In my home office I sit 8 ft from my desk. I bought a 26inch Sony LCD. I regret not getting a 32inch. On most broadcasts, for proper ratios, the signal gets blocked on both left and right sides, creating a square picture. Also, the screen sizes on LCDs are measured differently than on traditional box/tube tv's, so your 32in JVC will have a larger viewing size than a 32in LCD. I would get the bigger tv.
LCD Screen Size
I'm dying to dump my old boxy curved screen 32 inch JVC T.V. I live in a little place and my watching chair is 8-12 ft from the t.v. I'd love at least a 32 inch widescreen LCD but thinking my budget will only allow 23-26 inches. Do think this will be too small? I was hoping the widescreen cofiguration would offset it somewhat. Thanks.
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As a owner of a rear projection LCD at 60 inches I will say that it really depends on the Viewer. I cant imagine less than HUGE, but my next door neighbor uses a 24 inch LCD and just loves it, however I easily prefer mine. Remember that WIDE SCREEN is a format that is not often used on general tv programs and a fair share of movies, resulting in a smaller overall picture. When I sold electronics I recommended that clients purchase as big as they can afford without stretching the budget. |
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GMC, you were right! Thanks all, I think I'll try to swing the 32 inch widescreen. I watch mostly movies and all or at least 99% of my movie dvd's are widescreen as I detest pan and scan. I do watch some tv series dvd's as well. Anyone have a particular brand preference. I have seen a 32 inch Magnovox for 849.00 Costco apparently has a Texas Insruuments for 799.00, sam esize as above. I don't think I should spend more than a grand. I know this limits me but it'a all I can do. |
Just wait a bit longer. With a Vizio 50" plasma with a Faroudja scaler and 2 HDMI inputs now priced at $2K MRSP (and receiving praise in this month's The Perfect Vision), it won't be long before $1K buys a large flatscreen. The Chinese LCD factories are just coming on line and there will be huge economies of scale in the next 12 mos. |
One of the larger and dumber mistakes my wife and I made was to get a flat-screen 32" Sharp Aquous (sp?) LCD to replace an older 27" Mitsubishi. At the time the Sharp cost $4500 (gag!), and we finally admitted to ourselves that the Mitsubishi not only had a better picture -- even considering the Hi Def Sharp -- but a larger image area. Dave |
Zar, I just recently purchased a 37" Viewsonic LCD TV for $1199 (after $300 in rebates). It is a fully integrated HDTV with speakers, SD and HD TV tuners, table stand, etc. It is a great TV at that price. I bought it because I had limited space and the Viewsonics speakers are on the bottom, not the sides, thus saving space. IMHO, the 37" Viewsonic (or other panel) would be great for movies/DVDs, but not great if you watch much SD TV. SD is very watchable, but looks pretty grainy at your viewing distance. It looks great in my room, but I'm about twice the distance from the TV as what you are proposing. Enjoy, TIC |
Zar, I also looked at the Vizio 37" at a couple of places, including Costco and Sam's Club. Unfortunately, the Vizio 37" had poor color in my opinion, always looking too yellow. I tried to adjust it, but it appeared to be a problem with that model. I also read about this problem at the AVS forum. The 32" Vizio LCD and the 42 and 50" Vizios did not appear to have this issue. |
An 8' wide 16:9 screen (110" diagonal) is a nice comrpomise for a 12' viewing distance. Scope movies are a little small, sub-par transfers of lower aspect ratios are a little big. A 113" x 48" scope screen would work better if you can accomdate the width. At 8', I'd want to run something on the order of 75" x 32" but would settle for a 64" wide 16:9 screen (73" diagonal). The 16:9 screen dimensions give you the same subtended field of vision you get sitting in the farthest seat from the screen in a theater meeting the THX recomendations. Most of us like to sit a bit closer to the screen. You need to think in terms of small movie screens not large TVs. In doing so, you'll find that two-piece projection setups are required for all but the smallest living rooms. |
Personally, I was running an 87x49" screen (100" diagonal) with an 11' viewing distance. A bit small for scope movies, about right for everything else. We moved and have been using a 52" diagonal 4:3 RPTV at about 9' until we can install a new front projection setup. Moves don't have any theatrical impact on it. |
Shopped like crazy and was about to buy Panasonic online. Saw the 50" Vizio at Sam's for $1998 but blew it off having never seen the brand before - and I snobbily thought that it can't be good being THAT inexpensive. Finally did a bit of NET research and saw great reviews on the Vizio. Bought one two weeks ago and I am nothing but pleased. Building my new HT around it. Doak |
Doak, Is it HDTV with HDMI interface? Please keep us informed about your state of contentment. Under $2K for a 50" plasma seems too good to be true, but I hope it is. Our local dealer has a beautiful 50" Panasonic that I'd love to use as an intermim until Sony's 70" SXRD comes down a bit in price then move the Pana to our bedroom. Unfortunately it's priced at over $3.2K. I'm leery about buying a plasma from other than a brick and morter store with a good reputation so I can return it in case it has dead pixels. db |
Don, It is HDTV w/HDMI. The Vizio has gotten a lot of buzz over at AVSforum. Check out the plasma/LCD forum under Display devices. The 37" Vizio is a different story (and a different format-LCD). It does not have good color at all. It's possibly the worst I've seen in a couple of years. Way too yellow and the controls can't correct for it. Enjoy, TIC |