How big should your next TV be? And is bigger really better?

The move away from cathode ray tubes to LED displays has seen the size of TV screens increase exponentially over the last 15 or so years. Where once a 26-inch set was the benchmark for a good size lounge, sizes in excess of 70 or even 80 inches are now not unusual.
A 32in TV is now considered 'small'. Picture: Unsplash/Maheen MuhammedA 32in TV is now considered 'small'. Picture: Unsplash/Maheen Muhammed
A 32in TV is now considered 'small'. Picture: Unsplash/Maheen Muhammed

But is bigger necessarily better? And how big is big enough?

It’s all relative, of course. Sets with 32in screens were considered enormous not long ago but manufacturers today class them as “small”, intending them to fill a viewing niche in a child’s bedroom or even a kitchen. The latest technology tends to bypass models of this size, with the result that both picture and sound are often basic at best. The consumer magazine Which? says it has not recommended a 32in set as a best buy since 2014.

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The problem is not so much the screen itself as the processor that makes it work. Small sets are bargain basement models now and every expense has been spared on their manufacture. They are prone to blurring on fast-moving pictures and they may be supplied with an old version of the operating system that powers the iPlayer and the rest of the smart apps.

But that is not to say you should avoid them at all costs, if the size fits your room. If you steer clear of the dozens of own-brand models in the shops, you can get quite a decent Samsung or LG model for around £200. The maximum resolution will likely be only 1280x720 pixels rather than the full high-definition picture of 1920x1080 but on a screen that size you really won’t notice the difference. The industry calls this “HD ready”, which is a euphemism for “not quite HD”.

You need to be sitting seven feet or less from a 32in screen to get the best out of it. Any further away and you’d get more value from a bigger set. A 55in screen is considered about right for an average-sized living room, but only if the set is at one end and the sofa at the other. Since most of us of have chairs dotted around the room. A 50in model may be a better compromise.

But the size as measured from corner to corner is not the only consideration, especially if viewers are to be positioned at different angles to the screen. The “fall-off”, or loss of brightness and contrast the further to one side you place your chair is the single biggest shortcoming of the flat-panel display, and while you can never eliminate the effect entirely you can minimise it by choosing a model with the widest possible viewing angle.

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The inkiness of the black level is the tell-tale sign of a screen with poor lateral visibility. The further you move from the centre, the greyer and more washed-out it becomes. On the best screens, you can be as far as 70 degrees to the side without it spoiling your enjoyment, while on some cheaper screens the effect kicks in at only 12 degrees.

Nor are the worst offenders necessarily the cheap sets sold under no-name brands by supermarkets and discount warehouses; the difference is apparent across most brands. It depends on the size of the screen and the process by which it was produced.

You should be able to check the manufacturer’s estimated viewing angle for any set you have in mind, but the figure is likely to be in the small print. If you can, see the set working in a shop and stand to one side to get an idea of the fall-off. The website www.rtings.com has a database of its own tests on many recent models.

There really is no “right” size for your next TV; too much depends on the environment in which you will watch it. But next time you’re measuring your viewing room, do take along a protractor as well as your tape measure.

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