Is This Living Room Big Enough for My TV?
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When I was growing up, my parents had a 20-inch Sony Trinitron television. There was a 25-inch model, but having a TV that big seemed vulgar. When I would ask my father why he didn't splash out for the bigger set, he would say, "Who am I, George Lucas?"
It seems almost quaint now. These days you would be hard-pressed to even find a 20-inch display. Maybe there is a L'il Couch Potato model from Fisher-Price that runs that small, but TVs continue to grow at a steroidal rate. Last year, the size of the average TV sold in North America was 38 inches, and you can buy an 80-inch model for a little more than $4,000.
Measurements like these begin to lose their impact unless you really think about them. Televisions are getting huge. Eighty inches is 6 feet 8 inches. That is as big as Carmelo Anthony of the Knicks. If Carmelo Anthony moved into your living room, you would notice.
The Super Bowl was the end of the high season for TV sales (that starts after Thanksgiving). With a drop in consumer demand, many retailers reduce prices to clear inventory, which means you may even be able to get that 80-incher for less.
But what does it mean to buy a TV that is in that size class? For starters, it is helpful to remember Pythagoras and his theorem. My high school math teacher is smiling right now, as echoes of me asking "But when would we ever really need to know this stuff?" ring in his head.
Since televisions are measured diagonally, it's worth knowing that, say, a 70-inch television is going to measure 61 inches wide and 34 inches high. Finding room for something like that is going to be harder than picking a spot for that "Real Genius" movie poster you bought online.
If you are going to mount your set on the wall, you will have to concern yourself with the question of weight. To some degree, this will depend on whether you are buying a plasma or an LED/LCD television. Plasmas are heavier: One of Panasonic's 65-inch models weighs nearly 125 pounds.
First Published February 10, 2012 12:00 am
