What size TV for your room?
Enter how far you sit. You get LG UK's recommended screen size, or a smaller one where your TV's resolution calls for it.
Your size appears here once the distance is in.
Not measured yet? See how to measure.
Before you buy
Check the model's resolution. For a Full HD or 720p set the size we give drops. ITU's optimal viewing distance is further from the screen for those, 3.2 picture heights for Full HD and 4.8 for 720p against 1.6 for 4K, and for Full HD, LG's own rule of 4.2 cm of distance for every inch of screen is stricter still.
Sources: ITU-R Recommendation BT.500-15 (external site) checked ; LG UK, how to measure TV sizes (external site) checked
In its advice on TVs of 65 inches or above, LG says that for a 4K or higher TV, as long as you have enough space, there is no reason why you cannot go as big as possible. For your seat, the size we give is LG's own recommended size.
Sources: LG UK, how to measure TV sizes (external site) checked ; LG UK, TV size guide (external site) checked
Models we checked
No checked models in this size yet. The size above still stands.
How to measure screen size and distance
Measure the distance from where you usually sit to the screen. LG says your ideal TV size depends on your viewing distance.
Know the size of a TV by measuring the diagonal length of the screen, as LG describes.
Source: LG UK, TV size guide (external site) checked
Size chart
Our own table of the same rules for common seat distances: LG UK's recommended size, or a stricter limit where one is smaller. ITU's largest size before pixels show is marked ITU. For Full HD, LG's own 4.2 cm rule is stricter still; those cells are marked LG Full HD, with ITU's figure beside them.
Sources: LG UK, TV size guide (external site) checked ; ITU-R Recommendation BT.500-15 (external site) checked ; LG UK, how to measure TV sizes (external site) checked
Depends on the maker for every size in this chart
Scroll sideways for more columns.
| Distance | 4K or 8K | Full HD | 720p |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your size1.5 m | 49 in | 35 in (LG Full HD; ITU 37 in) | 25 in (ITU) |
| Your size2 m | 66 in | 47 in (LG Full HD; ITU 50 in) | 33 in (ITU) |
| Your size2.5 m | 82 in | 59 in (LG Full HD; ITU 62 in) | 41 in (ITU) |
| Your size3 m | 98 in | 71 in (LG Full HD; ITU 75 in) | 50 in (ITU) |
| Your size3.5 m | 115 in | 83 in (LG Full HD; ITU 87 in) | 58 in (ITU) |
(ITU): the largest screen before pixels show at that distance, smaller than LG's size. (LG Full HD): LG's Full HD rule of 4.2 cm of distance for every inch of screen, stricter than ITU's figure, which is shown beside it. LG's own table stops at 3 m; past that we carry LG's rule on.
How we worked it out
LG UK gives a screen size for a seat: divide the viewing distance in inches by 1.2 to find the recommended screen size, which LG ties to a 40 degree field of view. That is the size we give, unless a stricter limit below is smaller.
Then we check pixels. ITU-R BT.500-15, the ITU's recommendation on judging picture quality, calls the distance at which two neighbouring pixels subtend one minute of arc at your eye the optimal viewing distance: 3.2 picture heights for Full HD, 1.6 for 4K, 4.8 for 720p and 0.8 for 8K. ITU-R BT.1845-1 gives 1 arc-min as the typical limit of human vision.
Turned round, that distance gives the largest screen at which pixels stay below that limit for your seat. When it is smaller than LG's size, we give it instead, rounded down, and say so. For a 4K or 8K set it is always above LG's size.
Picture height comes from the diagonal for a 16:9 picture, the shape in the ITU table.
LG's own pages give more than one rule. For 4K, one multiplies the screen size in cm by 1.2 and another uses 2.1 cm per inch. We use the first, which is LG's 40 degree rule and matches LG's own table; the second allows a bigger screen at every seat, so it never sets the figure. For Full HD, LG's measuring page gives 4.2 cm of distance per inch of screen and calls it one popular rule. It sets the same limit as ITU's optimal viewing distance, the largest Full HD screen for your seat, and gives a smaller size at every seat. Where two sourced rules set the same limit and disagree, we give the stricter and show the other: for a Full HD TV the answer is LG's 4.2 cm figure, rounded down, with ITU's figure beside it.
LG's own table stops at 3 m; past that we carry LG's rule on.
The answer is labelled Depends on the maker because it follows one maker's rule, LG's.
Every source on this page
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LG UK, TV size guide (external site)
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simply divide the viewing distance (in inches) by 1.2 to find the recommended screen size.
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ITU-R Recommendation BT.500-15 (Word document, external site) (Word document)
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The design viewing distance (DVD), or optimal viewing distance, for a digital system is the distance at which two adjacent pixels subtend an angle of 1 arc-min at the viewer’s eye;
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ITU-R Recommendation BT.1845-1 (Word document, external site) (Word document)
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the typical value of the minimum angular resolution of human vision in both the vertical and horizontal directions is 1 arc-min, which corresponds to the ability to discriminate detail that subtends an angle of 1 arc-min at the viewer’s eye
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LG UK, how to measure TV sizes (external site)
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If you have a Full HD TV, then one popular rule is to simply use 4.2cm of viewing distance for every inch of the diagonal screen size.
Something wrong? See Corrections.
Questions
What size TV for a 3 metre viewing distance?
For a 3 metre viewing distance, our answer is 98 in for a 4K or 8K TV, 71 in for Full HD and 50 in for 720p. LG's cinema table pairs 2.6 to 3 m with 86 to 100 inch screens for its 40 degree view.
Sources: LG UK, TV size guide (external site) checked ; LG UK, how to measure TV sizes (external site) checked ; ITU-R Recommendation BT.500-15 (external site) checked
Is a bigger TV always better?
Not past the point where pixels show. ITU-R BT.1845-1 gives 1 arc-min as the typical limit of human vision, so closer than ITU's optimal viewing distance for your resolution, neighbouring pixels are more than 1 arc-min apart at your eye and can usually be seen. LG's advice on TVs of 65 inches or above adds that for a 4K or higher TV, as long as you have enough space, there is no reason why you cannot go as big as possible.
Sources: LG UK, how to measure TV sizes (external site) checked ; ITU-R Recommendation BT.1845-1 (external site) checked ; ITU-R Recommendation BT.500-15 (external site) checked
Does 4K let me sit closer?
Yes. ITU's optimal viewing distance for 4K is 1.6 picture heights against 3.2 for Full HD, so at the same seat a 4K screen can be twice the height before pixels show.
Sources: ITU-R Recommendation BT.500-15 (external site) checked ; ITU-R Recommendation BT.1845-1 (external site) checked
Why does the answer depend on the maker?
Because it follows one maker's rule: LG gives it as the recommended screen size for a seat, not as a limit.
Source: LG UK, TV size guide (external site) checked