Hmm No. Depends entirely on your viewing distance from the screen, and the exact pixel count of the displays, as well as the signal source quality. ( DVD and Player whatever)
That was one of the dumbest things I have read in a while. Marc, do you work in retail? Marc, stop and think. Take a digital picture and print it on a 4x6, 5x7, 8x10, & 11x14... Which is sharper? The viewing distance has nothing to do with the display. Thats just like saying "how tall is it?".... "well, depends on how far away we are". There are red green and blue cells on the screen making the picture. the cells are the same size on EVERY plasma.... so a bigger screen has more of them..... WOW common sense.
SO TO CLARIFY
How far away you are from a plasma screen has ABSOLUTELY NO bearing on how sharp it is. Just how you percieve it.
The source does not control sharpness of your display either. HDTV will be the clearest.
Stretching, while not physically, occurs when you are enlarging ANY image. It may be proportional still but not same size.
Marc you should keep your thoughts to yourself if you are going to type complete BS.
Hi. You have no clue. You think a bigger screen strecthes a picture? Are you on drugs? SO if I buy a 65 inch plasma I get a strecthed picture? You have absolutely no clue about what you are talking aboutin a very laughably wrong way.
The viewing distance is critical in how sharp a plasma picture appears to a viewer. Too close? You get a screen door effect--not too sharp is it? At a certain viewing distance, 50 inch and 42 inch differences become less discernable.
All of this is very basic stuff. Cuylar- you seem young and uninformed. Nothing personal. But its important to spread accurate info, not fools gibberish.
Pixel for pixel an HD image is a set size. If you show it at 100% it would be in proportion to the size of the pixel.
720p = 1280 x 720 pixels.
So if you have a 10" screen it's a safe to say that you're going to have more information displayed per square inch than a 30". That is a "higher" resolution. Sharper image.
Can you be absolutely blind? Take a digital photo at 640x480. Make that image 3x2... looks alright. Now make it 4x6.... now it's going to show a few signs that the picture is stretching.... look at an 8x10 of a 640x480 image. It will look like $#!+. Use common sense. The bigger the screen the more the image is stretched. Your original image is comprised of a fixed amount of pixels. The bigger you make that image, the more the image will be stretched.
Cuylar Blair, Marc is correct and you are wrong. You can not compare HDTV to photos. You would not be able to fit 1280x720 on a ten inch screen thats why plasma start at 37 inches. Most are 42 and 50 but if you look at the specs the 42's are 1024x720 and the 50's are 1280x720 and some 1366x720. So you get more pixels on the larger screens. Sitting distance has a lot to do with the precieved picture. 50 inch plasmas at 6-8 feet will be better than any 42 inch plasma.
I just bought a Sony Wega 42" HDTV LCD...I have not taken it home yet and realized I could get away with the 50". The deal is, I have a "hole" over the gas fireplace that will almost custom fit the 50" but leave 7" on either side and 6" on top if I get the 42"...making it look small. For 400 bucks more I can upgrade.
Easy huh? Well I sit about 10-11 ft away and down a foot or two from the tv. Is a 50 to big? Is the 50 not as clear or crisp as the 42 which is something that I noticed, or does it really matter?
What would you do...sacrifice for the bigger or quality or what?
Discussion between Cuylar, Marc and Casey is interesting. I am not an expert in this field. But simple maths make sense in this case 50 inch TV has resolution of 1366X720. Pixle density that is # of pixles per inch is 1366X720/50 = 19670, for 42 inch is will be 1280X720/42 = 21943. So 42 inch with the above resolution will be sharper than the 50 inch. However if the 42 inch has a resolution of 1024X720 the the pixle density will be 1024X720/42 = 17554 and hense this TV will not be as sharp as the 50 inch. Bottom line compare the pixle density to find out
Brian- There are actually some equations to calculate optimal viewing distance, but because everybodys vision and sensitivity to screen door etc is different. I dont find them particularly useful
10-11 feet is actually a good distance for a 50 inch plasma screen by most accounts. Folks with 42 inch plasmas are good right up til about 10 feet. I watch my 42 inch at about 9 feet and its fine.
Part of this is actually related to how much volume you listen at ( in dcb). Video and audio should balance each other. A 13 inch screen in a THX certified audio room and system at 85 db doesnt make for a good balance for example. Keep that in mind as you shop around a bit.