tv recomendations? and do I "need" 1080?

[xymotic]

ok, so I've decided to buckle down and really start in on the bottom up refit of the boat. So, naturally, The TV is like my #1 priority. (Yes, I'm a dumbass)

I was all set on a 22 or 26" set but today I actually measured and I have 36" to play with, so I am leaning towards a 32" class LED HDTV.

I don't have cable, download almost all of my video and stream some if I have good wifi (rare) so I'm wondering if I even need 1080? OTOH, I am a techno-snob and not getting it seems very wrong to me.

I went to a local store slightly better than Wal-mart and they had a buch of reasonably priced models, but they were all 720, additionally I couldn't determine how they were powered. I'd REALLY like one with a brick that I might be able to mod to run off straight 12v rather than the inverter. Or am I just over-thinking the power consumption problem?

[Dulcesuenos]

We had a led TV with built in DVD player, it was great, put off no heat, Super low power draw thru an inverter, and looked great even in 720p. Ordered it through Walmart online. Also got a great articulating wall mount so we could see it from everywhere in the boat.

[ExRonin]

At 32" you are right on the edge as to whether 1080 vs 720 will make a noticeable visual difference. Most content we get on our boats (analog cable, streamed video, the odd DVD) is mastered at 720 ( or less ) and 1080 really does nothing (and can a tally introduce distortion). Bottom line is 1080 really won't do mech for you. We have a 37" with a blue ray player and rarely take advantage of it's HD quality.

[jackdale]

How far away will you be from the screen?

Optimum HDTV viewing distance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[xymotic]

Thanks all for the comments. Definitely some things I hadn't considered such as being too close etc.

I failed to find any tv's with external power bricks. (well, I found 1 westinghouse but it was fugly with like a 2" bezel all-round.

Also, I don't understand why there are LOTS of 19-24" 1080p sets and very few in 32". Now I think I need a smaller set in the V berth, but I'm toying with the idea of an iPad or Android for that instead.