Posted by Capital Sound on 8/14/2014 to
Service Reviews
If you are building a home-theater system (and if you are here reading this, chances are pretty good that this is speaking to you), you have probably been working hard putting in all the time and research to find the right speakers for your existing devices, and coming up with right receiver to put everything together.
Now, it's the piece de resistance - upgrading the television. While most home-theater systems are built for the speakers and the powerful audio that come from them, the TV is the anchor of the entire system and is probably taken as seriously or more so than thee speaker selection.
But what TV should you buy? That, our friends, is the $64,000 question. And the answer is, it depends on a number of things - your viewing habits, the size of your space, how well-lit it is, etc.
While we can't give you specific recommendations, here are at least some things to consider when you are shopping for a TV set:
- Depending on your space and where you will be sitting most often will determine the size of your TV. If you are going to be about 9 feet away (which is average), then the recommendation is to get a TV in the 65- to 72-inch range.
- However, if your space is pretty small, then that TV may be too big and be too dominant. If your space is smaller, though, then you might not even sit 9 feet away to begin with, but a rough guideline of size is to take your viewing distance in inches and multiply by 0.7 and find the size TV (diagonally) that is close to that number (maybe on the larger side).
- LCD or Plasma? LCD sets can go to larger sizes and are brighter than plasmas, but plasmas show action much clearer and more smoothly. The math equation above may force your choice if you go really big, but if not, then it depends on your room and what you generally will be watching.
- If you will be in a bright room - especially one with bright sunlight that comes in or just a very brightly lit room compared to the rest of the house - then go with an LCD screen. But if you like watching sporting events or other shows with a lot of action, then plasma may be a better choice.
- This can also be subjective to your own preferences. The key here is to get a resolution that will allow you to see comfortably close and not see pixels (1080p for closer seating, like under 6 feet; 720p will work for most viewing of more than 6 feet away).
- If you're worried about the set dominating the room, tape a piece of cardboard to your wall that is similar in size to the TV you want. If the cardboard looks too big, then the TV for sure will be dominant, so go a little smaller.
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