With an average viewing distance of between 9'-11' and a U shaped seating area with off axis angles, will there be a noticeable PQ difference while viewing a 50" plasma in either 720p versus 1080p? Most of the viewing will be some form of broadcast (85% cable or satellite), the remainder (15%) being dvd movies.
If the screen size increases to 54" or 58" in the future, will that have any impact?
What would be the preferred size for this situation?
How would the 4 major plasma companies (Pio,Pan,Sam,LG) rank in regard to handling this type of programming material, taking into consideration much of it is still not HD?

Thanks.

With an average viewing distance of between 9'-11' and a U shaped seating area with off axis angles, will there be a noticeable PQ difference while viewing a 50" plasma in either 720p versus 1080p? Most of the viewing will be some form of broadcast (85% cable or satellite), the remainder (15%) being dvd movies.
If the screen size increases to 54" or 58" in the future, will that have any impact?
What would be the preferred size for this situation?
How would the 4 major plasma companies (Pio,Pan,Sam,LG) rank in regard to handling this type of programming material, taking into consideration much of it is still not HD?

Thanks.

Here is a good resource for this issue:

http://www.carltonbale.com/2006/11/1080p-does-matter/

At 50", from 9' - 11', I think you're better off with 1080p. Those at 9' will notice the benefit of 1080p, at 11' perhaps not.

Going to 54" or 58" at that distance, definitely gotta be 1080p (720p will look fuzzy).

ok theres a simple way to get the correct screen size to get the best 3d effect. sit directly infront of the tv and hold your hand up making and l shape with your thumb and index finger. pointing the thumb down. holding that at arms length toward the tv will show u what size tv to get. some will say thats too small, but u will get a 3d looking pic that way. i can tell you that at 10 feet 42 in will be perfect.

ok theres a simple way to get the correct screen size to get the best 3d effect. sit directly infront of the tv and hold your hand up making and l shape with your thumb and index finger. pointing the thumb down. holding that at arms length toward the tv will show u what size tv to get. some will say thats too small, but u will get a 3d looking pic that way. i can tell you that at 10 feet 42 in will be perfect.



I guess i'm kinda slow here, or perhaps you were simply having fun at the OPs expense ..... cause I don't have a clue what you are trying to do here :confused: :rolleyes:

I guess i'm kinda slow here, or perhaps you were simply having fun at the OPs expense ..... cause I don't have a clue what you are trying to do here :confused: :rolleyes:


He is saying to sit where you would to view tv from and perform the procedure mentioned. The thumb representing the verticle and the index finger representing the horizontal.

I have never heard of this, and yes, it does lead you to a smaller size than traditional charts would suggest. Interesting though.

With an average viewing distance of between 9'-11' and a U shaped seating area with off axis angles, will there be a noticeable PQ difference while viewing a 50" plasma in either 720p versus 1080p? Most of the viewing will be some form of broadcast (85% cable or satellite), the remainder (15%) being dvd movies.
If the screen size increases to 54" or 58" in the future, will that have any impact?
What would be the preferred size for this situation?
How would the 4 major plasma companies (Pio,Pan,Sam,LG) rank in regard to handling this type of programming material, taking into consideration much of it is still not HD?

Thanks.


gjr. ,

I think you will get a lot of feedback from folks saying it could be a flip of the coin for a 50 at that distance. It really depends on how 'each individual' perceives the whole resolution vrs. distance vrs pq for ANY size set at a given distance. For example, I just changed my HT display recently. (My distance is exactly 10'). Before I had a small 37" Panny pdp in place and sure, it definately did not give one a large immersive movie experience, but what it DID do was give me (to my eye) a 'stellar' PQ when watching reg DVDs at that distance. While I'm sure I was missing the smaller additional details brought by from a larger / higher rez. screen size, my eye at that distance formed a spectacular picture from the 768 lines of that display. Overall, I had many years of enjoyment from that setup!

Now, I currently have a new 50" Pioneer 111FD in place (along with a BR player) and yes, at that same distance I now get a larger 'movie experience' feel and more detail with the additional rez. However, to be honest, I almost enjoyed the relationship (while veiwing reg. DVDs) with the old 37" Panny more than the Pio. Simply because at the 10' viewing distance, my eye picks up on the additional flaws that the 50" will expose at 10'. The next guy, this may not bother at all. I'm still at that stage where I can't help but have that feeling of wanting to back up another 2-3 feet from the Pio. For 'ME'... I could not go with anything larger than 50" at 10'. Just me however (i'm also the guy that enjoys the very back row at the theater, easier on my eyes). Unfortunately, I'm as far back as I can get. Now, my new set of course is a 1080p set and whether a 720p (50") set will reveal 'less' flaws to you??? only you can tell that. 1080 sets have an advantage if you are going to be viewing good quality HD programing on a larger screen, however, on the flip side the 720p sets can sometimes still 'mate up' better with sd signals beings the set has to scale less to fill up the screens resolution.

My 37" Panny now resides upstairs in my living room as my general purpose TV viewing set. Having recently added HD Sat. to it (and still sitting app. 10' away) I'm still enjoying the heck out of watching that set too. In fact, some times it's a bit of a break when you can get a great quality picture without it being 'too' revealing..... let's you just sit back and enjoy the programing without being too analytical about what your seeing, ;)

So bottom line is, while there may be a 'general concensus' here about correct combos of size/rez/pq ...... you will only know what works best for you by your own experimentation and results unfortunately. But, heck, sometimes that's half the fun of messing around with this stuff .... finding what works for you. :D

He is saying to sit where you would to view tv from and perform the procedure mentioned. The thumb representing the verticle and the index finger representing the horizontal.

I have never heard of this, and yes, it does lead you to a smaller size than traditional charts would suggest. Interesting though.



Ok Topper, thanks, I'll have to give it a try just for fun, should be interesting beings I've always prefered my screen sizes on the 'smaller' rather than 'larger' end of the scale. Coming from my 37" pdp to my current 50" is still an 'adjustment' for me ..... this will probably only confirm my gut feeling that a 42 - 46 / tops, would probably be 'ideal' size for me. :rolleyes::D

Ok Topper, thanks, I'll have to give it a try just for fun, should be interesting beings I've always prefered my screen sizes on the 'smaller' rather than 'larger' end of the scale. Coming from my 37" pdp to my current 50" is still an 'adjustment' for me ..... this will probably only confirm my gut feeling that a 42 - 46 / tops, would probably be 'ideal' size for me. :rolleyes::D

Seems to me that you use your set primarily for TV watching and not for home theater type applications where you have sound system hooked up to the TV.

Seems to me that you use your set primarily for TV watching and not for home theater type applications where you have sound system hooked up to the TV.



Actually Auditor, the 37" Panny is now in my living room and it's for general TV viewing, while the 111FD is in my HT room where it is used solely for that purpose, and yes, I have a nice audio setup to accompany it, along with an acoustically tuned room for sound. ;)