Does TV Size Matter When Viewing HD or Blu Ray?
 

Just thought I would ask one last question before I decide to jump or not into the world of HD. I have a 27 inch LCD...and I have no plans to go bigger any time soon as it is only for bedroom watching. Would buying an HD or Blu Ray player be worth it with this size TV? I appreciate your feedback.

Yea as long as your tv is HD and runs 720 or 1080 i your good to go , don't worry about bigger.

Well, it will depend on how far you're sitting back. You would need to sit about 6 feet or closer for it to be worth it.

I sit anywhere from 3 feet to 8 feet depending on if I am watching it from my computer chair or laying in bed.

I have a 32 inch HD TV and generall sit 6 to 10 feet away and I can definitely tell the difference in HDDVD and regular DVD, but i dont think its enough of a difference that i would have invested more than $160 in an HD format without first getting a bigger TV. (I got the Xbox HD addon for with the CC coupon, and plan on getting a bigger tv when i move into a new house in a couple months.)

I used to have a 30" Sony HDTV that I hooked my 360 HD Drive up to a few times, and it blew SD-DVD away. I sat around the same distance as you, between 3-10 feet or so, and I thought it was a huge upgrade no matter the distance.

The same can be said for any size television. There is an optimum viewing distance for every size screen. Too close and it detracts from the image quality (screen door effects, visible pixelation/noise, etc). Too far away and you lose some of the definition of the set.

The fact that it is possible to sit too far away from a 27" set to make the viewing experience optimal does not in any way prove that such a set is unusable for HD.

Oh yeah, I know. It's just that I see people saying things like, you need 50 inches or whatever for a TV to appreciate HD, when they don't take viewing distance into account. They just assume everyone is going to sit 10 feet back no matter what size set they have.

I'm one of the people who doesn't think it's worth it. I have a 51" and I definitely don't sit 10 feet back. I'd say about 5 or 6.

If its a 27in 720p set or 768, I dont think it would be a huge difference over an excellent upconverting dvd player.

I agree that unless one sat pretty close to a 27 inch screen, simple upconverting would be hard to distinguish from actual HD. This chart gives an idea of distances. (But upconverted 480p would look a lot better than the 480p line on the graph.)

You sit 5-6 feet back from a 51 inch screen?? :wtf: And I thought I was blind....

I have a 26 inch Sanyo in my bedroom with a HD DVD player hooked up, and you can definitely see the difference betwen SD and HD DVD's. I'm about 8-10 feet away from my tv while viewing.

It matters and it doesn't. Viewing distance is more important. This viewing distance calculator seems to think if you're more than 3.5 feet away, it no longer matters. It may or may not be right.

I'd say if you're 8+ feet away from the screen, there's no need to get an HD set. At that distance, I think you will be able to tell a difference but mostly you'll be frustrated and want a bigger set. (I say this as a previous owner of a 26" HDTV). ;)

Not blindness, its called a NYC apartment. One has no choice...

Exactly.

How far are you SUPPOSED to sit?! What's the point of getting something big if it doesn't LOOK big? I just don't get it.

And for the record, i like to sit close in the movies too.

I'm starting to come around to this notion. I'm kicking myself for taking the 50" SXRD instead of the 60" a few months ago. It just looks a little smaller every day...

Exactly. When you first get it, it's like "WOAH! That's huge. I made a mistake."

Then 2 months later...you don't know what you were thinking.

I got a 32" for my bedroom and that was my first reaction. Almost to the point of wanting to take it back.

Now 2 months later...I actually couldn't remember how big it was. It seemed to small for a 32".

I probably wouldn't go bigger than a 56" for my living room...but that would only be if i had a thinner tube or a flat-panel. I think 51" is perfect for it. Fantasticvsdoom has seen it. ;)

Is this for your bathroom? :hscratch:

I have a 71in screen 1080p and sit about 8 feet back....no problems here. ;)

It's true. I had a 55" set in my NYC apt. a few years back. I sat 9 feet back and at first I thought it was huge. After a year, I wished I had gone for the 65"...!
Now when I have a PJ with a 92" screen and that's normal for me. Unfortunately when I go to other's houses I wind up almost squinting! My friend and I were playing a video game on his 36" set from about 9 feet back and I could barely tell what was going on...

:)

I have a 65 inch and am always saying, "I should have got the 73 inch!"

that's why I sold my 65 inch and front projector with a 120 inch screen :).

In my opinion for a 27 inch, Blu-ray/HD DVD isn't really worth it.

you all sound like my wife. always on the phone saying "i thought 6" would be enough...."

I have the 73", and now I do want the 120".

I don't think she was talking about the TV. ;)