How we calculate

Screen size

TVs are sold by the diagonal of the viewable screen. Every modern TV is 16:9, so width = diagonal × 16/√337 and height = diagonal × 9/√337. These are exact for the panel; the frame and stand add a little and vary by model.

Viewing distance

• SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) recommends the screen fill at least 30° of your horizontal view: distance = width / (2 × tan 15°) ≈ 1.87 × width.
• THX recommends about 40° for an immersive seat: distance = width / (2 × tan 20°) ≈ 1.37 × width.
• Resolution limit: 20/20 vision resolves about 1 arcminute. The distance at which one pixel row spans 1 arcminute = (height / rows) / tan(1/60°). Closer than this you can see the full detail of that resolution.

Which sizes we cover

We publish pages for the sizes and comparisons people actually search for, measured with US Google search volumes, and add more as demand appears.