Toshiba 50” – Is 9-10 FT too close ??? (1 Viewer)

[Shawn Sefranek]

I have a relatively small dedicated Theater Room that is only about 11ft wide & 13ft lg.
Even if I sit very close to the back wall, after subtracting the depth of the TV it ends up being about 9-10 FT from my nose to the screen.
I currently have a Mitsubishi 35” Diamond Line tube as a display.
I’m looking to replace it with a 16:9 RPTV.
I was all set on the Mitsu 46”, but now Toshiba comes out with the 50” 16:9 which might work for me.
I already have a Progressive DVD (Sony 700p) and the room is used 95% for movie watching so I’m not too concerned what CABLE TV or 4:3 viewing looks like.
I know there are a few NUTS out there sitting 6FT away from 65” sets, but that’s on the extreme side.
Am I shooting for too big of a set or do you think this will work out??
Thanks,
Shawn S

 

[Carlo_M]

Shouldn't be.
The ideal viewing distance (read this somewhere) is 3.5 times the vertical height of the screen. Since your screen will be about 25-26" high, your ideal viewing is going to be about 8'.
RonP has his 46" Mits at 6-9' (front and back seats) and looks good from either area.
My 47" is viewed from about 8' and looks fine.
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My dealer of choice (especially if you live in So-Cal, I highly recommend them): www.yawaonline.com

Link Removed for their Link Removed reviews

 

[Phil Iturralde]

quote: Am I shooting for too big of a set . . . ??[/quote]
No, . . - & ditto w/Carlo's comments.
I have the Toshiba 50H81 and my couch is 9-feet away (same location as my REF Calibration 'sweet spot") and it looks super!! I setup another row of four chairs behind the couch and it's about 12-feet away, and my friends loved the view, sharpness, clarity and color of my 16:9 50"!! Toshiba's line-doubler is super smooth and does not introduce any picture artifacts. It looks great from my computer too, which is about 24 feet back!
The http://www.geocities.com/mv_us_2000/Toshiba_50H81_HDTV.html
Phil
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http://www.geocities.com/p_iturra
[Edited last by Phil Iturralde on August 09, 2001 at 12:09 PM]

 

[Robert Fellows]

I did a calculation using 0.74 to 1.21 arc minutes of visual resolution. This visual resolution equates to ~ 8 times & 5 times screen height sitting distance, respectively.
What is important to remember is that seating distance is very dependent on the video source. The above 5 & 8 times numbers come from 400 lines of horizontal resolution. So using VHS you'd want to sit back about 1.7 times those numbers and if you view DVD's, try 0.8 times the 5 & 8 times numbers.
Also, the sitting distance depends on the picture aspect ratio. One can sit closer to a letterboxed movie that a pan & scan movie, due to the reduced video height.
So for a 50 inch screen, at 8 times screen height, it works out to about 20 feet for VHS, 12.5 feet for a 4:3 pan and scan @ 400 lines, 10 feet for a 4:3 pan & scan DVD, 9.5 feet for a 16:9 movie @ 400 lines & finally 7.5 feet for a 16:9 DVD.
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Bob
p.s.: This advice is worth exactly what you paid for it...

 

[JerryHatchett]

My eyeballs are about 10' from the screen of my 65H80 and it looks great.

 

[Shawn Sefranek]

Thanks for the info.
I just did a more accurate measurement of my room and it is actually 13’-6” LG.
With a 21 7/8” deep Toshiba 50H81 in there, I still am about 11 1/2 FEET from the screen.
I usually sit forward from the back wall a bit, so this would still give me 10 to 11 feet of distance.
Should work.
Shawn S

 

[JohnHN]

Phil,
How does it look closer than 10 feet? (Your comments are mainly about how it looks from even further away.) Say 8 feet, eyeball to screen?
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[SHAWN SZILEZY]

From the replies it sounds, to me, like it is time to plunk down the cash!
Thx......Shawn (the other one)

 

[Phil Iturralde]

JohnHN: . . . closer than 10 feet? . . . Say 8 feet, eyeball to screen?

Well, like I said above, "my couch is 9-feet away (same location as my REF Calibration 'sweet spot")" - and it's just outstanding!! Moving up another feet (front edge of the couch) or so, doesn't change my mind @ all! Toshiba has an excellent line doubler!
The http://www.geocities.com/mv_us_2000/Toshiba_50H81_HDTV.html