I've been really, really good....
Make room for the 70-inch LCD TV: BernsteinNEW YORK (Reuters) - Move out that old armoire and clear off the living room wall -- it will soon be time to make room for that new 70-inch LCD television.
With 42-inch flat-panel TVs flying off retailers' shelves this holiday season as prices dip below $1,000, brokerage house Sanford C. Bernstein said in a research note on Tuesday that 70-inch TVs could be the "right size" in 2009.
"We decided to investigate the optimal screen size for high definition viewing," wrote analyst Jeff Evenson in the note. "We conclude that 65 inch to 75 inch is the right size for a 10 foot viewing distance."
I'm planning on a writing a piece about viewing distance and screen size but some of the numbers I've seen quoted are silly. One big name site says that if you have a 50" LCD you should sit 4-5 feet away. I guess if you want to tan from the backlighting, that's about right. If I'm sitting 4 feet from my TV, I don't need a remote, I can just lean forward and change the channel.
When Apple first introduced a 30" workstation monitor I had to have one. After working on it for a few days, it really is too big. If I'm working on the left side of the screen and I want to look at the right side of the screen, I have to physically turn my head the screen is so large. If I push the screen back so the whole thing is in my field of view, everything is too small to read; I lose the advantage of a 30" screen. I find a 22" screen is about right for my tastes.
Having said that, on the bigger screens, I think this is closer. I have projected a 65" image on a screen about 12 feet from my sofa and it is comfortable. The problem with these screen sizes of course is that if you have lots of people over to watch a game, they all have to sit way back from the TV.
But I still want one.
