How far should you be sitting from your TV?

While there is no risk of your eyes going square if you sit too close to the TV screen, as Mom used to warn us, there are actually optimal viewing distances from your TV screen. Let’s dig into it a bit.

Mom might not have been completely right when she warned you about sitting too close to the television screen because with modern High Definition the best viewing distance is actually a lot closer than what she would have approved of. The previous rule of thumb was three times the diagonal screen length of your TV, but with today’s vibrant HDTV imagery, 1.5 times is more than adequate. For example, if you have a  47”(119.38cms) HDTV, the perfect viewing distance would be 179.07cm from the screen. If you are lucky enough to be the owner of a Full HD or Ultra HD, you can move your seat even closer.

If you are one of those people that prefers to sit in the 3rd row in the movie theatre when Avatar is showing, you would want to know how this works.

Basically, optimal viewing distance is all about pixel density. Sitting too close will cause you to notice the actual pixels in the image (like the ‘pieces’ that make up the image) and the further you move away, the clearer the image becomes. However, move to far back and the finer details start to get blurry. Hence the reason why arranging your furniture around your TV screen should be more than just your interior decorating preferences.

You can use our handy viewing guide that is based on the 1.5x distance rule, but ultimately you need to decide what distance is the best for you:

So, now that you know exactly where you are going to sit in front of your new HD Television, get in touch with us or visit our store to find out what we currently have in stock.