So you’re finally getting around to upgrading from an old 32″ cathode-ray tube TV to a 32″ widescreen TV and you can’t wait to see that bigger picture. Well, don’t get too excited because the picture will actually be smaller on your new TV. As the handy website ScreenMath tells it, “the “old” 32-inch TV has 491.52 square inches of screen area, and the 32-inch HDTV has 439.6 square inches — in other words, less. When comparing an ‘old’ TV and HDTV of the same diagonal screen size, the HDTV screen is actually 11 percent smaller.”
If you’re hoping to actually upgrade to a larger image you’ll want to be sure to pay attention to screen height. ScreenMath has a handy table for making sure you’re at least maintaining the same screen size when upgrading your set.
