[Chevy-SS]

I bought a new 52" Sammy LCD and it rocks. I am using a new HR22 DVR with DirecTV HD service. When I watch HD news (CNN, CNBC or whatever) the picture is GIGANTIC. It's too dang big. Is there any way to force a smaller aspect?

I like a big pic when watching movies, as they are often letter-boxed (top and bottom gets cut off). So you really need a big screen for that situation. But for normal watching, the full-screen HD signal is just overpowering.

I sit about 12 feet from screen and I can't move back any further.

Thanks for any tips (I'm sure I'll get some funny suggestions). And no, I'm not buying a bigger house, lol.

-

 

[bobnielsen]

Try the zoom control on the television.

 

[BlueSnake]

You'll get used to it. Believe it or not that's about the perfect viewing distance for a screen that size.

 

[rudeney]

Look backward through a pair of cheap binoculars.

 

[billsharpe]

Sit outside on the patio and look through the window.

Nah, that won't work in Rhode Island winters

 

[DBSNewbie]

Does your TV have PIP?

Perhaps you can use that feature to shrink the image size that appears on your screen.

You'll have some empty space on the side, but your picture will be smaller.

 

[tonyd79]

Just keep watching. You will get used to it. Eventually, that size will look normal to you. I have 50 inch and I set 8-10 feet from it (at times only 6). Now anything less would look small.

 

[DanER40]

I use to think my TV was too big too. Now it seems too small.

 

[Grentz]

As others have said, you get used to it quick. Seems huge at first, then keeps getting smaller until you eventually think you need to get a new one

 

[Steve Robertson]

It is funny how they shrink in size over time

 

[rudeney]

It is funny how they shrink in size over time

No problem!

 

[rudeney]

:backtotop

But seriously…maybe you could try watching the SD channel which will be in 4:3 ratio. At least that will fill less of the screen.

 

[Steve Robertson]

No problem!

I was waiting for that after my post I wanted to see who would be first? Congratulations

 

[n3ntj]

Its like sitting in the 2nd row at the movie theater.

 

[TomCat]

You'll get used to it. Believe it or not that's about the perfect viewing distance for a screen that size.

Oh man, I gotta jump in on this one, and no, I don't believe that at all, and sorry, but neither should anyone else.

The ATSC designed HD to have an optimum viewing angle of about 30 degrees, which was the very-first question they asked themselves when proposing HDTV. A 52" at 12 feet gives less than 18 degrees at 16:9, even less at 4:3. The rule of thumb is to take the actual screen height and triple it, which gives the optimum viewing distance.

That means that to resolve HD fully on a 52" screen properly you need to be seated with your retinas 6.8 feet away from the screen, or less. Anything further away compromises the perceived resolution, which is what you bought the TV for in the first place, to be able to watch pix with higher resolution. While a new, larger TV will still look a lot better at 12 feet than the old one due to reasons other than resolution, you almost might as well be watching in SD, as the perceived resolution would be not much greater than that from that far away.

I am always amused by folks who sit twice as far away as recommended from their new $4K 1080p sets and then try to pick apart 720p or 480 images as not as good as 1080. The actual fact of the matter is that at that distance, there is no way human 20/20 vision can barely begin to resolve much difference between 1080 and 480, and can't resolve 1080 from 720 at all. That means they could have bought a 720p set or a 768p set and saved the extra money.

6.8 feet. Now, did I just pull that out of my...? Hardly. This very handy guide from a terrific website explains this in detail and allows folks to figure out what size screen to purchase for a particular fixed viewing distance simply by plugging that into a little Java calculator, which is exactly where that number comes from:

http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html

 

[dave29]

you will get used to it, my recliner in the LR is only about 9ft from a 62'' dlp. it doesnt bother me at all, except when i got to bed an lay about 14ft from a 42'' plasma(maybe i need to upgrade that to a 50")

 

[jeffreydj]

Actually, based on the above, that isn't completely true -- at all. 6.8 ft is recommended for immersive detail, the maximum is about ~19ft according to *that* calculator. ~12ft would be right in the middle and still within range of acceptable viewing distance. If someone can't tell the difference between HD and SD at 12 ft from a 52 inch tv, they have bigger problems. Just flip between two stations and you can see the difference easily -- and much of it is resolution related at this distance.

Now, it should also be remembered, all of these are recommendations -- not hard and fast rules. It completely depends on the TV and the viewer.

According to that same calculator it is right around 19.5 feet as the recommended maximum distance, and 12 would split the distance between the two. However, with that said, a more commonly accepted rule is as follows:

16:9 TV diagonal screen size Min. viewing distance (in feet) Max. viewing distance (in feet)
26 3.3 6.5
30 3.8 7.6
34 4.3 8.5
42 5.3 10.5
47 5.9 11.8
50 6.3 12.5
55 6.9 12.8
60 7.5 15
65 8.1 16.2

You'll see that 12 ft is right about at the maximum still and within accepted range to discern detail. Any further and he would be outside of accepted range and much of what you say would be true. All of this can be found at many, many accepted home theater sites, publications and at the SMPTE website.

So, I don't think he should downscale his picture -- he should get used to it. However at 12ft he's still perfectly fine based on the SMPTE standard as published.

 

[TomCat]

Actually, based on the above, that isn't completely true -- at all. 6.8 ft is recommended for immersive detail, the maximum is about ~19ft according to *that* calculator. ~12ft would be right in the middle and still within range of acceptable viewing distance...

Now, it should also be remembered, all of these are recommendations -- not hard and fast rules. It completely depends on the TV and the viewer.

According to that same calculator it is right around 19.5 feet as the recommended maximum distance, and 12 would split the distance between the two... However at 12ft he's still perfectly fine based on the SMPTE standard as published.

If that's how you interpret it, then you're just simply not interpreting it correctly.

The calculator is broad in it's scope, giving recommendations for a lot of standards including THX movie screen distances and what have you, but the bottom two fields in the calculator clearly indicate without any room for interpretation, that to fully resolve 1080i pictures, 6.8 feet is the MAXIMUM viewing distance recommended for a 52" 16:9 screen, and that 18.1 feet, NOT "right around" or anywhere near 19.5, is the max viewing distance for STANDARD DEFINITION NTSC, a standard that goes away for all terrestrial broadcasts in less than 5 months because it is being replaced by the ATSC standard and because it is significantly inferior and antiquated.

It can't really be any clearer than that, and there is no margin whatsoever for wiggle room in those numbers. The ATSC spent years and millions investigating this, and like it or not, that's the formula they came up with and that's the formula that HDTV in the USA uses to calculate the precise viewing distance, in this case 6.8 feet, that is by their recommendation supposed to provide the perfect immersive viewing experience.

Anything less is a compromise both in perceived resolution and viewing angle, meaning 12 feet is most definitely a compromise for a 52" screen. I don't know about anyone else, but I got HD with the intent of implementing it without any compromise at all. It's true, some may not be comfortable with sitting that close, and the OP is a good example of that. The HD police will not arrest you if you want to sit where it feels right to you, so do whatever you wish, but all one has to do is the very simple math and there is no doubt whatsoever that the optimum recommended distance is 6.8 feet for a 52" screen, if you want to fully resolve 1080i and get the full benefit of HD as the ATSC envisioned it for us.

If you don't, you don't. You're allowed. What you are NOT allowed, is to try to discount what are the facts regarding what is the optimum recommendation for fully resolving 1080i from the ATSC as is delivered by every 1080-capable HD channel in America via OTA, cable, or DBS. That's right there in black and white.

 

[Kansas Zephyr]

STANDARD DEFINITION NTSC, a standard that goes away for all terrestrial broadcasts in less than 5 months

NTSC can still be broadcast on low-power, Class A, and translator stations after February 18, 2009 (the last DAY of analog full-power is the 17th). The FCC has not mandated an analog cut-off date for these services, yet.

 

[inkahauts]

I bought a new 52" Sammy LCD and it rocks. I am using a new HR22 DVR with DirecTV HD service. When I watch HD news (CNN, CNBC or whatever) the picture is GIGANTIC. It's too dang big. Is there any way to force a smaller aspect?

I like a big pic when watching movies, as they are often letter-boxed (top and bottom gets cut off). So you really need a big screen for that situation. But for normal watching, the full-screen HD signal is just overpowering.

I sit about 12 feet from screen and I can't move back any further.

Thanks for any tips (I'm sure I'll get some funny suggestions). And no, I'm not buying a bigger house, lol.

-

Have you turned down the brightness and contrast, and other settings yet? They are usually set to max out of the box, which is usually 50% above what is needed, and a properly calibrated set will take the overpowering down a few notches..