What size TV do I need?

August 13, 2019

It's the 21st century. You can find any information in two minutes. You can communicate between continents with the smallest devices. Cameras and camcorders have disappeared from use. Space travel will soon be part of tourism. Parents are arguing with their children about going outside.

Everything has changed. Status symbols have changed, including them. Starting with tribal leadership in ancient times, continuing with crowns and wigs in the Middle Ages, in our time a new status symbol has appeared - the size of the TV ! Billionaires seen in movies are looking at wall-mounted TVs that even occupy two sides of the room. Philips, LG, Sony, Samsung, TCL, Nikkei, Toshiba are setting records one after another, who will offer the largest smart 4k TV to the consumer. Sellers are ready to sell a huge TV for 300 GEL, and in installments to the client, but only if they show the need for his status.

But, fortunately for us, common sense still exists. And as long as common sense exists, there will be people who are bothered by the question - what size TV do I really need?

Screen size and resolution

First of all, remember that the size of a TV is determined by its diagonal. A 40-inch TV (101.6 cm) means the size of the screen from one corner to the opposite corner.

The next question is resolution. The higher the resolution, the closer you need to be to the TV to see a single pixel. You will need to be closer to a 4K TV than you will to a 1080p TV. Therefore, since you can sit closer to a 4K TV than to a 1080p TV, you will need a smaller high-definition TV at home.

Room size and TV position

Consider the room where the TV will be placed. As long as the furniture is not permanently in place and you are ready to move, you have some flexibility in the size and placement of the TV.

Another important question is whether you plan to mount your TV on a wall or on a stand. Mounting the device on a stand will place it closer to the viewer. Therefore, it is best to consider furniture placement and the stand issue when calculating the size of the TV.

On the other hand, a wall-mounted TV can add more than 30 cm of viewing distance, which can be the difference between a 60-inch and a 72-inch model.

How to calculate the best TV size for your room.

Measure the distance from where you plan to place your TV to where you plan to watch it. For 1080p TVs, industry experts recommend a TV size multiplied by 1.5 to 2.5. However, it's worth noting that there are as many opinions as there are experts.

For example, Amazon recommends taking your viewing distance in feet (1 foot = 30.5 cm), and multiplying it by 7.7 to get the size of the TV in inches. To simplify the calculations, this factor is closer to 2:1, meaning a 101 cm TV is best viewed from 202 cm.

If you're interested in 4K smart TVs , then the formula changes a bit here. Due to the increased resolution, the new parameter goes up to 1.5 times. That is, a 101 cm TV is better viewed from 150 cm.