How to use this distance to the TV calculator
- You need to enter the diagonal screen size of your TV in centimetres or inches.
- Now, click on the resolution of your screen. The resolution of the screen directly affects the viewing distance of it.
- After that, you have to click on the calculate button and you will get a value in your unit of choice.
- This value is the best viewing distance for your home theatre screen.
What are the standards
There are two main standards that specify what is the proper viewing angle. One is SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Theater Engineers) https://www.smpte.org/ and the other is THX https://www.thx.com/. For a 16:9 screen, the SMPTE recommends a 30-degree viewing angle from the screen while THX suggests a 36-degree viewing angle
How is this distance to the TV calculated
In order to find the ideal distance to place your seat you need to start with the viewing angle marked as 30 – 40 in this diagram. There are 3 main angles used 20, 30 and 40 degrees. With 30 degrees being the typical value used.
Then using the diagonal size of the screen D
Then TV Width is related to D and the aspect ratio with the ratio being the standard 16:9 as follows:
Finding ideal distance based on a 30 degree viewing angle is as follows:
Distance to the TV for common sizes
| TV Size in inches/cm | TV Distance in feet | TV Distance in Meters |
| 45/114.3 | 6.1 | 1.80 |
| 50/127 | 6.8 | 2.07 |
| 55/139 | 7.45 | 2.27 |
| 60/152 | 8.13 | 2.47 |
| 65/165 | 8.81 | 2.68 |
References
https://www.set.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/SMPTE-176.pdf
