Right size LCD for a room + Swivel wall mount question

[Unwell Cat]

I'm having problems trying to decide what size LCD is right for my new front room when I move in a couple of weeks. The room is a about 16ft by 12ft so I don't want a screen which will dwarf the room but I do want something that I can watch from about 6ft or so away.

I'm not sure whether to go 32inches or 37inches, any suggestions ?

Also need to be able to pull the monitor out from the wall to watch it and then swivel it back into the wall when finished. Can you get wall mounts which swivel out to view and then swivel back flush into the wall ?

[Olly C]

My room can't be more than 8ft by 8ft and I've got a 32" LCD in mine wallmounted, I'd say push for a 40" atleast for your room, get the 40" Sony W series or the new D series one

[charlesr]

Anywhere between 32 and 42" for a 6ft viewing distance will be great. If you wall mount it, it will dwarf less than if it's on a stand as long as you have a suitable place to put the sky/console/dvd boxes nearby.

Do you have a wife/gf? If so and they are worried about such a big screen taking over, mine was the same about my 42" but once it was up on the wall and she had watched a couple of films, she decided it was the best thing ever. Especially since we used to have a huge chunky 32" CRT widescreen.

[Unwell Cat]

yep wife is worried about it dominating the room. Wall mounting would be the best idea but then I would have to channel the wall for all the cables, power etc and then get a plaster in to finish off.

[Destrukticor]

with wall mounting, another option is to use some cable tidy option to gather the cables up.

See my pics in the gaming setup threads to see how it looks, obviously not as tidy as channeling walls but cheap and effective and can be got from maplins for cheapness.

as for size wall mounting reduces the "Footprint" considerably as my tv is 40" but doesn't dwarf the room as much as i expected it to.

[andrewfee]

It really depends on what you're going to be watching, and what kind of display you're getting.

If you're getting something 1080p native, and will be using BluRay/HD DVD a lot (or any other 1080i/p source) I would go for a 50" screen as you really need to be sitting that close to something that big to see all the extra detail 1080p brings. HD games also look great at this size, but you don't need something that big to see all the detail in a 720p source. (sitting that close doesn't hurt things though)

If you're going for something 720p native (like a Plasma) 42" is the absolute maximum I'd go (even then you'd probably be seeing the pixel structure with a Plasma) and would recommend something more in the 37-40" range.

If it's for standard definition to look its best, and you have no intention of using HD, go for 32" (though if you're using the HD systems at all, I'd really recommend at least 37" to start seeing the real benefits of HD)


Personally, I'd choose a 50" 1080p native set, even though I watch a lot of standard definition, purely because HD looks so good at that size/distance, and that's what you need to get a truly cinematic experience. (THX's spec is a 36º viewing angle) A lot of the screens at that size/resolution/price-point have good processing though, so even standard definition should be fairly watchable. (Pioneer's 50" displays do a very good job with SD, for example, though I've not seen one of their 1080p native sets yet)

As for "dominating the room" you would be surprised at how quickly you adjust to a new TV's size - I used to be happy with a 26" screen, thought 32" was a big step up, that 37" was as big as I'd ever want, and now I'm perfectly happy with 50" in here. Design also comes into it a lot as well - Samsung's 52" screen looked a lot bigger than Pioneer's 50" one that I've got in here right now. (this feels like it's a 42/46 in comparison) I wouldn't want any bigger though, as 50" at 6ft matches up with THX's spec almost perfectly.


EDIT: I don't know what your room is like, but something like this can look quite good if you don't want to go through the hassle of running cables in the wall: http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Ind...ine/index.html

[Unwell Cat]

Thanks for the detailed reply mate. A lot to think about it would seem. The missus is adamant that 37 inches is the largest we can buy. I can see her point as until you see something bigger in the same size room it's difficult to get your head round the size.

[Unwell Cat]

I don't know what your room is like, but something like this can look quite good if you don't want to go through the hassle of running cables in the wall: http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Ind...ine/index.html

Never seen those used but any rooms where standard trunking has been used that I've seen always look a little untidy.

[BlackHammer]

What's your budget unwell cat?!

[Unwell Cat]

What's your budget unwell cat?!

Somewhere around ?700.00 give or take.