When most people head to the store to purchase a new television set, normally the only constraint that keeps them from purchasing a larger television set is their budget.
Most people will buy the largest TV that they can afford, but the largest TV you plan to purchase may not be perfect TV for your living room.
While it might seem ridiculous to say that the biggest television you can afford isn’t perfect for your home, the truth is, going too big could ruin your viewing experience.
Picture this, you’re sitting in a movie theatre and you have to choose a set of seats to watch the film from. Do you choose the front row immediately so that you can be right in front of the screen for the biggest possible size? No, if you’re like most people. Instead, you’ll go for a more centrally located seat where you can see the full screen comfortably. This same concept applies to your television screen at home.
The size of your room really determines how large of a screen you can invest in while still enjoying a good viewing experience. Getting an 80″ TV for a tiny bedroom would likely be a poor decision because you would be straining to watch the screen and you would miss out on some key details as a result. At the same time, getting a 32″ TV for a massive living room is going to make it difficult to enjoy watching it unless you set your furniture very close.
When you choose your TV size you need to think about the size of the room it’s going in. this is the number one factor, aside from budget, that should determine which television set you go with. You also have to think about the resolution of the screen. You must sit farther away from a 1080p screen than a 4k screen to see the same level of detail.
That’s why we created this in-depth guide to choosing the perfect size TV for the different rooms in your home.
Use it to help you purchase the best TV for each of your spaces and enjoy movies like never before.
Choose Screen Size Based on Distance:
The most important factor that determines what size of TV you should purchase from your home is the distance that you’ll be sitting from the television set when you view it. The closer you’ll be to the screen, the smaller that screen should be to help you remain comfortable while viewing it. Get too close to a large screen and you’ll sacrifice image clarity and you could end up suffering from eye strain issues as well. Below is a simple chart to help you determine just what size television set you should be purchasing for your home today.
Distance and Size Charts:
These two size charts give TV size recommendations based on how far away from the screen you will be. Take measurements of the distance between where you will be sitting and the screen to make sure you can get the best experience from the TV you purchase.
Non 4K Television Sets:
- 5′ to 8.5′ – Get a 40″ TV
- 6.5′ to 10.5′ – Get a 50″ TV
- 7′ to 11.5′ – Get a 55″ TV
- 7.5′ to 12.5′ – Get a 60″ TV
- 9′ to 14.5′ – Get a 70″ TV
- 9.5′ to 15.5′ – Get a 75″ TV
- 10′ to 16.5′ – Get an 80″ TV
- 10.5′ to 17.5′ – Get an 85″ TV
4K Television Sets:
- 3.5′ to 5′ – Get a 40″ TV
- 4′ to 6.5′ – Get a 50″ TV
- 4.5′ to 7′ – Get a 55″ TV
- 5′ to 7.5′ – Get a 60″ TV
- 5.5′ to 8′ – Get a 65″ TV
- 6′ to 9′ – Get a 70″ TV
- 6.5′ to 9.5′ – Get a 75″ TV
- 6.5 to 10′ – Get an 80″ TV
- 7′ to 10.5” – Get an 85″ TV
Notice that you must be sitting much farther away from the 1080p TV screens as they get larger in size. That’s because they don’t have the high resolution to be clear at closer distances like the 4K models do.
Consider These Additional Placement Details:
Once you have the perfect sized television set, you still have to install it in your home. While you’re finishing that task you really need to keep these placement best-practices in mind. Get the viewing angles, lighting or the level of your television set wrong and your viewing experience will suffer as a result.
Get the Right Viewing Angles:
Along with the size of your screen and the distance, you place it from your eyes for viewing, you also need to make these considerations when positioning your television set. The first thing to think about is the viewing angle of your television.
As straight as you can make the screen in front of your eyes the more pleasurable it will be to watch. Avoid setting the screen more than 15 degrees above or below your straight viewing angle.
Also, avoid placing the screen too far from either side of your viewing seats if you can help it. If you have to look more than 40 degrees left or right avoid this completely.
Master the Lighting:
It’s important to keep your television set away from bright lights whenever possible. That means don’t install it with lights behind it or above or below it.
Not only do these lights cause glare on the screen, but they can also serve as a major distraction. Either set up lights that you can turn off or just place lights out of the viewing distance of your television for a more comfortable viewing experience.
Keep your TV Level Vertically:
Whether you’re going to mount your TV screen on the wall, or you have it sitting on top of a stand, make sure that it’s perfectly level vertically. That means that your screen should not be tilted up or down at all.
With these simple guidelines in mind, you can purchase a television set and setup it correctly for every room in your home. Whether you want a compact screen to watch cooking shows in your kitchen, or you want a massive 85-inches to fill out your living room on game day, you can get an appropriate sized TV that you can enjoy watching using the basic sizing guidelines.