Viewing distance for 48" TV

dinamodrago

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Hi all sorry if this is on the wrong forum. I recently started a(nother) thread about which TV to buy. I had originally been looking at a 40-42" but most other threads iv read on here seem to follow a bigger is better approach. As such I started looking at 48", I have just seen that what hifi have done a best buy awards and the Samsung UE48H6400 won this category, this TV is within my price range but I'm wary of going too big as a had an lcd TV a few years ago which I sat too close to and the picture was horrific (particularly sports) in terms of pixelation being visible.
I will be sitting around 8-9 feet from the TV, I know this will be fine for HD programmes but we still watch a lot of sd stuff including sports so I'm just wondering if anyone has
anyknowledge on if that is too close for the size of screen?

Thanks
 
That size is fine.

You will get used to the size really quickly.

46" would be minimum
 
I'm using a 46 in 1080p and i find it kind of smallish at around 8ft. The higher the resolutions you use the closer the optimal viewing distance is.

When you go to a store, find a signal in 1080p in 47-50" and move into the position where you feel you get the best experience, that sweet spot should confirm whether the TV will be right. If u feel you are getting too close (like 6ft) then step up in size to a 55" and find the sweet spot which should be further back.
Trust me this works! 4k looks best on a 48 inch when you are about 4ft away 1080 is about 6-7ft on the same size from my personal experience. And watered down, compressed SD crap is best viewed at 12ft away.
 
I have this set and sit at a very similar distance. Good quality SD is very watchable. I missed Dumb and Dumber on 5 HD last night so watched it on 5+1 which is SD. It was fine!

However, when watching Blu Rays I do feel like I could sit a lot closer. I would definitely upgrade to 50" if I could and recommend this size if you can afford it. The Sony 50" W829 is £739 at the moment. Maybe it will drop in price further in the sales?
 
Thanks for the replies. Your comments tie in with what I thought already I. e. HD will b fine but so won't b the best, since a fair chunk of our watching will b sd I'm still wary, digitised comment about sd being best viewed at around 12 feet is exactly what I was worried about.
I was out looking at tvs tonight tho and anything below 48" looks tiny! Obviously this is down to the thin bezels but my wife point blank refused to believe that a 42" Sony was bigger than our current 37" 6 yr old plasma, so basically I think we're going to go for a bigger screen. I did see a 50" plasma tho which has appealed to me as I assume it won't have the same issues at closer distances as an Lcd? The TV was a lg 50pb5600 but unfortunately it wasn't plugged in for some reason so I'm going to go back in a few days and try and get an assistant to assist me and get a look at it
 
In my opinion, plasma is still superior to LCD in a number of ways, but I'm not sure if the LG will be the best example of the technology.

I recently sold my 50" Pioneer Kuro LX5090 on Ebay, only because I upgraded to the 60" model! I know many on here wouldn't advocate spending hard-earned money on a TV that's at least five years old, but I didn't consider a LCD/LED for a second and the Kuro is still a world beater and especially good for SD, no matter how close you sit.

Just something to consider, or make things more complicated, depending on your point of view!;)
 

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