I found this funny so I’m passing it along (true story).

My neighbors and us go out every Wednesday for diner. Over diner our neighbors brought up the fact that they just ordered their first HDTV. I told them that was great and that you’re going to love it. I then asked them what size they bought. Beaming he said, we bought the biggest one they had on display, a 52 inch Sony. I’m just thankful that I didn’t have any fluids in my mouth at the time because everyone would have been sprayed. You see, the distance from their living room wall, where they plan to place the TV, and the seating area is at best, 6 feet away. Using the 3 - 5 rule (see earlier post on the 3 - 5 sizes rule) the biggest size should be a 30 inch HDTV.

I said to both of them, remember when you were kids and you went to the movie house and you sat in the first row or two? You laid your head back and looked straight up at the screen and you moved your head from side to side to see everything on the screen. I said, with the size you just ordered, that’s how your going to view your new HDTV.

My son said this was lame but I’ll tell you anyway. My neighbors don’t watch much TV but they are both very big into football and that’s why they wanted a HDTV, so they could enjoy watching football games. I told them that before they turned on the game to make sure they had their helmets on because they’re going to feel like they’re right on the field with the players.

Happy Ending:
Don’t you just love it when there is a happy ending! My neighbors cancel their order for the 52 inch HDTV and plan to reorder a more appropriate size.

This video shows you how and why to turn down down the backlight on your LCD HDTV

Visit our HDTV store here.

The short answer is if you have a small room and your sitting close to the TV, then you need a smaller HDTV. On the other hand, if your room is large and your sitting farther back, then you can go with a larger HDTV.

Rule of Thumb: Measure the distance in feet between where you want to place your HDTV and where you will be sitting. Now take that measurement and times it by 3 and also by 5. This will give you your minimum and maximum size HDTV

Example:

The distance between where you want to place your HDTV and your chair is 9 feet. Take 9×3=27 so your minimum size would be a 27 inch TV. Now take 9×5=45, so your maximum size would be a 45 inch HDTV

Of course the other rule, which you should ignore, is that you buy the biggest one you can afford.