You’ve found Vizio 42-inch LCD TVs to be great deals, but you’re not sure they’re the right size. It’s not a big hurdle, but you have to get over it. Since LCD TVs have a much better picture than CRT TVs, you can sit much closer to them and still enjoy what you’re watching.

1. Minimum distance. The new rule of thumb is that the closest you can sit to your Vizio TV is 1.5 times the size of your flat screen TV (1.5x the diagonal measurement of the screen). So for you to still think your Vizio 42-inch LCD TV is a good deal after you get home with it, it needs to be at least 63 inches (5’3″) away from where you’ll be sitting.

2. Maximum distance. The new rule of thumb for how far away your Vizio TV should be from you is 3 times the size of your TV screen. In other words, you’re going to think your Vizio 42-inch LCD TV deal is still a great deal if you place it no more than 126 inches (10′ 5″) away from where you’re going to watch it from.

For a 37-inch HDTV, the distances would be 55 inches (4’7″) to 111 inches (9’11”)
If you want another Vizio for another room and you know where you want the TV to be and where you want to watch it from, just reverse the formulas:

Minimum viewing distance/3

Maximum distance/1.5

Viewing distance ———- Min. size ——– Max. Size
48 inches (4 feet)———-19 inches —– 32 inches
72 inches (6 feet)———-26 inches ——46 inches
96 inches (8 feet)———-32 inches ——63 inches
120 inches (10 feet) ——- 40 inches —— 80 inches
144 inches (12 feet)——- 46 inches ——96 inches
168 inches (14 feet)——- 52 inches —–112 inches

What if you sit closer than the rule of thumb says you should? You may start to notice pixel patterns and get distracted from the movie or game you are watching.

What if you’re sitting further away than the rule of thumb says you should? You will see too many areas around your TV, not enough of the picture.

If you’re mounting the TV inside an entertainment center, be sure to leave at least an inch on all sides, so your TV has enough ventilation. Remember, LCD TVs produce less heat than plasma TVs, but that’s still heat.

So your 42-inch Vizio LCD TV deals will be deals if you have between 55 and 111 inches of space between your TV and where you’ll be viewing it.