[thiao]

You might want to check out the Samsung UN22D5000, which is carried at BB and on sale this week for the price you mentioned.


There is also an owners thread in this forum.


It's a really nice 22" LCD/LED, full 1080P (1920 x 1080 native resolution).


The native panel itself probably won't give you the viewing range you're looking for however, there is the ability to electronically tilt the viewing angle.


It's call Magic Angle and can be set to a lean back or standing mode.


Another thought is that Samsung has a line of 22" - 27" monitors with built in HDTV tuners. Most have tilt forward/backward stands and some also have the Magic Angle as well. Although these also have 1920 x 1080 native resolution, monitors use TF type panels (e.g. fast response time but poor viewing angles).

 

[thiao]

Magic angle is turned on/off via the menu.


Select menu -> Picture Mode


From a Picture Mode , Magic Angle is the first option down.


When selected, the feature can be turned on/off and when on, the options are lean back (tilt down) or stand up (tilt up).


Very easy to do using the remote control, but also possible from the touch controls, located on the bottom right bezel (very hard to see them though).


Yes, if one of the electronic tilts is selected, straight on viewing will no longer be optimum. A solution would be to have a picture mode with tilt and another without. The remote has a picture mode button, where you can quickly and easily toggle the modes with the press of the button.

 

[thiao]

Given what you said regarding distances (e.g. TV 8 feet off the ground, with the main viewing area about 8 feet away), assuming seated with eye level at 4 feet, using trigonometry for a 90 degee triangle, your viewing angle would be 26 degrees at a true distance of 9 feet, which similar to sitting in a bar watching a TV.


While the marketing folks specify their TVs with 178 viewing angles, what this really means is "the angle where viewing is no longer possible". For most viewers, discomfort begins when viewing angles exceed 35 degrees.


Not all TVs are created equal, or for that matter, even the panels used for a specific model (search 'panel lottery').


Case in point, 9 months ago, based on viewing experiences at BB, I purchased a large Samsung model. At the time, Samsung was using 3 different panel versions (e.g. SQ, AA, CM) and there were many, often heated discussions/opinions regarding what were the good, better and best panels. If you read the lottery threads, folks were scouring B&M inventories, returning unopened on-line shipments and/or perfectly good TVs etc., to make sure they had the best, based on the opinion of others. In my particular case, my TV had a AA type panel (not considered the 'best' by some. However, after checking it out, I found it to have outstanding picture quality, no uniformity ill effects (e.g. flash lighting/clouding) and a keeper. BTW, although not important in my situation, the viewing angles are exceptionally wide.


My suggestion, given the above calculations, I would be to go to BB etc., and actually see what set works best for you in your viewing parameters (size, panel characteristics).