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HDTV & 4K TV: How Large a Screen Do You Need?

February 10, 2021 by  
Filed under HDTV Articles

HDTV Sizing Chart
In general, your viewing distance should be between 1.5 to 3 times the screen size. If you are watching mostly DVDs, Blu-ray, HD Games (playstation 3) or HDTV broadcasts, you can sit more towards the 1.5 times screen size. If watching mostly old standard definition broadcasts, then you would want to sit further back. So a 32-inch HDTV should be viewed from about 4-8 feet, a 52-inch HDTV from 7 – 13 feet . There is no hard rule to sizes, but if you buy a set that is too small, you will lose some of the fine detail that an HDTV is capable of. So make sure you get a set big enough to meet your needs. Keep in mind that the new widescreen TVs are longer, but vertically shorter than the old style TVs for a given size.


4K Ultra HD TVs: The new 4K TVs have 4 times the resolution of HD, and almost the same resolution as your movie theater, as movie theaters now use 4K projectors. With this type of TV, you can get much larger sets, and not lose resolution, as the pixels are much smaller, and there are more of them. The sweet spot on 4K is 65 inches, and they go as large as 110 inches. The transition from HD to 4K Ultra HD has begun, and 4K will take over, especially for large screen sets over the next couple of years.

Related Article: 4K Ultra HD TVs Buying Guide 2021


Once you decide how big a tv you need, you can consult our size roundup pages which compare the same size HDTVs by size, price, reviews, and features. Click on the size below that fits your needs.



4K TV Size Comparison Pages:


4K Ultra HD TV Reviews and Comparison
Samsung 4K TV Lineup 2021
LG Electronics 4K TV Lineup 2021
Sony XBR 4K TV Lineup 2021