What is the proper distance between seating and one big screen tv? Thank you for all your help!

I want to say 2.5 times the height of the screen (about 95% certain)
This of course would change if you are watching higher quality sources like HDTV. It is all based on you not being able to see the scan lines. It is not written in stone, and I just went to a store, setup the TV's levels a little (especially brining down the sharpness level), and took out my tape measure.

I've always went with 4 times the diagonal measurement...

This message was edited by Matt on 09/05/02 17:57.32.

Matt, that's way too far. 18.33 feet back from a 55" TV? I think that means I'd be in my neighbor's house to see a 70".

Best bet is to go up close to the screen. (after calibration) Look closely, you can see scan lines, even on an HDTV. Back up. When you can't see the scan lines anymore, bingo! You've found the minimum distance for best viewing.

With a 70 inch all you'd see is a bright halo in the middle of the screen any closer than that. If you have to be in your neighbors living room, your TV is too big for your room! (speaking rear projection anyway)

Let's get real people, do you really need that big of an image? Maybe you should go for bigger audio instead!

Well, my picture is around 6' diag., and my seating is 15' away (room 26' front-to-back). My sound is plenty big enough, so I guess that means I need a larger picture.

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

Check out this link for a method to determine your preferred viewing angle and a screen size to distance chart that will show how far away to sit. Although the text discusses NTSC televisions, the method and chart will work for any type of signal. It worked for me. For the record, I have a 50" diagonal 16:9 screen, and I sit 14 feet away. Hope this helps. -Bruce

This message was edited by Bruce Burson on 09/07/02 02:24.21.

Not too far off....50 inches x 4 is about 16.5 feet or so...

I just think that a larger picture up close does not look as good as it could if you were seated further away. I guess it's everyone's own choice, simply putting my two cents in.

In addition according to the .pdf, my calculation is withing the 'green' maybe on the high side, but definatly within a good viewing range.

This message was edited by Matt on 09/08/02 17:41.10.

Uh, 23 1/3' away from a 70" screen?? No, not necessary. Not even on a crappy analog set. You can barely get that far away in a store, let alone a house. I'm speaking of minimum distances, here, you can certainly sit farther away.

The generally accepted minimum distance for HDTVs is about 9-10' for 55", 11-12' for 64". Extrapolate the rest. Looking to that link above, use the yellow areas for HDTVs since these all have line doublers and a much finer resolution than analog sets. As I mentioned above, everyone's vision is different so the "perfect" distance will vary from one person to another.

I measured out a 55" or so as perfect for my room. Currently I have a 27" and can sit about 7' from it minimum. My main seating position is actually 11'.