How to Buy a New HDTV - Step 1

Step 1: How big should be HDTV be?

The biggest factor in determining the size of TV to get is how much room you have in the spot where you’re going to put the TV. For example, if the TV is going to go in a family room, you will probably have enough room for a 27” – 36” TV. If the TV is going to go in a basement or rec room, you probably have enough room for a big screen (46” or larger).

How do I know how much room I have? There are two measurements you need to take – one that you need to know exactly and one that you just need to have an estimate on. First, you need to know the dimensions of the free space where the TV will actually sit. How much free space is there in terms of width, height and depth measurements? To have a clear guideline of how big of a TV can fit in your free space, you really need to get out a tape measurer and measure this to the closest inch. Write down the width, height and depth measurements and have them handy whenever you go shopping for your new HDTV.

Next, you need to measure the distance between where the TV will sit and the most commonly used viewing position. The most commonly used viewing position is almost always a couch – so take a ballpark measurement of the distance between your TV and your couch (you can round to the nearest foot or half-foot). This is important because you’ll want to get a TV that is large enough to immerse you in the movie or TV show you are watching, but not so large that you’re able to see the imperfections in the movie or TV show. A good guideline is the 1.5-to-2 rule:

- When viewing non-HD movies or shows, the distance should be about 2x the size of the TV. So, for example, a 36” TV should be placed at least 72” (at least 6 feet) from the main viewing position when watching regular cable or broadcast channels.

- When viewing HD movies or shows, the distance should be about 1.5x the size of the TV. So, for example, a 36” TV should be placed at least 54” (at least 4 ½ feet) from the main viewing position when watching HDTV channels.