Is bigger always better? There’s always been a sense of pride and accomplishment when purchasing a 50″ or larger screen. While larger screens can help you see the image better, it’s possible they may be overkill when used in smaller rooms. When shopping for a new TV on sale, it may make sense to buy a smaller TV that better fits your room for the best viewing experience.
The key to a great viewing experience is to figure out the exact distance you should sit from TV. The better you do this, the better the picture will look and the less you’ll strain your eyes. Different types of TVs should be viewed from different distances, depending on their size and specific technology. But if you can figure out the right distance for your set, you’re sure to enjoy watching for the long haul.
Why TV Placement is Important
Just because you can afford an 80″ TV doesn’t mean it’s a good use of your money. A larger TV only improves your watching experience if you have enough space in your home to mount it and sit far enough away. If you’re cramped up close, you’ll have to deal with:
- Eye Strain– While it’s not true that you can go blind from sitting too close to the TV, you could strain your eyes. Not only does this hurt, but you’ll have to stop watching frequently so you can rest your eyes and recover. If you want to watch long movies and TV marathons without interruption, you have to find out the right distance for your screen.
- Image Clarity– Sitting too far from your TV makes it harder to make out details. But sitting too close also causes problems, especially if you have an older screen. Sit too close and you’ll start seeing the pixels that make up each image. Take it from a TV expert: there’s nothing that ruins a show quicker than finding out the images are just a bunch of coloured lights.
For the sake of both your eyes and your watching experience, don’t cut corners on placing your TV. Unless you get this right, it doesn’t matter how much you pay for the screen.
Finding the Right Distance for Your TV
How far to sit from your TV depends on both its size and the type of screen you have. If your TV is a traditional 1080p HDTV unit, the TV size distance ratio is between around 1.5 and 2.5 times the diagonal width of the screen. This means that if you have:
- A 40’’ TV– You should sit between 5 and 8.5 feet away from the screen.
- A 43’’ TV– You should sit between 5.5 and 9 feet away from the screen.
- A 50’’ TV– You should sit between 6.5 and 10.5 feet away from the screen.
- A 55’’ TV– You should sit between 7 and 11.5 feet away from the screen.
- A 60’’ TV– You should sit between 7.5 and 12.5 feet away from the screen.
- A 65’’ TV– You should sit between 8 and 13.5 feet away from the screen.
- A 70’’ TV– You should sit between 9 and 14.5 feet away from the screen.
- A 75’’ TV– You should sit between 9.5 and 15.5 feet away from the screen.
- An 80’’ TV– You should sit between 10 and 16.5 feet away from the screen.
- An 85’’ TV– You should sit between 10.5 and 17.5 feet away from the screen.
Compared to 1080p HDTVs, you can watch the more advanced 4K ULTRA HD TVs from a smaller distance without straining your eyes or seeing pixels. The ideal TV viewing distance 4K Ultra HD TVs is between about 1 and 1.5 times the diagonal width of the screen, which works out to the following distances:
- A 40’’ TV– You should sit between 3.5 and 5 feet away from the screen.
- A 43’’ TV– You should sit between 3.5 and 5.5 feet away from the screen.
- A 50’’ TV– You should sit between 4 and 6.5 feet away from the screen.
- A 55’’ TV– You should sit between 4.5 and 7 feet away from the screen.
- A 60’’ TV– You should sit between 5 and 7.5 feet away from the screen.
- A 65’’ TV– You should sit between 5.5 and 8 feet away from the screen.
- A 70’’ TV– You should sit between 6 and 9 feet away from the screen.
- A 75’’ TV– You should sit between 6.5 and 9.5 feet away from the screen.
- An 80’’ TV– You should sit between 6.5 and 10 feet away from the screen.
- An 85’’ TV– You should sit between 7 and 10.5 feet away from the screen.
Other Essentials for TV Placement
There’s a lot that goes into placing your television besides how far you are from it. Make sure you consider:
- TV Angle– The more directly you place the TV in front of your face, the better you will be able to see the picture and avoid straining your eyes. Ideally, you should not have to look more than 15 degrees upward or downward, or more than 40 degrees left or right, to see the screen.
- Lighting– Don’t place your TV directly behind any major sources of light. If you do, the different levels of brightness from those lights and the TV will strain your eyes and distract you from the picture.
- Balance– If you’re mounting a TV on your wall or on a stand, make sure that it is balanced from front to back and from left to right. When your TV isn’t balanced, the picture will be uneven. There’s also a greater risk that the screen will fall.
More Questions?
Have any more questions about how far you should sit from your TV? Ask us in the comments below or shoot us a message. Looking to buy a new TV in Canada? Our sales team can help guide you through your various choices and what model will work best for your home.
Riiiight….
I’m going to buy an 85″ 4K TV, and then move my couch into the middle of the room so I can be close enough to it?
Your couch is 20 feet away from your tv? How big is your house? Jeez!
Sounds like you just need a bigger tv than 85 inches!
Ahhh shut up! You can’t fit an 85” TV in a 10’ by 8’ room.
I’m buying a 4k 85″ TV and using the placement measurements for the 1080. I hope I don’t break the universe.
Congrats on the new TV!
Well, Lauren… you didn’t break the universe but you did unleash a plague on the world. Next time, please follow the viewing distance specs.
How does the resolution of the underlying content impact viewing distance? Is the viewing distance for watching 1080p content on a 4K TV the same as the values listed for 4K TVs? Does upscaling affect that answer?
I have a home theatre with a 100″ screen. You can see the problems with resolution if you sit too close and have 1080p. Although the picture was amazing I upgraded to a newer 4K projector after a few years and problem solved.
Upscaling or (line multiplying) as I would call it, does not add content. It just enhances clarity. So you’re not looking at a 4K picture with upscaling. The distance from the television for 1080 is sufficient even on a 4K TV, because it’s still 1080 content.
You’re right that upscaling doesn’t add actual resolution. Its benefit is in smoothing out the image, which allows you to sit closer to a large screen without seeing stair-step or mosaic artifacts. But that’s fine. Additional actual resolution beyond 2K/1080 is of limited practical benefit (and 8K is way beyond what we can actually see). HDR and contrast ratio are more noticeable.
Would really love to know answer to the above also
We have a 64inch Samsung 4K mounted at a distance of 12 foot from our sofa, it’s mounted 4foot 6 inch to the bottom of the tv to the floor we sit at about the height of 40 inch eye height off the floor, is this in accordance with your expectations as we don’t really have an issue although it’s slightly higher as there is a requirement of building codes to be more than 18inch from fire place top, it is therefore it’s higher, your thoughts please.
Just tilt it down 15-20 degrees or so if you have a mount that can do that.
I have a tv/game room where I sit 6 feet 8 inches from the tv screen of a HD Samsung tv now. It’s a 40 inch I think. It seems small but there is large bezel around it. I am looking at a Samsung 4K tv would a 65 inch tv be too big for about 7 foot seated distance? I can move back a little more if needed? It’s hard to picture the size of the tv in the space. The new one is mostly screen with very thin bezel
To determine what the TV will look like on the wall, I usually will cut a piece of cardboard and tape that up. If you want, you can go up to an 80″ at 7 feet away.
hi
I am planning to use a TV as my monitor, considering 43 inch Qled or 44 inch Oled. … what would be the perfect distance to make the setup?
Just purchased a 75inch 4K tv. I sit about 11.5 feet away. I’m having trouble getting used to it. It’s almost like I’m not sure where to look.
Almost like it’s too big and I’m conscious of my eyes moving to see different parts of screen. It’s only been a couple days.
Is it common for people to have this type of issue adjusting to a bigger screen with more resolution?
Yes
Hi, I just purchased a 75” 4K tv as well. I’m coming from a 55” 1080p. I feel the exact same way as you. I almost feel carsick watching. However, I just put it up an hour ago. I sure hope I get used to it. I also sit about 11.5ft away. I’m thinking perhaps mine is on a tv stand that is too high. Has your experience improved at all?
Yes this type of issue is perfectly common. When you say adjust we refer to it in the trade as retinal reprogramming. We recommend for the first 18 weeks of use to watch only cartoons as these are less stressful to our optics. If after a week or so of cartoons you are still finding your eyes are not running in properly we recommend to switch to black and white musicals for the remaining period.
LOL
I am taking delivery of my 75 inch 4K tv this week, I will follow your process. Thanks for the good advice. Are there any specific cartoons or musicals you can recommend? I wouldn’t want to watch the wrong programmes and not properly reprogram my retinas! Thanks
Give it a little time… and you`ll see, that in about 4-6 mo down the road, you will feel “sorry”, that you did not buy a bigger one…. It happened to me…. 4 mo ago, we purchased a 65″ Samsung…. and when I had this TV installed, my wife almost had me kicked out of the house, even though the room is quiete big enough for this size( 19`x16`)….. Now, few months later, she says, that we should have had a bigger one( 75″+)….
I went to order this 75″ samsung uhd 4k qled for my living room but they dont sell it anymore. So I went up to the 82″. I havent received it yet. My viewing distance is 8.5feet is the closes part of the couch, where I sit is 14.5-15 feet away on the couch. I looked at the viewing chart, but wanted some feedback. Do you all think this is a good enough viewing distance for 1080 viewing comfortably? Thanks for the feedback
I am planning to buy a 75″ 4K UHD QLED LCD TV. The distance from the couch to the TV stand is between 14″ to 15″ feet. I know this is further than the recommended distance. However, I do not want to move my couch or TV stand. What will the viewing experience be like?
It will be like watching a TV half the size. Rather than move your couch simply buy a tv double the size. If this doesn’t work you probably would benefit from a smaller house. I hope this has been of some help.
Yes, it is correct distance for qled. In case of Sony I would prefer 13″ for 1080p.
I am thinking about buying a Samsung 55” Crystal Display 4K UHD Smart TV. The sofa is almost 7 feet away. Is this distance good for viewing, or will it be too close. Currently have a Samsung 40” 1080p Smart TV. Thank you for any advice.
Go for 65 inch trust me you’ll think it’s big at first but 55 after a while will feel too small and you will question why you didn’t buy a bigger one
I just bought a 65 inch Sony OLED I am coming from a modest 24 inch 720 resolution tv. I don’t have much room to spare but will sitting 8 inches in front of the new 65 inch be a problem? Asking for a friend thanks
You’re kidding right? Way to close dude. Try 6 to 8 feet
Nah, you’re good.
Wear sunscreen.
Oh my word I’m crying LOL
Jeez that’s a massive upgrade lol your eyes must be in heaven
I’m sitting 9’ away from my 65’ 4 k tv could I replace it with a 70’ 4k
Might work if your head is on a motorized swivel
Give it a little time… and you`ll see, that in about 4-6 mo down the road, you will feel “sorry”, that you did not buy a bigger one…. It happened to me…. 4 mo ago, we purchased a 65″ Samsung…. and when I had this TV installed, my wife almost had me kicked out of the house, even though the room is quiete big enough for this size( 19`x16`)….. Now, few months later, she says, that we should have had a bigger one( 75″+)….
You have a great wife.
yeah, after a few months my wife said that too. But she wasn’t referring to the TV 🙂
Absolutely. Happened to a good friend and he is sorry he didn’t get the 75. My room is 20 by 16 and am either getting a 75 or 80. Don’t get me wrong. 75 is good.
And if Fred and Ginger hoofing disputes your eyes, go to black and white cartoons. If that doesn’t work, find that old closing video about “slipping the surly bonds of earth” followed by an old test pattern (black and white). That’ll cure what ails ya’.
No sir
3.5 ft from a 43 inch tv. do you watch one quarter of the screen . youre max. distances are to close
I am sitting 5.5 feet away from my 4k 55 inch TV. Is that too close?
Hello – how have you found this distance? Trying to decide between a 50 or 55 inch… thanks
Hi, I am wandering if I can get away with 75″ TV on 15 feet viewing distance ? I am concerned about larger TV as it has to be on pull down mount. (sits over fireplace) What would you recommend? What would be the best buy in this case (value, size) Thank you!
Which TW size will be ideal for 6′ distance from TW and sofa. I have two young kids as well. Thank you in advance
I have a smaller space so I bought a 43″ Samsung QLED 4K TV. I decided to give your distances a try. While I understand the concept that you have to sit closer to get the full benefit of the 4K picture, sitting 3.5 to 5.5 feet away is so close that you’re constantly having to move your eyes to see things on the farfour edges of the screen. That leads to eye strain REALLY quickly, especially if you’re watching/playing content with a lot of edge detail and/or fast motion. 5.5 feet is the *bare minimum* I’d recommend on a 43″ 4K TV — your eyes might lose some of the 4K fidelity but they’ll gain a lot more comfort.
Hi, I sit about 6inches away from my 55in TV…is this OK?
I bet you meant 6 feet. lol
😂
Thinking of upgrading to a 65 inch OLED TV. But my distance from the tv to my bed back rest/wall is just 7.2ft or 220cm. Can I get away with it?
Stupid.
Your answer reflects your state of mind.
I’d stick with 55
It is recommended that 85″ 1080p HD TV can be viewed comfortably from 17.5 feet distance but not recommended the better screen of 4K TV from that distance. Viewing range 7 feet for 85″ 1080p HD TV is also double of the range for 4K TV. Why?
Tried it… The 1080P if too close will cause you to see pixels making the pic grainy. The 4K has a much more solid color image display.. So you can sit closer and not see pixels at all literally. It’s easier on your eyes as well to sit closer and not wrestle to complete the picture.
Can you sit at a further distance for the 4K, I WOULD BE 16 ft in distance
Really interesting post!
Some advice please – the couch is 14.5 ft from the wall where I plan to place a TV. Love seat is 10 ft. from wall. Is 65″ tv a good fit for this room? Thanks