Sony Develops Online Augmented Reality Tool For Choosing TV Size

Many people know how difficult it can be when choosing a new television set for the home. It’s not just obvious things such as the cost of the TV set, the make and model, or the features that you have to look at when choosing a new television display. You also have to consider things such as whether the TV will fit into the allocated space comfortably, and whether it will complement the design and style of the room. Often, consumers do not have the confidence to buy the TV size that they want – for example, getting a large HDTV set – and end up going for a smaller size even though a larger one would have actually looked great in the space or room it is going in.

Sony online augmented reality tool
Sony develops online augmented reality tool for choosing TV size

In order to help consumers who find themselves struggling to work out which TV size to go for, Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer Sony has developed an innovative online tool that will enable consumers to get assistance in choosing the correct television screen size through the use of augmented reality (AR) technology.

The web tool launched by Sony will let buyers see how different sized television sets will look in a particular location. By printing the AR marker, taking a picture of the printout pasted on the wall, and then uploading the image to Sony’s website, consumers can make a more informed decision about choosing a TV size that is adequate and which looks great in any room or allocated space.

Sony Europe’s online content manager Tim Schwarz said that in the past users had to rely on the basics such as tape measures coupled with some guess work to try and work out what size TV to get, which often resulted in wrong decisions being made. Now, with the arrival of this new app and augmented reality technology, consumers can get a precise idea of how different screen sizes would appear in any given space.

3 comments

  1. I question the value of tools like this. What it doesn’t factor in is the brain getting used to the larger TV size (assuming an upgrade from CRT or smaller set).

    When I first got my 42″ Plasma, it seemed absolutely huge compared to the 29″ 4:3 CRT I had before. After several weeks it seemed to shrink.
    I am now with a 46″ TV, this appeared big at first, but after a few weeks it too shrank – as perceived by the brain.

    In order to retain the effect of a 42″ TV you need to go 4″ larger than the nominal size you want, otherwise after a few weeks you will feel you have a 37″ set!

    I begin to understand why 50″ is a popular size now, Given time and the correct viewing distance it will seem just right. :-D

    I now find it bizarre that anybody can manage with just a 40″ TV – much much too small.

    In my opinion for letterboxed movies, 46″ is a minimum, unless you plan to zoom and destroy the correct cinematic presentation.

  2. i hope there would also be a software for choosing the best online tv software. it took me quite a while in finding tvhook which i can has everything i need for my tv needs. i sure wish i found it earlier.

  3. You don’t really need a size calculator. Bigger is always best for a cinema experience.

    Last year we upgraded from an 80 cm (34″) CRT to a 63″ Samsung plasma at a 3 metre seating distance.

    It seemed huge but after a couple of months it shrunk a lot. I’m now planning on upgrading to a 70″ or bigger screen in a few years.

    We paid for a 5 yr warranty so it will be interesting to see if the PS63C7000 will last that long without using it.