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General discussion

Proper Viewing Distances....

Aug 5, 2005 11:31AM PDT

...I have a 42" plasma in a room about 16' x 12'. The exact viewing distance from the couch to the TV screen is 9'.
My wife complains that the TV is too big for the room and the viewing distance. I say that's silly and find the view absolutely perfect.
Are there any rules of thumb on such things and are any of these rules dependant on the technology employed by the TV?
Any thoughts/input would be greatly appreciated.

Discussion is locked

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Rule
Aug 5, 2005 1:20PM PDT

The rule of thumb is 5 times the hight of the screen. Your screen would be about 21" tall. Ideal distance would be 105" or just about 9 feet. You are right, and that is just about the distance I sit from my 42" plasma. Looks perfect to mee too.

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Good Rule...
Aug 5, 2005 2:58PM PDT

Five times the screen height is right! The good news is once you're watching all HD you can get a lot closer without noticing artifacts or picture structure thus making your 42'' look even BIGGER!!

About 2.5 to 3.2 away from your HDTV when you view HD content is generally cool. In your case about 5ft give or take. Man that's close! Probably too close, this standard was originally computed for projection screens which are totally different in terms of illuminance. But you could move a bit closer and tell your wife that my wife said it was OK for me to say you could say so.

Stuck watching VHS tapes? To make it look acceptable move back to about 7 or 8 times the screen height give or take a few football fields. Better still stomp out of the room claiming it compromises your artistic integrity to watch such sub-standard viewing and head for the nearest pub.

Terry
CEO/Owner
Beyond Home Theater
www.beyondhometheater.com