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TV VIEWING DISTANCE QUESTION

I am in the market for a new TV and I wish to take advantage of the new 1080P technology. My short list includes the Samsung 5678 (56 inch picture 16/9 measured diagonally). I plan to sit about 11 feet 6 inches from the
TV.
Last night I watched a movie at a friend's house on her new 42 inch Sony Plasma TV and I was sitting about 11 feet
from the TV. Today I had a major headache, sort of the way I feel when I am sitting too close in a movie theatre.
In a movie theater I am comfortable near the back.
My research tells me that to really enjoy high def its best to sit 8-11 feet away and most manufacturers say there is no problem sitting 11 feet away from a 56 inch tv.
Anybody have any experience with this and any suggestions
would be welcome. I currently have a 34inch Sony XBR 16/9 CRT which is great, but I wanted a bigger picture. I would hate to spend $4000 on a 56 inch TV and find that its too much tv for the room. Or could it be that I have a particular personal sensitivity to sitting that close?
kjl
kurt_tank
1,189 posts
 
My rule of thumb is that for regular TV, use a 3:1 ratio and for HT, use a 2:1 ratio.

(i.e. If sitting 12 feet from the screen, use a 48 inch (4 feet) for regular TV, and if for HT use a 72 inch (6 feet).

A 3:1 ratio for HT is just not quite like being in the theater, IMHO. Unfortunately, I have a 3:1 ratio at home, (46" TV @ 12 feet) and while it is okay, especially for TV, it is not quite good enough on moives to convey that feeling of being in the theater. But then again, I prefer to sit about 1/4 of the way back from the front seats in the theater, wo we appear to have a different perspective on watching movies.

That being said though, if you're getting a headache from being too close, you should take that into account. My guess is that you should keep to a 3:1 ratio, (at most), which means that your 56" is just a little too big. (Perhaps we should trade your brand new 56" DLP HDTV, for my 4 year old 46" RPTV? No, huh?!)

My two cents worth anyway.
Good Luck in your quest!
rives
953 posts
 
I'm by no means an expert in this, but use a THX rule of thumb for 1080P. The width viewing angle should be no more than 36 degrees. That means the sitting distance should be at least 1.6 (approximately) times the width of the screen or you can theorhetically resolve pixels (not with my eyesight however). However, I don't think this has anything to do with the headaches you are experiencing. Some people get headaches from the ghosting on LCD, some from the halos around DLP, others from a bright screen in a dark room.
rysa4
266 posts
 
11 feet is too far away from a 42 inch plasma ( I have one). What might have happened hear is that your eyes needed to converge more than usual for a fixed period of time. The over used muscles needed to fix in the adjusted position relative to your usual screen size would likely cause a headache.
rysa4
266 posts
 
Or the alcohol consumed at the same time casued a hangover.
dtsag
119 posts
 
All theory is just theory and is just a guideline but the headache is yours to suffer. You should not force yourself to accept what other people are saying.

Don't feel ashame if you need a couple more feet to feel comfortable and DON'T ask the front row seaters for their advise.

You should make your own judgement by trying at your friends place. The only cost may be just pop corn, pop or wine depanding on the time of visit.

Good luck.
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