How Big a TV Screen Do I Need for my Room?

Most people choose to buy the biggest TV they can afford. If you choose your TV this way you’re doing it wrong!

The best way to choose a TV screen size for a room is to do a little bit of maths, or look up a size/viewing distance table. If you have too big a TV screen your eye will have to move to much to frequently to track the action. This ultimately results in fatigue and eyestrain, reducing the quality of your viewing experience. With the right size you’ll be able to take in the full picture most of the time without having to move your eyes too much.

It all comes down to viewing angle, the apparent size of the TV at the distance you’re sitting from it. There are a number of different recommendations from different manufacturers about viewing angle with pretty much all manufacturers recommending a viewing angle between 20 and 40 degrees. 30 degrees is around the most common recommendation. What does this mean?

Size	Viewing Distance
26″	1-2m
30″	1.2 – 2.3m
34″	1.3 – 2.6m
42″	1.6 – 3.2m
46″	1.8m – 3.5m
50″	1.9 – 3.8m
55″	2.1 – 3.9m
60″	2.3 – 4.6m
65″	2.5 – 5m

Somewhere in the middle of the ranges above of size vs distance will produce the most comfortable viewing. Of course you need to take into account other factors of your room. How big a TV will your TV cabinet or shelf comfortably hold? How much space do you have in your room? I’ve seen some pretty amazing attempts at trying to fit a huge TV in a tiny room. One person had a 80″(120cm) rear projection TV only 1.5m away from their couch, which was right in at the back wall of the room. It was really a poor picture so close.

I suggest measuring the distance you’ll be sitting with a tape measure and taking this measurement with you to the electronics store. This will give you an impression of how it’s going to look.