Why is a 30" LCD actually 25" ? (1 Viewer)

[Samuel_Fred]

My 30" Sharp LCD is not only 15 x 9 (not 16 x 9), but the screen measures only a little over 25". Is this right? When I buy a 30" widescreen TV I expect it to measure 30" wide. Shouldn't it? Do I have legitimate complaint here?

 

[Mark Romero]

Not to sound like a smart ass, but did you measure the screen from corner to corner?

 

[Samuel_Fred]

No, I thought widescreen displays were measured by width, not, like 4x3 TVs, from corner to corner. Am I wrong?

 

[Jason GT]

Marketing being what it is, the size measurement of widescreen TVs is indeed (still) diagonal.

 

[Samuel_Fred]

I read in Home Theater For Dummies that widescreens are measured by width.

Either way, my TV is not 30": corner to corner it still measures 29 1/4" (not that much off, but still...)

 

[ChrisWiggles]

There are lots of ways to measure different things. Not to mention the viewable size/REAL size of things is usually smaller than the marketing would have you beleive.

Widescreens are confusing, so usually it's best to know whether they are measureing diagonally or width. I usually use width, since with diagonal and constant width setup, the diagonal changes all the time with masking. And for the few people that use constant height setups, then width doesn't work so well.

And then there are those weirdos with constant area screens. I wouldn't even know where to start in trying to describe the size of that in different AR.

 

[Neil White]

Samuel, sounds like your screen falls into the same category as computer monitors where say a 21" screen may only have a 20" viewable image (but they have to state that on computer monitor literature). In this example, the 21" refers to the physical size of the tube corner to corner of which some is covered by the screen bezel.

N

 

[John S]

Most sets are still measured in diag. size. (corner to opposite corner)