The Fine Print: Best Seat in the House

You’re dropping major coin on an HDTV, so in addition to a great picture, you’ll want it to look perfect in your home. James Wollard, sales designer at Artistic Video & Sound in Coopersburg, gave us a few things to keep in mind.

Seating: Figure out where you’ll usually sit when you watch; the distance from your couch to where the TV will be should be twice the width of the screen. So if your screen is 5 feet wide (60 inches), place that comfy chair 10 feet away.

Lighting: Can you control your lighting conditions, or is there a lot of sunlight in the room? If the room is particularly bright, go with an LCD set instead of a plasma; LCD is much brighter.

Content: What will you and your family watch the most? Plasmas are best for movies, but LCD is best for sports and video games.

Sound: All kinds of speakers are available, including ones that can be built into your walls and ceilings — get a professional to install them if you want that home-theater effect that’ll draw you right into the movie.