My Dilemma: 50" or 57" (1 Viewer)

I am about to buy either the Toshiba 50H82, or the 57H82 this weekend, but I can't seem to decide which set I want. I sit about 9.5" away from my set, and I don't plan to move to a larger room for quite some time, so that's where it's going to be pretty much.

Now, price isn't much of a factor, but I would like to know if anybody has any type of feedback of whether they should/shouldn't have gone larger? gone smaller? for this type of viewing space?

Thanks for any help in advance!!

Chris

Chris,

Go with the 57H82. I sit about 10-11' away from my Mitsu 55809 and regreting not getting the 65809.

Steven

I just got the 57H82 last weekend and I'd be kicking myself if I went smaller.

I think the general rule of thumb is BIGGER IS BETTER!!!

Just kidding, actually I think viewing distance should be 1 and 1/2 times the screen height or something close to that. So at 9.5 ft, you'd do just as well with the 65".

BTW, I'm LOVING my new set!!

Congrats!

J.

I have heard of people buying smaller and regretting not going bigger, but aside from the dude who bought a set too big to move into his apt, I've never heard of someone buying bigger and regretting not going smaller. There are some formulas about screen height and viewing distance that say 9.5' is too close, but those rules were for SD sets. Line doubling (standard in HD sets) allows you to sit much closer. Here is a table to gauge HD viewing distance. So 57" at 9.5' is fine. You could get away with 65" at that distance. The general rule of thumb with HD sets is to get as big as you can afford/accomodate. Don't worry about viewing distances anymore.

Chris,
I sit at the exact distance from my Hitachi 57swx20b. I went to CC to buy it in December and the salesman showed me an open box on a 65swx20b for only $150 more. My wife was with me and either she can't pass up a good deal or she heard about "bigger is better" and said she liked the 65" (BTW, I'd be crushed if the latter was true). The 65" was great with DVDs but once we went to DISH I had to leave the room. Also, our eyelevel was way below the center of the 65". The next day CC got the call and made the switch. The delivery guys even commented on how many times they are called back to pick up the just delivered 65".
Tim

Hey guys,

Just got back from school, and read all the informative feedback. And I'd just like to say... 57", here I come!

Thanks guys!
Chris