What Size HDTV Do I Need?

gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
As larger screen TVs continue to drop in price and higher screen resolutions become available, it can seem difficult to make a buying decision and be confident in your choice. While the recent increases in screen resolutions and sizes, such as 4K and 8K, will have benefits for some, they may have little to no benefit for others. The key is to understand how screen size, viewing distance, and optimum screen resolution are connected.

With this knowledge, choosing the proper sized HDTV for a particular setting becomes an easy task and one that you can complete confidently.



Read: How to Find the Right Size TV
 
Last edited:
T

THXguru

Audiophyte
Thanks for this fine overview! Quite handy, especially the diagrams.
My 2 cents on this are however: What kind of program are you watching? News? Sports? Game shows? TV series? Movies? And: Was it recently produced or 30 years ago?

These questions determine for which screen size and resolution the program has been produced. TV used to be made for small screens, which means many close-ups and few large landscape-shots. Movies used to be made for the large screen, especially those in 70mm or Cinemascope - think of 1960s epics with majestically large landscapes. Mixing these 2 sizes used to be a bad idea: Movies on a TV lose much of their effect (especially with letterbox image on a 4:3 screen), and TV programs on a large screen make you seasick and negatively overwhelmed. When watching those older programs, say from before 2000, I would any day chose for the intended screen size.

Since then (give or take 10 years) things have changed: TVs diagonals have grown, HD and 16:9 are commonplace, and many TV programs (especially high-profile series) have adapted to this by putting more visual content into the image instead of the traditional close-ups. And many movies, in my view, have not only become faster and louder but also more in-your-face using more close-ups and an agitated visual language. To me, this means that I can watch TV on a larger screen (but rarely the size of a projection screen), and that I want a smaller screen size for some recent movies.

So, in practice, the choice of screen size is becoming more of a case-by-case decision. And this also has to do with the actual content, the story, the importance etc.: I rarely want to be overwhelmed by a simple news or late night show, even if it was made for cinema-size screens. Some movies, say romantic comedies, also don't need that for a fine movie watching experience. And some TV series are actually great movies with intelligent screenplays, photography and dynamic 5.1 sound.

That's why I keep my 30" TV next to my 130" 21:9 projection screen (yes, 4K will be great for that), and make deliberate choices on which to use when. By the way, this also keeps me from wasting my life time with bad, meaningless programs, no matter if it is TV or movies.
 
hk2000

hk2000

Junior Audioholic
Very useful article, thank you. I don't know about 4K, high prices and no content, really, so I think if one is getting a 4K TV, up-scaling quality should be the #1 priority- at least for the next couple of years.
 
W

wiyosaya

Audioholic
Very useful article, thank you. I don't know about 4K, high prices and no content, really, so I think if one is getting a 4K TV, up-scaling quality should be the #1 priority- at least for the next couple of years.
Netflix, at least in the US, has some 4K content.
 
A

Alain Singapore

Audioholic Intern
The problem is more a matter of budget than anything else. With HD and ultra HD format the largest LCD screens can be used even in small rooms. To find the limit, you have to go for projection. We are watching a 120x50 inch screen at home with a 1920x1080 Sony projector from a distance of 12ft and it is very comfortable to watch any type of program: movies, news, concert... it gives the feeling of being there.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Yet to meet a person who said my screen is too large :p
I was pretty comfortable with my old 55" 1080p plasma screen then I was sitting about 11ft from it, but now at about 14ft it feels too small
 
B

Blue Dude

Audioholic
I sit 12 to 13 ft from a 120" 16:9 screen, with a nearly 40 degree field of view. It's perfect. I can just see the entire screen through my glasses without moving my head. It's 1080p resolution, so there are about 50 pixels for each degree of view angle, but until I read this article I didn't realize that was a little coarse. I simply can't distinguish individual pixels from that distance so in my case, 50 pixels per degree is adequate, and I'm not sure I could tell the difference between that and the recommended 60 pixels.

The resolution of UHD might be overkill in my application, but the better color gamut and HDR content would likely not. Even so, I'm happy with 1080p even at that size, at least until UHD projectors come near the same performance and price point. The bang-for-buck ratio for 1080p projectors just can't be beat right now.

By the way, I generally only deploy the screen/projector for high quality 1080p content, though the occasional DVD gets the royal treatment. For casual watching and gaming, I use a 60" plasma mounted on the wall behind the screen drop. It's fine for the purpose but by no means immersive.
 
Philth

Philth

Audiophyte
Not sure if this chart is correct or not. I don't have the best eyesight but if I go out to Costco or wherever and stand 10'+ away from a 50" 4k tv, I can easily tell the resolution difference. According to the chart anything beyond 7' isn't noticeable.

Not many people sit that far out, I know, but if you test this chart in real world, you will be able to tell it's not very accurate. I know they have separate charts that were designed for actual theaters, I hope they're not using the same maths because it doesn't really scale down as well from a full size cinema screen.
 
Steve81

Steve81

Audioholics Five-0
I don't have the best eyesight but if I go out to Costco or wherever and stand 10'+ away from a 50" 4k tv, I can easily tell the resolution difference.
I suspect that comes down to what they're feeding the TVs and how they're set up. Last time I walked through a big box store TV hunting, the 4K TVs were all fed special material while the regular HD sets were showing commercials; suffice it to say, that's not exactly apples to apples.

I hope they're not using the same maths because it doesn't really scale down as well from a full size cinema screen.
The math goes back to generally accepted standards for visual acuity, with a "normal" person being able to resolve details down to a minute of arc (1/60th of a degree). Since 1080p has a horizontal width of 1,920 pixels, ideally the horizontal viewing angle wouldn't exceed 32 degrees. From there, you can calculate screen width (and ultimately diagonal size) vs distance.
 
Chromejob

Chromejob

Audiophyte
Thank you for this chart, I'm going to save it for the apocalyptic day when I abandon my lovely media center and the 40" HDTV that just barely fits in the conventional TV (tube) compartment.

For years, I'd joked that a 60" or 65" TV was what I wanted, if not a 70" so that I really could get the benefit of letterboxed movies which are further "reduced" within screen size. Lo and behold, 65" is about right for my living room, in which the back rest of the sofa is about 7.5' from the screen!

To counter the comment about Costco, yes sometimes there are ads, but there are also HD video feeds, and some movies have BD players feeding them. If you asked one of their electronics dept. helpers to see some specific material (remember that you can bring in a USB stick, or an iPad with Digital AV Adapter and HDMI cord), they'll surely help you out.
 
DTS

DTS

Senior Audioholic
I measure the distance between my windows and went from there :) still have about three inches on each side of the LG79UB9800. Love it.
 
D

dynaquest1

Audiophyte
I do not know if the graph is accurate but it is close and the concept is dead on. Truth be known, most people do not sit close enough to the 4K TV they bought to be able to resolve the higher density of pixels over a 1080p TV. That used to make a difference; but in 2019 that point is now moot as we got sucked in to the hype and almost all TVs being produced are 4K and prices for them are down below where those for 1080p were. So....just buy a 4K TV (bigger is usually better) and if you want to enjoy 4K content (when you can find it) to the fullest, move closer to the screen (see the graph).

I still think 4K was the biggest A/V scam perpetuated on the general public. They sold us a number "4" and we fell for it. And now comes 8K (another number). For it to make sense, you will have to sit 3' away from your 75" TV to get the benefit. Dumb!

That said. I bought a BENQ 32" 4K UHD monitor for my desktop pc. My eyes are 24" away from it and it is GORGEOUS!!!
 
Last edited:
davidscott

davidscott

Audioholic Ninja
Just recently bought a 49 inch 1080 smart tv to replace a 39 inch in the living room. I sit 6 feet from it and it was a nice upgrade. The current stand would only be able to handle a 55 or 60 max. Moved the 39 into the bedroom to replace the 32 and that is the max size for the end table stand. You know what - I could definitely go bigger on both but won't since my stands are maxed or close to it. So yeah bigger is always better as long as you can fit it and afford it. BTW I am thrilled with the 49 smart and am binge watching Bosch on Amazon Prime. And I now have a 32 in storage for a ready replacement in case of failure.
 
Last edited:
Phase 2

Phase 2

Audioholic Chief
I would say 50" to me anyways is probably a good overall size to have. But yeah bigger is King.
 

Latest posts

newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top