Comments on: HDTV Seating Distance Chart

By: Lisa

Lisa — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:36:24 +0000

we are getting ready to buy an HD tv. we will be sitting 8 ft 8 in away from the wall it will be on, on a slight angle, the tv will be above a fireplace, and there are some big windows in our atrium that light up room. what size screen would you recommend for either 1080 0r 720, and, is plazma or lcd better over a fireplace and for the possible glare?

By: matthewc

matthewc — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:26:07 +0000

Kip,

You are misunderstanding what the data is representing. Perhaps it is better to say the chart represents the minimum seating distances before you can notice the pixels that make up the image. In your example the image quality of a 52″ 720p television would look identical to a 1080i television of the same size, if you sat 10 1/2 feet away. If you sat any closer, say 7 feet away, you would notice the pixels on the 720p tv, on the other hand you would be able to see even more detail on the 1080i tv.

By: Kip

Kip — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 04:39:36 +0000

I am baffled by charts like these which seem to favor 720p TVs over the same size 1080p TV. For example, according to the chart, a 720p TV will look great at 127-inches away, but the same size 1080p TV would have to be much closer. Shouldn’t a 1080p televsion also look great from that far away?

Please unknot my tangled brain.

By: mary sanchez

mary sanchez — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 01:37:47 +0000

We recently bought a Sony Bravia 3D Tv but haven’t had it mounted on the wall yet. Wondering if the couches should be positioned directly in front of the TV for proper viewing or can they be perpendicular to the wall with TV?

If I understand you correctly, you want to turn your head to the side to view TV? That does not sound comfortable.

HD GURU

By: DangDude

DangDude — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 21:44:29 +0000

I am looking for a 32″ HDTV to play video games and watch sports. Iam going to be sitting 6-feet away from the screen. Is this an ideal scenario (or should I get a bigger TV) ?

By: aundrey

aundrey — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 01:31:41 +0000

My Seating to tv 7 feet so which plasma size will more comfortable to buy? And i will connect to my PC to watch movie and lives which type brand sure i buy it.
Btw i was thinking buy Panasonic Plasma was it ok?
Anyway thank you.

By: Bob Stone

Bob Stone — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:32:58 +0000

I prefer a rule for seating distance based on a multiple of the diagonal screen size.

It seems to me you are recommending a seating distance of 1.6X for 1080 and 2.4X for 720p if a viewer wants to discern every possible pixel!

BUT – the broadcasts/blu-rays we receive are hardly pixel perfect. They suffer from MPEG compression, etc. I’m not sure anyone wants to be able to discern every possible pixel.

Also you seem to ignore the fact that a 1080 display will often be displaying 720p native content!

Finally these charts ignore viewing angle – a rather important criteria in creating a cinematic experience.

In my view these charts vastly over simplify the issues at hand

By: Jake

Jake — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 04:57:31 +0000

Great info. Thanx!!

For those who are a little confused, the diagonal column is a listing of the “Diagonal Size”(42 = 42″.
The width & height are just that, the width & height of screen. Like it says on the chart, all is in inches.

By: Raymond

Raymond — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 05:06:05 +0000

I sit about 80″ or 6.7 feet away from my TV, which is currently a 32″ Sony XBR2 LCD. I am debating to go to a 42″ Panasonic Plasma (either a 720P or the 1080P). I’m a little confused about the optimal distance though. What do you recommend I do at my viewing distance? Am I sitting too close to get a 720P (ie, seeing pixels), and so should pay more for the 1080P? Or would 720P be fine, and it wouldn’t really be worth it to get a 1080P?

By: jim

jim — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 15:44:18 +0000

I’m confused about the seating chart. I will be sitting 11 feet away from the screen and am considering 3 tv’s. They are the Samsung hls7178w, the samsung hls6767w and the mitsubishi wd65831. I would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks.

P.S. I’m just finishing a new home and am also interested in the samsung lns4696d and the lns4096d for 2 additional rooms. Would you recommend waiting for their new models with the led backlit technology?

1) While an 83″ set will be opitmal at that viewing distance you will see an improvement in image sharpness with a 1080p set over a 720p set as long is the screen size is 57″ or larger.

2) The LED backlight units will provider better color gamut, contrast ratios and better black levels than the CCFL backlit LCD flat panels, though they will cost more money and expect higher power consumption.Ã‚Â BTW, for the best image quality the HD Guru recommends plasma over LCDÃ‚Â

The HD GuruÃ‚Â