Optimum Viewing Distance

Optimum HDTV viewing distance is the distance that provides the viewer with the optimum immersive visual HDTV experience. Although opinions vary on the exact screen size to distance relationship, formal research and recommendations suggest closer is preferred to further, to provide a more immersive experience.

Everyone is different, that’s why we give ranges and not a definite distance. So it is a good idea to use this guide as a starting point to custom tailor your viewing experience.

HDTV is designed to provide the end user with an experience that is more realistic than the mediated experience of the television system it’s designed to replace. The “thrilling realism” that HDTV attempts to offer, is courtesy of the increased resolution and the fact that the sets are typically larger than the analog sets they are supplanting. This increase in the typical size of an HDTV set also increases the visual angle from which that content is viewed. Both of these factors, higher resolution and greater visual angle contribute to the feeling of presence. Thus the correct viewing distance is critical to the enjoyment of HDTV in the manner intended.

Presence

The concept of presence has been defined as the “sensation of reality”, of “being there” and as “an illusion of non-mediation”. The concept of presence originated and was studied with regard to Virtual Reality (VR) and other 3D environments. It was later established that television viewers can also experience that feeling of presence. Presence can be influenced by a number of factors, including video camera techniques, audio fidelity, visual and aural dimensionality, and most relevant to this topic, image size (visual angle) and quality (angular resolution).

Visual Angle

It has been demonstrated that viewing content on a display that occupies a greater visual angle (also referred to as field-of-view), increases the feeling of presence. More importantly, the wider visual angle (to approximately a plateau point of 80 degrees) the greater the feeling of presence.

(Horizontal, vertical and diagonal field of view)

Angular Resolution

With printed graphics, resolution refers the number of pixels that occupy some fixed linear measurement. With HDTV, resolution refers to image resolution and is not tied to a linear measurement. Instead, it is measured in terms of the physical display, (the total count of pixels available (or used) to compose the displayed image). Generally, with printed graphics when the resolution of an image is increased, the image is cleaner, crisper and more detailed. The caveat is, the image will not appear cleaner, crisper and more detailed, if the increase in resolution and the accompanying detail exceeds the visual system of the observer. If you exceed the viewer’s visual system, there will be no perceived gain in image quality. For an HDTV image to gain a qualitative increase, what is important is that the resolution per degree of arc (or angular resolution) increases, not just the total pixel count of the display.

Recommendations

To maximize the feeling of presence and thus provide a better viewing experience, the viewer would need to be situated at the theoretical spot where the HDTV occupies the widest view angle for that viewer. It is also important that the resolution of the display per degree of arc remain at a high quality level. Opinions regarding where the nirvana position lies are numerous and varied.

Recommendations on HTDV viewing distances fall into two general classes; a fixed distance based on HDTV display size, or a range of distances based on the display size. The most common recommendations from reasonably authoritative sources are presented below.

Fixed distance

Fixed distance recommendations are the more common of the two types. For the most part, the majority of the fixed distance recommendations were issue before the end of 2007, when arguably HDTV displays were still in the early adoption phase. The most frequently cited fixed distance recommendations are listed.

The Diagonal Measurement x 2.5

One of the more popular recommendations on the proper HDTV viewing distance is multiply the diagonal measurement of the display screen by 2.5. This recommendation is cited by television manufacturers, retailers, respected publications and websites.

30 Degree View Angle

Viewing an HDTV from a position where the display occupies a 30 degree field of view is widely quoted as the SMPTE (or SMPTE 30) recommendation. This recommendation is very popular with the home theater enthusiast community, appears in books on home theater design, and is also supported by a white paper produced by Fujitsu. Although an article on research into setting the specification for the next evolution of HDTV, Ultra HDTV (or UHDTV), does support the premise that HDTV was optimized for a view angle of 30 degrees, there seems to be no direct recommendation from SMPTE on the issue.

THX – 40 Degree View Angle

THX recommends that the “best seat-to-screen distance” is one where the view angle approximates 40 degrees, (the actual angle is 40.04 degrees). Their recommendation was originally presented at the 2006 CES show, and was stated as being the theoretical maximum horizontal view angle, based on average human vision. In the opinion of THX the location where the display is viewed at a 40 degree view angle provides the most “immersive cinematic experience”, all other things considered. For consumer application of their recommendations, THX recommends dividing the diagonal screen measurement by .84 to calculate the optimum viewing distance, for an 1080p resolution.

Optimum Ranges

Stating optimum viewing distance as a range rather than as fixed distance is on the rise; possibly because of changes in the profile of the typical HDTV purchaser. Early adopters of HDTV were typically videophiles, the technically adventurous and the sports enthusiast looking to have the ultimate viewing experience. Today, the typical HDTV consumer’s aims may be a little more modest; total immersion takes a back seat to room integration. Major retail chains once stated their recommendation as a fixed distance, are starting to provide range recommendations. Manufacturers have also joined the stampede to range recommendations, updating their website with small applications that demote the optimum viewing distance as a range of distances. THX in March 2009, added range recommendations to their website. The minimum end of the range tends to be the proponent’s fixed optimum distance recommendation.

Manufacturers Recommendations

Range recommendations from manufacturers are the most modest of the groupings. For the minimum (or nearest) viewing distance, they recommend a view angle of approximately 31 degrees; and for the maximum, a view angle as low as 10 degrees. A 10 degree view angle is approximately the angle that NTSC television was typically viewed from.

Retail Recommendations              

The recommendations currently posted on the websites of retailers Best Buy and Crutchfield take more of a middle ground. Both retailers post a minimum viewing distance that accommodates a view angle of just a little over 32 degrees on average. This viewing distance approximates the view angle needed to be able to see pixel level detail. The maximum viewing distance will provide a viewing angle of approximately 16 degrees with Best Buy’s recommendation and approximately 20 degrees with Crutchfield’s. The maximum viewing distance (minimum viewing angle) provided by Best Buy aligns with vision theory on the highest spatial frequencies perceivable by the human visual system. Crutchfield’s maximum viewing distance aligns with the lower boundaries where viewers typically begin to find HDTV immersive.

THX Range

While THX still contends that the optimum viewing distance is a position where the display occupies a 40 degree view angle for the viewer, they too provide a range recommendation. The minimum viewing distance is set to approximate a 40 degree view angle, and the maximum viewing distance is set to approximate 28 degrees.

Factors Including The Calculation

Why so many recommendations? Each recommendation serves the underlying goal of the organization that proposes it. Manufacturers will have an easier time selling their HDTV’s if they support a position that does not require consumers to purchase as large a set as required by the THX recommendations. In the absence of economic influences, calculating the best screen size to distance ratio that will produce the utmost feeling of presence is not at all straightforward. There are a number of factors that can affect the calculation including the limitations of the human visual system, the technological limitations of HDTV displays, human physiological considerations, the content that will be viewed, and the interpretation of empirical data from formal testing. Perhaps the biggest of these are uncertainties surrounding the limits of the human visual system, and how those limitations apply to what we see and perceive.

How to calculate optimum viewing distance

STEP 1.

Start off by measuring the distance “with a measuring tape” from the where the screen will be directly to where your eyes will be, “not to the front of the sofa but the back of it where your head & eyes will be, make notes of the exact distance. This will ensure your end result will match exactly how you wanted it to.

STEP 2.

Select a guide above to calculate your screen size. We decided to give you multiple options because everyone’ has different viewing pleasures.

If you want a home theater type of visual experience then you should go with THX Ranges guide, they offer the most compare distances to a movie theater.

We have rated each scale by distance, 1 for the closest and 5 for the farthest so if you want to be closer to your television for a theater like experience you should use one of the Ranges Guide rated between 4 & 5. For a medium range experience use the guide rated 3 and for a longer distance rating use a 2 Guide Rating or 1 for the longest ranges!

Don’t forget, why pay retail for an HDTV when you can pay 30-90% less through our secure HDTV Store... CLICK HERE TO SHOP HDTV’s and SAVE $$$

RCA Ranges Guide     RATING 1

SCREEN SIZE

RECOMMENDED RANGES

22”

3'0" - 8'4"

26"

3'5" - 9'10"

32"

4'4" - 12'1"

40"

5'4" - 15'1"

42"

5'5" - 15'10"

52"

6'0" - 17'0"

Toshiba Ranges Guide                 RATING 2

SCREEN SIZE

RECOMMENDED RANGES

19"

2.5' - 8.0'

22"

3.0' - 9.0'

26"

3.5' - 10.5'

32"

4.0' - 13.0'

37"

4.5' - 15.0'

40"

5.0' - 16.5'

42"

5.5' - 17.5'

46"

6.0' - 19.0'

52"

6.5' - 21.5'

Best Buy Ranges Guide    RATING 3

SCREEN SIZE

RECOMMENDED RANGES

26"

3.3' - 6.5'

30"

3.8' - 7.6'

34"

4.3' - 8.5'

42"

5.3' - 10.5'

46"

5.8' - 11.5'

50"

6.3' - 12.5'

55"

6.8' - 12.8'

60"

7.5' - 15.0'

65"

8.1'- 16.3'

Crutchfield Ranges Guide     RATING 4

SCREEN SIZE

RECOMMENDED RANGES

26"

3.25' - 5.5'

32"

4.0' - 6.66'

37"

4.63' - 7.71'

40"

5.0' - 8.33'

42"

5.25' - 8.75'

46"

5.75' - 9.5'

50"

6.25' - 10.5'

52"

6.5' - 10.8'

55"

6.9' - 11.5'

58"

7.25' - 12.0'

65"

8.13' - 13.5'

70"

8.75' - 14.75'

THX Ranges Guide     RATING 5

SCREEN SIZE

RECOMMENDED RANGES

35"

3.5' - 5.0'

40"

4.0' - 6.0'

50"

5' - 7.5'

60"

6.0' - 9.0'