Proper viewing distance?

You will NEVER feel it's big enough, that's the nature of the beast. Just make the decision whether you'd rather have size or quality and balance that out with your budget. I have a 32" in my living room that we just upgraded from a 27". I have a 92" in the home theatre room. Both seem like they could be a bit bigger when I'm watching them... that'll never change!

The Bravia does have a beautiful picture and an excellent review by this month's Consumer Reports magazine. I would hazard a guess that you'll be quite happy with this tv... assuming you can convince yourself to be happy with the size.

Just my $.02! :-)

With HDTV, you can sit as close as 1.5 times to screen width, which gives you a 37 degree viewing angle. This is practically identical to the THX recommended 36 degree viewing angle, but puts you just 42" from the screen (and probably a bit close to the fire). SMTPE recommends 30 degree, which places you at 52" away (and probably still a bit close for your living space). The maximum distance THX recommends is a 26 degree viewing angle, which puts you at 5' (roughly 2x's screen width and still too close). Therefore a 32" LCD is better suited for a bedroom or a workstation, not a living room.

Sure you will use "mixed signals," and yes, standard definition will look awful at even 2x's screen width; but you do not buy an HDTV for the standard def crap, no more than you should upgrade to a V8 when you are concerned about gas mileage.

At 8' I would recommend at least a 50" screen. Since money is an issue, why not consider a front projector? They are by far the best bang for the buck. The main caveats are ambient lighting (need room darkening shades for good picture) and bulb cost ($300 every 3000 hours or so). I recommend an extremely affordable 720p projector from Sanyo or Panasonic.

A big plus is that you wouldn't be putting expensive electronics over your fireplace, just a screen which you could even make yourself. Another plus is you can adjust the zoom on a projector; therefore with HD, you can go with a 50" image and when you are forced to view regular def, you can reduce the image size so you do not see the enormous individuals pixels.

Good luck!

Will wrote:

With HDTV, you can sit as close as 1.5 times the screen width, which gives you a 37 degree viewing angle. This is practically identical to the THX recommended 36 degree viewing angle, and puts you just 42" from the screen (probably a bit close to your fire). SMTPE recommends 30 degrees, which places you 52" away (and probably still a bit close for your living space). The maximum distance THX recommends is a 26 degree viewing angle, which puts you at 5' (roughly 2x's screen width and still too close). Therefore a 32" LCD is better suited for a bedroom or a workstation, not a living room.

Sure you will use "mixed signals," and yes, standard definition will look awful at even 2x's screen width; but you do not buy an HDTV for the standard def, no more than you should go for the V8 when you are concerned about gas mileage.

At 8' I would recommend at least a 50" screen. Since money is an issue, why not consider a front projector? They are by far the best bang for the buck. The main caveats are ambient lighting (need room darkening shades for good picture) and bulb cost ($300 every 3000 hours or so). I recommend an extremely affordable 720p projector from Sanyo or Panasonic.

A big plus with a front projector is that you wouldn't be putting expensive electronics over your fireplace, just a screen which you could even make yourself. Another plus is you can adjust the zoom on a projector; therefore with HD, you can go with a 50" image and when you are forced to view regular def, you can reduce the image size so you do not see the enormous individuals pixels.

Good luck!

Will wrote:

Well I spent a bit more than I wanted, and ended up splurging for the

40" Bravia (KDL-40S2010). Believe it or not, Circuit City had the best deal I could find locally, at approximately $1800. Will I wish I'd bought something even bigger? Probably. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that if I was going to be spending that much on the 32", I should at least get something I would be happier with for a longer time. Everything I read about the Bravia was excellent, so I guess I'll see what happens. Thanks for taking the time to reply!

You will enjoy this tv. You aren't installing a full home theater, just a tv in the living room. The picture will be great and the size will be fine. Do yourself a favor however and find a copy of Digital Video Essentials or Avia to calibrate the image. Most tvs are calibrated to look good under the florescent lights of a big box store. Callibrating it to the light in your living room will offer up an even more enjoyable image. As a rule, they turn the reds up so faces will stand out more. You really notice the difference once you've set it up for your own room.

Enjoy your new toy! :-)