Viewing distances -am I making the wrong choice?

[Slugsy01]

I thought I had it sussed, finally ditched the idea of a Sony LCD and had narrowed my choice down to a lovely 42" Pio.

Then I read a thread on the LCD section about viewing distances and I am now in real confusion.

The way my room is set up, there is one vantage point which will be about 6.5-7ft and another about 10-11ft away from where the TV will be.

Are these distances too short for a TV of this size/nature?

Please help as I was considering a purchase sasp!!!

 

[Stephen Wilde]

No.

42" will be fine at either of those distances.

 

[Dave]

No.

42" will be fine at either of those distances.

I have a 42 inch plasma at 5 feet, no problem.

 

[miceri]

I have my 50" 507 approx 11 feet away.

It doesn't look very big after a few weeks... I would possibly get a 58" if they come out.

Oh yes, and also if I persuade the WAF .

 

[TigerWhoops]

Just echoing everyone else, my 42 inch Pio viewing distance is 10 ft away and looks amazing.

 

[Slugsy01]

Just what I needed to hear, thanks folks!

 

[robin78]

Then I read a thread on the LCD section about viewing distances and I am now in real confusion.

Those LCD boys (and girls) need more distance in order not to see the imperfections of their screens

 

[NonPayingMember]

Those LCD boys (and girls) need more distance in order not to see the imperfections of their screens

So true lol

50" screen here is about 11ft, will soon have a 6.5ft projection screen dropped in front of it...

 

[hornetrider]

Just to reinforce the views, I posted a similar question here before I bought my telly - at the time I was considering 32" or possibly a 37" to view from approx 10 feet. Everyone said 37" at least, some suggested 40"...

...I now have a 42" PX60! And its great, no probs at all, quite used to it now, so glad I didn't buy smaller!

 

[jpb82]

viewing distances are all about the resolution of the screen
the higher the resolution the closer you can sit to the screen
the lower the resolution the further back you have to sit.

i decided to ditch getting a sony 40w and get the
better pioneer 427xd instead and my viewing distance is 9 ft
and to be honest im having second thoughts about buying the
pioneer as well not because of the quality of the screen
its just i am concerned about viewing a 42" 1024 x 768 plasma
from a 9 ft distance because i maybe able to see the pixel grid or other imperfections in the PQ from that distance.

personally im going to take another look at the pioneer427xd
sometime this week and this time when i look at it i will
stand 9 ft back and if everything looks alright this will
be the tv for me.

 

[chambeaj]

The Pioneer displays reveal their grid structure more easily imho (perhaps something to do with the deep waffle rib structure which Pioneer uses).

I personally feel you can watch a display based on Panasonic glass at closer distances.

In the shops I find viewing the 427 to be unacceptable even at 7ft. You see the grid structure. Picture overall looks more noisy too.

Yet l find the PX600 very easy to watch even at 5-6ft. The image looks sharper, more film-like, there is noticeably less video noise, and the dot pitch seems better.

Its a bit like the difference between CRTs based on Invar Matrix/Quintrix tubes and those based on Trinitron tubes. Trinitron based CRTs always look sharper

all imho

 

[jpb82]

i agree with you about the viewing distances on the
panasonic plasmas because when i tested the px60 and px600
even at 3ft i did'nt notice the pixel grid at all however imp PQ
on the pioneer is superior to the panasonic's.

 

[MAW]

Just to reinforce... I've often been asked to take a screen away and bring back a bigger one, never been told one is too big! You'll regret it if you don't buy the biggest one you dare/can afford/can get past the wife. She'll come round, even if she does tell the neighbours it's a willy replacement. These ladies, complicated creatures, they love the big screen experience really, but just love to take the micky over it too. So, if WAF is a problem, don't worry, it's normal, and she will forgive you if you let her watch a few chick flicks, Bridges of Madison County works well.

I've often been asked to take a screen away and bring back a bigger one

Not mentioning any names in particular....

 

[David1943]

I thought I had it sussed, finally ditched the idea of a Sony LCD and had narrowed my choice down to a lovely 42" Pio.

Then I read a thread on the LCD section about viewing distances and I am now in real confusion.

The way my room is set up, there is one vantage point which will be about 6.5-7ft and another about 10-11ft away from where the TV will be.

Are these distances too short for a TV of this size/nature?

Please help as I was considering a purchase sasp!!!

What feeds will you be using? Bear in mind that most stores display their screens using High Definition feeds.

High Definition should look fine at the distances you've quoted but, IMHO, a 42" screen with a Standard Definition feed viewed at 6.5 feet may well leave you disappointed. 10 feet should be fine though.

David

 

[Slugsy01]

What feeds will you be using? Bear in mind that most stores display their screens using High Definition feeds.

High Definition should look fine at the distances you've quoted but, IMHO, a 42" screen with a Standard Definition feed viewed at 6.5 feet may well leave you disappointed. 10 feet should be fine though.

David

In the short term, till SKY Hd comes down in price, it will be SD Sky unfortunately (any suggestions as to improve the quality of this picture appreicated), but I'm hoping that will only be a temporary thing.

jpb82 - please let us know how you get on with your viewing of the Pio, am going to have a look myself today!

I pray its okay, as I really like the look of the Pio!

 

[churchwa]

 

[smjxm09]

Just my humble opinion but I think you can view SD on a Plasma far closer than you can on a LCD.

My mate has bought a 50 inch Panasonic plasma and is viewing it from 9 ft away and the SD picture looked great. I don't think it would have looked as good from a 46 inch Sony LCD.

 

[Stephen Wilde]

Interesting chart from churchwa.

10 feet is best distance from a 50" display at 720p

At 65" display showing 1080p the best distance comes down to 8 feet despite the larger display.

At 42" anything from 5 feet to 12 feet is OK depending on the resolution of the source and the quality of any upscaling.

 

[MAW]

You are pretty close, I believe, Stephen? I have seen the chart before, it seems well borne out in practise. Not set in stone of course. I think we might be watching a 50 instead of a 42 for Xmas, from 9ft. That fits OK too.

 

[jpb82]

In the short term, till SKY Hd comes down in price, it will be SD Sky unfortunately (any suggestions as to improve the quality of this picture appreicated), but I'm hoping that will only be a temporary thing.

jpb82 - please let us know how you get on with your viewing of the Pio, am going to have a look myself today!

I pray its okay, as I really like the look of the Pio!

im going to be having my second viewing of the pioneer tomorrow
i already know PQ is outstanding from my first viewing however
first time around i never checked the viewing distance so
tomorrow i will check the HD PQ from about 9ft and if everything
looks ok the pioneer 427xd will be the one for me.

 

[metin]

I thought I had it sussed, finally ditched the idea of a Sony LCD and had narrowed my choice down to a lovely 42" Pio.

Then I read a thread on the LCD section about viewing distances and I am now in real confusion.

The way my room is set up, there is one vantage point which will be about 6.5-7ft and another about 10-11ft away from where the TV will be.

Are these distances too short for a TV of this size/nature?

Please help as I was considering a purchase sasp!!!

When my 50" Fuji arrived I thought "om my god - what have I doen here"
when the screen went up on the wall approx 10-11 feet away from viewing, I was still thinking, this is too big! I tried lots of diff positions and even thought after one nite this has to go back for a 42" !! The next day I came home from work and the screen looked small! The moral is "You get use to it" the initial experince was shock! this is too big!! but after changing my mind and had the screen for 2 weeks, I wopuld even go bigger!!!!!!

 

[GarethG]

I am viewing at about 9.5 ftand was between the 427 and 507 -actually leaning towards the 507 -Am I being silly then?

I will be viewing SD for the foreseable future.

Also was bit concerned when these TVs were showing football in John Lewis and the wide shot pictures of the game were far worse than my 10 year old 33" CRT. Is this what is to be expected from a plasma?


Gareth

 

[voodooflux]

I am viewing at about 9.5 ftand was between the 427 and 507 -actually leaning towards the 507

Same here. I've viewed various sources in demos at this distance, and all seem ok to me.

 

[David1943]

I am viewing at about 9.5 ftand was between the 427 and 507 -actually leaning towards the 507 -Am I being silly then?

I will be viewing SD for the foreseable future.

Also was bit concerned when these TVs were showing football in John Lewis and the wide shot pictures of the game were far worse than my 10 year old 33" CRT. Is this what is to be expected from a plasma?


Gareth

As you state you will be viewing SD, make sure that any demonstrations you are given in showrooms include SD. Some here are endorsing viewing large screens at very close distances but this is all subjective and you should make your own evaluations based upon your own preferences.

A palsma image will seem different to you at first but you will soon become used to it.

David

 

[Stephen Wilde]

Hi, MAW,

I guess it will be my Fuji you will be watching at Christmas.

It's a big upgrade from 42" which is what I started with 5 years ago.

I think Slugsy01 should go for 50" now and to hell with the viewing distance.

A small deterioration in image quality is far outweighed by the immersive effect of a bigger display. Even at his closer position HD would be fine.

Technofear was my main problem in going big. Mind you big was prohibitively expensive back then. The youngsters don't know they are born.

My enthusiasm is fuelled by the memory of a 12" black and white TV in the 1950's.