommendations:

Dolby recommends that the screen encompass 30 degrees of your field of view. For an 8' distance between your eyes and the screen, this works out to a screen 52" wide. Hmm, I didn't see that coming, but there you go. :)

THX recommends a slightly wider screen, filling 36 degrees in your field of view. For the same 8' distance, this equates to a screen that is 62" wide (71" diagonal for a 16:9 set).

I have a 90" screen (72" wide) and sit 9' away, which is about a 37 degree viewing angle. Works for me!

All that said, the recommendations really are just suggestions. Just as in the real cinema you are free to sit in the front row or the back row, at home you can make the viewing angle as large or small as you like.

As the image sizes we are discussing tend to be much more revealing of low quality source material, I'm finding it is extremely nice to be able to adjust the image size with my projector zoom or turning off the scaling. For TV, I still have my 31" CRT behind the screen. If you go with a rear projection set, you'll have to ditch the direct view TV, and you won't be able to shrink the image, not to mention your off-axis viewing will be considerably worse than it could be with a front projector. Of course, there are several drawbacks to projectors as well, which I won't get into at the moment.


Aaron Gilbert
 

HienD

Stunt Coordinator
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Apr 15, 2003
Messages
189
I'm 9 feet away from my 51 RPTV and it seem just a little to big. 11 feet looks better to me. But I just got the tv a few weeks ago so I'll probably get used to it. It's better to go too big then too small. With RPTV, if you sit too close the picture doesn't look as good. Too dim and fuzzy. I don't think projectors have this problem. Pictures will just look pixelated if you sit too close.
 

LaMarcus

Screenwriter
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Chris I'll put it too you like this. I paid $3000 for my 65", $650 for my 36".

Right now you can get a SWEET pj for $1500, $600 for a 36" tv, $300 for a sweet screen. And be at $2400, and still have $600 to boot. Looks like you have enough for a SVS too!;)

RPTV's are a thing of the past (for a HT enthusiasts that is). Get a PJ and never look back. Just my $.02
 

Dave_vega

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Dec 16, 2002
Messages
168
I sit 6-7 feet away from my 46" philips and at first it was freegin' massive, but now it seems just perfect..I could have done a 51-53" but I think that would have been pushing it for size..I am very happy with the 46"..
 

Parker Clack

Schizophrenic Man
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I agree with everyone that is suggesting that you go with a good front projector like the Sanyo Z2 or Panasonic PT L500U with a good screen (I would recommend checking out the screens by Carada) for watching DVD and HiDef. Then use your CRT for watching over the air/cable stuff.

I feel that what surround sound did for audio, front projection does for your picture.

The other thing about front projection is that you can always just shoot it on to a white wall for awhile, get an idea of what size picture you like in your viewing area and then get a screen to match. If you go with an RPTV you are going to be stuck with that size and you won't know if, for you, the size is too big until you get it into your house.

Parker
 

Mike Wladyka

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jul 24, 2003
Messages
630


i didn't see you question answered yet, so i will say a good place to start is projectorcentral.com

they have some good articles, i suggest you read them, and also read the reviews for the highly recommended projectors. once you have been to projectorcentral then use the forums to research people's opinions on certain projectors.

BTW i sit about 10' to 11' away from a 92" picture
 

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