What's your viewing distance w/ HDTV? (1 Viewer)

[davenportbuzz]

How far is your viewing distance from the screen? I'd like to get the 57" Hitachi SWX but I may wish to settle for something smaller like the 51" or a 53" say. I usually sit in a chair that's 10'(slight angle) from my current Sony analog 41" RPTV. On the couch though (straight away) when I watch DVD's, I'm 14' from the screen. You think the 57" would be ideal? Seems to me that it would be and I guess I could always return it within 30 days (with Circuit City) if it isn't. I know in the end, seeing it in person is the best way to know but I'm trying to gauge this to hopefully make the right decision from the start - size-wise.

Thanks for the input.
Rick

 

[Vincent_S]

I have a 61" and sit about 9-10 feet away. IMO it is perfect.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

You should definitely see it in person yourself. Everyone has different requirements on viewing distance. I've seen ONE poster sit as close as ~5ft from a 65"(!!), many seem to sit 2-2.5x the TV's diagonal, and many others much farther away like you do w/ your current TV from straight away (ie. 14ft). Also, I'm not sure that everyone uses eyes-to-screen distance or just the front of their seat to the screen, which could easily be 2ft shorter than eyes-to-screen.

FWIW, I use an eyes-to-screen distance of ~8ft from my 53". HD content looks awesome at this distance (or even closer). Good DVDs still look very good and film-like while yielding a theater-like viewing angle of ~27 degrees.

Check here for some reference #s to help you decide:

http://www.myhometheater.homestead.c...alculator.html

But in the end, again, what works best all depends on you.

_Man_

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

I'm about 8' away from a 42" rear projection HDTV which looks perfect. I'm 13' away from 110" front projection screen which also seems about right, but it is right at that line of being too close.