How far should I sit to watch TV?

Is there the perfect distance to sit and watch television?

This is a very common question among the vast majority of people when they purchase a new screen or monitor, What is the perfect distance to watch my new television? Throughout this article we are going to discuss everything that surrounds this topic and we are going to try to find an answer.

Why is the distance at which we sit important?

If we are talking about a monitor instead of a television, this detail becomes even more relevant. But before understanding why we must know a term known as pixel density (pixel density in Spanish)

The pixel density, also often known as PPI (Pixel Per Inch) consists of the total number of pixels for each inches either inch of our screen, is measured through the relationship between resolution and size. A general rule that we should know is that the higher the number the better, and the lower the number the worse.

What should I know about the Pixel Density or PPI?

The PPI In many cases they will define how defined and sharp we see the image shown on the screen, so it is best to have as many as possible, although if we talk about a television in a living room in most cases it is pixel density It's not going to have too much relevance.

Many times related to pixel density we find the pixel size, and if we have a screen with very little resolution and a lot of size and we are close to it, we can even see the individual pixels that make up the screen, very similar to when we have an image at a very low resolution.

On monitors, the minimum recommended to have a clear image and text is 91.79ppi, equivalent to a 24″ screen with 1080p resolution.

But when we talk about televisions this number is not so relevant, and this is because with distance this perception of pixels and details is lost, so even if we have a lower pixel density we would not notice it, so for example a television 75″ 4K have a PPI of 58.74, a very low number but at a distance of several meters it does not create a very notable difference to if it had 91.79ppi or more.

How to calculate the pixel density of my screen?

The simplest and fastest option is to go to any of the many pages that appear when we search on Google: Calculate screen ppi. You can click on this text to be redirected to one of them

In case you are interested in understanding the calculations behind it, let's see how to calculate it.
Let's see the case of a 24″ 1080p (1920×1080) monitor

Once we have this figure (Do) We are going to divide this number by the diagonal in inches of our screen.

How can I know the perfect distance to watch TV?

The perfect distance to watch TV does not exist, since depending on the person they may prefer to have it more or less close to their sight, but there are different guidelines that indicate what would be the closest distance and field of view suitable.

To establish the appropriate distance we use the Field of View or FOV, this is the capacity in degrees of vision that we have, as a reference the human eye has a total of 200º of vision, including a portion that is peripheral.
Knowing this, what is recommended for our TV is that it covers 30º of our vision for varied use (video games, multimedia, working...) while a 40º FOV to have the best cinematic experience when we watch movies and series.

Although this is a fairly good general rule, as we have said, each person is different, so there are people who prefer to sit at a closer distance from their television and other people lean toward a greater distance. FOV.

Maximum television size?

In the case of having a smaller room we must know that we cannot choose a television that is too large, since if we sit too close it will be uncomfortable and can cause several problems:

• We are going to have to move our neck a lot horizontally and vertically, and this can cause discomfort in the medium-long term.
• Being very close to a large screen can cause dryness or eye fatigue... this also worsens with age since we are more prone to having tired vision.

Let's talk about the maximum size, and that is there is no maximum size.
If we have a lot of space in the room that will house our television, a TV of even 80″ They may be adequate, however it is not what most people will be able to afford if we take into account that larger screens are also more expensive, added to the fact that they do not usually have as much space (~3m distance is recommended) They make it a viable option only for a few.

However, when we talk about monitors on a desk, things are very different. For most people the maximum size will be 27″, and for a smaller group 32″ and 34″.
From this point on, the sizes above begin to be too large to work comfortably since they will force us to move our necks and sit far away.

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With a good graphics, you need a good screen

If you are one of the lucky ones who has a high-end GPU or you are going to get one of the next generation, the least you can do is treat yourself to having a screen up to par so you can enjoy the best possible experience.

If you want to know more about the screens you can visit this post.