Who are all these weird folks who think a small or modest sized TV is the way to go? Never been to the cinema?

Yeah, doesn’t mean we want a mahoosive, dominating cinema screen in the lounge though. That’s what the cinema is for. 😉

Doesn’t mean we want to go to the cinema, that’s what a mahoosive, dominating cinema screen in the lounge is for. 😁

In seriousness, having a big TV has killed my desire to go to the cinema stone dead. “Why not watch it on the big screen?” – well I can, and snuggling up with my girlfriend in fat leather reclining sofas with a couple of beers and a bowl of nachos hasn’t just cost me fifty quid and an hour in the car.

The one thing I miss isn’t the screen, it’s audio. I have a pile of AV gear but it’s still in the cupboard post-house move.

In seriousness, having a bit TV has killed my desire to go to the cinema stone dead. “Why not watch it on the big screen?” –

To be fair, I try to resist any attempt to get me to go to the cinema at any time ever. Even with my teeny tiny 32 incher.

There are other humans there, and other humans spoil virtually everything I find.
😂

Rather wait until it comes out on video.

Clearly then, what you need there is a big telly.

I like the cinema, but I try to go off-peak or towards the end of a film’s run for exactly the reason you cite. The world won’t end if I don’t catch a new film on release day.

The one thing I miss isn’t the screen, it’s audio. I have a pile of AV gear but it’s still in the cupboard post-house move.

yep, I have a full 7.1 system in the loft that I can’t be arsed to install/wire up. Replaced with a cheap soundbar and wireless sub, it’s 90% as good I’d say for 1% the effort! I expect a more expensive soundbar with wireless rears would be 100% as good, if not better!!

Just got the tape measure out. My telly is 32″. I reckon we could just about get away with up to 40″ in that alcove. Which we’ll probably do if and when this one conks out.

Ive got a new gen LG OLED c2 42″.. .. as it has to sit in the now defunct fireplace.

My house is small, an end terrace… I could mount a bigger screen above, on the defunct chimeny stack but I don’t want to be looking up at it, and I also don’t want a black monstroisity dominating the living room, and I’d rather have the TV at eye level from the sofa rather than having to look up at it.

The new LG OLEDS are seriously nice with HDR and OLED, so I went for quality rather than biggerness.

The Atmos sound is also good enough for me not to bother turning on my amp and proper speakers. I know to get proper Dolby atmos you need something daft like a 20 speaker system incuding down firing ceiling speakers, but the TV itself does a pretty damn good job with the AI /virtual atmos sound. So props to LG for that, considering how little space there is in the tv for physical speakers, it’s really quite impressive for what it is. It still sounds tinny without proper speakers, and without the sub, but it’s not shabby really.

That said, if my living room was 8m x 10m I’d totally get 70″ or more screen.

Well, I pulled the trigger. 65 it is! Just gotta get some help installing it and playing around with the spaghetti to connect to my (5.1) amp/speakers.

We cut down some cardboard boxes and taped them together in a flat panel the same size as 65 telly then taped it to the wall just to get an idea of whether it would overwhelm the wall (it doesn’t) and the best position.

Any opinions on HDMI versus optical for feeding the amp (assuming, as this is just audio, then HDMI 2.x or whatever capability isn’t needed by amp?)

Even older HDMI will demolish optical. If you’re using the TV as the source to drive the receiver then what you’re looking for is HDMI-ARC. (I always did it the other way around – console, disc player, Sky box etc all into the receiver then the receiver to the TV, but that relies on all your sources being external.)

Even older HDMI will demolish optical. If you’re using the TV as the source to drive the receiver then what you’re looking for is HDMI-ARC.

Cheers!

For some reason, I’d always thought optical was superior to HDMI… obviously wrong about that!

Currently, laptop feeds receiver via HDMI, then receiver linked to old telly via another HDMI. A have an old Chromecast plugged into one of the old TVs spare HDMI inputs. I’m guessing I won’t need that anymore. They’re the only video sources currently.

Now, I’ll have the apps on the new TV to take into account so I’ll follow your suggestion.

I guess to my mind at least, the decision is “which is your input switcher?” You can use the telly or the amp (or both, if you’re a sociopath) to swap between input sources.

If you’re using the TV as a source in itself (broadcast DTV via a rooftop aerial, or inbuilt smart apps on a network) then you have to be sending audio back to the receiver. Then you plug your Chromecast, laptop etc into the various TV inputs. The TV switches inputs, the ARC (audio return channel) HDMI outputs audio back to the amp.

If you’re NOT using the TC as a source then you can smash everything into the receiver inputs and change sources from there. In this scenario the receiver passes audio and video to the telly. As above, it’s what I did back when I was using a 5.1 AV receiver but it’d be a non-starter for me today because it was only HDMI 1.4 and couldn’t cope with 4k video.

Currently, laptop feeds receiver via HDMI, then receiver linked to old telly via another HDMI. A have an old Chromecast plugged into one of the old TVs spare HDMI inputs. I’m guessing I won’t need that anymore. They’re the only video sources currently.

The new TV may have Chromecast functionality built in. As for the laptop, what are you doing with that? If you’re using it as a media source than I suggest you investigate Plex.

The new TV may have Chromecast functionality built in. As for the laptop, what are you doing with that? If you’re using it as a media source than I suggest you investigate Plex.

Yes, I’ve been told the new TV has built in Chromecast. Old TV is, essentially, acting as a monitor for the laptop which is currently used to stream Netflix, BBC iPlayer, All 4 etc etc and well as general browsing. I’m not sure what apps we’ll be able to install on the new TV but we also want the new TV to act as the laptop monitor as well….
I flirted with Plex several years ago (when I had lots of content from that dodgy pirate BT site) but never got it working properly (my fault, I think, as I couldn’t get Windows to recognize the NAS. In fact, I’d forgotten about the NAS until I pulled out the TV unit to check the connectivity!)
I may re-visit Plex once I’ve got to grips with the new TV

I’d been using Plex since day one but sacked it off recently, it’s bloated shite now. Kodi or if you’re more technically inclined, Jellyfin are alternatives.

The one thing I miss isn’t the screen, it’s audio. I have a pile of AV gear but it’s still in the cupboard post-house move.

Sonos Amp fed with hdmi Arc into a pair of decent speakers? Needs an ARC hdmi splitter (there is one available). It has a virtual centre speaker too. Personally I use a 5.1 set up with a Rel subwoofer but have considered the amp which is in the office and tested the stereo and it’s impressive. This will work from a latest generation Apple TV which makes for two small boxes and a set of hifi speakers. Hardly imposing and can be put away.

Watching sport on a cinema screen is great. The solid angle is about the same as sitting in the cinema. You won’t get that with a 65” TV. F1 cars are full size.

40” was the biggest we were ever having as the wife had a false chimney type wall built and the TV fitted in a 41” inch hole inside 😃. Now have 55” that covers the hole and fits perfectly to the size of the false bit.

Now SHE wants a 75” screen but not on the wall.

Love the cinema but wife hates it and covid killed her enthusiasm completely. But likes the amazon £14.99 new release rent movies.

Have a projecter in the guest room (wife)/ the cinema (son). It is amazing for the price-Optoma 42 with a 4k fire stick, xbox and switch share the 1.4 HDMI socket. Less than 100” due to room size.

WC has been nice and FIFA23 also. But we only have an older Bose under TV speaker that is ok. Downstairs on the tiny 55” we have a LG sk9 (maybe wrong id) with wireless rears. Sounds amazing for a SB, but has been years since I have a multi speaker system.

Need to balance up the sound and vision😃

Sonos Amp fed with hdmi Arc into a pair of decent speakers? Needs an ARC hdmi splitter (there is one available).

The problem is more of a practical one. There’s nowhere really to put full-sized speakers and no easy way to run girlfriend-compatible cabling about the place.

It annoys me greatly that there doesn’t seem to be any sensible means of using the Echoes as remote speakers. I have a couple either side of the TV as a Bluetooth stereo pair which works great for Internet-streamed audio, but using BT as a source means I can pair with one or the other but not both ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Maybe that’s just a shortcoming of BT, I don’t know. In any case, the TV seemingly supports BT as an input but not an output (presumably because BT headphones don’t exist…) So then we’re into the realms of getting a Firestick which seems to have some sort of Theater[sic] mode but that’s a whole other level of complication and shitbaggery that I don’t really want, we’ve had the TV for 18 months and I still can’t get my girlfriend to use the HD channels rather than Cataract-O-Vision.

Maybe that’s just a shortcoming of BT, I don’t know.

Apple seem to manage stereo pairs fine with their HomePods… 😉

Mine is always turned on.

I have a Bush. It’s not very impressive.