Picking the right size TV for a bedroom

[seepy83]

I'm in the market for a TV for my bedroom (and also for a wall-mount that's on an arm so I can mount it on a wall in the corner and swing the arm out to angle the tv toward the bed...if anyone can recommened a good mount that would be awesome).

I want a TV that will be big enough to easily read subtitles in movies from about 12 feet away, but small enough that my girlfriend/future wife won't have an issue with the size of it. My initial though has been for a 32", but I'm starting to think that would be too big/obtrusive for the bedroom. Maybe 26" would be OK?

I have a 60" in my family room that I sit about 8' away from, so I'm having a hard time judging what will be decent for the bedroom...

 

[kalrith]

Use this viewing-distance calculator to determine your viewing angle given a certain screen size and viewing distance. For example, a 32" TV at 12' has an 11.1° viewing angle. A 60" TV has that same viewing angle at 22'. So, if you can read subtitles on your 60" from 22' away, then you'll be able to read them on a 32" from 12' away, because they'll be the same size.

In other words, you'll likely need a bigger TV than 32" at that long of a viewing distance if you want to be able to read the subtitles. You could also go to a store, turn subtitles on for different TV sizes, measure a distance of 12', and see if you can read them.

Edit: Oops, forgot the calculator link. YOyoYO's post reminded me though

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I think a 26" TV from 12 feet away will look about 1/9th the size as a 60" TV from 8' away.

You'd have to be 28 feet away from a 60" TV for it to look the same size as a 26" TV from 12 feet away.

A 26" TV from 3.5 feet away would look the same size as your 60" from 8 feet away.

http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html

(Sorry, I'm slow because I got interrupted during my calculations )

 

[seepy83]

I'm familiar with the viewing distance calculators, but (as you know) i'd probably need a 65-70" for optimal viewing at 12 feet...but that's just not practical for a bedroom. I guess I'm looking for personal experience/recommendations here.

I guess the best option is to go to a store and look at a 26" from 12 feet. Either that, or I get the 32", mount it, and when she complains about the size I will be forced to move it to the kitchen/dining room area and replace it with a 26" :awe:

 

[kalrith]

I guess the best option is to go to a store and look at a 26" from 12 feet.

You should definitely try that first. I'm not trying to get you to put a 70" screen in your bedroom or anything like that. I'm just trying to say that it's going to be ridiculously small at that distance.

We had a 19" 4:3 TV in our bedroom a while back, and it was so incredibly small that we just stuck it out in the garage. A 26" 16:9 screen is the same height as a 21" 4:3 TV, so it probably won't be a much different experience. That coupled with the fact that 26" TVs aren't much cheaper than 32" TVs would point me to the larger TV.

32" isn't a huge size or anything, and if it's wall-mounted and out of the way, it's not going to overtake the room or anything like that.

But, the test should definitely be done regardless of what size you decide to get.

 

[0roo0roo]

egads..12 feet is VERY far.
looking at a 26" from even 8 feet its a tiny screen. 12 feet you would be looking at a postage stamp.
people always underestimate the size they need or can get away with, these screens don't take up much space now on the wall. you need atleast a 40" esp if you want to read subs comfortably. at 26" the image is about 1 foot tall. its tiny never mind from 12 feet back.
a 40" is only 20" tall. from 12 feet even that is small. watch a letter box on a 40" and your image shrinks to a 15" tall stripe a 26" screen is a computer monitor. a 32" bedroom screen is for if you watch the news out of the corner of your eye. if you want to watch actual content with subs and such you need much larger. wide screen figures are misleading to people used to 4:3 measurements.

 

[Tiamat]

12' is far especially for reading subtitles. I'm thinking 37" TV if you have good eyesight is gonna be close to the minimum. I don't think you will get away with less than 32" screen for sure.

 

[seepy83]

Alright, so my mental estimates were a little off. The viewing distance would actually be 8.5 ft for the close side of the bed, and 10 for the further side.

The room is 11x14 and after actually taking a tape measure to the corner, it becomes pretty obvious that 32 is not too big at all...40 is probably even easily doable as long as it doesn't have too much casing around it. but 40 is starting to get up into a price that I don't really want to pay for the bedroom.

Anyone have recommendations for a mount? Again, I'm looking for something that can extend/swivel out from the wall on an arm and also tilt down. I'm sure not all mounts are created equal...

Thanks again everyone.

 

[0roo0roo]

check out slickdeals and other hot deal sites.
40" or so the price drops have been pretty good.

 

[arkcom]

Monoprice has a lot of nice mounts. Here's the cheapest one that would work for you.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10828&cs_id=1082806&p_id=5921&seq=1&format=2

 

[TheVrolok]

LCDs are come in 720 and 1080. They come in a variety of sizes from small enough for the kitchen counter or a bed room to big enough for a large entertainment room. They are more suited for daily use over prolonged periods of time and perfect for video games.

Fail.

 

[kalrith]

check out slickdeals and other hot deal sites.
40" or so the price drops have been pretty good.

This. 40-42" TVs very often come down to the $500 range with no tax (depending on state) and free shipping. Couple that with the afore-mentioned $30 monoprice mount, and you've got a pretty nice setup. Getting up into that size would also allow you to get a plasma TV, which would likely yield a much, much better picture than the low-end LCD TVs.

BTW, if you're planning on using the TV speakers, look up some reviews on those. Most TV speakers are crap, but some are total, complete, and utter crap. You want to at least get TV speakers that are at the typical level of crappiness

 

[seepy83]

I'll be keeping my eye out for deals over the next month or two.

I seem to recall reading (at some point in the past) that Plasma screens need to stay perfectly verticle or the picture can distort. Would I be out of luck for tilting the screen downwards if I had a Plasma?

 

[kalrith]

I'll be keeping my eye out for deals over the next month or two.

I seem to recall reading (at some point in the past) that Plasma screens need to stay perfectly verticle or the picture can distort. Would I be out of luck for tilting the screen downwards if I had a Plasma?

Yeah, if you tilt the screen, the plasma cells will leak out No. It's no difference to tilt a plasma screen as it is to tilt an LCD screen.

 

[sdifox]

I'll be keeping my eye out for deals over the next month or two.

I seem to recall reading (at some point in the past) that Plasma screens need to stay perfectly verticle or the picture can distort. Would I be out of luck for tilting the screen downwards if I had a Plasma?

Ceiling mounting a plasma over your bed is a bad idea ok?

 

[EagleKeeper]

Ceiling mounting a plasma over your bed is a bad idea ok?

Put a mirror on the ceiling and point the plasma toward the mirror.
Having a mirror on a ceiling has been considered a major improvement for the bedroom (so I have heard:hmm

On a serious side; I have a couple of plasmas and both places where I purchased them advised me to not lay them down.

 

[kalrith]

On a serious side; I have a couple of plasmas and both places where I purchased them advised me to not lay them down.

Did they advise you not to lay them down when transporting them? Any TV with a glass screen (i.e. plasmas and CRTs) should be transported upright. If you lay them flat, the vibrations of the road and the bumps thereon can cause the screen to shatter.

Once you're not transporting it, laying it flat shouldn't matter unless your area is prone to earthquakes.

 

[BoberFett]

One of these days I'm going to get around to putting a 32" in the bedroom. We currently have a little 19" TV/VCR combo but we'd like something a little easier to see from across the room.

I like this little calculator: http://www.cavecreations.com/tv2.cgi

Going from a 19" 4:3 screen to a 26" 16:9 screen barely gives you any additional screen height. Most of the size increase goes toward the width. So since I already know that a 19" is too small and I want a taller picture than that, the next logical step is 32". Any bigger than that is, IMO, too large for a bedroom.