TV Size Chart: Pick the Right TV by Viewing Distance

The TV size chart

A TV is a fit for the room, not just a screen: it should be big enough to fill your field of view and small enough that you can take the whole picture in without turning your head. Too big and the picture fills your whole field of view, and you watch the screen in pieces instead of as a picture. Too small and the picture is a postage stamp, and you squint at the subtitles. The rule is simple: the distance decides the size, and the bands are half-open — 8 ft is in the 8 to 10 ft band, not the 7 to 8 ft band, and 12 ft and up takes the biggest TV in the chart.

The sizes are the standard 16:9 TVs the shops sell: 32 to 85 inches diagonally. The width is the diagonal times 16 over the square root of 337, and the height is the diagonal times 9 over the square root of 337, because 16 squared plus 9 squared is 337. The width and height are the screen itself, not the TV with its bezel: add about an inch all round for the bezel and the stand when you measure the wall. The distance bands overlap at the edges by design: a sofa at 10 ft can take either the 65-in TV or the 75-in TV, and the bigger one is the better one if the wall fits it.

How to measure your distance

The sizing rule is distance first. Sit where you watch, and measure from your eyes to the screen in feet, not from the wall to the wall. A sofa is usually 8 to 10 ft from the wall, which is the 65-in band. If you are between two bands, take the larger TV: a TV that is a few inches too big is easier to live with than a TV that is a few inches too small, and you can always sit a foot further back.

The worked example, line by line

Setup: a viewing distance of 8 ft; find the TV size.

Line 1 — the band. 8 ft is in the 8 to 10 ft band, so the TV is 65 in.

Line 2 — the width. 65 × 16 ÷ √337 = 65 × 0.8716 = 56.7 in, which is 56.7 × 2.54 = 143.9 cm.

Line 3 — the height. 65 × 9 ÷ √337 = 65 × 0.4903 = 31.9 in, which is 31.9 × 2.54 = 80.9 cm.

Line 4 — the diagonal in cm. 65 × 2.54 = 165.1 cm.

Line 5 — the reverse. A 65-in TV belongs at 8-10 ft, so a sofa at 8 ft is exactly where it belongs.

Every branch, checked

5 ft: 5 ft is in the 5 to 6 ft band, so the answer is a 43-in TV, 37.5 in wide (95.2 cm) and 21.1 in high (53.6 cm) — the size for a bedroom or a small flat.

6 ft: 6 ft is in the 6 to 7 ft band, so the answer is a 50-in TV, 43.6 in wide (110.7 cm) and 24.5 in high (62.3 cm).

7 ft: 7 ft is in the 7 to 8 ft band, so the answer is a 55-in TV, 47.9 in wide (121.8 cm) and 27.0 in high (68.5 cm).

10 ft: 10 ft is in the 10 to 12 ft band, so the answer is a 75-in TV, 65.4 in wide (166.0 cm) and 36.8 in high (93.4 cm) — the size for a big living room.

13 ft: 13 ft is 12 ft and up, so the answer is the biggest TV in the chart: an 85-in TV, 74.1 in wide (188.2 cm) and 41.7 in high (105.9 cm). There is no bigger row: a room over 12 ft takes the 85-in TV.

3 ft: 3 ft is below 4 ft, so the answer is the smallest TV in the chart: a 32-in TV, 27.9 in wide (70.8 cm) and 15.7 in high (39.9 cm) — the size for a desk or a kitchen counter.

Reverse — the 55-in TV: a 55-in TV belongs at 7-8 ft, so a sofa at 8 ft is a foot too far for it. A 75-in TV belongs at 10-12 ft, so a sofa at 8 ft is two feet too close for it. If you already own the TV, the reverse tells you where to put the sofa; if you are buying, the forward lookup tells you what to buy.

What the defaults assume

This chart is a TV size chart only: it is not a wall-mount or VESA chart — it does not say which mount fits your TV, which depends on the VESA pattern on the back — and it is not a resolution chart — it does not say whether you need 4K or 8K, which depends on the distance and the size together. It assumes a 16:9 TV: an ultrawide TV is wider for the same diagonal, and the chart does not cover it. It assumes the screen is the whole picture: the width and height are the screen itself, not the TV with its bezel, so add about an inch all round when you measure the wall. It assumes a single viewer sitting straight on: a wide room with seats off to the side needs a bigger TV, because the picture shrinks from an angle. Rounding convention: all dimensions are given to 1 decimal, and all figures are computed from the diagonal as written.

Output · formula · meaning

Who uses this

• The first-time buyer furnishing a living room: they learn a sofa at 8 ft needs a 65-in TV — and a 55-in TV is too small, so the subtitles are unreadable and the picture is a postage stamp.
• The renter in a small flat: they learn a bed at 5 ft needs a 43-in TV — and a 65-in TV is too big, so the picture fills their whole field of view and they watch it in pieces.
• The homeowner with a big open-plan room: they learn a sofa at 13 ft needs an 85-in TV — and a 65-in TV is too small, so the room swallows the picture.
• The buyer who already owns a TV: they learn a 55-in TV belongs at 7-8 ft — so they know where to put the sofa, and whether the TV they own fits the room they have.

Accuracy & limitations

The lookup is exact for the numbers you enter: the band comes from the distance, and the width and height come from the diagonal by the 16:9 ratio. What the chart cannot do is know your room: a wide room with seats off to the side needs a bigger TV, because the picture shrinks from an angle, and a bright room needs a brighter TV, which the size does not tell you. It is explicitly not a wall-mount or VESA chart — the mount depends on the VESA pattern on the back of the TV — and not a resolution chart — whether you need 4K depends on the distance and the size together. It assumes a 16:9 TV: an ultrawide TV is wider for the same diagonal. For the same idea on a ceiling fan, see ceiling fan size chart; for the same idea on a kayak, see kayak size chart.