I have a 60'' Samsung 8500 TV and a couple of days ago, I decided to watch the classic horror movie I Know What You Did Last Summer on DVD. I normally sit 9 feet from the screen, but since the movie has a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, I sat at a distance of 8 feet to offset the letterboxing. 8 feet also happens to be the optimal viewing distance for a 60'' TV according to several websites.
I couldn't enjoy the movie because it had a ridiculously high amount of dithering. Especially the dark scenes, which were a sparkly mess. So much for plasma TVs having superior blacks! Maybe it's because I was watching a fairly old movie on standard definition. Maybe it's because I watched it in 16:9 mode, instead of Screen Fit, although I can't imagine how zooming in slightly on an already upscaled image could've made much of a difference. Maybe the dark scenes were meant to be foggy, and dithering is the only way that plasma TVs can show dark grey fog.
But that's not my point. My point is that if I was sitting at the optimal viewing distance, I shouldn't have seen any dithering at all. There are many TV viewing distance calculators and tables on the internet, but none of them take into account that plasma TVs have more dithering than LEDs and therefore may need to be viewed from further back.
So I'll ask you guys for advice.
How far do you sit from your plasma TV and what size TV do you have?
Do you vary your sitting distance depending on the aspect ratio or resolution of the movie you're watching, or do you always sit at the same distance?
I have a 60'' Samsung 8500 TV and a couple of days ago, I decided to watch the classic horror movie I Know What You Did Last Summer on DVD. I normally sit 9 feet from the screen, but since the movie has a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, I sat at a distance of 8 feet to offset the letterboxing. 8 feet also happens to be the optimal viewing distance for a 60'' TV according to several websites.
I couldn't enjoy the movie because it had a ridiculously high amount of dithering. Especially the dark scenes, which were a sparkly mess. So much for plasma TVs having superior blacks! Maybe it's because I was watching a fairly old movie on standard definition. Maybe it's because I watched it in 16:9 mode, instead of Screen Fit, although I can't imagine how zooming in slightly on an already upscaled image could've made much of a difference. Maybe the dark scenes were meant to be foggy, and dithering is the only way that plasma TVs can show dark grey fog.
But that's not my point. My point is that if I was sitting at the optimal viewing distance, I shouldn't have seen any dithering at all. There are many TV viewing distance calculators and tables on the internet, but none of them take into account that plasma TVs have more dithering than LEDs and therefore may need to be viewed from further back.
So I'll ask you guys for advice.
How far do you sit from your plasma TV and what size TV do you have?
Do you vary your sitting distance depending on the aspect ratio or resolution of the movie you're watching, or do you always sit at the same distance?
