Sizing Up Your New TV

Some quick tips that will help you pick the right size for you and your living room.

HDTV has brought about a lot of significant changes in how we view our TVs. It's expected that a new TV will be thin and flat, and will have a wide screen that can support HD television shows and feature films. These are excellent incentives to upgrade from a standard, bulky, square TV set, but before you make the switch, there are a few things you should know about the different sizes and shapes, things that will help you make an informed decision and ultimately leave you more satisfied with your brand new HDTV.

Aspect Ratio

The term 'aspect ratio' refers to the relationship between the width and the height of the TV, and is most familiar to TV watchers as the shape of their screen.

Standard definition TV uses a 4:3 aspect ratio. This means that the width and height of the screen are very close, and the TV screen is practically square. This has been the way TVs have looked since the 1950's.

High definition TV uses a 16:9 aspect ratio. It's much wider than it is tall, and thus has a widescreen appearance. 16:9 allows for a more complete picture when watching HD video or TV.

What This Means for TV Viewing

Standard television is still broadcast in 4:3, meaning that even if you have a 16:9 high-definition TV, you'll only see the square-picture, and the extra width of the TV's screen will be black and unused. In order to take advantage of full-screen broadcasts on a 16:9 television, you must tune to a channel that is specifically broadcasting HD content. So rather than watching, say the NBC channel that you are used to, which may have a low channel number on your cable box, you'll need to find NBC-HD, which is most likely assigned a very high channel number by your cable provider.

Why a 27" HDTV isn't the same as a 27" Standard TV

When considering a new HDTV, you may instinctively compare it to your current, standard definition TV, particularly when it comes to size. Unfortunately, comparing a 27" HDTV to a 27" Standard TV isn't a very reliable method of determining what size TV you'll be comfortable with.

TV screen sizes are measured on the diagonal, so if you see an advertisement for a 27" TV that means it is 27" from the bottom left corner of the screen to the top right. Because HDTVs are wider (more like a rectangle than the square-ish 4:3 TVs), a 27" HDTV will have a smaller height than a 27" standard TV, and as a result, the image you see on screen will look more like that of a 20" television.

On the right, we've written up a quick chart that shows what size HDTV you would need to match the picture size of a standard 4:3 television. We're only including sizes up to 36" since most standard 4:3 televisions did not reach the larger-sizes now capable with HDTVs.

How Far Should I Sit From My HDTV?

By this point, you should know everything you need to about TV sizes and how to choose the right one. Now, you need to understand how the distance between you and your TV will affect how it looks.

The best part of HDTV is the super-high quality, but you need to make sure you're positioned to make the most of the vivid, highly-detailed pictures. We've all had to sit too close to the screen in a movie theater, crammed in the first couple rows, straining to take in all the action. HDTVs are similar. If you sit too close, the picture won't look right, and you'll pick up on little rough patches and pixels you wouldn't otherwise see. If you sit too far away, it'll be harder to notice the fine details that make HDTV worth getting.

Below, we've got a little chart that shows you roughly how far away from the HDTV you should sit, depending on its size. Basically, you take the size of the TV and multiply it by 2.5. This will give you the number of inches that represents the best distance between you and your TV. We've converted it to feet and inches for convenience. If you can position your couch or chairs around that distance, you should be fine.

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