View Full Version : HELP! - Need Advice - 51" or 57" - Family Room Picture Included!
PJStyles
06-26-2004, 04:55 PM
I'm really hoping to get as much feedback from you guys as possible. I have narrowed my choices to either the 51" or 57" Hitachi. I'm not sure yet whether it'll be the "S" or "G" model, however, that's a different story.
The purpose of this thread is to have you guys look at the dimensions/picture of my family room and provide as much feedback as possible as to which size would best suit this room. I have even included where the furniture is located etc etc...
The conern I have is the viewing angle that people will get when they sit on my large sofa that's against the wall looking at the TV on an angle.
Any feedback I can get as to which size you guys recommend would be greatly appreciated. Here's the link to the picture :
http://www.thewehl.com?fuseaction=wip.picture
Please don't hesitate to give me your two cents and thanks!!!
PJStyles
mfabien
06-26-2004, 06:55 PM
Without hesitation, I would recommend the 57". The only person with a bad seating position will be the person sitting on the right side of the sofa. The other two persons on the sofa will have an acceptable view because there will be no picture distortion with this kind of TV. The seating distance will be fine for HD viewing (8-10 feet).
On second thought, the person sitting in the middle on the sofa may be in a bad angle as well. And the comment is valid for both the 51" and the 57".
People on the sofa will not have the greatest view, especially the ones closest to the TV. The people on the loveseat will be fine, however, anyone closer than 9' will probably not like the 57" TV. (A good rule of thumb is no closer than 2X screen size for SD viewing.) I'd suggest the 51", unless you have plans to move to a larger place soon.
See the FAQ "How large an HDTV to buy".
DoubleDAZ
06-26-2004, 08:45 PM
I have a 65" RPTV (Hitachi) and my daughter has a 60" RPLCD (Sony). While the picture on the Sony is clearer when viewed at an angle like the two people sitting toward the right side of your sofa would have, it is still not enjoyable to watch at all. So, if anyone recommends you purchase an LCD or DLP instead, I would think twice.
The main question is how many people will be using the sofa? The 57" will give you more width and actually result in more of the screen being closer to the edge of the sofa. This will give you a slightly greater acceptable viewing angle, the angle decreases as the width increases. Whether or not this will make much difference though is debatable.
I had my family room (14x18) set up in a similar fashion when my daughter and grand-kids were here. The sofa was virtually useless except for 1 person to lay down and watch TV. I had a recliner between your love seat and fireplace, so my wife and I had good seats. :)
I really don't think 51" or 57" is going to make much difference either way. It shouldn't be too hard to take some measurements and check out the seating/angles in a decent store. Most BB and CC have areas set up where you could get a pretty good idea of what to expect.
RuggerRob
07-02-2004, 05:23 PM
My family room has a similar setup, except that I have a couple of doorways to deal with...have you thought about a different room configuration? I have a 50' Toshiba, and in your room it would be positioned in the corner between the fireplace and current TV location.
I could not find a corner entertainment center to meet my needs so I built my own. There are no bad seats in the room (we have a couch in the same location and two chairs where your loveseat sits). In my setup the far left couch seat is the ideal spot. It sits almost exactly two times the screen size away.
RR
Parker Lewis
07-02-2004, 05:51 PM
My family room has a similar setup, except that I have a couple of doorways to deal with...have you thought about a different room configuration? I have a 50' Toshiba, and in your room it would be positioned in the corner between the fireplace and current TV location.
I could not find a corner entertainment center to meet my needs so I built my own. There are no bad seats in the room (we have a couch in the same location and two chairs where your loveseat sits). In my setup the far left couch seat is the ideal spot. It sits almost exactly two times the screen size away.
RR
I would suggest setting it up this way as well.....This is how mine is set up also, At an angle.
It cuts the size of the room down a little, But then you could go with the cheaper 51". :)
gchasse
07-05-2004, 12:54 AM
I like the corner setup as well. It puts the tv a bit farther away from everything, which I think will help with picture quality of the non high def channels.
By the way, I have the 51s500, and have had it for a year. I love the tv and it was the best tv bang for buck out there when I was looking. I am 10 feet away and have the DirecTV high def package, and I am pushing it a bit, but the HD and DVDs look great.
I have 2 friends who have the 57s500, one just got one and the other got his at the same time I bought my 51". They both feel the same way I did.
I am not sure where you are looking, but Circuit City is discontinuing the my best friend just bought the 57", and it was the same price as the 51".
Although a corner can be good for a TV, it's lousy for audio. Difficult placement for speakers and lousy acoustics. It's almost always best to place the TV on the shortest wall, just as you have indicated. Also the acoustics will be good that way.
gparris
07-05-2004, 12:18 PM
I'm really hoping to get as much feedback from you guys as possible. I have narrowed my choices to either the 51" or 57" Hitachi. I'm not sure yet whether it'll be the "S" or "G" model, however, that's a different story.
The purpose of this thread is to have you guys look at the dimensions/picture of my family room and provide as much feedback as possible as to which size would best suit this room. I have even included where the furniture is located etc etc...
The conern I have is the viewing angle that people will get when they sit on my large sofa that's against the wall looking at the TV on an angle.
Any feedback I can get as to which size you guys recommend would be greatly appreciated. Here's the link to the picture :
http://www.thewehl.com?fuseaction=wip.picture
Please don't hesitate to give me your two cents and thanks!!!
PJStyles
I would use the 57" as you might think about reorientating the sofa and loveseat around. The distances you show in the schematic are deep enough to support the bigger set. You will still have a way of getting around the sofa on the other side if you work it right, IMHO.
Houses were/are built to accommodate fireplaces not HTs as they were in the past and unfortunately, today. This is not the 1800s.
Interior designers fight me still on placements and many still hate Home Theater and are snobs. :mad:
The new "hearth" today is the HDTV!
Get the 57" and be done with it. Make it work! :D
Although a corner can be good for a TV, it's lousy for audio.
I would use the 57" as you might think about reorientating the sofa and loveseat around.
Ditto/Ditto, swap the sofa and loveseat, buy the 57" :)
Lee
Rocko
07-06-2004, 01:08 PM
Wow, that's one big ass coffee table!
Qwackertoo
07-07-2004, 12:02 PM
Since your drawing doesn't show doors or windows, can you swap the tv to the loveseat position and move the large sofa to the tv position to allow more "good" viewing seats and move the love seat to the large sofa position?
Or ditch the large sofa and put in four leather chairs and four matching leather ottomans with a small table between each pair of chairs.
