How Big is Too Big?

Bryoncunningham

Thanks for the THX calculator....

Not understanding all the viewing angle calculations, it seems:

For a 55" screen, THX recommends 6.1 feet
For a 46" screen, 5.1 feet
For a 40" screen, 4.5 feet and
For a 32" screen, 3.6 feet

These distances are similar to my preferences and make sense to me for an immersive, cinematic experience.

But it seems that most people sit significantly farther away from their screens that that.

Maybe their parents told them it would make them go blind?

Yet reason that an array of 46 or even bigger monitors might make sense for computing, despite being counterintuitive.

Cw - I agree that most people sit much farther from their screens than the THX guidelines recommend. I sit at 9 feet from a 60" screen, so I too am farther away than the guidelines, but probably closer than most viewers.

I find the distance at which I can start to see pixilation, then move back a couple feet. That maximizes the impact of the screen's size while not allowing me to see the limits of the image's resolution.

Of course, the higher the source resolution, the closer you can sit without seeing the limits of the image's resolution. This may explain why people sit so far from their screens - they developed their habits with low resolution images, which require farther viewing distances to avoid seeing the limits of the image's resolution, and they have not adjusted their habits as high resolution sources have become more common.

You really need to ask HER. In Texas, they say size does matter.

Re Ask HER

I just asked my wife, and she thinks I sit too close to the screen.

I have just asked her to sit at the most comfortable distance from our 40" HDTV. Using a tape measure, this is +/- 9 FEET!

I nonetheless look forward to an array of 46" screens approximately 3 feet away.