Choosing the correct size and type of HD TV for your room.

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Choosing the correct size and type of HD TV for your room.

This article will give you some basic rules to help you decide what is the correct size and type of HD TV for your room.

With CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) TVs the general rule has been that you would feel comfortable watching this type of TV from a distance of 3 to 6 times the screen size.

High Definition (HD) TVs have a much higher resolution so you can sit closer to a HD TV without noticing the pixels, so the rule for these HD TVs is that you can sit anywhere from 1.5 to 3 times the screen size and still feel comfortable watching this type of screen.

As HD TVs come in standard screen sizes the following table gives you the range of screen sizes for different viewing distances. So if you know that in your room you will be 8 feet from the TV the table below indicated that you should be looking for a HD TV with a screen size between 32 inches to 63 inches.

Viewing distance in feet	Viewing distance in inches	Minimum Screen Size in inches	Maximum Screen Size in inches
4	48	19	32
6	72	26	46
8	96	32	63
10	120	40	80
12	144	46	96
14	168	52	112

If the TV you need for your room is 40 inches or less then a flat-panel LCD TV is probably your best choice.

For TVs from 40 to 60 inches, you can choose between plasma, LCD, or rear-projection sets. Plasma HDTVs tend to be the most popular choice in this size range, as they offer good picture quality. Flat-panel LCDs are now competitive in price with plasma in the 40- to 46-inch sizes, but generally not available over 52-inches--and at that size they can be expensive.

Rear-projection TVs, such as DLPs or 3LCD rear-projection TVs, are often going to be the best priced for the large-screen TVs. These sets offer a great picture, but where flat-panel HDTVs are about 4-inches thick, rear-projection models are anywhere from 10 inches (on the very slim side) to about 16 inches and cannot be hung on the call wall. Most flat-panel HDTV buyers don't end up hanging their TVs on the wall either. Another rear-projection option is LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon). This technology is highly regarded for picture quality and is generally only available now in full 1080p resolution models. LCOS is a generic term; the two different implementations of this technology are the HD-ILA TVs offered by JVC and the SXRD sets offered by Sony. While there are subtle technical differences between these two, both provide excellent picture quality.

If you want to go really big with your TV then you are looking at a rear-projection model or a front-projection model. Rear-projection models (including LCD, DLP, and LCOS) are available up to 70 inches in size which is really big TV set.

For screens bigger than 70 inches, you need a front projector, also known as a home theatre projector or a home entertainment projector. These systems project the image forward like a movie projector does. The technologies available are the same as for rear-projection TVs. If you buy a home theatre projector, you will also need to think about getting a screen. Also remember that home theatre projectors don't come with built-in TV tuners, these are really just for projecting an image. To get TV, you'll need to hook your projector up to an external tuner and/or DVD player. At this size, seriously consider stepping up to HD DVD or Blu-ray for your movie needs. At the very least, make sure you have an up-converting DVD player. Standard-definition images look pretty poor at really large sizes.

So measure your room first, check the dimensions on the model you're looking at, and make sure that it is really going to fit both in terms of its width and what is regarded a comfortable viewing distance.