Which 26" HDTV

[Tecnofobe]

Am thinking of buying a 26" HDTV and am getting a bit confused by the range that is out there. My room is only small so anything bigger than 26" is going to look out of place.

Someone has recommended Sony to me and I was looking at their range. Can some tell me :-

1) what is the difference in their range KDL26S KDL26Uetc - what do the S and the U mean.
2) Is Sony the best or is there something better on the market I haven't
found yet.
3) Am I wasting money on 26", should i go for the next size up.

Thanks for your help guys

[Andy98765]

Sony is a good make, how small is your room, how far would you be from the TV.

[NicolasB]

Originally Posted by Tecnofobe

3) Am I wasting money on 26", should i go for the next size up.

How close are you planning to sit?

The Sony models you're talking about have a resolution of 1366x768; on a 26" display and assuming a hi-def signal, that means the optimum viewing distance is when your eyes are less than 5 feet from the screen. If you're planning to sit father away than that then you might want to consider a larger model.

[Tecnofobe]

Thanks guys

Will probably be more than 5ft away so looks like larger might be the way to go. Is 32" the next or can I get something in between? Any recommendations for a 32" ?

My only concern is I don't want TV to dominate the room, just sit nicely in the corner

[NicolasB]

Remember that a new TV always shrinks for the first few weeks you own it.

I am, of course, not speaking literally but, when you first take a new TV out of its box, you always start off by thinking "holy crap, that's huge! " and it seems to fill the entire room. But, a couple of weeks later, it seems far more modest and retiring.

So, don't allow yourself to be misled by the apparent size of the screen when you first get it in there, and aim large rather than small. I have a 55" rear pro TV in a relatively small through-lounge, and it really doesn't "dominate" the room at all now that I'm used to it.

[postmaster]

I have a panasonic tx26"lxd70 and sit 8ft from screen. Great SD/HD picture,cracking little set!

[NicolasB]

Originally Posted by postmaster

I have a panasonic tx26"lxd70 and sit 8ft from screen. Great SD/HD picture,cracking little set!

Other things being equal, at that distance you wouldn't see any difference between SD and HD, though.

You might if it's a poor quality SD signal; or if the TV's processing does a particularly bad job with SD, which many LCDTVs do. But the best possible HD picture wouldn't look any better than the best possible SD picture.

[mike7]

I can recommend a 26" set as being ideal for a modest size room and for someone who just wants a good 'telly', not a home cinema. In the days of CRT's most people were happy with their 28" screens (they were, in reality actually 27"). Now everyone wants bigger and bigger pictures. Having installed their mega size screen in a smallish room they winge about the blurry picture and the visible signs of upscaling. With a 26" (Sony in my case) you get an excellent SD picture, from Freeview and cable, which is comparable with some of the HD performance on bigger screens. In spite of what a lot of people say you can also see the difference from an HD source.