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Viewing distance and screen size

post #1 of 4
12/28/08 at 4:57am
Thread Starter 
Hello,

The distance from the place where I sit and my future LCD TV screen is 8.2 feet (89.40 inch or 2.50 meters).
I was thinking to purchase a 42 inch screen but several LCD TV guides say that this is a too large screen for 8.2 feet and they suggest a 32 inch being the ideal size for such a viewing distance. According to these guides a 37 inch screen would not be ideal but still be OK.

I have no idea if it is relevant to my question but I'll use the LCD TV only to watch DVDs. I do not watch TV broadcasts at all (I am not connected to a cable,satellite or whatever company)

What do you think?
Thank you very much in advance
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post #2 of 4
12/28/08 at 7:52am

Re: Viewing distance and screen size

Just remember that you are probably dealing with 16:9 sets and not 4:3 so their height is much smaller than than traditional recommendations are based upon. The diagonal measurement cannot be used anymore when it comes to seating distance: it's the screen height that must be used. (ie, a 32" 16:9 set is the new direct replacement for an old 27" 4:3)

The traditional suggestion for conventional analog, interlaced, 4:3 sets was 8xheight for CRT or 6xheight for RPTV. (NTSC was originally designed for 10x on rounded tubes with great amounts of overscan) A rough number for progressive scanning HD/HDReady 16:9 TVs is 4xheight. There are a lot of little variables like native panel resolution, pixel size, etc, and various computational schemes, but I feel that the 4x number is a good "rule-of-thumb".

Others will be sure to throw their "two cents worth" in, I'm sure.

Room lighting and seating angles generally will determine the technology best suited. (LCD, Plasma, DLP, or even the old SDTV tube set)
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post #3 of 4
12/28/08 at 8:16am

Re: Viewing distance and screen size

It seems pretty common now with HD and 1080p displays to go with 1.5-2.0x screen width.
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post #4 of 4
12/28/08 at 9:06am

Re: Viewing distance and screen size

According to this chart,



if you have normal vision, at a seating distance of 8 feet, a 42" 720p TV would be just right. If you wanted to step up to 1080p, you could go up to 70" and not be too close. I sit 7-8 feet from a 65" 1080p and it's perfect for me.
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