viewing distances on a WS 20"

el_brato · 3 Oct 2006 at 12:27

for those of you with a 20" WS monitor - what distance can you reasonably watch a dvd from?

beh · 3 Oct 2006 at 16:45

Don't quite understand the motivation behind asking that question, could you be more specific? My tft is about 2-3 metres from my bed, could prolly quite happily watch something at twice that distance. The point at which its too far is surely a relatively subjective thing?

StevenG · 3 Oct 2006 at 16:47

there is a recommended viewing distance for dvd's VS tv size, but i suppose i could watch a dvd on my 17"'s from across the room but it wouldnt be very good, and i could also watch it from like 14"'s away and it would be fine, like the post above it is subjective.

but i suppose if you had a 20" you could comfortably watch it up to 1.5m away nicely. or 2.5 straining to see small detail.

el_brato · 5 Oct 2006 at 10:18

yeah... i should have made it clearer - i suppose what i meant is what would be the maximum comfortable distance (still subjective) but the above posts have given me an idea - thanks

igors · 5 Oct 2006 at 12:40

el_brato said:
for those of you with a 20" WS monitor - what distance can you reasonably watch a dvd from?

Optimal watching distance is dependant on the content you watch. In your case, it's not the same for PAL and HDTV content. For PAL (720x576) and 20" panel size, I would say 8 feet max.Surprisingly enough, for 1080 HD content ... maybe 3-4 feet max, otherwise you will have trouble picking out details (and benefits) of the HD. All of that for is valid for 180 degrees viewing angle.

There is also unwritten rule of thumb about the viewing distance of three to six screen widths for video.

igors · 5 Oct 2006 at 12:47

beh said:
Don't quite understand the motivation behind asking that question

Proper viewing distance is very important aspect and people are usually overlooking this. I've seen frequent situations that people with 24" panels (or larger) are not benefiting from the optimal PQ, simply because they don't keep the proper distance.

Viewing distance, optimal viewing field and viewing angles are enormously important aspects and they will affect the PQ. People should always experiment with this and find the perfect ratio. I guarantee that they will benefit from better PQ.

mrk · 5 Oct 2006 at 13:07

My dell can be watched from any angle from each corner of the room nicely

(my room is about 5 metres long by 3 metres wide (give or take)

beh · 5 Oct 2006 at 13:39

igors said:
Proper viewing distance is very important aspect and people are usually overlooking this. I've seen frequent situations that people with 24" panels (or larger) are not benefiting from the optimal PQ, simply because they don't keep the proper distance.

Viewing distance, optimal viewing field and viewing angles are enormously important aspects and they will affect the PQ. People should always experiment with this and find the perfect ratio. I guarantee that they will benefit from better PQ.

Heh, pardon my ignorance, optimal viewing distance for me is just wherever my bed happens to be in relation to my desk

Interesting stuff though, wasn't aware these variables had such an impact.

igors · 5 Oct 2006 at 17:34

beh said:
Heh, pardon my ignorance, optimal viewing distance for me is just wherever my bed happens to be in relation to my desk

Ahhh, fair enough

beh said:
Interesting stuff though, wasn't aware these variables had such an impact.

Getting the right screen size and viewing distance is quite critical.

Do you know for example that when you reach your eye's resolution limit you can't see the difference between the 720p and 1080p ? And that's related with the ratio between the screen size and viewing distance. Also, I did study this a bit (in practice too)

Even more surprising thing is that realistically you will be able to appreciate 1080p only with the panel sizes of 50" or over. If you consider the fact that on average level, domestic size of the LCD TV panels is still far from reaching the 42" and that average viewing distance is about 10 feet ... you may guess where my story is heading. Whatever the sweet sales talk, HDTV are not just the numbers and you may really end up throwing cash for something you will not "see". More importantly, whatever sales guy will try to demonstrate (in the projection room)... that doesn't necessarily means that you will appreciate this to the same effect at home.

We have now almost decade or so of the proper and modern vision research. That includes also the 2004 paper from the BBC about the experiments on HDTV resolution requirements.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/whp/whp092.shtml

Let's say that on average people have 20/20 vision (even with glasses), unless you have fighter pilot 20/15 vision or so. This table is interesting:

In this sample, let's say that you are positioned about 8 feet (2.5 meters) from your LCD and plan to have a 720p HDTV set. You should consider the screen size in the range of 34" - 42" (diagonal size). If it's smaller then 34" you will not benefit from the HD at all and if it's larger then 42" you will have screen door effect and probably eye strain. If we consider 1080p case and that your screen size is 50", you should sit no closer than 2 meters and no further away from 3 meters. If you position yourself further then 3 meters you will not benefit from the 1080p at all and it's better that you stick to 720p. This table is applicable for the 24" LCD monitors too. Also, ideal viewing angle for 720p tis around 20 degrees and for 1080 is around 30 degrees. If people have vision better than 20/20, the can get away with slightly less than this.

edit: For now, my eye's resolution limit is 720p and I don't care for more as my eye's are happy. I tried (borrowed) the 1080p set, tested demo video streams and I couldn't see the difference, as my vision was already saturated with the 720p. Of course, this is based on my viewing experience and that includes the allocated space in my "projection" room for the LCD TV and distance from the screen to the viewing area (sofa) ... and I can't change that. Not specificrally related to this, but I do think that 720p is probably golden choice for now.

Also, you have to remember that we have people with 20/30 or even 20/40 vision and they will not benefit from the HDTV at all

fobose · 5 Oct 2006 at 19:41

For me, I would watch a movie about 2.5m away max on my 20" WS.