Is a 20 inch monitor too small?

ChompyTheGoat · 24 Apr 2006 at 19:23

I've recently been considering buying a new 20 inch Sony HDTV-ready LCD for combined use as a PC screen and as a television connected up to a Sky HD box. A 20 inch screen would be a good size for me as I don't have space for a large screen, but I've heard and read that it is not really possible to tell the difference between a standard definition and high definition picture when looking at a screen that is less than 26 inches in size. Is this really the case?

Kappa · 24 Apr 2006 at 19:56

is this for living room or bedroom/study/office?

If for the latter it should be quite good, I can tell the difference, but really mainly off an Xbox 360. If for living room a decent sized sammy or LG are quite cheap

pinkaardvark · 25 Apr 2006 at 11:25

I think that argument doesn't really hold water tbh. If you can sit in front of a 15" TFT and see the difference between 640*480 and 1280*1024 then you can certianly see the difference sitting 8ft away on a 20" TFT. There obviously is a point where if you sit far enough away you begin to lose the advantage but I don't think it's as absolute as that old argument claims.

I sit 8ft away from my 40" TFT though and browse the forums and use windows however and I don't think I could do that with a 20" screen so if it's in your living room, sure I reckon HDTV will look better than SDTV but for PC use you may struggle to read the text on the screen.

Brizzles · 25 Apr 2006 at 14:28

pinkaardvark said:
I sit 8ft away from my 40" TFT

Lucky You

!