So you have decided to invest in a new flat panel TV, be it plasma or LCD.  Now how to set it up?

2 Most Important Factors

There are many factors to consider.  The 2 most important factors to take into account is the size of the room it will be viewed in, and the lighting in the room you wish to place it.

Good Rule of Thumb

First off, getting the right size of TV. The best way to determine the size of TV is to know how far you intend to be from the TV when viewing.  A good rule of thumb is your widescreen TV should be 4” in size for every foot away in distance. So, if you have a distance of 8’ from the TV, a 32” widescreen TV should do nicely, whereas a 50” TV should have a room at least 12 feet of separation from the viewer and the set.

Plasma & LCD TV Height

Next is to make sure when the plasma screen is mounted, either on a wall or on a entertainment centre, the TV height is set so that the middle of the screen is at eye level when sitting down.  It may seem a bit low when wall mounted, but this is not a picture frame your viewing when walking by; you want to be sure your not straining you neck when viewing from a seated position.

Screen Positioning

Next, be sure to try to have the TV positioned in such a way that direct sunlight is not beaming off the set, or that lighting above the TV is not directly reflecting.  Choosing a tilt mount for the wall give you the most flexibility, and when tilted on a 4-7 degree downward angle can make a huge difference in clarity of picture.

Calibrating Your Plasma or LCD TV

Lastly, calibrating your TV brightness, colour, and contrast settings.  Most plasma and LCD displays are sold in “big box” stores with settings tuned to the environment of the store.  Unless you live in a warehouse, you will need to change this settings.  Most TV’s have built-in settings for different lighting conditions, and you choose the one that most closely matches the room conditions you have.