LCD Screen Size

Just wait a bit longer. With a Vizio 50" plasma with a Faroudja scaler and 2 HDMI inputs now priced at $2K MRSP (and receiving praise in this month's The Perfect Vision), it won't be long before $1K buys a large flatscreen. The Chinese LCD factories are just coming on line and there will be huge economies of scale in the next 12 mos.

I've heard of this Vizio just recently. Thanks for all the input.

Zar,

I just recently purchased a 37" Viewsonic LCD TV for $1199 (after $300 in rebates). It is a fully integrated HDTV with speakers, SD and HD TV tuners, table stand, etc. It is a great TV at that price. I bought it because I had limited space and the Viewsonics speakers are on the bottom, not the sides, thus saving space.

IMHO, the 37" Viewsonic (or other panel) would be great for movies/DVDs, but not great if you watch much SD TV. SD is very watchable, but looks pretty grainy at your viewing distance. It looks great in my room, but I'm about twice the distance from the TV as what you are proposing.

Enjoy,

TIC

Zar,

I also looked at the Vizio 37" at a couple of places, including Costco and Sam's Club. Unfortunately, the Vizio 37" had poor color in my opinion, always looking too yellow. I tried to adjust it, but it appeared to be a problem with that model. I also read about this problem at the AVS forum.

The 32" Vizio LCD and the 42 and 50" Vizios did not appear to have this issue.

An 8' wide 16:9 screen (110" diagonal) is a nice comrpomise for a 12' viewing distance. Scope movies are a little small, sub-par transfers of lower aspect ratios are a little big. A 113" x 48" scope screen would work better if you can accomdate the width.

At 8', I'd want to run something on the order of 75" x 32" but would settle for a 64" wide 16:9 screen (73" diagonal).

The 16:9 screen dimensions give you the same subtended field of vision you get sitting in the farthest seat from the screen in a theater meeting the THX recomendations. Most of us like to sit a bit closer to the screen.

You need to think in terms of small movie screens not large TVs. In doing so, you'll find that two-piece projection setups are required for all but the smallest living rooms.