# new plasma- Is it too big?



## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

Yeah, I know this was brought up in a previous thread, but I'm kinda struggling with this.

32" wega crt died. [ sniff]
Researched all kinds of forums for almost two months. Read somewhere to measure hight of crt screen as a starting point. That took me to a 46" flat panel screen.
Seems more people than not recommended going up a size, [ quote: no one ever wishes they went smaller, cheaper.] Debated this in my head, but went with a 50".

I've had it less than a week, but it still seems too big? I'm sitting as far back as I can, [ a bit over 8 feet] but I'm still not adjusted to it yet. Sometimes I get a slight headache [ is this eye strain?] Never had this issue with the Sony CRT.

50" didn't look this big in the store, and I'm afraid if I ship it back for a 46", I may not be happy with that either. So, what to do?

Has anyone else had this issue? Might the 46" eliminate the eye strain?

Thanks!


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

satcrazy said:


> Yeah, I know this was brought up in a previous thread, but I'm kinda struggling with this.
> 
> 32" wega crt died. [ sniff]
> Researched all kinds of forums for almost two months. Read somewhere to measure hight of crt screen as a starting point. That took me to a 46" flat panel screen.
> ...


I don't know. I sit about 10'-12' away from a 65" plasma and often wish I could go bigger!  That said, I think the difference between 46" and 50" is more psychological than tangible, so I'd stick with the 50" and give it some more time.

BTW, You're not watching it in "torch" mode (Vivid mode, on a Panasonic plasma, e.g.), are you? If so, that may be why you're experiencing some eye strain. That mode is mainly there to stand out against competing displays side-by-side in a store, IMO, and not intended for home use. Just my .02.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

I went from years of a 21" SDTV to a 27" 4:3 CRT HDTV to a 32" HDTV to a 42" HDTV to finally a 50" HDTV. Each time, I thought, "Damn, that's too big. What was I thinking?" After a week or two, it seemed perfect. I sit about 6' away and it feels like 50" is about my top size.

When friends saw it, they think it's too big. Then, they get used to it.


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

I'm one of those people who clearer and bigger. I sit relatively close in the theatre to be immersed in the experience; trying to get as much field of view covered as is reasonable. 

At home, I'm trying to reproduce that immersion.

Now, one key is video source and how well your equipment might upscale. If you are watching a good HD source (so upscaling isn't needed) I should think your described environment should be fine. If you are watching poor SD with a TV that isn't very well calibrated and poorly upscaling, yeah, you could get some eyestrain for awhile. Even that might go away.

So double check your settings and your video sources.

Cheers,
Tom


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Since the ideal display size from around 8' is 60", I'd stick with the 50"

Make sure you calibrate it.


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## John Williams (Oct 5, 2011)

Eye strain can come from many things.

One has already been mentioned, having the TV set to one of the 'torch' modes (i.e. Vivid, Sport, etc...). These exaggerated settings not only look bad but can cause eye fatigue over a long period of time watching.

The second and usually bigger problem is room lighting. You're not watching in a completely darkened room are you? Something your mom warned you about when you were little. The only system you watch in complete darkness is a projection system, and this is only because of the large field-of-view it takes up.
Note: to large of screen and your eyes wonder to much, causing eye fatigue - SMPTE's max is 61.8 degrees field-of-view. Any larger than that is too big. THX's minimum for projection is 26 degrees.

So.... For a smaller size screen (smaller than a projection system), you need some kind of light in the room to help with eye strain. The absolute best way to do it is with a back light behind the TV. The light needs to be a perfect D6500 color temp, light output no more than 10% of the display, and a neutral color on the wall behind the TV. Of course most people aren't going to go to that extreme but keeping as close to these guildlines as possible will give the best results.
For some good reading and where you can buy some of the more expensive products, do a search for "Ideal Lume"
For the more budget and not as accurate, there are LED products worth looking at: search on Amazon for "LED backlight kit" 
At the very least you should have a low wattage lamp or light on, to prevent eye fatigue. Preferably on the side of the room as the display, so you don't create glare on the screen.
Hope this helps.


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

satcrazy said:


> Yeah, I know this was brought up in a previous thread, but I'm kinda struggling with this.
> 
> 32" wega crt died. [ sniff]
> Researched all kinds of forums for almost two months. Read somewhere to measure hight of crt screen as a starting point. That took me to a 46" flat panel screen.
> ...


After having a 36" CRT that I couldn't move, I decided to choose b y weight. So I looked at all sets under one hundred pounds. Ended up with a 52" LCD.


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## armophob (Nov 13, 2006)

if you have to keep moving your head like at a tennis match, then you have gone too big. Anything else is fine.


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## olguy (Jan 9, 2006)

We sit about 16 feet from the 82" in hte family room, 8 feet from th e60" in the game room upstairs and the 50" on the bedroom wall is about 10 feet from my pillow. I remember when we went from a 27" to the Mits 36" CRT in 1988. Did think I could ever get used to that big ol' thing. We sat about 10 feet from it. When it died we got a 61" Hitachi rear projection. SD in the room the 82" is in now. Bigger is better. :lol:


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## dirtyblueshirt (Dec 7, 2008)

I have a 55" in my living room, and sit8-9 feet from the screen. it's sized perfectly. As others suggested, give it time, you've got a significant upgrade in size for your brain to process. Enjoy your new TV!


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## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

Steve said:


> I don't know. I sit about 10'-12' away from a 65" plasma and often wish I could go bigger!  That said, I think the difference between 46" and 50" is more psychological than tangible, so I'd stick with the 50" and give it some more time.
> 
> BTW, You're not watching it in "torch" mode (Vivid mode, on a Panasonic plasma, e.g.), are you? If so, that may be why you're experiencing some eye strain. That mode is mainly there to stand out against competing displays side-by-side in a store, IMO, and not intended for home use. Just my .02.


No torch mode, settings are midway.



sigma1914 said:


> I went from years of a 21" SDTV to a 27" 4:3 CRT HDTV to a 32" HDTV to a 42" HDTV to finally a 50" HDTV. Each time, I thought, "Damn, that's too big. What was I thinking?" After a week or two, it seemed perfect. I sit about 6' away and it feels like 50" is about my top size.
> 
> When friends saw it, they think it's too big. Then, they get used to it.


Well, I don't feel too crazy now!



Tom Robertson said:


> I'm one of those people who clearer and bigger. I sit relatively close in the theatre to be immersed in the experience; trying to get as much field of view covered as is reasonable.
> 
> At home, I'm trying to reproduce that immersion.
> 
> ...


HD source- Dish reciever 222k and the SD channels are crappy. Have not really calibrated it yet.



spartanstew said:


> Since the ideal display size from around 8' is 60", I'd stick with the 50"
> 
> Make sure you calibrate it.


Need to calibrate.



John Williams said:


> Eye strain can come from many things.
> 
> One has already been mentioned, having the TV set to one of the 'torch' modes (i.e. Vivid, Sport, etc...). These exaggerated settings not only look bad but can cause eye fatigue over a long period of time watching.
> 
> ...


Yes, I have a small light on at night off to one side, LOL, yes I remember "not to watch tv in the dark" I don't understand the SMPTE figures you stated, what is this and how is it related? From what you stated, is 50" at 8ft not correct? It just seems at times my eyes cannot take in whole screen.



Drucifer said:


> After having a 36" CRT that I couldn't move, I decided to choose b y weight. So I looked at all sets under one hundred pounds. Ended up with a 52" LCD.


Yeah, my old crt was 165 pounds. No one wanted to volunteer to move it!



armophob said:


> if you have to keep moving your head like at a tennis match, then you have gone too big. Anything else is fine.


Not quite that bad.



olguy said:


> We sit about 16 feet from the 82" in hte family room, 8 feet from th e60" in the game room upstairs and the 50" on the bedroom wall is about 10 feet from my pillow. I remember when we went from a 27" to the Mits 36" CRT in 1988. Did think I could ever get used to that big ol' thing. We sat about 10 feet from it. When it died we got a 61" Hitachi rear projection. SD in the room the 82" is in now. Bigger is better. :lol:


Thats what I kept reading.



dirtyblueshirt said:


> I have a 55" in my living room, and sit8-9 feet from the screen. it's sized perfectly. As others suggested, give it time, you've got a significant upgrade in size for your brain to process. Enjoy your new TV!


OK. Seems like I need to give it another week.
re-occuring thread here is time.

Thanks, everyone, for taking the time to respond.

My plasma: panasonic tcp50ST30
HD source: dish reciever 222k
My brain: overprocessed


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## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

Does LCD technology give less eyestrain?

I passed on lcd because of motion blurr [ thought that might be a eye problem]

Oh, yeah, I did have my eyes checked, [ lol]


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

satcrazy said:


> No torch mode, settings are midway.


It's not so much where you're set as the "mode" you are in. If Panasonic, e.g., are you in Vivid, Game, Standard, Cinema, or Custom? They all have different gammas, and depending on the content, Vivid's or Game's gamma can cause eyestrain... even with midway settings.


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## BosFan (Sep 28, 2009)

satcrazy said:


> OK. Seems like I need to give it another week.
> re-occuring thread here is time.
> 
> Thanks, everyone, for taking the time to respond.
> ...


I went from a 27" CRT to a 50" Plasma to my current 55" Plasma sitting at 12', 55" is great & probably could go bigger. Here are the calibration settings a I used for my panny; http://www.televisioninfo.com/content/Panasonic-TC-P50ST30-Plasma-3D-HDTV-Review/Calibration.htm, same model as yours just 5" bigger, small adjustments and the picture now exceeds my 50" Hitachi plasma it replaced. I also have a 42" LCD in another room and in HD the Plasma is way less strain on my eyes, much better picture. However for SD the 42" LCD is much better, probably mainly because the smaller size doesn't exaggerate the poor quality. Pretty soon you won't knoe how you lived without a TV this size!


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## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

satcrazy said:


> I've had it less than a week, but it still seems too big? I'm sitting as far back as I can, [ a bit over 8 feet] but I'm still not adjusted to it yet. Sometimes I get a slight headache [ is this eye strain?] Never had this issue with the Sony CRT.


When you are seated, where are your eyes in relation to the screen? Is the middle 20% of the screen height wise directly in front of you? The reaosn I ask is because when I got my 70" (moved up from a 57"), I got a stand at Best Buy. This put the TV where when I was seated, I was looking at the bottom third. I hated it and thought I had made a huge mistake with this purchase. My wife is the one that pointed out that the TV seemed high. So I did some research and found that the factory stand would lower it by about 6", so I took a chance and ordered it.

That right there solved the problem. The TV was too high and was causing me strain to look up at it even though it was only a few inches.



Steve said:


> I don't know. I sit about 10'-12' away from a 65" plasma and often wish I could go bigger!


I am also at about 12' and when this 70" Sony SXRD dies (its 5 years old, and given the history with this model is probably on the downhill slide), I am getting at least the 82" Mits DLP. Maybe even go to the 92". 

So, no your TV is not too big for your room. My parents have a 52" and they are about 8' and its not a problem for them.


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## FarmerBob (Nov 28, 2002)

http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html

or

http://s3.carltonbale.com/resolution_chart.html

or

Screen Viewing Distance Range 
26" 3.25-5.5 feet 
32" 4.0-6.66 feet 
37" 4.63-7.71 feet 
40" 5.0-8.33 feet 
46" 5.75-9.5 feet 
52" 6.5-10.8 feet (Mine and I'm at 7') 
58" 7.25-12 feet 
65" 8.13-13.5 feet 
70" 8.75-14.75 feet


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## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

Steve said:


> It's not so much where you're set as the "mode" you are in. If Panasonic, e.g., are you in Vivid, Game, Standard, Cinema, or Custom? They all have different gammas, and depending on the content, Vivid's or Game's gamma can cause eyestrain... even with midway settings.


I'm in cinema mode, game and vivid are unreal looking to me. "judder" seems to be a problem for me, makes me a bit sea-sick, so I've got motion smoother set to high.



BosFan said:


> I went from a 27" CRT to a 50" Plasma to my current 55" Plasma sitting at 12', 55" is great & probably could go bigger. Here are the calibration settings a I used for my panny; http://www.televisioninfo.com/content/Panasonic-TC-P50ST30-Plasma-3D-HDTV-Review/Calibration.htm, same model as yours just 5" bigger, small adjustments and the picture now exceeds my 50" Hitachi plasma it replaced. I also have a 42" LCD in another room and in HD the Plasma is way less strain on my eyes, much better picture. However for SD the 42" LCD is much better, probably mainly because the smaller size doesn't exaggerate the poor quality. Pretty soon you won't knoe how you lived without a TV this size!


Thanks for the link, I will use it. OK, so much for the LCD, then.

I actually find that using the 4:3 aspect reduces size, and seems to make SD clearer, making it easier to watch right now. [ I'm not sure if the grey bars will have any adverse effects on the tv though] Hopefully I can graduate to full screen.



Herdfan said:


> When you are seated, where are your eyes in relation to the screen? Is the middle 20% of the screen height wise directly in front of you? The reaosn I ask is because when I got my 70" (moved up from a 57"), I got a stand at Best Buy. This put the TV where when I was seated, I was looking at the bottom third. I hated it and thought I had made a huge mistake with this purchase. My wife is the one that pointed out that the TV seemed high. So I did some research and found that the factory stand would lower it by about 6", so I took a chance and ordered it.
> 
> That right there solved the problem. The TV was too high and was causing me strain to look up at it even though it was only a few inches.
> 
> ...


The height of my stand is 24 1/2 inches, and where I sit I'm not quite dead center, [?] but, I've seen higher stands so I know what you mean. My stand was pretty expensive and robust as I neede a good one for that behemoth CRT. So I'm locked into it for awhile. I don't really feel like I'm looking up, it's more the expanse from side to side, 4:3 seems to help that though.



FarmerBob said:


> http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html
> 
> or
> 
> ...


So, according to this chart, I'm in the middle of the range.

Thanks again everyone!


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## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

BosFan said:


> I went from a 27" CRT to a 50" Plasma to my current 55" Plasma sitting at 12', 55" is great & probably could go bigger. Here are the calibration settings a I used for my panny; http://www.televisioninfo.com/content/Panasonic-TC-P50ST30-Plasma-3D-HDTV-Review/Calibration.htm, same model as yours just 5" bigger, small adjustments and the picture now exceeds my 50" Hitachi plasma it replaced. I also have a 42" LCD in another room and in HD the Plasma is way less strain on my eyes, much better picture. However for SD the 42" LCD is much better, probably mainly because the smaller size doesn't exaggerate the poor quality. Pretty soon you won't knoe how you lived without a TV this size!


OK, I went to the link you suggested, and checked my settings, but I have a question about contrast, Isn't 100 too high for a new set?

Also read the review, and it wasn't very good. Makes all the research I did seems like a waste. What made you decide on this TV?

I couldn't care less about 3D, I just wanted a really good 2D.

Did you see any other plasmas you liked as well?

I had 3:2 pulldown and motion smoother enabled already, because like I mentioned the jitter/motion movement on some broadcasts are very noticable[I guess it has to do with the 24p frame rate] to me. Question is, do all plasma's suffer this same problem?
I would hate to return this for another, only to find out they all do this.

I guess that was part of my thinking regarding going to a 46", maybe the problems would shrink with size, lol.


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## BosFan (Sep 28, 2009)

satcrazy said:


> OK, I went to the link you suggested, and checked my settings, but I have a question about contrast, Isn't 100 too high for a new set?
> 
> Also read the review, and it wasn't very good. Makes all the research I did seems like a waste. What made you decide on this TV?
> 
> ...


I know when I got my 1st Hitachi Plasma nearly 3 years ago that high of a contrast would not have been recommend until after 100 hours but from what I can tell in the manual and elsewhere it doesn't seem to be an issue for the new ones.

I didn't see enough poor reviews of this TV to give me doubt, most of my research is based on Consumer Reports, Amazon & Newegg user reviews as well as help from this forum: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=196891

I will say it did take about 2 weeks of "burn in" for the picture to really be at it's best, now I truly believe it is superior to my 50" Hitachi. I would suggest leaving the pillar bars gray and not bothering to try and watch SD channels in anything other than 4:3, in that case I feel the TV is "too big" and SD just plain looks bad (whether it's OTA, D* or streamed). On my 42" LCD I crop HLN and it looks just fine, not great by any means.

The only other plasma's I considered were the Samsung's, but side by side in the stores (Best Buy & Sears, under bright fluorescent light) the Panasonic just look better.

It is too bad there isn't a good way to truly test drive a TV to make sure you like it. IMHO I still think you will come to really enjoy it but what is right for me may not be for you.

Good luck!


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## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

Thanks, Bos

I really want to enjoy my TV despite my concerns.

Will give it more time.


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## Beerstalker (Feb 9, 2009)

Check out this thread.

http://www.highdefjunkies.com/showthread.php?9134-2011-Panasonic-Settings-Issues-Thread

I've installed 3 ST30s at my friends' houses over the last few months and all of them are extrememly happy with them so far. I've installed the 50", 55", and a 65". I followed the panel prep procedure on all three and have them all set up with the reference settings now. Sadly I have been too busy and haven't had much time to hang out with my friends to watch TV with them yet so I don't have any personal comments on them other than they have all looked really nice in for the few minutes I have watched them after setting them up.


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## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

Beerstalker said:


> Check out this thread.
> 
> http://www.highdefjunkies.com/showthread.php?9134-2011-Panasonic-Settings-Issues-Thread
> 
> I've installed 3 ST30s at my friends' houses over the last few months and all of them are extrememly happy with them so far. I've installed the 50", 55", and a 65". I followed the panel prep procedure on all three and have them all set up with the reference settings now. Sadly I have been too busy and haven't had much time to hang out with my friends to watch TV with them yet so I don't have any personal comments on them other than they have all looked really nice in for the few minutes I have watched them after setting them up.


Do you know if any of them have trouble with the speakers? my right one seems to resonate at about 50 on the vol. bar, the left a little higher than that. I hate the thought of sending this back because of speakers, because it does not have any "Buzz" or green glob issues, [ I believe it has the fixable "FBR" issue, tho] I'm afraid my replacement may end up with non fixable green glob/ and, or "buzz" a dealbreaker for me.

Any way you could ask about the speakers?

Thanks!

BTW, I'm adjusting to size, even tho it's taking awhile


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## FHSPSU67 (Jan 12, 2007)

Why not get an Audio-Video Receiver (AVR) with a speaker setup, and not worry about the sound. Pretty much all TVs have less than acceptable sound, especially at higher volumes.


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## spaul (Jul 19, 2009)

I always found that if the TV picture is good and has connections you need then the sound shouldn,t matter.Especially if TV is going to be used as your primary or secondary viewing location as mentioned go with a surround sound system.TV,s sound never compare to even a inexpensive priced sound system.I have 3 TV,s all hd the only one without surround system is the bedroom set.


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## satcrazy (Mar 16, 2011)

FHSPSU67 said:


> Why not get an Audio-Video Receiver (AVR) with a speaker setup, and not worry about the sound. Pretty much all TVs have less than acceptable sound, especially at higher volumes.


I have an older Denon that I hooked up, with ok speakers. I guess I'll have to settle for this for now, as my budget got beat up with the tv purchase, lol. 
I guess better to have a work-around for the sound then to have a tv with serious pq problems. I guess I am just unhappy that for the price, it should be better. I'm also hoping that speaker problem doesn't get worse over time.:nono2:



spaul said:


> I always found that if the TV picture is good and has connections you need then the sound shouldn,t matter.Especially if TV is going to be used as your primary or secondary viewing location as mentioned go with a surround sound system.TV,s sound never compare to even a inexpensive priced sound system.I have 3 TV,s all hd the only one without surround system is the bedroom set.


Yeah, connections. Well, I've found most of the 2011 models have gone sparse with these. When I looked back at the 2010's they had more, especially the 720p models. Mine has 1 composite, 1 component, 1 antenna in and 3 HDMI's. Only 1 optical audio out which is going to the denon. I could have REALLY used a red and white audio jack out for my headphones, as I use these for late night viewing [ so I don't wake anyone up] I currently do not have a work around for this problem.
Agggghhhhh.
My previous CRT might of been old tech, but everything worked without a problem. Good sound, really good picture and all the hook ups I needed. Too bad it wieghed more than my car, I would have attemted a fix. No choice but to send it down the road.

Well, thanks for the input, If either of you can think of a solution for my headset, I'd appreciate it!

PS, I am now use to the size, even tho it took awhile. After previously looking at a relative's 42" It now looks too small to me, and my 50" seems just right. Glad I decided to go bigger than 46!


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