Re: Woohoo - new monitor
The problem I see with using TVs is that their resolution is low enough that you have to be a fair distance away from them before they start looking decent. With a computer screen you can have your nose pressed against it if you want to, and it still looks fine.
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1) I sit at an average distance of about 0.75 metres away from my 20 inch computer screen. With a 60 inch TV you need to sit about 3 metres away from the screen. (I know, mixing units, but it doesn't matter in this case.)
2) Apparent size decreases in direct proportion with distance. So if you are twice the distance from something, it will appear half as big. Stargate: Atlantis season finale spoiler: (On a related note, in the series finale of Stargate: Atlantis, Atlantis would have appeared to be at least twice the size of the full moon in the sky, and far brighter. That was soooooo stupid!)
3) Keeping that in mind, if I'm sitting 3 metres away from my TV, and 0.75 metres away from my computer screen, then the TV needs to be 3/0.75 = 4 times bigger than my screen; that simply to appear equal in apparent size as far as my eyes are concerned.
4) So if I am using a 20 inch screen, I need to be using a 4*20 = 80 inch TV (seen at 3 metres away) before it will have the same apparent size as my screen does.
5) In Amon's case, he is using a 19 inch screen and a 36 inch monitor. In order for them to appear the same apparent size he needs to sit at a distance no greater than 1.42 metres from the TV (which is reasonable, barely).
6) If Amon bought a 24 inch computer screen, he'd need to sit ~1.12 metres away from the TV. At that distance, those overly large pixels are staring you right in the eye.
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Of course, things like sound setup, comfort (couch vs computer chair), distance from fridge, etc all play in to the final decision.
