[Hammie]

I have a Toshiba 34" 1080i HDTV with a PS3. So, I'll be gaming and watching Blu-rays on whatever I get.


I have been wanting to upgrade to a larger tv and my wife is sort of on board. When we bought the Toshiba about 4 years ago, we also bought this armoire. The problem now is that she doesn't want to get rid of it. The largest TV that I can fit in the armoire is a 42" (41" opening).


Do you think this is a significant size upgrade or will I not see much difference? I really want the 52" Samsung 7 Series.


BTW, my viewing distance is about 9.5-10 feet.


Thanks!

 

[mes444]

I think 52" at 10' would be much better than 42". Go to a store and check it out for yourself.

 

[Asosa24]

I would say for sure. I just set up my new Philips 42" LCD this past weekend and wow. The set just takes over the room. I'm sitting about 7.5/8 ft away and I feel like I'm right ontop of it. I would think 42" is plenty good for 9.5/10 ft, no need to go any bigger. Especially if you already have a piece of furniture to put it in. For some reason these tvs look small in the store, but man oh man, when you bring it home it's a whole nother story. You'll see what I mean. Good luck.

 

[sharkcohen]

42" is too small for 10 feet. Go 52", at least.

 

[davegow]

Just on the issue of viewing distance, I agree with the others that you could easily justify a bigger set than 42 inches. I watch a 52 inch set at 11 feet and it's fine for SD, but with good HD I'd like something bigger.


There may be another problem with your armoire, however. You need to be careful there is enough space for cooling. If you are cramming a set in there you may want to cut cooling vents both top and bottom, venting into the room, to ensure adequate cooling. A lot of the reliability complaints about HDTVs come from this problem.

 

[eddy_winds]

Go Bigger..

Once you see a 42" you may say this is nice. But I wonder what a 50" or 57" a 65" would like in my Living room.

 

[FARBES]

How about 46'inch HDTV?

 

[Hammie]

I think I may try the ventilation thing with her as a reason to NOT keep the armoire and why we just need it sitting on the stand.


She says she likes the armoire because she can close the doors when we have company over. BTW, the only time the doors have been closed was when we first bought it and wanted to see what it looked like.


FARBES, I have considered the 46" but if I'm getting a new TV that won't fit in the armoire, I figured the 52" would be the way to go, outside of cost savings that is.

 

[mazer75]

Isn't 52" a bit too big for a 10' viewing distance? Don't know for sure, but I'm just wondering...

 

[sharkcohen]



Quote:
Originally Posted by mazer75 /forum/post/14159441


Isn't 52" a bit too big for a 10' viewing distance? Don't know for sure, but I'm just wondering...

No, in fact it's on the border of being too small.

 

[davegow]



Quote:
Originally Posted by mazer75 /forum/post/14159441


Isn't 52" a bit too big for a 10' viewing distance? Don't know for sure, but I'm just wondering...

For SD it's about right (that is, a person of average eyesight is just on the verge of seeing signal noise). For HD, a person of average eyesight can have a larger set and still see a clear picture. 60 inches is probably a reasonable size with good quality HD at 10 feet. There are some videophiles who want bigger than that which is their choice.

 

[Kevin. W]

I went from a 40" to 46" and the difference is very noticeable. I sit about 7-8 feet away.

 

[westa6969]

A 42" may be Wow for about a week. 57" from 8.5' and want BIGGER!

When I went from a 45" to the 57" my HT HD Movies and everything else became a new and better experience. Size definitely matters if you feed it what it wants and you deserve HD!

BTW my SD is just as damn good on the 57" as it was on the 45" comparatively not great but not bad really. If you were to see ESPN or CNN SD versus the HD versions it is a total different world I could give a thousand examples of what's better and believe me a 1080P panel that is in 1:1 dot mode can easily do a 70" at my 8.5'.


BTW my 34" Sony CRT I used to have was a TV to Watch while my 45/57" panels are an Experience that still wows me daily and the 34" CRT Never accomplished that feat. Zero regrets despite the CRT whiners that popup here about the blacks but who gives a crap when a 16:9 wide screen gives you immersion that the weenie 34" could not do and in fact my 57" is far better than viewing movies at the theater and a 52" 650/750 would do the same.

 

[gigaguy]

I had the much lauded Sony 34XBR960 tube, then went to a 40" Sony XBR1, then to a Sony 46XBR2, and now I'm shopping for a 52". I'm about 8'-10' away, and use it 50% of the time for PC (Mac Mini) and 50% TV, DVD, HD-DVR.

Using HDTV as a PC monitor is a great thing, and more bang for the buck IMO, esp with Apple OS, bluetooth control, HD screensavers and wallpapers, slideshows, desktops, music and movies on the hard drives, etc. It's great.

Get the biggest screen you can afford and are willing to share your space with.

 

[Terminader]

I have a 52" at about 12-14 feet. It's great, but I would have purchased a 65" based upon the distance.


For 8-10 feet a 42" is acceptable. If you can go 46/47/52, do that.

 

[gijoe]

52 at 10 feet and it feels about perfect. I had to go LCD over DLP so to go much bigger I would be spending way to much money.

 

[mgavsf]

We are at 11 feet and almost went 42 with our first plasma. We were really glad we went 50. Last year, we went 60 (before getting it we worried it might be too big) and it turned out we're really glad we did that. See a pattern?