What is the optimum sized TV for a room?

[The Ham]

I don’t think most of us are bothered about what the content is broadcast in, just what is being broadcast in the first place.
I certainly couldn’t give a toss about pay per view sport and what it’s broadcast in.

split from this thread: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/bbc-and-itv-quality.226484/

Given that you only start to be able to significantly benefit from the difference between SD and HD once you get to 32" screens, therefore unless you've got a substantial sized TV is likely that you'll not really notice the difference between HD and 4K on the majority of TV sets.

The other thing to remember was that it was a similar evolution from SD to HD, mainly sports and then core content (again Sky taking a significant lead over what the terrestrial channels offered - there was even a time when quite a few of the programs on BBC1 HD weren't in HD), now even the kids channels are in HD.

Football makes sense, as a large screen with UHD allows you to follow more of the match whilst being able to see who's got the ball. The same isn't quite so true of watching (say) bake off when the cakes fill the screen and so you can see the detail you need on a smaller screen.

 

[172007]

Given that you only start to be able to significantly benefit from the difference between SD and HD once you get to 32" screens, therefore unless you've got a substantial sized TV is likely that you'll not really notice the difference between HD and 4K on the majority of TV sets.

The other thing to remember was that it was a similar evolution from SD to HD, mainly sports and then core content (again Sky taking a significant lead over what the terrestrial channels offered - there was even a time when quite a few of the programs on BBC1 HD weren't in HD), now even the kids channels are in HD.

Football makes sense, as a large screen with UHD allows you to follow more of the match whilst being able to see who's got the ball. The same isn't quite so true of watching (say) bake off when the cakes fill the screen and so you can see the detail you need on a smaller screen.

BBC local news I.e at 18:30 is nearly always SD, try watching that on a 55" TV, un viewable, just to fuzzy.

 

[The Ham]

BBC local news I.e at 18:30 is nearly always SD, try watching that on a 55" TV, un viewable, just to fuzzy.

Given that 55" TV has a screen area 70% larger than a 42" screen, yet is only +1/3 the diagonal distance that's not overly surprising.

 

[gswindale]

BBC local news I.e at 18:30 is nearly always SD, try watching that on a 55" TV, un viewable, just to fuzzy.

What size lounge do you have for a 55 inch TV? It's about 3.5m from one side of ours to the other and anything larger than 43" would be overkill.

Personally I can't remember the last thing I watched on ITV - probably the F1 when they still had it! Having said that, there were some shows I used to enjoy in the 90s on there, but these days, it is either BBC or Dave or docs on other UKTV channels these days.

 

[172007]

What size lounge do you have for a 55 inch TV? It's about 3.5m from one side of ours to the other and anything larger than 43" would be overkill.

Personally I can't remember the last thing I watched on ITV - probably the F1 when they still had it! Having said that, there were some shows I used to enjoy in the 90s on there, but these days, it is either BBC or Dave or docs on other UKTV channels these days.

The generally accepted optimum distance for a 54" is 9ft 2.y room is roughly 12 so slightly too small.

What Size TV Should You Buy?

What Size TV Do I Need? Here's how to figure out the size of TV set you should get and the distance away from your TV you should sit.

www.tomsguide.com

"And 4K resolution is even easier to figure out, since the size of the screen matches the recommended distance. For a 42-inch TV with 4K resolution, the optimal viewing distance is 42 inches (3.5 feet). A 65-inch 4K TV would have an optimal distance of 65 inches. You can sit farther away, but may lose the ability to distinguish some of the finer details offered by 4K"

Don't forget if you watch movies you have to immagine how big the TV needs to be match the size the screen appear at your favorite seating distance in the auditorium. If you immagine I-imax then immagin3 how big the TV would need to be.

Many people get the size of TV from their parents who can often still be stuck in the 60's and 70's with all the myths of associated with sitting too close.

I can tell 4K and HD nearly all the time. Some broadcasts are smaller than 4k but better than HD, some HD can be 720 and not 1080. I find of the image looks like I would see though my own eyes like looking though my kitchen window into the garden its 4k, if it looks like i am watching a TV immagie of the view through my kitchen window its HD1080.

I do have friends who can't tell the difference and some who can. Not everyone notices the difference just like some people can't tell any discernable sufferance between MW radio 5 and DAB Radio 5.

 

[AM9]

Here's a chart that might help people decide what size and resolution of TV is suited to viewers where the viewing distance is determined by room size. The recommended screen size is also related to the type of programme being viewed. For general viewing, a field of vision around 30 degrees is optimum and for cinema material, a more involving 40 degrees is suggested.

 

[Paul Jones 88]

I have an 85 inch TV in my living room which is about 15 foot by 15 foot in a council flat, it is great for watching cab ride dvds, the TV is connected to a very powerful sound bar and makes Deltics come alive beautifully, however may frighten the young girl upstairs.

 

[DarloRich]

What is the optimum sized TV for a room: Surely it depends on the size of the room!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

It would need to be the size that you could comfortably see in full vision the whole screen without moving your head at the distance from which you would normally watch it.

 

[Ediswan]

I have a 32" TV for most viewing. For when I fancy the 'cinema' experience, there is an HD projector with an 80" pull-down screen. Viewing distance to both is just over 2m.

 

[Busaholic]

Shouldn't the thread title be 'What is the optimised size room for a TV?'

 

[Acey]

Who was it who said " you can always tell working class folk? their TVs are wider than their bookshelves "

 

[BluePenguin]

Who was it who said " you can always tell working class folk? their TVs are wider than their bookshelves "

I can’t agree more with this statement. Our bookshelf is very big although does have other things on it too

 

[The Ham]

I can’t agree more with this statement. Our bookshelf is very big although does have other things on it too

Not so much the case anymore, with people being more ready to have e-readers to read books on and fairly few (new) main TV's being smaller than 42" (also few companies offer half decent TV's at 32" or smaller).

 

[BluePenguin]

Not so much the case anymore, with people being more ready to have e-readers to read books on and fairly few (new) main TV's being smaller than 42" (also few companies offer half decent TV's at 32" or smaller).

It does not help that new houses are ridiculously small. One of my friends is moving shortly and is having to get rid of a lot of his books as he will have nowhere to keep them. It’s quite sad really, but I have been given some of the railway ones as a present so it’s not all bad

I am sure we all agree that when it comes to television, bigger is better if you have the space? Nothing compares to the cinematic experience you get at the cinema. I don’t think anything comes close to having this at home.

 

[nlogax]

I am sure we all agree that when it comes to television, bigger is better if you have the space? Nothing compares to the cinematic experience you get at the cinema. I don’t think anything comes close to having this at home.

Nope. I prefer my lounge wall not to be consumed with a massive TV. 43" screen in a 20ft x 15ft lounge is plenty large enough to take advantage of 4k content.