need advice on what HDTV to get

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

On 07 Sep 2004 21:33:20 GMT, samnc001@aol.com (SamNC001) wrote:

>im the guy who got the open box tv from best buy. they (luckily) are taking it
>back. however, i just cant go back to my 25" TV (or dont think i can) I am
>looking for a good-quality HDTV set. any ideas?
>
>also, my couch is about 8 feet from the tv set, and i think the 55 inch is a
>little too big..do you concur? if so, should a 51 or 47/48 be better?

Both Toshiba and Hitachi make some kickassed looking 46" sets in the
$1400 - $1500 range. That should be large enough to get a nice "big
screen effect" for you at 8' without giving you that "sitting in the
front row of a movie theater effect". I really can't recommend any
51" sets in that price range unless you just happen to get lucky and
get a good closeout/open-box display Hitachi, Sony or Toshiba (off the
top of my head) for that price.

When selecting the proper big screen size for your distance, think
about where you like to sit in a movie theater. If you are the guy
who likes to sit in the back row, you might consider looking at 32's.
If you like sitting somewhere near the middle of the theater, check
out the 36-46" TV's. If you sit closer to the front, check out the
48-60 inchers. If you are a "front row" type, go 65" or larger.

Obviously not "science" but it's an analogy that has helped me to help
many a customer select the proper sized set for their needs. I've
seen that rule of thumb ratio somewhere on the net before where there
is actually a numeric, recommended scale (used to know it but forgot
it), but you know, we're all different and some folks actually do
prefer sitting in the front row, back row, middle, etc., so that
tosses all that hard-coded "theory" stuff out the window.

Hope this helps :-)

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

On 07 Sep 2004 21:33:20 GMT, samnc001@aol.com (SamNC001) wrote:

>im the guy who got the open box tv from best buy. they (luckily) are taking it
>back. however, i just cant go back to my 25" TV (or dont think i can) I am
>looking for a good-quality HDTV set. any ideas?

There's many good brands. Either just go to the store and buy the one
that looks best for the money, or do what I do and spend countless
hours researching first. 8)

>also, my couch is about 8 feet from the tv set, and i think the 55 inch is a
>little too big..do you concur? if so, should a 51 or 47/48 be better?

I sit about that far away from my 57". It's a bit largish, but okay,
for DVD. For HDTV it's perfect.

>also, even though the 55 inch set was nice, the TV looked real bad on regular
>cable. is this a normal phenomenon?

Yes.

>FYI, I am cheap and dont want to spend more than 1500 if possible!

Then a smaller size (even below 50") might be best - they are
inherently cheaper, not only for the obvious physical reasons, but
because you don't need as high-quality a set to look good at the
smaller sizes.