[8:13]

I got into movies with the Dell Notebooks.

Then I tried different notebook screens, used cyberlink 6.


I thought it was the best thing in the world.

I watched Over Canada.

I didn't even calibrate the monitor for movies yet.


Then, after a while. I thought about it and decided to get a bigger monitor.

So I got a cheap 22" from Dell.

Then, I read about the various qualities in the different lcd monitors. Response time, Color Quality, Viewing angle.

So I ended up returning the cheap 22", and getting the 2007wfp.


Then, after about a year or so, I get the itch to get a better monitor after getting the lg combo drive. With blu ray and hd dvd.

So I get a 32" lcd tv, and I found out about hdmi and underscan. So I got a 1080p lcd tv.


So, tell me your story. Have you been getting larger and larger monitors from what began with a tiny screen to what is now a 50" beheamoth?

 

[yobo]

oldest


crt 20" (left someplace)

sony trinitron flatscreen 24" (gave to brother)

acer 19" 1:1.33 monitor (gave to friend)

optoma H31 (sold eBay)


current: viewsonic vp2030b




For one person a decent sized lcd is fine. A projector is nice but really unnecessary since there's only 1 person. I have the lcd on a ergomart arm (model SAA2718 with 6" heigh extension). You can orient the monitor any way you want to see. Standing doing laundry/work, sitting.


Preferably I'd like to move up to a 1920x1080 22"-ish unit but they are still prohibitively expensive.

 

[captain_video]

Personally, I never watch TV on a tiny screen as I never saw the point. I've been into home theater for as long as I can remember and the small screen experience just didn't cut it. I never understood why people liked to strain their eyes looking at an iPod or PC monitor to watch something that was originally meant to be shown on a screen larger than their living room.


Small TVs are fine for watching the evening news or sitcoms but movies cry out to be shown on a big screen. Let's face it, people don't pay to go to the theater to watch a movie on a tiny screen, do they? If you're watching your movies on a small screen then you're just cheating yourself of the complete movie experience.


I was into high-end audio long before getting into home theater and the transition was simple evolution. Big sound demands a big screen, which is why I have a 60" HDTV. I will probably migrate to a front projector in the next few years for an even larger screen.


To answer the original question, getting into movies didn't dictate how large my screen was but rather was dependent on the quality of the image being displayed. I used to have a 50" Mitsubishi RPTV, but it was standard definition. The picture actually looked worse than my 32" Toshiba CRT because it was stretching a poor image beyond what was actually viewable. The picture was grainy and barely tolerable. I had DirecTV and was using S-VHS VCRs and DVDs for source material and it still looked like crap.


Once HDTV was introduced, I jumped on the bandwagon as soon as I could afford it and never looked back. HDTV allows you to go much larger than you ever could with standard def programming and the quality is incomparable. OTOH, displaying HD content on a small screen provides minimal improvement in the picture quality since the defects inherent in standard def programming aren't readily apparent until you increase the size of the display. That's why downloaded avi's from the internet look fine on your PC's monitor, since they're actually lower resolution than standard def TV.

 

[stanger89]



Quote:
Originally Posted by captain_video /forum/post/12945885


Personally, I never watch TV on a tiny screen as I never saw the point. I've been into home theater for as long as I can remember and the small screen experience just didn't cut it. I never understood why people liked to strain their eyes looking at an iPod or PC monitor to watch something that was originally meant to be shown on a screen larger than their living room.

I understand exactly how you feel.

Quote:
Small TVs are fine for watching the evening news or sitcoms but movies cry out to be shown on a big screen. Let's face it, people don't pay to go to the theater to watch a movie on a tiny screen, do they? If you're watching your movies on a small screen then you're just cheating yourself of the complete movie experience.

Very true.

Quote:
I was into high-end audio long before getting into home theater and the transition was simple evolution. Big sound demands a big screen, which is why I have a 60" HDTV. I will probably migrate to a front projector in the next few years for an even larger screen.

60" is big?

Quote:
To answer the original question, getting into movies didn't dictate how large my screen was but rather was dependent on the quality of the image being displayed. I used to have a 50" Mitsubishi RPTV, but it was standard definition. The picture actually looked worse than my 32" Toshiba CRT because it was stretching a poor image beyond what was actually viewable. The picture was grainy and barely tolerable. I had DirecTV and was using S-VHS VCRs and DVDs for source material and it still looked like crap.

I'd fully expect SD to look like crap on a 50" SD RPTV, not so much because of the size, but you simply can't fill a 50" screen with the 14kHz scan rate of SDTV, you just can't practically make the beam wide enough, or the phosphors to persist long enough to keep that whole screen filled. I remember thinking exactly the same thing (SD RPTV == crap) walking through the big TV stores when they still had SD RPTVs.


I don't have high expectations for SD, but I find it completely watchable and satisfying on my FP. Not to say HD isn't a completely different animal than NTSC or Dish SD, or even that DVD isn't noticeably better, but I watch SD all the time and I'm happy with it.


To answer the OP directly:


I've always bought the largest displays I could reasonably afford, for as long as I can remember. That may have been a 17" Vivitron CRT when I built my first computer. But it was a 36" HD ready when I was in college, and now it's a 110x46" 2.39:1 CIH FP setup. The only reason it's not bigger is that's as big as I can fit in the room, which is also why it's an AT screen, there's nowhere to place the speakers but behind the screen.


"Getting into" movies hasn't driven me to buy a larger screen, I don't think I've ever been satisfied with small screens, it's been my situation/disposable income that's limited my screen size.


Frankly, IMO there just isn't a "TV" or "monitor" that's big enough for movies, movies really need to be wall to wall IMO, and FP is the only way to get that. Also, I don't buy the idea that sitting close is a substitute for a big screen, I've got 2, 20" LCDs for my desktop, and even if I get within 30" of one (1.5x width), it's nothing like being 1.5x width from my FP. Likewise, there's a noticeable difference between being 1.5x from my 110" wide screen, and being (about) 1.5x from a cinema screen in a movie theater.

 

[trygve]

My first half-serious attempt at a home theater was back in the late 80's using a Sharp XV-100 and a 100" pull-down screen. You probably remember seeing those early projectors--they were the first single-lens units and looked somewhat like a very large hairdryer, except without the handle. They also sounded a bit more like a hairdryer than was ideal for home theater use, but they were a lot easier to move from place to place and get set up than any of the three-tube CRT models.


That got replaced a time or two as the technology improved, but at this point I've been using a JVC G11u Dila projector since they first came out, so that would be almost ten years now. No doubt there are much better projectors out now, but I haven't come down with the urge to upgrade that component yet.


I've upgraded my various editing monitors and the assortment of flat-screen LCDs I have to haul around a lot more recently, with the latest of those being the Philips 52PFL7422D/37 52" 1080p LCD display. Until they come out with flat-panel displays I can just roll up and carry under one arm, I'm not sure I want a bigger LCD display than that one; it's not all that heavy, but it's awkward enough that I feel a little nervous when carrying it around and setting it up by myself.


For a while I had a 36" Sony WEGA CRT monitor, but in all the time I had that, I think I only used it twice. That display tipped the scales at well over 200 pounds and I think I spent more time moving that than watching it. Most of the time, I lean towards the "bigger is better" philosophy, but once in a while, "heavier" isn't nearly as much of an advantage, no matter how much you like movies.

 

[kapone]

As others have said, Movies (HD content, etc etc) are no fun when watched on a small screen. A good sound system takes that to the next level. I've been into HT for..well..way too long.. Started with a crappy Dell hooked via S-video to a crappy 27" Sony Trinitron, and as they say, the rest is history.


Current:

- 80" screen and an Infocus IN72 projector in the family room - everyday watching, TV, news, etc etc. Fed through an HTPC with TV over HDHomerun(s) and the rest of media from the Media Server.

- 100" screen and an Mitsubishi HC4900 projector in the Living room - Mostly dedicated movie viewing and HD content. Fed through an HTPC with TV over HDHomerun(s) and the rest of media from the Media Server.

- 55" Pioneer Elite HD CRT TV in the master bedroom. Late night media watching. Pretty much everything. Fed through an HTPC with TV over HDHomerun(s) and the rest of media from the Media Server.

- Two 42" plasmas in the guest bedrooms - Occasional watching. Fed through HTPCs with TV over HDHomerun(s) and the rest of media from the Media Server.


Basement's gonna get a 1080p projector (still trying to decide whether to digital or old school CRT and get a 9500LC CRT set..

) and a redesigned sound system. Since the basement renovation is still some time out, I'm not worrying about it too much yet.

 

[greeniguana00]

Larger screens farther away just seem to give a better sense of depth than small screens close up, even if the smaller display is has as good or better detail. For this reason, I sometimes wear a pair of reading glasses while watching movies on a laptop to give the sensation of a larger screen. Of course, this is terrible for the eyes