Is 37 inches enough??

[SunnyD]

So I've just bought my first place and am starting the joyous task of kitting it out

Bearing in mind it's only a little flat (living room is 14'1 x 11'6) would a 37" TV be sufficient? I can't help but think it looks a bit small, but then you can't really tell when you're looking at it in Currys against 60-inchers.

I'm a techie person so will be getting a decent one, but I don't want to be one of those ridiculous people that has a TV that takes up half their living room just cos they think they're cool. I want it to fit with the room.

Oh and I haven't moved into the place yet, so I can't do the cardboard-cut-out test.

[Scott330ci]

42"

[matchmaker]

Our living room is a similar size and a 32" looks fine in it.

[deckster]

The number of people who have got their new TV home and thought "damn, that's too big" is almost zero. As long as it will physically fit onto the well then bigger is better in my book

[SunnyD]

I would disagree that it's not possible to be too big. I think a massive glossy black box can easily dominate a small living room and to me that just looks a bit tacky. On the other hand though, 32" sounds like it'd be more a bedroom size TV.

[becksW]

I think 37" will be fine if not a big lounge, we had 37" in a good size (but not huge) living room, when we upgraded hubby decided to go for 42". We had to move where tv went as a result! It is fine but definitely wouldn't go bigger, if distance between tv and seat too close picture not as clear as it could be.

[Shaw Tarse]

How times change, 20" used to be enough!
That was when we had 3 channels
The National Anthem at the end of the night!

[Heathwood]

You can easily go to a 42". I recently debated what size screen to go for and was convinced that anything bigger than a 40/42" would look too big. The wife talked me into a 46" and I'm soooo glad she did. My room is little, if any, bigger than yours.

[SunnyD]

Anotehr factor to bear in mind is that most of the walls are glass, so there's actually limited space as to where I could put it. I might have to wait until I can get into the property and do some proper measuring.

[clonmult]

When I was out buying a larger TV, swmbo was convinced that a 37" would be easily sufficient.

I was convinced that a 42" would be much better in our lounge.

And upon seeing the difference, she agreed. For once, she actually agreed that I was right. Yay, go me.

But it depends on the size of the lounge, placement of well, everything. Its totally possible that a 42" (or larger) could well look stupid in the room.

[becksW]

clonmult said:

When I was out buying a larger TV, swmbo was convinced that a 37" would be easily sufficient.

I was convinced that a 42" would be much better in our lounge.

And upon seeing the difference, she agreed. For once, she actually agreed that I was right. Yay, go me.

But it depends on the size of the lounge, placement of well, everything. Its totally possible that a 42" (or larger) could well look stupid in the room.

That could have been the exact conversation hubby and I had

[shoggoth1]

Your living room sounds about the same size as mine. I opted for a 37" and reckon it's spot on size wise. A 42", I feel, would tend to dominate the room a little too much.

Edited by shoggoth1 on Friday 23 July 09:46

[GingerWizard]

I thought it was the distance from the main viewing chair divided by 2.5.... that means i need a 64" TV

oh and that calculation was from the gadget show....

[SunnyD]

This is the room (hashed area is balcony) the red indicates solid walls, the rest is glass. So I'm pretty limited on my options, seeing as I think I'll put the sofa against the wall on the right. I'm thinking the TV'll go in the top left corner...

[y2blade]

cut out a piece of cardboard the same size as the TV's you are looking at
and put it in your living room where the TV will go, you get a better idea that way and see how it looks

42" was and is fine in my living room

[SunnyD]

I don't move in for another 2 months :-(

But I just found a pic from the For Sale ad. How big do you think this TV is? To me that looks too dominating and also a bit close to the sofa!?

[fido]

Looks fine to me. Size isn't everything (as they say). I've still got a 32" CRT and it does look a tad small nowadays.

[Don]

In my experience the larger the TV is the better it is when you are watching it.

This is exactly at odds with what it does to the room when it is switched off.

I have a 50" and would happily go bigger...but my goodness it's an elephant in the room when it's off.

A point to consider is how you will use the room - TV always on/mostly off? Another thing is how you will mount it. A TV can be larger if it's neatly hung on the wall - I can't do that in my lounge and it has to sit on a table across the corner. By the time you add the various boxes (Sky, Blu-Ray, Surround sound, HTPC etc) you get quite a lump. Then there's the cables!

These lovely thin screens are great - shame about the rest of the gubbins!

[becksW]

I think it's a 42" actually looks identical to our make! Trying to compare dimensions of items underneath to ours that was my conclusion.

[Don]

SunnyD said:

I don't move in for another 2 months :-(

But I just found a pic from the For Sale ad. How big do you think this TV is? To me that looks too dominating and also a bit close to the sofa!?

That looks fine to me. Much larger and it would obscure some of the glass - and that would be bad, I think.