What's the "correct" viewing distance?

EricRWem · 05-03-2005, 03:50 PM

I've been getting a lot of differing views on this.

When I upgrade my display here in the next several months, I'm looking at about a 10 foot viewing distance. I was thinking 60 inches would probably be quite sufficient if I go DLP, LCD, or LCOS.

Any thoughts on this, one way or the other?

Lighting will be taken care of. I have blackout curtains and the colors are fairly subdued in the room. Glare will not be an issue.

John S · 05-03-2005, 04:19 PM

10' on a 60" is a 2 to 1 viewing ratio and pretty much right on with recomendations for ED. (480p DVD)

Kevin C Brown · 05-03-2005, 07:26 PM

I have also seen 2 to 3 times the vertical height recommended as the viewing distance.

Eric what you might want to do, is to bring a tape measure to a showroom and actually test out that distance with the display you're looking at.

The number I keep remembering (for me

) is 8 ft or greater for a 42" EDTV. Closer than that, and you'd want an HDTV. (You'd see the bigger pixels of the EDTV set.)

Craig · 05-04-2005, 02:31 PM

With DVDs and Hi-Def TV, you should be fine. I sit about 11 feet, eyeball to screen, from my 56" widescreen set and don't have any problem at all with DVDs, they look great. Regular cable or satellite doesn't look as good, but is watchable. If you find something in the 60" range that you like, I say go for it.

James Phung · 05-04-2005, 02:57 PM

Seating distance is all subjective. People base seating distance on the closest distance you can sit before seeing "screen door" effect. With 480p displays, people recommend that you sit 2x the width of the screen. With 720p displays, you can sit closer at 1.5x. I barely notice screen door at less than 2x with my 480p 4805, and I am not bothered by it so I sit closer.

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EricRWem · 05-04-2005, 03:27 PM

I should have specified that this will be an HDTV situation, but already Im seeing great food for thought here, as expected.

Obviously, I'll do my best during my demoing to take into account distance as best I can. It gets tricky, as oftentimes the store situation is vastly different from what the home situation would be.

Crutchfield's A/V Advisor lists a chart like this, and based on my experiences, it seems fairly close to what I would expect.

Standard (analog) TVs with 4:3 aspect ratio
Screen size Suggested viewing distance

27" 6.75 ft
32" 8 feet
36" 9 feet
40" 10 feet
45" 11.25 feet
50" 12.5 feet
55" 13.75 feet
60" 15 feet

HDTV-capable TVs with 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio
Screen size Suggested viewing distance
30" 6.25 feet
35" 7.3 feet
40" 8.3 feet
45" 9.4 feet
50" 10.4 feet
55" 11.5 feet
60" 12.5 feet
65" 13.5 feet

By this, going 60 would put me "over the top" as it were.

John S · 05-04-2005, 03:44 PM

Hmm, interesting.. That goes against what I read consistantly about reccomedations.

2 to 1 for ED, which is what you get on DVD's. So I'm not sure I understand your "this will be an HD only situation"

Ted Lee · 05-04-2005, 05:42 PM

i tell my customers 2 to 3 times the screen size. so on a 50" tv, you want to be about 100-150" back -- ballpark it at 12ft.

however, i always tell people they need to realize just how big a 60" tv is. it's pretty darn big - we're talking five feet diagonally. if you get one that is too big for your viewing distance, it's akin to sitting at the front of a movie theater ... the size of the screen overwhelms you.

of course, i have a 60" myself, but i'm sitting pretty far back....somewhere around 15' i think...

EricRWem · 05-04-2005, 07:04 PM

That's exactly my concern, Ted. Have to watch out that I don't go "too big." I think 60 is probably a safe ceiling for me, if I read all of you right.

John: My confusion, not yours.

Kevin C Brown · 05-04-2005, 08:31 PM

Hey, does anyone make the suggestion in terms of viewing angle? (That doesn't take into account pixel size, but ...)

For example, if I sit in the front row of the theater, the screen is too big because you are so close you can't "absorb" all the info on the screen at once. But as you move back, you can "process" all that same info easier, because the viewing angle is decreasing. ??