42" or 46" TV??

[somethingshiny]

We are deciding on a new TV to get for our living room. This is the only television in the house and we are TV, movie, and game people. Seated viewing will be approx 10 ft from the TV (actual room size is around 12x16). Of course, DH''s answer is "as big as I can have," but I don''t want to feel like I''m in a movie theatre. What do you think is an appropriate size television for the space. I''m thinking either 42" or 46".

Also, brand suggestions are welcome. While perusing the stores, we''re seeing good pictures on Sony and Samsung.

 

[Elmorton]

SS, my DH has been talking about wanting a 42 when we eventually upgrade our set, and I really like that size, but we have a tiny living room.

I''m kinda with your DH - I''d push it to the biggest size for your budget since you have a lot of family use for the TV, and esp since we''re only talking 4 inches.

A brand you might want to consider is Vizio. Normally, my DH is really hesitant to buy (as in, won''t) anything that isn''t Sony, Samsung, or Toshiba, but he''s researched a little bit of consumer reports/feedback and heard a ton of positives. I hate Walmart, but that''s one of the places that carries Vizio at amazing prices. Might be worth looking into.

 

[somethingshiny]

Thanks for your input. I''ve marked out masking tape boxes on the wall so I can visualize the TV a bit better and 4" seems like a big difference to me, but maybe not to most? (btw-we''re upgrading from a 32" Sony 200lb monster!) DH''s grandpa just got a new Vizio and he really likes it. And, we have a friend who offered us his 10% discount at Walmart. That Vizio would have a REALLY good price.

btw-DH is telling me the "optimal" TV for that room is 70"!!!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Tell him a 70" TV equates to a 3 ct. diamond ring for you, and see what that does to his size expectations.

 

[elrohwen]

We have a 50" in a room of about the same size and I think it''s perfect. When we were buying it I wanted to go smaller, but FI insisted on the 50". Now I''m so glad we got it. I''ll admit, for the first few months it did seem huge, but I got used to it and I love it now. I say go bigger! I really don''t think you''ll regret it, but you could possibly regret getting the 42".

 

[Lauren8211]

Always go bigger, as long as it fits the room/budget.

I can''t tell you how many times I''ve heard people say "I wish we would''ve gone bigger" including myself. We just bought a 42 last year, and we''re already over it. We''d like another 10 inches... minimum.

Diamonds AND TVs apparently experience shrinkage.

 

[JerseyGrl81]

Our family room size is similar to yours 13 x 17''5 and we have a 52" TV (Its on the longer wall). At first I thought it would be way too big, but it suits the room well. I would go with the 46" TV.

 

[October2008bride]

Ditto to what others have said - go for the biggest you can afford in a decent brand. We originally were looking for a 36" and ended up with 46" because of an unreal bargain. I''m so happy we went so big!!!

We have a Samsung and couldn''t be happier.

 

[somethingshiny]

DS~ Thank you for that!!! Seems to have worked!!

I was unaware of the TVSS. Since I know how DSS sets in so profoundly, I''ll go with the 46" and IF we come across a really good deal for something bigger, I''ll THINK about it.

 

[fieryred33143]

We have an LG Plasma 42". Our living room if I remember correctly is 14 x 17 (I think). The size works perfectly and any bigger, for us, would have taken up too much space. My only regret is getting plasma. If you are going to be pausing movies or pausing games, then I would go with an LCD. The plasmas tend to burn the image on the screen and it can take a few minutes for the image to clear out (and we have a new model, just purchased in November)

 

[somethingshiny]

fiery~ thanks for the info on Plasmas.

 

[Bia]

Date: 1/26/2009 10:41:30 AM
Author: fieryred33143
We have an LG Plasma 42'. Our living room if I remember correctly is 14 x 17 (I think). The size works perfectly and any bigger, for us, would have taken up too much space. My only regret is getting plasma. If you are going to be pausing movies or pausing games, then I would go with an LCD. The plasmas tend to burn the image on the screen and it can take a few minutes for the image to clear out (and we have a new model, just purchased in November)

We have the LG 42' (LCD). Our living room is a good size and the tv is perfect (imo). HOWEVER, BF already wants to upgrade to something bigger. I think its ideal b/c I don't want it taking up so much wall space. I am trying to convince him that we should instead get one for our bedroom...we'll see how that goes.

Depending on your room, and taste, I'd say the 42' is a great size. BTW--we're both gamers and love movies...

 

[so cal girl]

It looks like you''re in the same situation I was in a few months ago. We had a 32" that I swear weighed 300 lbs, and we were looking to upgrade to something a little more low profile (ie, not 5 feet deep!). Originally we were looking at 42" TVs, since we figured that was a good amount bigger than our old one, and it fit into our budget (~ $1200). But when we started looking, we decided to go up to 46". We actually ended up with a 47" LG. We had a coupon for 10% at Circuit City, and the 47" ended up being within our budget with the discount. I think you should definitely get the 46". I think we would have regretted getting the 42", and the price was not that much a difference. By the way, I LOVE our new TV

 

[vespergirl]

We have a 46" TV in the same size room and it looks great. Go with the bigger screen - that way, next time he''s buying you a diamond, he will have to go for the bigger one too

 

[somethingshiny]

thanks for the responses.

And, *bad PSer, bad* I hadn''t conceptualized my next bling purchase in direct correlation to the TV.

It''s all beginning to make sense now....

 

[elrohwen]

We have a Panasonic plasma and have had no problems at all with burn in. FI yells at me sometimes when I pause it for 5-10 minutes, but we haven''t seen any ill effects. I''ve read that the problem isn''t really as bad as it''s made out to be, but after reading Fiery''s post I wonder if that''s true since she seems to have problems. It''s something to keep in mind, but I wouldn''t let it turn you off from plasmas completely.

FI did tell me that as tvs get bigger, your options for LCD get more expensive because it''s hard to make big tvs with that technology. For a 50" tv like ours, LCD was not a good choice and plasma was much more reasonable. Not sure if this will matter for you as we bought our tv a few years ago so this may not apply anymore.

 

[Dancing Fire]

just bought my first LCD HDTV after all these yrs.

a 19" Samsung with ToC for my desk ,love it.

i want a 52" LCD 120 hz for the family room ,but wife wants a 65". IMO...the 65" is too expensive. 46-52" are the best value.

 

[somethingshiny]

Thanks for the added elrohwen, for the added plasma info. We pause out TV ALL the time (we have a 3 yr old), so I''ll make sure DH looks into it a lot.

DF~ Don''t be ashamed, I just got my first MP3 player the other day. And, I didn''t own a CD player until 2000.

In my perusal, I have found that 46"-52" seem to be the best value, too.

 

[lyra]

We have the same size room exactly, and we recently bought a 46" Panasonic plasma. It does not have any issues with burning images, but with plasma you need to know it can take a few seconds to change images due to the technology. Like if you change channels, it takes a second or two, nothing major. We went with plasma because our room is unusually bright and plasma offered a better picture for this situation. However, we kind of do wish we''d gone with a 50". I think that would have been ideal.

 

[somethingshiny]

Which is more child-resistant between the plasma and LCD?? (3 yr old boy and his cousin

)

 

[lyra]

I think LCD is more durable. We don''t have young children around, but maybe you should make this more of a priority issue.

 

[somethingshiny]

Okay, so priorities for new TV:

LCD (for durability)
size (bigger is better)
must be black, no silver


anything else? Is there any catch phrase like "cut is king" for TVs?

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 1/27/2009 4:47:23 PM
Author: somethingshiny
Okay, so priorities for new TV:

LCD (for durability)
size (bigger is better)
must be black, no silver


anything else? Is there any catch phrase like ''cut is king'' for TVs?

LCD with 120hz.

 

[waxing lyrical]

We have a 42" and it''s a good size for our living room. I wouldn''t mind going bigger.

 

[Noahsmom]

We have a Samsung LCD 56". I tease DH and tell him it''s a monstrosity, but I secretly love it. We have a PS3, so we watch Blu-Ray movies on it and it looks amazing. Just remember to take account of the bulb replacement. Most LCD''s go 30-40,000 hours, which is a lot, but if you guys watch a lot of TV, play games, etc. it might be something you want to look into.
I can''t imagine going much bigger, I think we''d have to get a home projection system if we did that, and that is not going to happen anytime soon.

One more thing, if you go to a big chain like Best Buy, if you keep your records and within 30 days, if you find it cheaper somewhere else they will credit you the difference.

 

[Gypsy]

We were trying to decide between a 40 inch and a 42 inch LCD flat panel. The 40 inch was higher quality, the 42 inch was bigger. We went with the 40, and honestly it was the right decision for us. It's just the right size, and the TV is fantastic. Of course, we upgraded from a 27 inch tube.

I think if you can get the same quality in both sizes, then go with the larger TV. But if you have to chose between size and quality like we did, I'd pick quality each time.

We love our TV. It's a Toshiba from Costco, 2 year warranty extended by the Amex to 3 years, we get cash back by using it, and I know Costco isn't going under. Plus, I have a 90 day return policy. Buying from Costco was the most important thing for us, I trust Costco.

 

[somethingshiny]

Thank you all for your input. It appears that we will be waiting at least a while for the new TV. But, that will give me time to research different makes and models!

 

[miraclesrule]

I went through the same indecision about my new t.v. Costco had an online deal/steal for 2 46" LCD flat screens or 1 52" and a 32". I couldn''t decide, but of course every man, including my SIL told me to go for the 52" and 32" combo. So that''s what I did. LCD is better than plasma in so many ways. More durable, less likely to "burn out" and also uses less energy. Plasma''s suck a lot of energy.

I looked at a lot of T.V,''s and although Vizio or whatever they are called were the least expensive, I did not like the display. The colors just aren''t as crisp. Mine are Sharp and I just love them...especially with Blue Ray, which is the next best thing to dark chocolate.