In Quest for a 50+

[vchounal]

Very true Blasto. Even I can't sit so close to watch tv. At my parents' place where we have the LG 42PQ70 plasma, we generally sit at 12 feet to watch Tata Sky DTH and 13-14 feet when we watch DivX DVD Rips or blu ray rips through WDTV HD media player. For my place where we have a 24-26 feet hall, I have planned the 50 inch plasma with a viewing distance of about 16-18 feet. Definitely can't sit at 10-12 feet for a 50 inch screen!

---Venkat

The room, where we have table mounted our 50" plasma temporarily, has a viewing distance of about 8'. I was apprhensive about this 'small' viewing distance before we brought the plasma home but none of my family members is feeling odd watching TV from this distance and we find it okay.

 

[VSG12777]

Wow. 8 feet distance for a 50 inch plasma??!! That's damn close! Well at least I tried it with my 42 inch plasma and that itself was quite close. The thing is, it may be ok for short durations, but if you're gonna watch an entire 2 hour movie on the 50 inch plasma sitting at just 8 feet from the tv, the eyes would surely start aching after a while.

For some people though, it does seem ok. So ultimately I guess it all bogs down to personal preference and what distance we are comfortable with.

Let me add that if you sit at 8 feet for your LG 50PK550 full HD plasma, you should be really able to appreciate the extra detail and depth in full HD blu ray rips or other full HD content (like playing blu ray discs directly from a player).

---Venkat

 

[sanjay0864]

You have stressed this enough number of times. No need to dig all of my old posts and write the same thing over and over again.

The only reason I ask this question again, is because you keep suggesting to people to be wary of the size. Honestly, a 50" TV is not a large TV, ie. unless one is only used to watching really small TVs.

Not everyone can see movies on a 106" screen from 11 feet. Worse if it were a TV. Screens are pretty easy on your eyes compared to TV.

Have you ever seen a movie on a 106" screen from 11 feet? Believe me it is not an issue for anyone. Out of the many people who have seen my setup, not a single person to date, has complained about the screen being too large, or them having any issues watching a movie. As for TVs being stressfull on the eyes, the scientific fact is that if your eyes feel stressed while watching TV, then either you have your brightness level set too high or are watching a CRT TV with a poor refresh rate, ie. lower than 100hz. Since, refresh rate is not an issue with either Plasma or LCD TVs, that only leaves the brightness level which could cause stress. The scientific reason why on old CRT TVs, people complained of eye stress when sitting too close, is that the refresh rate used to be 50hz, the lower refresh rate would make the picture appear to flicker and would thus cause a strain on the eyes. By moving back, you would increase the area of focus for your eyes and thus there would be less stress. This problem was to a great extent resolved by the higher end, 100hz CRT TVs. In any case, with Plasmas and LCDs, this is not an issue at all and this just remains as a myth. Thus, if you have the brightness level on your Plasma/LCD set correctly, there should be no issues with eye stress. If anything, instead of a larger size causing eye strain, a smaller size TV is more likely to cause strain on the eyes.

PS: I sit for hours on end, at times for 7-8 hrs at a stretch and no more than 2 to 2 1/2 feet in front of my 24" PC monitor and have never felt any eye strain. But I do remember, back in 1994, getting severe eye strain from sitting at the same distance, for even half an hour to an hour, before a 14" CRT monitor with a 60Hz refresh rate. In fact even now, when I vist people's offices and I come across a CRT monitor, the first thing I do is set the highest refresh rate the monitor can support, to make the flicker that causes eye strain, go away. You will be surprised how many people have their monitors still running at 60hz, inspite of their hardware supporting refresh rates as high as 120hz or at the very least 85hz.

I still require 12' for DTH on 50" but people can be more accomodative.

On a personal level you are obviously free to prefer whatever size/distance you care to. But to suggest the same to others, there ought ot be some semblence of scientific reasoning to it. I hope, you do realize, that at a distance of 12 feet from a 50" monitor, according to scientifically proven 'visual acuity' parameters of the human eye, you will have almost zero benefit of a FULL HD (1920x1080) resolution. Thus, you would be wasting good money on FULL HD and a HD Ready TV would give you the same picture at that distance, atleast as far as resolution is concerned.

 

[sanjay0864]

At my parents' place where we have the LG 42PQ70 plasma, we generally sit at 12 feet to watch Tata Sky DTH and 13-14 feet when we watch DivX DVD Rips or blu ray rips through WDTV HD media player.

Hmm... logic would suggest it would be the other way around, ie. closer to the TV with HD or better quality material, such as DivX DVD Rips or blu ray rips through WDTV HD media player, and further away from the TV, for SD and poorer quality material, such as Tata Sky DTH.

For my place where we have a 24-26 feet hall, I have planned the 50 inch plasma with a viewing distance of about 16-18 feet.

Wow! Talk about phobias. Why not just buy a 42" TV and sit maybe 11-12 feet away? Would save you quite a bit of money, that way. Better yet, why not just buy a 32" TV and sit maybe 8-9 feet from it?

Definitely can't sit at 10-12 feet for a 50 inch screen!

What exactly is it you fear would happen, if you were to sit at 10-12 feet to a 50" screen? Will the heavens fall or will the earth split?

The room, where we have table mounted our 50" plasma temporarily, has a viewing distance of about 8'. I was apprhensive about this 'small' viewing distance before we brought the plasma home but none of my family members is feeling odd watching TV from this distance and we find it okay.

You have inadvertently chosen the ideal distance, 8'-9', for watching a 50" 'FULL HD' TV. Glad to hear, that you and your family are enjoying the experience.

Wow. 8 feet distance for a 50 inch plasma??!! That's damn close!

That would pretty much be the ideal distance for a 50" 'FULL HD' TV.

The thing is, it may be ok for short durations, but if you're gonna watch an entire 2 hour movie on the 50 inch plasma sitting at just 8 feet from the tv, the eyes would surely start aching after a while.

I personally guarantee, that no average person, would be the least bothered by having watched 'two' entire 2 hour movies, let alone one 2 hour movie. I say 'average', simply to accomodate the rare human being with unique issues.

Let me add that if you sit at 8 feet for your LG 50PK550 full HD plasma, you should be really able to appreciate the extra detail and depth in full HD blu ray rips or other full HD content (like playing blu ray discs directly from a player).

Damn right, he shall surely enjoy his TV, to it's full potential, by watching it from that distance.