Helpful chart for choosing TV size/resolution

[Beta Man]

This shows size, resolution, and seating distance. This helps if you're one of the people who want to take advantage on a big 720P at a steal of a price. Let me know what you think.

If your screen-size/distance is more (farther away) than the recommended distance, your eyes will be saturated with detail as you've reachwd the resolution limit of an image in that format. Which mean a TV can produce more detail than you can actually make out at that distance, and you have to move closer to see more details.


For DVD (480) source (red line), recommended farthest sitting distance to see full resolution for each screen size is..

20 inch TV= 7 feet
26 inch TV= 9 feet
30 inch TV= 10.5 feet
34 inch TV= 12 feet
40 inch TV= 14 feet
50 inch TV= 17.5 feet
60 inch TV= 21 feet.

For 720 HD sources (dark green line), recommended farthest sitting distance to see full resolution for each screen size is..

20 inch TV= 4 feet
26 inch TV= 5 feet
30 inch TV= 6 feet
34 inch TV= 6.7 feet
40 inch TV= 8 feet
50 inch TV= 10 feet
60 inch TV= 12 feet

For 1080 HD sources (lite green line), the recommended farthest sitting distance to see full resolution for each screen size is..

20 inch TV= 2.8 feet
26 inch TV= 3.5 feet
30 inch TV= 4 feet
34 inch TV= 4.5 feet
40 inch TV= 5.3 feet
50 inch TV= 6.5 feet
60 inch TV= 8 feet

[CptGreedle]

nice chart. Thanks for the heads up. I remember seeing another website that can calculate out how far the TV should be based on resolution and size as well, but this is nice and easy.

Looks like my 46" HDTV should be about 6 feet away from me. give or take.

[kartangle1]

I think what we would need to know is what you plan on using the TV for. Do you play video games? You'll need HDMI ports to get the most out of the TV.

[Batman1980]

Looks like my next TV will be a 1080p 40" Sony Bravia based on viewing distance, question now is where to get it since I would need it wall-mounted.

[U4K61]

Originally Posted by emacs

view distance is a matter of personal preference. using a chart to gauge how far one should be from a display doesn't make sense. i suggest you begin viewing from a distance that's twice the diagonal length of your display and then adjust from there.

Originally Posted by moviefan

"White man build big fire, sit far away ... Red man build small fire, sit close"

Many watching high def material are sitting so far back they can't see the difference between 480p, 720p and 1080p. They are suprised to learn how close you need to sit to the screen, how in your face HD really is. Unfortunately the decor usually puts the TV in a less optmial spot and we end up looking at a small set from far away.

In my beadroom I have a 32'' set that I can sit 3 feet from to enjoy 1080p. Good PQ depends in part on the relationship of Screen Size/Distance/Resolution as determined by the Inverse Square Law for point sources.

A useful tool on proper viewing distance:
Viewing Distance Calculator
Viewing Distance Post

[BarkingGhost]

Originally Posted by Craig Ruchman

Many watching high def material are sitting so far back they can't see the difference between 480p, 720p and 1080p. They are suprised to learn how close you need to sit to the screen, how in your face HD really is. Unfortunately the decor usually puts the TV in a less optmial spot and we end up looking at a small set from far away.

In my beadroom I have a 32'' set that I can sit 3 feet from to enjoy 1080p. Good PQ depends in part on the relationship of Screen Size/Distance/Resolution as determined by the Inverse Square Law for point sources.

A useful tool on proper viewing distance:
Viewing Distance Calculator
Viewing Distance Post

Many people buy on hype (ahem, marketing). Some don't even get their vision checked to make sure that they can at least know where they stand in their viewing abilities. This is analogous to people spending tens of thousands of dollars on audio equipment and not getting their hearing checked regularly. Fools for Ignorance.

[iwanttobeabmoviestar]

so i want a 65-72 inch tv and i have 8ft from viewing area would it suck or what

[pashots]

Guys, need your help on this as I really can't decide for myself, and I know this has been asked a lot... as the title says go bigger with lower resoultion or a bit smaller for full HD? Moving into a new apartment, viewing room is 19x12, the shorter side is where the tv will be. I have two options, Panny 720p 50" plasma or Philips 47" FullHD LCD with the same price. As far as my research, it's all leaning towards the plasma. Any thoughts or comments on this?

[RedJamaX]

Originally Posted by pashots

Guys, need your help on this as I really can't decide for myself, and I know this has been asked a lot... as the title says go bigger with lower resoultion or a bit smaller for full HD? Moving into a new apartment, viewing room is 19x12, the shorter side is where the tv will be. I have two options, Panny 720p 50" plasma or Philips 47" FullHD LCD with the same price. As far as my research, it's all leaning towards the plasma. Any thoughts or comments on this?

At 50", I would get a TV with 1080 resolution because I can notice the difference. If you have an HHGregg in your area go there and ask them to hook up a bluray to the two TVs you are looking at and see if you care about the difference in resolution. HHGregg employees get paid commision, so if you puch hard enough, or make them beleive you are definitely going to buy a TV, they will help you any way they can.

If you are comparing them at Best Buy, Walmart, BJs or other places like that... From what I have seen, their advertisement feeds running in HD all seem to be at 720 so it doesn't look like there is a difference from one TV to the next.

You really need to see a Blu-Ray being played to see the difference.

[emacs]

view distance is a matter of personal preference. using a chart to gauge how far one should be from a display doesn't make sense. i suggest you begin viewing from a distance that's twice the diagonal length of your display and then adjust from there.

[york weir]

I read one guide and it says for the 15' I am from my TV it should be around a 40" screen size. This is claiming I need over a 100" screen.

The 51" seems sufficient for my needs but would like something slightly larger.

[geekboy2000]

I'm currently probably about 8 feet away from my 46". Sure with a 1080p Blu-ray disc, I'd probably benefit from being closer as the chart recommends, but when watching some alleged HD "stretch-o-vision" broadcast, I'd be more disgusted at the appearance. I don't want to move my seat back and forth.

[moviefan]

Originally Posted by emacs

view distance is a matter of personal preference. using a chart to gauge how far one should be from a display doesn't make sense. i suggest you begin viewing from a distance that's twice the diagonal length of your display and then adjust from there.

Reminds me of the Native American adage:
"White man build big fire, sit far away ... Red man build small fire, sit close"

[Clark Kent]

The infamous Amir of Microsoft said that his compressionists would look for compression problems at 1' to 2' away on calibrated 50" displays.

[Goofball Jones]

So if I'm in a 4K cinema with a 100" screen (8.3 feet) I should only sit 6 feet away?

[ZMan]

I thought for sure that there was another thread previously stating that the optimum viewing distance for any HD is 2.5 times the size of your HDTV?

[All things blu]

So your telling me that i'm only to sit 5.3ft away from my 42 inch 1080i hdtv?Thanks
for the info dude.

[ManUtd]

Something very similar, this chart is normally what I refer people to when resolution/tv size/viewing distance discussions come up.

[ixlegitballinxl]

nifty charts, thanks

[Rock6922]

a friend of mine argued with me about how big a tv to get. He ended up getting a 61 in and sits about 6 feet away. it's terrible... the top of the tv is dull and weird looking...