If I understand correctly, the general rule of thumb on a TV screen is that if it’s standard 480i/480p, you want your viewers to sit between 3 and six times as far the diagonal screen size in inches. The reason for this is picture clarity; at these distances, the image is viewable without any noticeable artifacts or quality issues.
So if I had a twenty-seven inch CRT, the ideal distance for viewing according to this formula is between 6.75 and 13.5 feet away. That’s pretty close to our current viewing distance: 12 feet away (more or less, the old TV is quite thick).
Now for HD viewing, the rule is 1.5 to 3.0 times the screen size. Reversing that means that I should look for a screen according to this formula:
144 / 3 = 48 inches minimum size 144 / 1.5 = 96 inches maximum size
We have a sectional couch, though, so I am taking the minimum viewing distance into consideration, as well. If we have a big party, some individuals may be as close as 5-6 feet (72 inches) from the screen, and well off to one side (so screens with poor side view angles are not an option):
72 / 3 = 24 inches minimum 72 / 1.5 = 48 inches maximum
So it seems like the ideal screen size for viewing from the whole space, without making it too big for people up close and too small for people farther away, is right around 48 inches.
Do you have experience with large wide-screen displays and have some recommendations on viewing areas for a non-theater living room arrangement?
- The lighting is uncontrolled (two windows, open archway to the kitchen, open doorframe with no door toward the kitchen, high ceilings, two large windows), so I need something that can handle glare and bright surroundings… that means DLP is probably out, because I’ve never seen a DLP rear-projection screen that can handle brightly-lit areas well. Nor can regular projectors, though they definitely have a HUGE cost-appeal due to arbitrary screen sizes.
- LCD or Plasma seems to be the best option. Due to the sectional couch with some people at extreme viewing angles if it’s full, a plasma seems to be the better choice. I checked out some LCD displays, and the brightness drop-off if you’re not in the “sweet spot” is pretty dramatic. It’s not deal-killing, but plasmas seem to stay at full brightness at all angles better than LCDs when I looked at them in the store. Newer LCDs are much better than older ones, but still pretty dim viewed from angles beyond about 45 degrees off-center. It’s even more pronounced in the up-and-down angle than left and right… but that’s not easily tested in the store, and you can compensate for it with correct placement in the room.
- Wall-mounting, I think, is a must. We have several small children, and a large TV that can topple onto them is a safety hazard. Plus, wall-mounting just looks cooler 🙂
I already have a couple of top contenders for my “heart of my living room entertainment system” crown, but I’m interested in other products you may have had a good experience that fit the above criteria.
My Sony SXRD
I know you want wall-mountable, but for pure picture quality, nothing beats my Sony SXRD. With normal DLP, there’s one color wheel producing the picture. With the SXRD technology, there three color wheels, one for each color (red, blue, green (or is it yellow?). I looked at it in the store next to the flat panels and you could see the difference in detail. And as new rear-projection TVs are lighter, it might scare the kiddies if it fell on them, but it wouldn’t hurt them. My wife and I can lift our 60″ TV with ease.
And I haven’t noticed any problems with light washout, but my TV’s in the basement, so there’s never any direct sunlight on it, so that’s not the same situation as you’d be in.
Put it this way: when the cable guy hooked up the HD box and we were watching the HD channels on the TV for the first time, I got a little giggly. One of the channels had a Bon Jovi concert on and you could definitely see how Richie Sambora has aged.
If you’re deadset on a flat panel, then look at some of the LCD with LED backlighting. That’s supposed to help with the black not being really black issues. and general picture color quality as well.
I’ll have to gather some pictures of my basement and post them for all to see. It’s such a relief that it’s finally finished!
My $.02 Weed
Sony Plasma
While a DLP has a nice picture, I like the size of the LCDs and Plasma screens.
We have a 46″ LCD that i love. it is a Sony Bravia series. As Matt & Christie knows, we have plenty of light in the main room. The viewing angles are nice. I can be pretty much even with the plane of the screen and still see the picture.
Some of the things that i would recommend keeping in mind are:
* Mounts for the LCD / Plasma screens can be a couple hundred dollars. Ours sits on a credenza style entertainment center. The TV came with a strap that screws into the back of the entertainment center and attaches to the back of the tv. This is to keep it from toppling off. Having it sit its base works for us.
* The more HDMI ports the better. Mine came with only one and i have out grown it. My HD satellite box uses HDMI for it’s HD output. My x-box 360 has HDMI outputs as well. With more devices having that capability I would consider it.
* Burn-in, more problematic in plasma screens that LCD’s. Ghosting is a problem typically within the first 200 hours of use, however, its not so much an issue since many devices now have screen saver types of functions. (If i leave my Satellite receiver / DVR paused for too long a DirecTV screen saver kicks on) Many plasma manufacturers have installed anti-burn settings, which are monotone gray or snow screen settings which recalibrate pixel intensity levels uniformly – thus eliminating any image retention (ghosting).
* Watch for sales. We found the set at Sears, but they were out of stock. Best Buy had it in stock, however, it was a higher price. The nice thing with Best Buy is that they price match plus 10%.
Consumer Reports just went through and did ratings of LCD’s and Plasmas. So they may be a good resource to tap. If you don’t have an account drop me an email and i can send you my credentials.
Best of luck on your hunt.
Found, ordered!
So I found 2007’s #2 Consumer Reports-rated plasma: the Samsung HP-T5064. The only one that rated better (if I understand correctly) was a Pioneer 5070 set, and after monkeying with both, I preferred the look/layout/quality of the Samsung set.
I looked at them all in Best Buy, and then did a boatload of reading on the A/V Science Forum to determine what other people were buying. Support is important to me, and a popular item with the online crowd — while not necessarily an indicator of quality — generally results in a lot of people posting about all the problems with it. So you go in eyes-open, knowing exactly what problems you might expect, and EVERY television has its share of problems.
I got pretty close to 48″; the Samsung is 50″. My wife pointedly reminded me that “47 inches is close to 48 inches, and cheaper” 🙂
Features of the Samsung:
My only worry is that Amazon has farmed out this unit to one of their affiliated electronics retailers, so it may not feature Amazon’s usual support. Here’s hoping I don’t need to use it; Samsung provides a 1-year warranty that covers everything but burn-in anyway.
Weed, I really did consider a DLP. The price alone is astoundingly good compared to other flat-screens. DLPs are MUCH lighter than plasma/LCD for the same screen size. But for decor reasons, my wife — you know she’s an interior decorator — was really sold on the wall-mounting thing. Amazon has a mount for only $75 that we chose. You don’t get the side-to-side flexibility of the $250-$300 wall-mounts at Best Buy, but my intention is to simply not move it much once we have it in place. Also, the plasma screen was on sale for almost $700 off retail! It was a great deal.
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Matthew P. Barnson
Got it, honeymooning
The screen arrived yesterday morning. I’m definitely in the honeymoon stage.
There was a bit of image retention from me playing around in the menus for hours on end yesterday. After I got the settings dialed in, I ran the screen-wipe utility that comes with the screen for an hour, and then the kids watched Disney Channel for much of the afternoon. By the time I popped in a movie at 9PM, there was no IR left. The movie was letterboxed even on the wide-screen, so just to be careful I put the TV in sleep mode for 3 hours and set it to the screen-wipe utility.
I figure that for the first few months I own the plasma screen, I’ll want to run the screen wipe for a few hours after running movies with black bars on them or after using it as a computer screen. Easy enough to do right before I go to bed if I have watched a movie.
As far as I can tell, permanent burn-in is a thing of the past with Plasmas, but at least while the Plasma is new, temporary image retention is a reality.
Apparently there have been numerous LCD vs. Plasma wars on avsforum.com, so I won’t add to them here. I am really impressed with the motion-interpolation stuff and elimination of 3:2 pulldown on new 120Hz LCDs, but I just can’t justify that kind of price tag… I went over my budget by about $300, but I’m pleased 🙂
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Matthew P. Barnson