The Very Best Big Screen TV Buying Guide Online

A complete home theater system needs a screen to view movies and television programs on.  In general, the minimum size screen that is considered okay for home theater use is 30 inches.  The screen size on big screen TVs is measured from one corner of the screen to the diagonally opposite corner.  For example, the Sony KV40XBR800 40 inch TV is the biggest tube television you can buy.  You would want to be sitting at least 8 feet back from this huge set.

How to Measure TV Screen Size

In the United States, a television's screen size is measured in inches from one corner of the screen to the diagonally opposite corner.

4x3 vs 16x9, both 50 inch TVs

The height of the 2 simulated TV screen sizes shown at the top of this page is exactly the same.  The white areas at the left and right of the 50" 4:3 television represent the 25% of your images that are CUT OFF to allow it to fit your TV screen.  If you've ever seen the disclaimer played at the very beginning of a movie talking about how parts of a movie have been edited for content and the picture has been formatted to fit your screen.  The alternative to this is "letterboxing" a program, or showing the entire picture, but adding a black bar at both the top and bottom of your screen so the picture fits your TV screen in the right ratio.

If you figure true TV screen surface size, the 61" widescreen TV on the left has 33% more screen area than the 50" conventional TV on the right.

We highly recommend that you buy a television that is at least HDTV-ready.  This means that you can view high definition programming on your television by connecting an HDTV tuner and antenna.  A true HDTV will have the HD decoder built-in to the television, like the HUGE Sony 70 inch TV.  Within just a few years, analog television as we know it today will no longer exist due to new HDTV standards set by the United States' Federal Government.

A progressive scan DVD player connected with component video cables is a must for great picture quality when watching a DVD movie.

You don't need a TV size chart!  Here's a simple to remember general rule of thumb regarding TV screen size to distance.  Take the television's screen size in inches measured from one corner of the screen to the diagonally opposite corner of the screen.  Divide that number by 5 to get the MINIMUM number of feet you want to sit from the front of the screen.

For example, at the very least, you would want to sit 10 feet away from the front of a 50 inch TV screen.  OR think about it this way.  You've got 8 feet to work with -- you definitely don't want to go any bigger than a 40 inch TV.  (continues in next column)

We recommend a widescreen television if you will mostly be viewing DVD movies from a progressive scan DVD player and true HDTV programming AND you can afford the difference in price.  Start paying attention when you buy DVDs that they are done in the 16x9 wide screen format.

Front Projectors For FULL SIZE FUN

The ultimate home theater experience can be achieved with a front projector.  You can achieve a picture 10 feet or more in size onto a projection screen this way.  They've even got motorized projection screens that will lower from your ceiling at the touch of a button!

A LARGE room with no windows is the best for projectors so your movies don't appear washed out when you view them.  (That is why your local movie theater has no windows and no lights on while you watch the movie.)  The most common projector technologies used today are DLP and LCD.

Sony VPL-HS20

Rear Projection Televisions

The most bang for your buck today is a rear projection TV.  However, these will also take up the most room in your home.  The best rear projection TVs are DLP models which not only have a better picture, they are much lighter in weight and not as deep.  We recommend that you consider a Samsung DLP TV.  These LIGHT WEIGHT projection televisions today will even allow you to use your big screen TV as a BIG SCREEN monitor for your computer.

Flat Panel Plasma and LCD TVs

Not everyone realizes that NOT all wide screen TVs are HDTVs!  The appeal to these is how sleek and modern they look and that you can actually hang a flat plasma TV or flat LCD screen directly on the wall!  (The spouse factor?!?)  Check out the great selection of flat screen TVs at Vanns.com.  They've even got FREE SHIPPING and you pay NO SALES TAX in any state!

These are the color tube televisions that we've all owned through the years.  We really like some of the HDTV-ready widescreen models we've seen from Sony.

Cambridge