Anyone breaking rules on viewing distance?

[coolio]

I'd like to know if anyone out there has a 57 inch RPTV set at less that the reccomended viewing distance.

My situation is that I would like to place it at 9 feet - but I can re-arrange things to view at a greater distance But I'd like to do 9 feet.

Has anyone out there gone less than the reccomended distance and if so how was it?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

[FatDog]

In general, 1.5 - 2.5 the diagonal size of the screen is fine. This means 7.125 feet - 11.875 feet by the 'thumb' rule.

I just plugged the numbers into the Viewing Distance Calculator (http://www.myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html) and I get:

6.4 feet recommended THX viewing distance
9 feet maximum THX distance
7.7 feet maximum SMPTE distance.

[coolio]

Thanks, that works out well with what I want to do. Great web site, I bookmarked it for future ref. By the way these recommended distances are far different than what is the popular thinking on most info forums.

I like it.

[Sweski57]

I spent an afternoon at a home with a 57 or so inch SD projection TV in a small room. I experienced motion sickness within the first
30 minutes watching a football game. It had nothing to do with picture quality - it it just the extreme eye movements required to
view at that close distance. Better stock up on meclizine !

Sweski 57

[LeeS]

I'm at 11-11.5' with a 65". No problem here. The lower end of the 1.5-2.5 calculation would put me at 8.3', I don't think I'd like that. SD programming off the Dish is good at 11' . Analog off Comcast cable is not great. DVD and HD would not be a problem at 8.5', but 11' feels and looks good.

For my $0.02
Lee

[BadCamper]

I'd have to agree that, with most all HD televisions/monitors that I've viewed 1.5 would seem to be a bit too close for personal comfort. I usually find 2.5 to 3.0 is a fair distance for my personal viewing.

[57U]

You may wish to be aware of the following "calculator". See the table at the bottom which calculates distance based on "PH" (Picture height) and how it relates to resolution. This comes from the FAQ post - "How big an HDTV to buy".

http://www.avguide.com/how_to/digital_video_1.html

I have not heard of many people being able to watch NTSC signals for long periods of time at a distance closer than 2.0 times screen diagonal.

This means you'd be really "stretching it" at 9' from a 57" TV. As I mentioned in another post, you should try it and bring a friend.

Some people get headaches and the previously mentioned motion sickness from sitting too close.

I sit 11-12' from my 61" and my chairs are easily movable.

[kevinw]

Better stock up on meclizine !

Did you mean mescaline or medicine? I find 8-10 ft for a 50 inch about perfect for me...

[StreetPreacher]

Originally posted by kevinw
Did you mean mescaline or medicine? I find 8-10 ft for a 50 inch about perfect for me...

With mescaline I don't think you'd even care what was on the tv :)

[Sweski57]

Meclizine is the generic name for Antivert - which is used for
motion sickness or vertigo. Sitting too close to the TV, especially a large screen, will set-off my vertigo problem.

Sweski57

[LeeS]

"Sitting too close to the TV, especially a large screen, will set-off my vertigo problem."

What puts me in the bag real fast is when the kids are playing a first person game and you are looking through the eyes of the character and the screen is bobbing up and down. I can only take a few minutes of that. It gets to me on the computer monitor as well as the RPTV.

Lee

[kevinw]

I would rather have the Mescaline:D That would really improve the colors...