Have your say & ask the experts

i have juggled a couple of tv's around and now watch my movies via a 32inch panasonic cos its my only full hd tv. it is however too small. my previous tv was pana 37inch. That was probably fine but tempted to go to 40-42 for my next tv as there seems to be a lack of good quality 37 inch tv's. viewing distance is 2.5 meters to tv. is 37inch about right, can i go bigger or not. also how many of you out there have bought big but regretted it because of viewing distance.

I would say it depends upon the majority of your viewing.

What will this be comprised of??

To be fair though, I have not read many comments from people who think they have bought a TV that is too big...

dude 50 inch is the way

i sit quite colose to my 42 inch, and its small......

I think 40"-42" will be fine.

I find that most TV via my Virgin V+ box has a really good picture so the larger screen does not have too many imperfections in the source to highlight.

Of course BD is fine and you could sit an inch away from the picture and it would still look sharp. Although not the best position to really appreciate what you are watching. 

Garth Man:

dude 50 inch is the way

i sit quite colose to my 42 inch, and its small......

There you go. Maybe you are not looking large enough!

I sit at a distance of approximately 8-9ft (about 2.5-2.7 metres) and I watch tv, dvd and blu ray on my 42" and it's fine. I think I could have gone for a 46" or, at a push, even a 50", specially when viewing dvds, blu rays or playing on my xbox 360. My tv seemed huge when I first got it home, now it seems on the small side. I suggest you take a tape measure to the shop, measure out your viewing distance and judge for yourself.

Oh, and I don't wear glasses. 

Garth Man,

I notice in your signature, that you have a dead xbox 360. I bought my xbox when they first came out in 2005 (I think it was), and had the 3 red lights appear earlier this year. I phoned xbox 360 support and despite not having an extended warranty on it, they said that they had extended it for that problem. They picked it up and about 2 weeks later sent back a working replacement, all free of charge.

If you're interested in using the 360 again, it might be worth giving them a call if you haven't already, to see what they say.

cheers hmtb

I did twice!!!! the second one died also as it was a refubished xbox.....the bliming cheek 

I do want another one, as I miss gears of war and other games very dearly 

I do like my PS3, but I'm not convinced its a better games machine. Yes its a better machine overall. But not for games in terms of playablity... So I will invest in a new omne very soon

I want Gears 3 and fable 3!!!! PS3 has none of these games!!!

Hi

 i have a 50" plasma at approx 7 feet away from the viewing position and its fine

 Check out the THX website for their recommended viewing distances http://www.thx.com/home/setup/display.html

Yes, We are being serious. I wouldn't place too much faith in what the "tech stuff on the net says" as it recommends 32" which you consider to be too small.

As I said before, go to a shop, measure out your viewing distance and have a look at a range of tvs and sizes with various sources and make the decision for yourself. It's not hard. If you see pixelation on a 42" screen at your distance, then go for a smaller set.

You can only get other people's opinion on a forum. Ultimately, you need to see it with your own eyes. Have you been to see any tvs yet? It's the only way you will be able to dispel your fears of getting a tv which is too big.

I think you'll find that the viewing distance recommendations vary depending on the content, so while you could watch HD content on a 50" at about 7-8 feet, you might well be ill advised to do the same with SD tv broadcasts.