How to figure out what size TV you should buy

By Michael Bizzaco and Amy Cutmore Updated August 29, 2025

Once upon a time, a 40-inch TV was considered an extravagance – the sort of thing that dominated a living room and made your neighbors wonder if you were running a sports bar as a side hustle. But fast forward a decade or two, and 80, 90 and even 100-inch-plus screens are being launched left, right and center.

And thanks to 4K and 8K UHD, we can now sit closer to our TVs than ever without the image turning into a mushy clump of pixels. This is because a TV displaying a 4K source (and even some 1080p HD content) uses quadruple the amount of pixels of an HD TV to showcase your favorite movies, shows, and video games.

But just because you can plunk yourself down a few inches closer to that OLED screen, does it mean you should? Is there such a thing as too much screen, even in a world where we happily spend hours staring at the palm-sized ones in our pockets?

To find out, we spoke to TV experts (who naturally think bigger is better) and optometrists (whose job is to worry about your eyeballs) to get a clearer picture on the best TV size for you.

Before you become distracted by exciting choices like whether to opt for OLED vs LED, or how many HDMI ports you want, it’s important to settle on exactly where in the house you want your new television to live. Just promise us you won’t mount it over your fireplace.

From there, you’ll understand the limitations of the space – for example the size of your TV bench or the amount of space on a wall – and can take this into account.

Now it’s time to measure up your chosen spot, starting with its height, width and depth. As many of you will know (but not everyone, which is why we’re mentioning it) TV screen sizes are measured in inches diagonally from the top corner to the opposite bottom corner, so you’ll want to make a note of this measurement, too.

A TV’s screen size doesn’t take into account the bezel around the screen, either. “Keep in mind here that your old TV might have a wider frame or bezel than a new TV,” explains Michael Price, TV and Home AV specialist at Panasonic, “so an old 50in screen might be the same overall size as a new, thin frame, 55in TV.

When shopping around, you’ll be able to match these dimensions up with the measurements of the whole TV (not just the screen size) to make sure it will fit. You’ll find that some TVs have footprints that are physically larger than others of the same screen size, so always look at the product dimensions to see whether it will fit into the space available.

Fortunately, most TV manufacturers and consumer tech retailers (including Amazon) will also list these dimensions online and on sales floor product cards. If you’re looking for dimensions on a store product tag, try looking at the bottom of the card. Product dimensions are often treated as little footnotes (just like online!) at stores like Best Buy, Walmart and Target, so the height, width, and depth may be twice as small as the other specs on that piece of paper.

Right, so now you have an idea of how big you could go. Now it’s time to work out what screen size will be comfortable given where you’re viewing it from. “The traditional rule of thumb is to sit at least three times the screen size away from your TV — so if your favorite chair is 150 inches from where the screen will sit, a 50-inch TV would be the ‘safe’ choice,” says Michael.

“But with 4K, the added detail of Ultra HD means you can comfortably go bigger in the same space without the picture looking rough. And in my experience, very few people ever regret choosing a larger screen.”

We’d recommend using a TV viewing distance calculators (here’s another one), which will recommend a TV screen size based on viewing distance and the resolution of the TV you’re planning to buy. Alternatively, if you don’t want to bother with an online calculator (please bother though), you could try this:

Measure the distance from your seat to the television in inches and multiply by 0.84. This will give you a rough idea of how large of a TV your space can handle. This method isn’t perfect, of course. For example, if you are sitting eight feet away from the TV, the calculation calls for an 80-inch screen, and that’s just not realistic for most folks.

Realistically, you may want to use that rough-idea equation, and then subtract 10 or 15 inches from the result. Generally speaking, the average screen size for most living room TVs is right around 65 inches, and the average size of most living rooms is right around 16 feet by 20 feet.

If you aren’t going to mount your new TV on a wall, you’ll need to consider where the two feet of your new TV are going to be located. “It sounds obvious, but make sure your TV will fit on the furniture it is intended for,” warns Michael Price. “Many TVs have feet that sit wide apart, requiring require a broad surface to sit on. The larger the screen, the wider apart the feet. Almost all Panasonic TVs have a central pedestal for this reason.”

In most cases, a TV’s total width (measured from one side of the top or bottom part of the frame to the other) will give you a great ballpark idea as to how long of a shelf your TV furniture should have. But there are rare cases where the TV’s feet can actually extend beyond the left and right sides of the TV.

In these cases, you’ll want to either measure the distance between the farthest-extended point of the left foot to the right foot, and use that measurement to determine what kind of TV furniture you should be looking at (or if what you already own will work).

For situations where you can’t wall-mount your TV, and you also can’t see yourself parting ways with a cherished piece of home theater furniture because it’s not wide enough, you can always opt for a Buy at Amazon . Similar to a standard TV wall mount, VESA-certified arms are screwed into the back of your TV, while a mounting bracket is fixed to the base of the stand. Many universal stands will also tilt up and down and pivot from side to side.

Field of view basically means how much of your vision is taken up by the TV compared to all the other stuff competing for your attention. In a movie theater, the screen dominates – there’s nothing else to look at unless you’re really into emergency exit signs. In a living room, though, the field of view is usually smaller, since your eyes are easily distracted by the view from the windows, lighting, bookshelves, family photos, and that one attention-seeking houseplant.

Experts generally recommend a field of view around 30 degrees to 36 degrees. For a 50-inch TV, that would mean sitting around 5.6 feet away. Although Jeremy Demont, Director of TV/AV product management at Samsung, tells us: “The best most immersive viewing experience occurs when 40 degrees of your field of view is taken up by the screen.”

“This field of view distance can be easily calculated if you know the size of the TV you are purchasing. Just multiply the TV screen size by 1.2. So for a 75-inch TV, you would need to sit 2.3M away. Similarly a 43-inch TV should be positioned around 1.37 metres from the screen.”

Don’t confuse field of view with viewing angle though (or how easy it is to see the TV when sitting off-center from the screen). A TV’s viewing angle depends on the display type. “OLED TVs can be viewed from a wider angle than an LED without losing color or contrast, but not all LEDs are the same,” says Michael Price.

“If possible, check the TV in store before buying and look at the screen from different positions, not just straight on. Some Panasonic OLED TVs go further by having a swivel stand, so if you are stuck at the end of the couch you can easily angle the TV in your direction.”

Overall screen size is helpful, too. After all, the bigger the display, the easier it should be to see it from multiple vantages.

However, ambient lighting and how it contributes to screen glare is another variable you’ll want to consider when thinking about your TV’s viewing angle. “Some of our 43-inch TVs also offer extra features such as ‘ultra viewing angle’ with an anti-reflection screen so you can also experience the brilliant picture from every angle and with minimal glare,” adds Jeremy.

If you’re trying to maximize screen real estate on a tight budget, you’re going to have to sacrifice some picture quality for a bigger screen (in most cases). As such, we recommend (as per our comprehensive TV buying guide) striking a balance between screen size and quality.

So instead of going for that massive 85-inch QLED from an up-and-coming brand that’s on the shelves for just $500, consider opting for the smaller, 55-inch big-name model next to it for $550. Chances are the latter uses far better picture processing and lighting technologies.

“I’d agree that color, contrast and motion performance are generally more important than size when it comes to picture quality,” says Michael Price at Panasonic. “But if you are after that big screen impact, consider Mini LED TVs which get fairly close to OLED quality, but offer more size for the money.”

You’ll also want to keep in mind the types of content you’ll be viewing. If you’re a Blu-ray enthusiast or 4K streaming connoisseur, your 4K or 8K TV is going to have more picture info (and thus greater detail) to deliver than someone watching mid-90s Crash Bandicoot speed-runs on YouTube.

There’s nothing wrong with the latter, but the fact remains that low-polygon marsupials just aren’t as pixel-packed as our favorite blue heroes from 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water.

If you’re going to mount your TV, you’ll have a few different mount styles to choose from. Low-profile and tilting mounts will keep your TV closest to the wall. There’s also full motion arms, which are usually the most expensive models you can buy, but for good reason.

These mounts tilt up and down, but they can also swivel from left to right, and extend out toward the viewer. So consider this: Even if you’re only mounting a 55-inch TV, if you’re using a full motion wall mount, you’ll literally be able to pull the screen closer to your eyeballs.

As you can guess, full motion mounts are sold by numerous companies, but we’ve got a few recommendations and installation tips for you to peruse.

“It’s important to make sure all digital devices or screens are at the correct distance,” advises Nigel Best, clinical director at Specsavers Opticians. “The screen should be slightly below eye level, as looking up at screens widens the eyes. This widening, in combination with a reduced blink rate when concentrating on a screen, could result in the surface of the eyes drying out resulting in blurred vision and discomfort.

“Another guide for screen distance is the 1-2-10 rule. This says that mobile phones should ideally be one foot away, laptops and computer screens should be two feet away, and televisions should be 10 feet away. This would allow your eyes to focus properly on screens at the correct distance.”

Dr. Steve Hosman OD, an Optometry specialist at Vistar Eye Center in Virginia, points to the TV’s resolution and technology. “It’s true that you can sit much closer to a 4K/8K TV versus Full HD TVs due to their higher pixel density. This makes it harder to see individual pixels allowing you to sit comfortably closer to the TV,” Steve says. “But you can achieve a healthier viewing experience by watching a 4K/8K OLED TV. OLEDs emit less blue light which can affect our sleep patterns and increase ocular strain.”

And Steve has another little rule to reduce eye strain. “Visual comfort can also be improved by practicing the 20-20-20 rule,” he says. “Similar to recommendations with hand-held digital devices, taking a 20 second break every 20 minutes while looking at something 20 feet away allows your eyes to relax, increasing visual comfort over time.”

“When it comes to height, positioning the TV at eye level is best to minimize strain on your neck and eyes,” offers Samsung’s Jeremy Demont. “Keep in mind that most of the time you will be in a seated position when watching TV and consider which room it’s intended for.  

“Then, you need to consider the room layout: if your space is open plan, can the TV be seen from the sofa as well as the dining table? Will you be watching it from stools in the kitchen? If so, then it needs to be mounted high enough to be for comfortable viewing from those various heights.”

Generally speaking, we’d say most folks end up with a 65-inch TV in their living room, with other common sizes including 55, 60, and 75-inch sets. But all homes are different, and while a large-sized screen may work for Household A, it may totally swallow the living space in Household B.

“At Panasonic, the best selling sizes are still the mid sizes – 43 up to 55 inches – as they are more affordable and can be used in different rooms and locations,” reveals Michael. “But the biggest growth is for the large screens. For example, in 2024 Panasonic offered only 1 model of TV larger than 65 inches; this year there are 4 models above 65-inch, going all the way to an 85-inch TV.”

For those of us rocking a 65-inch QLED, OLED, or traditional LED-LCD, you’ll get the best viewing experience by sitting between six to seven feet away from your TV.