Viewing distance advice

Golfpunk

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This has been done to death but... I will be around 9-10ft away from the screen and currently have a 32"crt. Was going to get a TH37PX60 but seeing as the 42 is now only £30 more I am tempted by that as it will just fit the gap.

Is the viewing distance ok or is it a bit close for a 42"?? Or is there such thing as a "too big tv"??:devil:

Cheers
 
I sit at that distance in quite a small room and I freted over this for ages and even considered swaping my 42" for a 37" after the 42" was up on the wall. Glad I did not now, but it did take me a month or so to get used to.

Down to personal choice at the end of the day, but I now think that 42" is about the perfect size for this distance.
 
Get 42":thumbsup: You won't regret it. But if you get 37 " you will always be thinking about whether you should have got a 42". I bought 42" and now wondering whether should have got 50" but for the price I paid for the px60 I'm more than happy.:D Go to a store and stand the distance you reckon you will be viewing from and then you'll have a better idea. Also remember if viewing HD you can view from a closer distance. I would say go large and after a week or so there will be no regrets- particularly given the small price difference you mention.
 
A lot depends on whether you'll be viewing High or Standard definitioin. At 10 feet away, even the latter ought to be OK but, if you go to a store to decide, make sure they give you a demo using Freeview. Normal fast-moving subjects such as sport and not just landscapes and flowers.

I bought a Panasonic 37" PX60 for my bedroom and view at about 7 to 8 feet but my feed is from a digital ntl box. For me, this combination is just right but my advise to you with your greater viewing distance is to go for 42". However, have a demo first.

There are some on here who will always advocate that big is beautiful but make sure your own eyes are the judge.

David :)
 
42" no doubt. I wondered the same as you... 10-11ft viewing distance - would 42" be too big. Now I am wondering if I could have even got away with 50"...though I wouldn't pay the price for one anyway. In stores I thought the picture quality was crap... in home it seems much better. PS. I mainly watch Freeview SD.
 
42" no doubt. I wondered the same as you... 10-11ft viewing distance - would 42" be too big. Now I am wondering if I could have even got away with 50"...though I wouldn't pay the price for one anyway. In stores I thought the picture quality was crap... in home it seems much better. PS. I mainly watch Freeview SD.

When prices fall further, put your 42" in the bedroom and buy a 50" for your sitting room.

David :)
 
Get the biggest screen you can afford and sit as close as you wish.

There is a trade off between quality of image and the sense of immersion which will vary with size and resolution of display and quality of the image source.

If the seating arrangements can be kept flexible you can get the best of all worlds by moving forward or back as the mood takes you.

With HD sources and high res displays it is a waste of your money to sit further back than you have to.
 
This has been done to death but... I will be around 9-10ft away from the screen and currently have a 32"crt. Was going to get a TH37PX60 but seeing as the 42 is now only £30 more I am tempted by that as it will just fit the gap.

Is the viewing distance ok or is it a bit close for a 42"?? Or is there such thing as a "too big tv"??:devil:

Cheers

I sit 10ft away and 42" is perfect.My wife nagged me to get the 37" but now she is glad we went for the 42".Go get the 42" and enjoy!
 
I sit about 8.5 feet away and got the 37" - it just about perfect for that distance but I'm sure we could have got away with the 42" - with a £50 difference in price the 42 is the only way to go.
 
Yep I thought about the 37 but went for the 42. I'm around 12 foot away and it's perfect.
 
I sit 11ft from my pioneer 50", i was worried it was too close at first but now its perfect.
 
have read all the comments about distence and am getting confused:confused:

my question:is 8-9' too close for a 50" panny px60 or the Pioneer 507?

These are the maximimum viewing distance unless I rejig the room (not probable)

I watch: tw TV drive and Xbox360 and soon xbox360 hd dvd. love my movies but concerned that SD will look v bad so close.
 
SD should be just about acceptable at 8-9 feet depending on the quality of broadcast. A 1366x768 resolution would be preferred. A seperate scaler might help unless you get a Fujitsu with AVMII.

With HD you could probably sit closer.

A matter of personal opinion in the end.
 
SD should be just about acceptable at 8-9 feet depending on the quality of broadcast. A 1366x768 resolution would be preferred. A seperate scaler might help unless you get a Fujitsu with AVMII.

With HD you could probably sit closer.

A matter of personal opinion in the end.

thanks for that. Is the pionner a better option at this distance?
 
my question:is 8-9' too close for a 50" panny px60 or the Pioneer 507?

Hope not, as I'm going to be 9' from my 507! I've stood this far from the panel in shops for both SD, upscaled and HD material, and it looks fine. Actually better than fine - it looks great. Some SD channels will be worse than others though.
 
Don't know enough about the Pioneer. If the resolution is 1366x768 or better you should be OK with SD but it's a matter for your own judgement.

I generally prefer to fill more of my field of view even at the expense of some perceived image quality but the trade off is personal to every viewer.

A seperate scaler would help with poor SD broadcasts but you may not find enough of them to be bad enough to justify the extra expense and even a scaler doesn't work miracles with poor material.

You'll probably just start watching the better broadcast quality sources and ignoring the others.

In any event the further back you sit the less point there is in a big display anyway.
 
I've stood this far from the panel in shops for both SD, upscaled and HD material, and it looks fine. Actually better than fine - it looks great. Some SD channels will be worse than others though.

yep I agree I've stood in front of them in the shops and it seems pleasingly big and engaging but concern for seeing the flaws in SD is making me think about it. Mind, the dvd and HD DVD will look brill. So I have to choose:rolleyes:
 
Both the Pioneer and the Panny have the same 1366x768 res. I sit the same distance from a 1024x720 37" and wouldn't really want to go over 42", unless the majority of what I was watching was HD.

That said, it's amazing how quickly these things look "small"!
 

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